Heart racing.

Temperature rising.

Palms sweating.

Convoluted thoughts about bolting.

“It could be a trap! A group massacre – like that couple on craigslist!”

Double slap to the face *Home Alone after-shave-scene style*

Self pep-talk.

Inhale.

At some point as a blogger you will need to slip on your big girl heels and walk the talk – meaning – step out of your virtual world and into the world of friendly, sociable réseautage (networking). It’s not as intimidating as it sounds, as the result you get is making connections with other babes (& dudes) who are fanatical about the same weird things online as you are!

Needless to say, it can be gnaw-every-nail kinda nerve-wracking – especially when you think of the walk-in moment. I have actual panic attacks imagining the walk in. The close second is suddenly finding yourself alone, with no one to talk to pretending to look busy. Ugh, #girlproblems.

A Festive Feast with #BrunchClubNZ (image by Katerine Darling)
Image by Katerina Darling
A Festive Feast for Bloggers with #BrunchClubNZ at Chuffed Cafe

Like for instance let’s use today as an example. I attended my very first bloggers meet up (or as I should say #brunchclub) for a festive feast at Chuffed Coffee.

Created by Madi, Lizzy & Laura – who are three of the loveliest girls I’ve met – the brunch is an informal monthly meet up for bloggers to make new friends, drink coffee, chow down and swap blog tips & tricks.

As I entered the cafe – which instantly made me feel at home with it’s country/panama feel to it – all three girls gave me a warm greeting without hesitation. I found a spot, nestled in and struck up a conversation with Kelsi who is the author of Katerina Darling.

As more and more people poured in, we found our place settings and began with a glass of champagne – naturally. The Christmas feast that followed was beyond words. The flavours, the freshness, the savoury & sweetness. As you can tell I’m not a food critic. But, if you want real wholesome food that most cafes don’t serve anymore, you need to eat at Chuffed – like last month. I’m talking borderline better-than-Christmas-Day kind of food.
A Festive Feast for Bloggers with #BrunchClubNZ at Chuffed Cafe
A Festive Feast for Bloggers with #BrunchClubNZ at Chuffed Cafe
For those who are still trying to jump that hurdle of showing up to your first blogger event by yourself, here’s 5 survival tips to make it easier on your sweet little cotton softs.
Get smart & rock in early: This is actually strategic action at it’s finest. If you’re early, you’re usually one of the first there, which means you have ample opportunity to meet most people before it gets busy, secure a sitting post and start a conversation. If you show up fashionably late, it can be quite overwhelming walking in to a busy room full of people already partaking in deep conversation.

Snap yourself silly: You’re at a bloggers event – probably the only place you have 100% clearance to whip out your phone, camera, ipad or laptop (kidding) and take snaps for a blog post you’ll no doubt write about later *wink wink*. Try updating your social media in real time – it’s a great distraction for when you’re feeling a little awkward & don’t know what to do with yourself.Muster that courage, grrrl. Mingle! How else are you gonna meet other like-minded bloggers? Compliment those whose blogs you read often, find out about others you’ve just met. Learn about someones life, goals & wishes, crack jokes, find common ground – maybe someone else has a french bakery obsession. Be interested and you will be interesting.

Be a questions kid: Forget everything they taught you in school. Genuine unrelenting questions is how that courage gets channeled into action. When you’re mingling, it’s natural to talk shop and ask questions, but when you get stuck use these simple ice breakers. What’s your blog about? How long have you been blogging? What made you want to start? What are your blog goals? Do you plan to monetize? What blogs do you read? You’ll learn a lot about someone, but also start to form a slowly-but-surely friendship.
Also, wear something you wont sweat your butt off in. Just sayin..
A Festive Feast for Bloggers with #BrunchClubNZ at Chuffed Cafe

At the end of the day, you’ve gotta push yourself out of your comfort zone. Yes, the initial anxiousness you feel beforehand could very well be worse than a first date – this is where you have permission to down a shot of your favourite spirit for a little liquid courage – but, it really is worth your while. You’ll meet some amazing people with fresh, new and inspiring ideas like the ladies I met, and then you’ll wonder why you even had a panic attack in the first place.

Exhale.

xo Elise

Elise McDowell