Social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter opened up a world of online networking that was quite the dream come true for shy, introverted writers and bloggers. But one of the best ways to promote your work, even if your work primarily lives online, is to step away from the computer and meet new people, in person.<\/p>\n Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Chicago to attend BlogHer ’13, the world\u2019s largest blogging conference for women. This was my first BlogHer and I was thankful that the first day of workshops kicked off with what was called the \u201cNewbie Breakfast,\u201d a morning session for first-time BlogHer attendees.<\/p>\n At the breakfast Sandy Jones-Kaminski, author of I\u2019m at a Networking Event \u2013 Now What?<\/i> gave tips on the best way to meet new people at conferences like BlogHer.<\/p>\n 1. Stop staring at your phone<\/b>. If you\u2019re at a conference alone and waiting for a workshop session to start, it\u2019s tempting to take out your phone and start checking email and scrolling through your Instagram or Twitter feeds. But if you put the phone away and sit with a pleasant look on your face, chances are someone else rolling solo will come introduce herself and you\u2019ll have a new blogging buddy.<\/p>\n 2. Open conversations with common ground.<\/b> When networking at conferences you know you and the folks around you have at least one thing in common \u2013 you\u2019re all at the freaking conference! So break the ice by simply asking the stranger next to you why she decided to attend.<\/p>\n 3. Ask easy-to-answer questions.<\/b> Ask questions related to the topic of the conference. If you\u2019re attending a blogging conference ask the person next to you what her blog is about. If you\u2019re at a writing conference ask your fellow attendee about her work-in-progress. If you\u2019re at a social media conference strike up a conversation about Twitter, Facebook, Google + or LinkedIn. Ask if she\u2019s on Instagram or Pinterest or if she\u2019s into Vine.<\/p>\n 4. Listen.<\/b> Good networking isn\u2019t about doing a lot of talking; it\u2019s about getting other people to talk. During her presentation, Jones-Kaminski mentioned a great quote from Guy Kawasaki, who was also a speaker at this year\u2019s BlogHer. Kawasaki once said: \u201cThe mark of a good conversationalist is not that you can talk a lot. The mark is that you can get others to talk a lot. Thus, good schmoozers are good listeners, not good talkers.\u201d<\/p>\n 5. Have your business cards and pen handy.<\/b> Bring plenty of business cards and stash them in an easy-to-access spot, not the bottom of your purse. I\u2019d suggest placing them in your plastic nametag holder. Write a note on the cards you collect so when you follow up (and you should always follow up) you will remember who this person is and what you discussed.<\/p>\n 6. Don\u2019t be a jerk.<\/b> Those are my words, not Jones-Kaminiski\u2019s, but I think that phrase sums up many of the tips she gave. Once you have found some conference buddies, don\u2019t turn into the mean girls clique. Welcome others into your circle. Also, don\u2019t make it rain with your business cards (again, my interpretation). Exchange cards only after you\u2019ve actually started a conversation with someone. And don\u2019t get drunk. I know you may think you need liquid courage to talk to strangers but I doubt you want to be remembered as the chick who had to be carried out of the conference after-party.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Javacia Harris Bowser Social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter opened up a world of online networking that was quite the dream come true for shy, introverted writers and bloggers. But one of the best ways to promote your work, even if your work primarily lives online, is to step away from the… Continue reading Six Simple Steps to Better Networking<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[85,52,86],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/pink-name-tag1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1146,"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions\/1146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"pink](\"https:\/\/seejanewritemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/pink-name-tag1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n