Can you believe it? It’s almost time for the TPT seller’s conference in Vegas? I will be heading out in just 4 short days! A few of my friends are going for the first time and in conversations with them, I have been telling them what I know from my experience going last year! Then I was thinking that other sellers might want to know the same things. Of course I have way more than 10 tips but to keep it manageable, I stuck to that many!
Keep in mind a lot of this is my opinion and others may disagree! Go with what works for you!
ONE
Bring your lap top – you will be able to get on using your hotel’s free wifi and maybe if you’re inspired by something at the conference, you can do a little work in Vegas too. This is just my opinion – don’t bring your lap top to the conference itself. Lock it in the hotel safe. I brought mine and never took it out of the bag. There were a lot of people in the conference and chairs were touching, we were so packed in. I felt awkward about getting a big lap top out so I just took notes in a small journal. Bring a small binder or notebook to take notes in. Presenters also usually have a free item in their stores that you can print out to put in your binders. I also bought this from the wonderful Ta-Doodles Illustrations. It’s too late to order one now but you might like something like it for next year!
TWO
Now I know you have your hotel lined up but do you know about Resort Fees? If you ask me it’s kind of BS but hotels in Vegas charge $20-40 per night extra that gets added to your room charges for their “Resort Fee” (supposedly to cover stuff like “free wi-fi”, their pools, etc., things I think should be included in the cost of the room and usually are – in all cities but Vegas). For example, last year I think I paid $27 per day for a resort fee. This year the hotel I am at (not the Venetian) charges $32 extra per night. Yuck. I will be there 5 nights and that is $160 extra. Boo. People have petitioned to change this, but for now, be forewarned. Remember, though, some of your expenses are tax deductible when you go to the TPT Seller Conference, so save your receipts and make sure to discuss what you can deduct with your accountant at tax time!
THREE
Blogger Meet Ups! There are tons of different meet ups. Here are just a few I have heard of. Try and hit at least one to meet some new people, make connections, and have fun and win prizes and giveaway!
Teacher Blogger Meet Up – Wednesday night (Facebook Page)
Go Noodle Meet Up at the Venetian Pool – Thursday (sold out 🙁 )
Sellebrate Secondary – Thursday night (Facebook Page)
Kick Back with the Primary Pack -Friday Night (Facebook Page)
I know there are a few more too, like the Cool Kids Meet Up but I don’t know the info on those.
FOUR
Bring an extra bag to take all your swag (and hopefully prizes) home! And keep an eye on it! Hot tip from me – I learned the hard way. I left my swag bag in one of the conference rooms last year, went back and it was gone 🙁 . At least it wasn’t my purse though, but it was never seen again. And I had thrown some business cards in there too so whoever got it had to know who it belonged to.
FIVE
Speaking of that, bring some business cards! It might be too late to get them through Vistaprint but you can probably do something at your local Staples in time. Also bring a small bag for all the cards from your new friends!
SIX
Another tip from personal experience, if there is a bloggy buddy you really want to meet in real life at the conference, do not assume you will just “see them around”. Last year there were about 800 people there and try as I might, I never ran into my friend Sally from Elementary Matters or some of my Adventures in Literacy Land blog coauthors. 🙁 This year, I smartened up and I already have their cell numbers and will track them down if need be – and a couple gals and I already made plans to grab a bite to eat so we definitely will get to sit and catch up then.
(Of course these candy phones won’t work for this purpose but aren’t they fun and creative?)
Wear comfortable shoes, especially the first day or two! TRUST ME! Even if you are staying in the Venetian and think, gee I am just walking down to the conference, The Venetian is HUGE! Check out this map! And note, where the conference sessions are is not even part of the map! It just says “To The Sands Expo”.
And here is the Sands Expo Center where things will be happening. Just that one purple part of it is 40,000 square feet! I have bad feet so I always need to wear comfy shoes but on my one visit to Vegas, I wore my Clarks sandals the first day to walk around the strip and I got such bad blisters and boy my feet hurt. The next day, sneakers all the way. Also throw a couple band-aids in your purse just in case.
So these shoes may be cute, but they are not coming with me! 🙁 By all means if your feet can take it, wear your fancy shoes. Or a solution might be wear comfortable shoes down there, with your fancier shoes in your tote and swap them out when you get to the Sands!
NINE
Leave a little early – even if you think you’re on time, and especially if you know you always are late to things, leave 10 or even 15 minutes early. Everything is further away in Vegas, even as I said, if you are just walking around the hotel. It takes longer to get places because the hotels are so huge , but the bonus? You get a lot of exercise! Burning lot of calories and building those leg muscles!
