8 Things you don’t know about BAM and Spam

If you live in the south you have probably been served Spam. Whether or not you were brave enough (or foolish enough) to eat it, is another matter.

BAM, on the other hand, is not something you eat. It’s a conference for bloggers (Bloggers at Midlife) will be held at The Gaylord Opryland Resort next March. I know, I know….next March seems like a long time away but it will be here before you know it.

 

This post is mainly about BAM, but if you are a spam fan….hang on, there’s something here for you too. So let’s get this party started.

Here are 8 Things you may not know about BAM.

1. You can’t afford not to go. Before I attended a bloggers conference I would look at the price of the tickets and think I couldn’t afford to go but after I went I realized I couldn’t afford NOT to go. Why? Because after the conference I earned enough in one month to pay for the cost of my ticket! 

Some of you don’t write to make money and that’s fine. I blogged for years without making much money. I wrote because I love it and for me it’s like breathing. As long as I’m alive I hope to be writing. There are lots of different reasons to write and all of them are compelling, but if you want to make a little money (or a lot of money), then come to BAM and find out how to make that happen.

2, You will meet some of the coolest, most knowledgeable, fun women you have ever met in your life. Again, I’m not promising something that BAM won’t deliver. Many (but not all) of the attendees of BAM are members of an online community (Women of Midlife) I’ve been a member for about a year and I’ve never met a more supportive, smarter, eclectic group of women anywhere. To have a large number of these women together in the same room is mind boggling. There’s just no telling what might happen!

3. No matter how much or how little you know, you will learn something useful.  We are all at different levels when it comes to writing. Some of us have published books and some of us haven’t but would like to . Some of us have blogs that get huge numbers of unique visitors every month and others have small blogs with smaller audiences. The great thing about BAM is that it doesn’t matter. There will be sessions for those just beginning, as well as those who have been at this for many years.

4. You don’t have to be a certain age or write in a certain niche to benefit from BAM. Just because the conference is hosted by Midlife Bloggers doesn’t mean that all attendees have to be a certain age. I recently attended a mommy blogger conference even though my children are grown and I blog about being a grandparent and things Baby Boomers are interested in. The name of a conference is more about who is giving it than who can attend it. There will be bloggers from every niche: mommy bloggers, boomer bloggers, food bloggers, lifestyle bloggers and many more. Whatever you write about, there is a place for you at BAM.

5. The longer you wait to buy your ticket the greater the chance you might not get one. Did you know the number of tickets to BAM is limited? Once the tickets are gone, that’s it. Large conferences are great and there are benefits to attending them, but BAM is intentionally small. Why? The same reason a teacher would rather have 15 students instead of 30 in her classroom. The creators of the conference felt that it was more important to create a quality event than it was to go for a huge number of attendees.

6, The Gaylord Opryland Resort is breathtakingly beautiful. It was flooded a couple of years ago and has since been renovated and reopened with some cool updates. If you have never been there you are in for a treat, and if you were there pre-flood there have been some improvements. You can see the changes at Travelingmamas.com  I live about an hour and a half from there and have attended teaching conferences and other events at the resort many times. Every time I go I find something new to love about the place. As far as venues go, you won’t find many with more to offer than the Gaylord.

7. Amazing sponsors and speakers will be present and anxious to meet you. One of those speakers is Tracy Beckerman. Tracy is an author, humorist, and a syndicated columnist. Her humor column  Lost in Suburbia, is carried by more than 400 newspapers in 25 states and on 250 related websites to approximately 10 million readers. I’m also looking forward to seeing my friend Sara Broers.Sara started blogging in early 2009 and quickly embraced social media. She grew a social media business, Social Connections, LLC out of her two blogs, All In An Iowa Mom’s Day and Travel With Sara.   In 2013, she embraced the word local and started a social media breakfast in her community. The impact she has made in social media in her community continues to evolve. Small businesses are using social media and new business connections are being made because of her local involvement. I met Sara at another conference and absolutely adore her. I know you will too!

8. You will come home with your writing batteries recharged, new friends, new contacts, and new ideas. Of all the things I learned at the conference I attended, this one is probably the most important. I’m still incorporating new ideas and reaping the rewards of attending a bloggers conference that I attended two months ago. Until you attend a conference there is no way to understand what you are missing out on if you don’t go. BAM is designed with you in mind. 

The BAM Conference is the first ever event just for female content creators: writers, bloggers, and social media pros. The event brings together this special demographic to learn more about publishing, blogging, and social media. Also, it will be an opportunity to interact with very special brands. 

Like I said earlier, I promise you won’t be disappointed! So what are you waiting for! Buy your ticket now and use it as a tax write off for 2014.

Now for the Spam lovers! As promised, 8 things you never knew (and may not want to know) about spam.

BAM and Spam may sound alike but that’s all they have in common. I’m sure hoping to see you at BAM, and don’t worry. We won’t be having Spam for lunch.