10 Ways to Make the Most of an Online Conference

The Catholic writers Conference is next week! Today is the last day for registering! If you’ve been putting it off, there may still be time. Go to http://catholicwritersconference.com for details and the link! In the meantime, here are ten ways to make the most of your online conference experience.

1. Clear your calendar. Turn off social media during the webinars, shut the door to your office, put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign. This is an immersive experience. Reduce your distractions to get the most out of the experience.
2. Get your manuscript ready. We have publishers ready to hear pitches. We’ll have pitch practices twice during the conference and pitch sessions the week following.
3. Meal Prep! This is one intense weekend of high-value presentations that you can apply to your writing immediately. You won’t want to miss any. While we’re providing half hour breaks between webinars, these are social times and time for asking questions not covered in the conference.
4. So get those crock pot meals ready or buy that oven lasagna. You can keep your family well-fed and not miss a thing.
5. Prep your questions. The list of workshops is at http://www.catholicwritersconference.com/workshops. Check them out and have your questions ready. If we have a full house, the quicker we can answer questions, the more we can answer.
6. Remember the hashtag #CWCO2016. Use it on Twitter and FB to track events, praise presenters and hook up with other attendees in social media.
7. Take Notes! Have a notebook handy, open a doc file on a separate window, or if you’re attending the CWCO, take notes right in the webinar software!
8. Stick around for the between presentations conversation. This is where you can ask questions not covered by any of the workshops, make connections, brainstorm with others. You can socialize, trade puns…it’s open chat, so have fun!
9. Use private chat. Like in a regular chat room, the webinar software allows you to chat privately with a single person. Use it to hold private conversations.
10. Follow up with people. Just like in a live conference, you want to make contacts, then follow up with them after the con. Use the private chat to exchange emails, Facebook profiles and other contact information. Then, in the week following, touch base with the people you met.
11. (Bonus Tip!) Practice! Pick a few things you learned and apply them to your work right away.