Blogalicious Weekend is in D.C., I’m Speaking & Giving Away 2 Tickets!

I’m writing this post with A LOT of excitement. By now, I’m sure you know Blogalicious, the extraordinary conference for fabulous and talented women is being held in Washington, D.C., my hometown, in just 5 weeks!  Have you seen the Gaylord Hotel on the National Harbor!? Gorg. Been there a few times for wedding-realted shindigs. Def. a swanky spot to host a conference. And, 20 minutes from my home here, so it’s perfect!

Beyond that, it’s been 3 years since I’ve been wanting to attend. I was asked to speak at the Miami conference two years ago, but was in Monaco. Not too shabby of an excuse to kindly decline, but it would have been nice to be amongst my people on the beach. Last year I was asked to speak at the Atlanta conference, but I was in Hawai’i for my brother’s wedding.

When Stacey, co-founder of the 4-year old conference approached me about this year’s conference, I was thrilled knowing I didn’t have any scheduling conflicts. I spent some time mulling and perfecting my proposal for my panel, as I wanted to encompass everything I’ve learned in my close to 4 years of blogging and writing that I want to share with attendees. I waited and waited and nada.

¡Dios mio! Was my Food and Haute Lifestyle Blogging 101 not sexy or appealing enough?

In the meantime, I received a surprise email from Stacey letting me know she along with Lamar from Tyler New Media (and with his lovely wife, Ronnie) were hosting an Atlanta meetup in anticipation of the conference and asked if I’d be interested in sitting on the intimate panel. Setting aside mental queries on where I stood for the Oct. conference, I cheerfully accepted.

Just a few weeks ago, Stacey, myself and the wonderful Danica, a phenomenal woman whose doing incredible work on behalf of Haiti and a woman I should have met long ago, snuggled up on our bar stools and entertained a sold out crowd of about 100 women (and a few guys). The purpose was for each of us to speak on our business as bloggers, as entrepreneurs…as fabulous women realizing our dreams.

(Panelists: Danica, me, Stacey, Lamar)

(Danica speaking her mind and sharing expert advice)

The crowd was attentive, taking copious notes and  posed a lot of relevant questions which I’m hopeful inspired all of them to take their blogs and business to profitable heights. I personally made great connections and finally met some women I’d been communicating with via FB and Twitter, like Stacey herself.

(The girls L-R: me, Danica, Stacey & co-host Ronnie Tyler)

(Engaged crowd)

That’s the essence of conferences and specifically Blogalicious. To socialize. To network. To connect. To grow. To support. To learn. And, to be the best you can be in this new (well not so much anymore) medium of social sharing and information dissemination. That makes me giddy and eager to attend!

Soooo, since I’ll be speaking (finally! thank you Stacey for working with my wild schedule) on Sunday the 23rd at 11:30 am on all things food and haute lifestyle, I want to extend the opportunity to two of you that would love and would benefit from attending the conference. We’d love for you to experience all the great things I keep hearing!

To that end, the ladies at Blogalicious have allowed me, as a blog sponsor to give away two full conference passes! You want to be there, right!!! Imagine all those lovely and educated souls in one sexy hotel, exchanging and connecting, mingling and tweeting! Oh, and eating!

Plus, we’ll get to meet in my hometown! Woot!

ON TO THE GIVEAWAY!

Because so much of what I’ve learned during blogging and as a writer is that practice and consistency are key ingredients to making you a better blogger, a better writer and a better brand, I thought an engaging way to vie for these tix is to do the following:

Rewrite your very first blog post from your point of view today and allow it to reflect your growth as a blogger. I’d love to see how you’ve grown as a writer, with new perspective and voice!  If you’re original post is longer than 500 words, minimize it to 400, but keep the meat and essence of it. I’ll be comparing the two posts and will choose winners based on several criteria.

Rules of Engagement: 

1. Must fully disclose that you’re entering the giveaway on Flanboyant Eats™ blog

2. Must not have already pre-registered for the conference, ie, you don’t yet have tickets.

3. Must be a blogger–not necessarily a food blogger.

4. Must link your old post in your new post so I can access it.

5. Must be 18 years or older (this is for semi-grown and grown people! 🙂

6. Leave a comment here with a link to your new post.

Your post must be up on your blog by Sept. 18th, 11:59 pm EST.  Winners will be selected and announced on the 21st via email.

* giveaway is only for all-access tickets. Transportation, lodging, extra expenses and other goodies you purchased are not covered. 

Additional chances to win: 

• Tweet: “Just entered to win tickets 2 @beblogalicious conference on @FlanboyantEats™ via @BrenHerrera” using hashtag #blogalicious11
• Register for our “Insider” newsletter (button on top right or bottom of this site)
• Follow on Twitter @BrenHerrera and “Like” on FB at https://www.Facebook.com/BrenHerrera
• Leave a comment here letting me know you’ve done each one of these. Two comments total. One letting me know your post is up; The 2nd one letting me know you’ve done each of the additional entries, with a copy of your tweet!

That’s all folks! I’d love to see you at Blogalicious! I’d really love to see you at my panel on the 23rd! More details on that to follow on Twitter and Facebook, so make sure to stay connected!

Good luck and suerte to all!

* all images courtesy of Eric Payne

* Conference ticket valued at $275 and includes access to all panels, sessions, swag bags, food served during conference and conference-sponsored events!

Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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