How to Get Invited to Blogger Events
April 1, 2016
If you follow any bloggers on social media, then I’m sure you’ll have seen pictures of exciting events and bloggers drinking champagne and being gifted amazing goodie bags. I know when I first started blogging I really wanted to attend blogger events, not only for the free drinks (they are a nice bonus) but for a chance to meet other bloggers and talk to like minded people. I have been lucky enough to attend some amazing events, in the short time I’ve been blogging. These events and experiences are a fantastic perk to blogger but are definitely not what it’s about. I don’t recommend starting a blog just to go to events (and get freebies) as you’ll end up disappointed. Although blogger events are a lot of fun, they are still a form of work and bloggers are there to a job, a really great job, but a job nonetheless
I don’t if there is a magic formula to getting invited to blogger events, but I thought I would share a few top tips to help you get those invites.
Write Relevant Content
Sorry, but you’re not going to be invited to a beauty brands event if you blog about pets! Why would the brand invite you when there are thousands of beauty blogger out there. I’m not saying you should focus your niche on what kind of events you want to attend, although you’ll likely to be interested in events in your niche anyway. But you can’t expect to be invited to blogger events which don’t fit in with your content. For example, I don’t write about food or restaurant reviews, so I don’t get invited to any foodie events, but I do get invited to fashion and beauty events.
As well as writing relevant content, you also need to be uploading regularly. You’re not going to be invited to many blogger events if your last post was 3 months ago.
Join Local Blogger Groups
There are lots of regional blogger groups out there, most of them have a Facebook page so search on there first. Early on I joined
Edinburgh Bloggers, in fact, one of the first events I attended was organised by them. The Facebook page is great for finding out about what’s going on, and other bloggers will often share information on events. This will also help you to build a network of local bloggers. You can also use these groups to arrange blogger meet ups if you’re interested in making new friends.
Go To Events
Yes I know what your thinking - Jen I’m reading this to find out how to get invited to events and your advice is to go to events, it doesn’t make sense. Hear me out on this one. This is what I think has helped raise my profile locally which in turn led to getting invited to more events. Yes you won’t be able to go to the invite only events but a lot are open to all bloggers, you normally just need to RSVP. As I said above local Facebook groups are the best place to find out about these events. It’s also worth having a look on
Eventbrite for things happening locally and registering to go to events in your niche. This may be a little cheeky but if you’ve found out from other bloggers about a blogger event you’d like to attend try emailing the PR and asking if you can come along. Most of the time they will say yes, as it makes their job a lot easier. And at the end of the day, the worst they can do is say no.
Blog About It
If you do attend a bloggers event (or any other kind of event) make sure you write a blog post on it. These blogger events aren’t easy to put together, they take brands a lot of time to organise. The least you can do is spend a bit of time writing about your experience - this is why bloggers get invited in the first place. You’re also likely to get a couple of glasses of fizz and a goodie bag when you attend so it’s not much to return the favour.
Talk To Everyone
I know these events can sometimes be very nerve racking, especially when you don’t know anyone and it’s easy to stand in the corner not speaking to anyone. But make an effort to talk to everyone in the room, blogger events are a great networking opportunity so make the most of it. I know sometimes blogger events can be a little cliquey, but that is because it’s only natural to gravitate towards people you know. Think about it if you went to a conference in another city and saw someone you recognised, you’d go and talk to them right. Well, it’s the same with bloggers and the best way to deal with it is to go over to the group and say hi. In my experience, bloggers are lovely people and are always happy to talk to you. Through attending blogger events (and being nice) I was invited to be part of the team at
Edinburgh Bloggers, there is no way this would have happened if I didn’t speak to everyone.
Remember to be nice to everyone you meet, and to be someone that people want to have at their events.
Really good tips! I know I struggle a little bit with striking up conversations at these events but you're right….just go say hi 🙂
http://www.majeang.com
This outfit is so nice! Love the fashion lip it goes so well! xx
http://www.pickedresses.com/
Really super tips, thanks so much! 🙂
gingeybee.com
I've not seen advice on this before so thank you, it's a really great post! I definitely agree that networking is fantastic, I need to start doing that myself!
Amy at Amy & More
Thank you for this post! I love the advice, although I find it quite hard to become part of a community sometimes when in a certain area, even through Facebook groups! But I will keep your post in mind 🙂 Margaux x
Great post! Looking for local blogger groups now!
Queenofthispirateship.blogspot.com
Xoxo
I am so excited to eventually go to events as a blogger but I am definitely in no rush as I would like to feel established as a blogger so I have the confidence to approach others and feel perfectly in place.
I love your advice to actually just reach out and ask if you can go! I think that will be my course of action when I decide to!
Kyah / http://www.weekendtempo.com
Ive been invited to a few now but they have all been in London (I'm in Dundee) so wasn't away to drive the 10 hours lol, need to find more locally - if there are any!
Erin || MakeErinOver
I'd love to go to a blogger event so thank you for these tips they were a lot of help!
Ella xx
http://www.ellaselement.blogspot.co.uk
Useful blog..Thanks for sharing
Great post Jen. As a newbie blogger I've signed up to BloggingGals which is a great group that does monthly talks in London. I've met some lovely bloggers that way!
Hi Jen, An interesting read. I have been looking to get into blogging for a while but not sure where to begin so perhaps you could give me some tips, what is interesting and what might deter people?
Dave
Dave
great stuff! thank you. kitchenbulldog.com… youtube/content/networking is starting to get a little bonkers…fun, exciting, rewarding in many ways. thank you, Christine