This post is sponsored by the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about how BlogPaws helps educate and inspire pet infuencers  but Emily Reviews only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. BlogPaws is not responsible for the content of this article.

I am an introverted chatterbox. I have a lot to say, I just rarely feel comfortable speaking up around new people or in large groups of people. When I don’t know people well, I try to be careful and calculated with what I say. Blogging is a great fit for me because it gives me an outlet for expressing myself to new people, in a way that I have all kinds of control over. I get to take my time and edit, without any awkward lull in the conversation. Plus, I know that people who find my content sought it out in some way, and they can just close out if they change their mind, again making it a lower pressure environment than speaking in person. It’s just so much more comfortable to me than trying to strike up conversation with new people in person.

I really enjoy the comfort of blogging from home, on my couch, with my pugs. However, I’ve also come to value getting out into the real world with blogging. This past summer I was able to attend the Blogpaws® bloggers conference. I wasn’t close with anyone who was attending, so I had a lot of anxiety about going. It was a wonderful experience though and I would encourage fellow introverted bloggers to get out in the real world with blogging, too. There are so many benefits!

Conversation is easier. If you walk up to any given person at a Blogpaws conference it’s fair to assume they are most likely a blogger or writer of some kind, and they have pets or at least like animals. With these two underlying commonalities existing between almost everyone in attendance, it’s easy to strike up conversation. Some of my go-to conversation starters were “How long have you been blogging?” and “What kind of pets do you have?”. While I usually started from the same point, conversations took several different turns depending on who I was speaking with. Sometimes we just stuck to telling stories about our pets, and with others we got into the depths of our blogging and social media goals.

You feel less alone as a blogger. My friends and family members understand that I blog for a living, but they don’t really understand what it’s like on a day-to-day basis. I don’t want to bore them with the details. It’s really refreshing to have a chance to sit down with bloggers who really understand what you do with the majority of your day!

You’ll find fellow introverts. When I read blogs, I never feel like the blogger is shy. That’s because I’m reading their well thought out, edited thoughts. However, there are just as many bloggers who are introverted as you would find in any other profession. Perhaps even more than usual, because introverts like myself enjoy having a job where we can stay home on our couch with our dogs! I came across many women who expressed that they were feeling a bit nervous, uncomfortable or out-of-place too. It was nice to “click” with others on that level.

It makes blogging feel more “real”. I had been blogging for over 5 years before I went to the conference. So I was a little surprised that blogging felt a little different to me once I got home. Now when I chat with other bloggers who I met there, or even people who work for the Blogpaws group I can visualize them in a more detailed way. For some reason, that makes chatting back and forth feel more enriched.

Make new friends. There is a good potential for coming home with new closer friends. Everyone needs someone who can really understand their profession. Someone to ask advice from, or even just vent to. Once you meet other bloggers in person the odds of forming a deep and meaningful friendship increases quite a bit.

You can learn so much. Of course, there are many benefits to going to a conference outside of the social ones. Depending on which classes you take, who you speak to and what you talk about, you can learn so much about blogging, social media, branding, photography and more.

The confidence boost. I was really nervous to go. It was a lot of firsts for me – my first time leaving the midwest, my first time on a plane, my first time seeing mountains, my first time meeting brand representatives face to face. It was also my first blogging conference. That is a lot of firsts at once for an introvert, but I decided to commit to putting myself out there and I felt great for taking the challenge. I not only survived the experience but I benefited quite a bit from it.

Emily

Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.

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