My first Bloggy Conference

The ongoing pursuit of finding my people.

SANDUSKY, Ohio — I didn’t believe I belonged here.

The annual event is hosted by a group called Bloggy Moms, a name that sounds inviting, but never felt meant for me. The website? All women. None looked like me.

Even before the demographics gave me pause, the name did: BloggyCon. Cheesy enough to make me cringe.

For more than a year, I wondered if I should click the registration button — until I finally did.

Then I showed up.

I came with 20 years of writing under my belt. A journalism ego thick enough to fill a newsroom.

But here, that ego didn’t matter. I chose to show up as a student.

Because no matter how long you’ve been at it, there’s always more to learn. More voices to hear. More stories to understand. More ways to grow.

That’s exactly what Bloggy Conference offers, and it was an opportunity I wasn’t about to pass up again.

I first heard about the conference through a travel content creator I met at FinCon 2023 — a friend and fellow creator known as TQ, who highly recommended it.

The three-day event is a gathering of content creators, influencers and entrepreneurs sharing what they’ve learned about building digital brands and online communities.

This year’s conference was the smallest since its inception in 2011. At first, the smaller size — fewer than 50 attendees — made the space feel less like a bustling conference and more like its ghost.

“To be honest with you, that’s not sustainable for the event,” founder and executive director Tiffany Noth told the sparse crowd.

Held at Cedar Point, inside the historic Hotel Breakers, the setting brought its own kind of magic, a grand, lakeside resort with echoes of decades past.

The ticket price — $135.22 for the “super early bird” rate — included family passes to the amusement park. A huge value I gladly put to use, turning it into an early birthday gift for my bonus baby, Tiffany, who was about to turn 12. Tiffany and her mom, my partner, Triest, could enjoy the park while I locked in at the conference.

I splurged for the lakeview suite with a private screened balcony. Two nights cost me $558.44 — and I’m glad I spent it.

Because on the first full morning, I woke to a sunrise pouring gold across the lake, waves brushing the shore just beyond my window.

Sunrise in Cedar Point, Ohio, at 7:21 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20.

In that quiet moment — before the sessions, before I talked to anyone — I knew the drive, the cost, the uncertainty had all been worth it. Even if the conference fell flat, the lake had already given me something back.

Over the next 30 hours, the conference gave me so much more.

Gone are the days when BloggyCon attendees filled entire hotel blocks. No more polished keynotes or packed ballrooms.

What’s left? Real conversations. People still showing up fully, even in a room less than half full.

Our small-but-mighty group leaned in as nearly a dozen speakers shared lessons on everything from starting your journey to sharpening your personal brand. There were sessions on video editing, using AI as a creative tool, building community, pivoting with purpose, even landing TV bookings.

It was practical, real-world advice from people still in the thick of it.

And just like that, the demographic difference didn’t matter anymore.

By the end of day one, I wasn’t just learning, I was co-leading a small group discussion on podcasting. Conference emcee Julie Cole, co-founder of Mabel’s Labels and a ball of energy, “volun-told” me for the role.

On the last day, after the conference ended, Triest and I rode Top Thrill 2, the tallest operating roller coaster in the world. It was the best coaster I’ve ever been on and the loudest I’ve ever heard Triest shriek in excitement.

It all felt like one big welcome I never saw coming.

To a tight-knit family. To a place I hadn’t expected to belong.

And to a community I hope continues for every creator still looking for connection.