By Javacia Harris Bowser

People often ask me why I still bother attending blogging conferences. “You’ve been blogging for a decade,” they say. “Don’t you know what the speakers are going to say before they say it?”

Oftentimes, yes. But not always.

The thing about blogging is it’s always changing. So as a blogger, if you want to keep growing you have to keep learning. And I always learn something new at WordCamp Birmingham.

I was a speaker at last year’s conference but I still attended several sessions, notebook in hand, and I filled the pages of that notebook with blogging strategies for the upcoming year.

This year I’ll be attending WordCamp Birmingham again. WordCamp Birmingham 2018 is set for August 4-5 and will be held at the Pelham Civic Complex. You can learn more and get your tickets at 2018.birmingham.wordcamp.org.

If you’re eager to learn more about blogging in 2018 and beyond you should be there. But if you think you already know it all, you shouldn’t bother and here are five other reasons you should NOT attend.

You should NOT attend WordCamp if you enjoy breaking your website.

Because I know how to use WordPress and customize WordPress themes fairly well people think I’m a techie. Fake news! Just last week I broke my website trying to install my SSL certificate. And there was a time when I was intimidated by WordCamp events because I thought it was a conference just for website developers. But WordCamp Birmingham includes tracks of sessions on content (perfect for bloggers like me), business, and development.

This year’s conference will also include a WordPress 101 session for the blogging novice. This hands-on workshop will actually help you get started on building your WordPress site! And, of course, there’s the Happiness Bar where you can go get help from people who actually are techies, people who can keep you from breaking your website (or help you out after you do).

You should not attend WordCamp if you love being stuck in a blogging rut.

Are you having a hard time coming up with enough innovative content to update your blog a few times a week or even once a week? Well, Helen Rittersporn has been blogging every single day since February 26, 2015! Her WordCamp Birmingham session “12 Lessons from Daily Blogging” is sure to get your inspired and cure your blogger’s block. Also, Kathryn Lang will kick off the content track with a session on how to repurpose your content.

You should NOT attend WordCamp Birmingham is you’re perfectly OK with only three people reading your blog.

But if you would like someone other than your aunt, your mom, and your best friend to read your work, you might want to check out Bobby Kircher’s session on how to use Yoast to improve your SEO or Aida Correa’s session on how to leverage your WordCamp experience for better social media engagement or Chris Edwards’ session on Google Analytics or William Jackson’s talk on ways beyond SEO and Google to build your brand.

You should NOT attend WordCamp Birmingham if you have no desire to think outside the box.

If you don’t know what Gutenberg is and have no desire to find out, then attending the Gutenberg 101 session or learning how Gutenberg will empower WordPress users will mean nothing to you. If you’re not willing to think beyond your blog then you probably won’t be interested in Kathryn Lang’s workshop on how to start a podcast or Adam Silver’s session on how to use a podcast to grow your business. And you certainly have no use for Steve Schwartz’s session on video content and vlogging.

You should NOT attend WordCamp Birmingham if you hate meeting other bloggers.

Danielle LaPorte once said, “Find your tribe and love them hard.” But she doesn’t know what she’s talking about, right? Wrong.

Bloggers need community. You need people who get it, people who understand why you bother blogging in the first place. You need a blogging buddy to hold you accountable, to make sure you’re posting consistent content consistently. You need a tribe to help promote your work. You need a group of people to console you when you feel disappointed or discouraged and to break out in dance to help you celebrate your big wins.

In addition to all the great workshops, WordCamp Birmingham is a golden opportunity to meet other bloggers whether you do so during lunch, between sessions, or at the after party. Remember, teamwork makes the dream work.

Hope to see you at WordCamp Birmingham 2018!

Javacia Harris Bowser is the founder and editor of See Jane Write, a website and community for women who write and blog.