This post is in collaboration with Mitsubishi & DriveShop. All opinions are my own. 

In the past few years, I have attended a couple blog conferences each year. I have my packing and prepping down to a science. Below I’ve shared a few of these tips on how to make sure that your conference experience is the best time ever.

Tips to Prepare for a Blog Conference

1. Join the Attendee Facebook Group: These groups are a wealth of knowledge. They will let you know how dressy or casual each event is; plus can give you information on things such as what events you must attend and what sort of space to leave in your suitcase for the return trip. Don’t get too caught up in what sort of outfits you need; you will see people in a wide variety of outfits from casual to dressy at all the events.
2. Make a list of “must have” items and make sure they get packed first: For me these items are my external battery and business cards. Other than clothing/toiletries/etc, these are my two essential items. I generally don’t take my laptop to the sessions as it just adds extra weight; however, I’m constantly on my phone so being able to charge mid-day is critical. Make sure you have enough cards (I have definitely been the person ordering from Staples and utilizing their 4 hour turn-around window).
3. Make Online Connections Ahead of Time: This goes back to the Facebook group, find out who is going to the conference and make plans to meet up during the conference. If this is your first time attending, it can make the conference seem not so scary.
4. Save Time To Tour Around: Many conferences are held in gorgeous and exciting locales. I have always enjoyed getting to check out the local tourist areas (I might already be planning a trip to Disneyland with some friends around a conference next year). For my most recent conference, my friends and I had the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport for our various adventures.

The 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport worked great for our trip. 4 of us decided to get a VRBO a few miles away from the conference locale so it was great knowing that we could go wherever we wanted and get there comfortably. I decided to check out Disney Springs one day while we were in town, and I might have enjoyed blasting the satellite radio while driving. The Outlander Sport had a great sound system which was perfect for this mini adventure.

Heading back to the airport when it was time to go home we weren’t quite sure if we would all fit inside (since we had 4 people, 4 large suitcases, 2 carry-on size suitcases and 4 large purses). It may look small from the outside, but we did fit all this inside for our trek to the airport (unfortunately I couldn’t get a photo as a huge storm rolled in as we were heading to the airport). I was definitely impressed that all of us (and our stuff) fit inside. Definitely some bonus points for the Outlander Sport!

If you want to learn more about the other Mitsubishi vehicles I’ve driven, and some more details on the Outlander Sport, check out my other posts here.

Have you attended a blogging conference? What would be your #1 tip for first time attenders?