If you spend any time at all in the women’s blogging space I am sure you know that women from across the country will be coming together for the annual BlogHer conference this week. Each year BlogHer grows a little bit bigger and this year 3500 women will be gathering together in San Diego.

This will be my third BlogHer and this year I will be attending BlogHer for business so in typical BlogHer fashion, I wanted to put together a “Getting Ready for BlogHer—PR style” post.

When you have three days to build relationships and connect with as many people as possible it helps to go in with a few tips to be effective.

1. Know your purpose before showing up

Time is limited at BlogHer so it helps to go in with some basic goals. Maybe you are looking for people to add to your next Blogger brigade or to connect with moms in a certain demographic? There are tons of parties and meet-ups so knowing what or who you are looking for before you get there can help you figure out where you need to be.

2. Find your people before you arrive

With three-thousand women in one place it is impossible to make connections with them all.  Choose specific women you would like to meet or types of bloggers you are interested in working with and seek those connections out beforehand. This will help you know where you need to be and make introducing yourself a little easier.

3. Be transparent about your goals

Many bloggers go to conferences to connect with brands and find new ways to work with the companies that they like. Because of this bloggers will have questions about what your goals are, who you are looking to work with and how they can help. Don’t be afraid to let them know what projects you have coming up and what you are looking to do.

4. Be open minded (and kind)

Following up on being transparent—every blogger works differently and has different opinions on how brands should work with bloggers. You can gain a ton of insight on how bloggers perceive your plans and what you can change to be successful. When sharing ideas and goals be open minded and listen to their feedback and suggestions.

5. Have a follow up plan

After the number of parties,  panels and meet-ups you will need about a week to recuperate from BlogHer. You may not remember what conversations you had with whom at each party in a week. Take notes about the people you meet and create a plan to follow up.

I will be spending most of the weekend at the P&G house in the expo center so stop by and say hello!

Cassie Boorn is the Social Media Coordinator at DeVries. You can also find her writing regularly at her personal blog.

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