It feels like ages ago that I was at BlogOn, but it was only a couple of weeks. With the attacks in Manchester and London (not to mention all the others abroad) it’s been hard to be motivated to carry on with the every day, but carry on we must.
Blog On is a conference in Manchester for bloggers of all genres, but a lot of the attendees seem to be mums (I’m not sure I would dare to call them “mummy bloggers” though). It’s one of the smaller blogging conferences in the calendar year, but it has a good reputation due to the effort put into it by the organiser Laura and the amazing goody bags.
Twice a year (BlogOn takes place in May and September) companies generously donate items for the goody bags, tombola and raffle. Of course with a couple of hundred bloggers attending they are hoping that they will get some promotion in return. Like any ordinary person us bloggers love to get stuff for free. We are often offered products in return for reviews and other forms of promotion and I love this as it’s a great way to try new products, but it takes a lot of time to review something properly and to get good photographs. This means I appreciate it even more when I receive something without the obligation to post about it like the items in the goody bag and competition wins. Obviously I will always share products or day’s out I think are great because other people will enjoy them too, but it’s nice to have the choice.
I love blogging conferences because now I work from home they are one of the few opportunities I get to go out, chat to people in a similar line of work and to learn new skills. They are CPD for the blogging world. Due to the expense and family commitments I can only go to a couple a year and for 2017 I chose the May BlogOn and Britmums in September (last year I went to Britmums and Blogfest).
The Best Bits About Blogging Conferences
The sessions at the conference are always a bit of a gamble and at BlogOn I made the mistake of going to one session I didn’t get anything out of (and sitting near the front with a speaker I knew, I couldn’t easily leave), but the other talks were really helpful.
I love chatting to people face to face I normally only see online, but with so many people I didn’t get the chance to say more than “Hi” to some people. There were also bloggers there that I recognised and think are so cool and fab I was too scared to go up to them. I probably seemed really rude, staring and then walking past nonchalantly without saying anything, but it was only because I didn’t want to seem like an idiot with nothing interesting to say. Sorry ladies. For some silly reason it even included bloggers I have spoken to before like Hayley from Sparkles and Stretchmarks, but with her blog being top of Tots100 and growing in popularity all the time, why would she want to speak to little old me?
One of my favourite parts of conferences is talking to the many brands that attend. I love hearing about what they are up to, what they have planned next and how we can work together. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t enjoy Blogfest much last year as they only had a few companies there and those that were there (like Barclays and CocaCola) were more interested in pushing their products than collaborations.
So a couple of weeks on from BlogOn I have sorted through my goody bags, eaten a lot of sweets and worked out what I want to keep and what I’ll be giving away. One of the lovely gifts was this Minions 3D jigsaw. We have a similar jigsaw and my eldest daughter really enjoyed putting it together, but with limited shelf space and a busy house it’s not surviving very well so I thought the Minions 3D puzzle from Ravensburger would be appreciated more by someone else. Thank you to Ravensburger for providing the puzzle.
While the 3D puzzle might look tough each piece has a number on the back and an arrow so it's really just a fun way to make a fun 3D model. It's a good way to entertain kids (or adults) for a while and makes a great addition to the room of any Minions fan. If you want to win this puzzle enter via the up to widget below before Midnight on 18th June 2017.
What the puzzle looks like when completed (except this is a happy one)
A slow cooker! I use it all the time!
ReplyDeleteThey are so useful. It's cold enough at the moment I'm tempted to use ours today
DeleteThe most useful was my bobbee little Hoover the ones that go round on their own 😊
DeleteA dishwasher,that i won this week x
ReplyDeleteWow, that's great
Deletea football top
ReplyDeleteI won a makeover for my bathroom
ReplyDelete£1000 Thomas Cook voucher which we are using to take our children to Disney Paris this year
ReplyDeleteA short break to Rome.
ReplyDeleteA stay in a log cabin to the Cairngorms and avimore Scotland
ReplyDeleteI once found a box of Kellogg's All Bran Golden Crunch on my doorstep, turns out they have given a free box to everyone in the street for some reason. Tried it and loved it, I never would have bought a box to try, and now a few years later I still buy it every week. It's lush!
ReplyDeletea bot vac x
ReplyDelete£1,000 many years ago with Take A Break
ReplyDeleteit would have to be winning a fire eater to perform at my wedding!
ReplyDeleteA petrol Lawn Mower, my husband was thrilled, wanted one for so long
ReplyDeletea £1000 cottage holiday which was great took the family and some friends and there kids
ReplyDeletea washing machine
ReplyDeleteI've only been going in for competitions the last few months so at this point the best thing I've won is a pair of rose gold hoop earrings from Eternal Collection, they're lovely :)
ReplyDeletethe last thing I won was a a coffee hamper which was amazing
ReplyDeleteFridge freezer I love it
ReplyDeleteI won 5k from a postcard entry in The Sun newspaper.
ReplyDelete1K on a online competition
ReplyDeleteI won a trip to Rome on radio
ReplyDeleteA £500 set of italian chinaware, I almost fell off the chair when I won!
ReplyDeleteA four day break in Southwold
ReplyDeleteAll inclusive holiday to Cuba!
ReplyDeleteTwo days in a spa was rather special.
ReplyDeleteI won a holiday to New Orleans - that was fab!
ReplyDeleteA dishwasher :)
ReplyDeleteA car seat for my newborn niece.
ReplyDeleteA trip on the Orient Express
ReplyDeleteI won a PS4 with Walkers crisps on twitter for taking a selfie with a packet of crisps!
ReplyDeleteA brand new pram and car seat after I had my first baby.
ReplyDeleteA £500 Selfridges voucher
ReplyDeleteA hamper at Christmas
ReplyDeleteTrip to Paris
ReplyDeleteTrip to Paris
ReplyDeleteAn iPad :)
ReplyDeleteA year of free Sky TV
ReplyDeleteAn Ipad 4 which my OH uses all the time especially on his commute to work
ReplyDeleteI won an ipad air 2 which is the most awesome thing ever and I could never have afforded it!!
ReplyDeleteA comprehensive range of garden tools which was very useful as i have a large garden.
ReplyDeletebest prize ever - a trip to Rome
ReplyDelete£2500 to spend in HMV - that was a great experience!
ReplyDeleteThe best prize I won was a huge bundle of children's toys I won from fisher price that I gave my son for his birthday
ReplyDeletea lovely hamper
ReplyDeleteA lovely bottle of champagne.
ReplyDeleteA bundle of Neom goodies (candles and diffuser)
ReplyDeleteA £150 marks and spencer voucher
ReplyDeleteA Fridge Freezer and Washing machine in the same month - cassandra mayers
ReplyDeletea £15,000 kitchen from homestyle magazine :-)
ReplyDeleteA spa weekend away which i took my sister and we both loved it.
ReplyDeletea years supply of farleys baby food,a month before my first child was born,i enjoyed the rusks ha ha
ReplyDeleteThe most I've won was some baby clothes for my grandson no big wins
ReplyDeleteMy best prize, to date, was a £22,000 Suzuki SX4 car from a Facebook/Twitter giveaway by Suzuki to promote their new model in 2014. They were giving away 5 over the course of March & you had to nominate someone who deserved it & use a hashtag - I nominated my husband & won on the first draw from around 46,000 entries!!!
ReplyDeletea tv. my son swiped it!
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, it was a large box of Minions toys and games. The children were over the moon.
ReplyDeleteThe best Prize I have ever won was a night in the Schiaparelli suite at the Mayfair hotel with £200 to spend in their restaurant and £250 voucher to spend at Selfridges, wow how the other half live. What an amazing day we had. xxxx
ReplyDeletei won a gtech multi ,its brilliant for cleaning up after my pets
ReplyDeleteI once won a swingball set that my niece loves playing with.
ReplyDeleteI won a holiday to cornwall
ReplyDeleteTickets to take my grandchildren out for the day!
ReplyDeleteI won an overnight stay at Alton towers and tickets which was just brilliant
ReplyDeleteI once won a £1000 House of Frasier gift card which went towards some new tech.
ReplyDeleteA team GB Festina watch
ReplyDeleteI won an all expenses paid weekend in London a few years back, amazing would be an understatement
ReplyDeleteAmazing prize!
ReplyDeleteI won £1000 last year which was totally amazing.
ReplyDeleteI won a holiday to Malta in the local Pub Quiz night.
ReplyDeleteA year family membership to leisure centre
ReplyDeleteA golf club set.
ReplyDeleteThe Lego Simpsons House - My kids had the best Christmas surprise
ReplyDeleteA holiday to Morocco :)
ReplyDeleteEJ Dunn
A playstation
ReplyDeleteThe best prize I won was last year. I had entered to win a VIP to a favourite band, I was going already but had a "normal" ticket as I didn't get chance to purchase the VIP from the fan club in time. I wasn't fortunate but said "well done to the winners" on the winning FB post. I was then told that if the winners didn't get back to them within a certain time they would redraw the comp. I was lucky enough to win the second time they drew the winners. :) This resulted in a brilliant night, we had an acoustic 3-song set and photo and time with the band. Because my absolute favourite always stands at the end, I actually remembered THIS TIME and managed to engage my brain long enough to ask him to swap places. So I could stand between him and the singer (my second favourite in the band). Not only did he oblige, I managed a second hug from him! :) Already had one when the band introduced themselves - although why they felt the need to introduce themselves I aren't quite sure. Was a lovely night and managed to meet some FB friends as well. Sorry for the long essay.
ReplyDeletemarks and spencer voucher
ReplyDeleteA washing machine, which was lucky as mine went bang a week later.
ReplyDeleteI won a holiday for 4 to Florida!
ReplyDeleteA holiday to las vegas with $1000 spending money, Britney tickets and a meet and greet with Britney :D
ReplyDelete