#to lay out just how overprepared i really was i had a bag that was 90% revival seeds and 9% oran berries

[room215]

WILDLY over prepared for the dark matter fight in psmd because i remember so vividly just having the most miserable time with it when i was younger, like i would try over and over again and i would get so close but it was never enough and each and every time i would have to watch that stupid cutscene from beginning to end. anyhow it did not even touch me during its second phase tonight.

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

Requests for this card are closed, thank you to anyone who sent in requests! If you don’t want to see these you can block the tag #false bthb. As always shoot me an ask if you wanna be tagged in future stories, whether it be for bad things happen bingo or any of the other series, one shots or in general!

To Cure the Inevitable

Summary: Roman is so tired of endangering himself and everyone around him everytime he changes. Logan promises to help cure him, an old agreement never straying far in his mind

Warnings: major character death, body horror, gore, injury, needle, injected euthanasia. 

Prompt: Painful Transformation, requested by Nico on AO3

Ships: Logince QPR (Logan x Roman)

WC: 2303

“Logan if none of these work-”

“One of them has to.”

“Shut up and listen for a second.” Logan jerked his head up to meet Roman’s desperate gaze, his features softening as he saw the worry in his friend’s face. “I know how hard you're working and I love you so much for it but...if none of these work- Logan I can’t keep doing this.”

Logan knew. He knew how hard it was for Roman every month, saw it in the scars tracing his body and the guilty conscience he bore every time after. Months of repeating the same thing over and over again without coming close to what they wanted. Logan knew but he was still loath to hear it.

“If these don’t work I want to die.”

-----

“Logan.”

Logan jerked his head up to meet Roman’s desperate gaze, his features softening as he saw the worry in his friend’s face. 

“Roman I- this is it.” Logan held up the syringe full of liquid, the smooth glass reflecting the full moon’s light shining through the window. The room was dim save for that; dim lighting didn’t make for accurate scientific endeavors  but Roman hated the bright lights, especially when he- well, he cared more for his friends comfort than any rules he learned getting his degree. He supposed it was odd, going from working in a small research lab to making one of his own out in the middle of nowhere. An unassuming cabin with just enough homey touchy to assure no one would break in on the assumption it was abandoned. Enough furniture had been moved to it that it was a comfortable weekend stay to any who may wish it, fireplace stacked with wood and no perishables shoved into the cabinets for overnight stays. It was comfortable but he and Roman usually only came here once a month. Two days out of the month this was their home, though they usually stayed in the basement.

The basement that was also well stocked but with very different supplies. First aid kits lay on practically every surface with more advanced surgical supplies within easy reach anywhere you happened to stand in the room. Sterilized countertops were a;ways optimized to have something laid on them for examination and two big industrial sinks were set on either side of the room considering  how messy the work often was down here. A dolly and cart sat nearby the steps to get any supplies Logan needed from upstairs to down in the basement and ample shelving space provided room for it all. The biggest installment however, was a rather large, iron and silver coated cage; Logan didn’t know if those metals really helped anything but when it came to this he wasn;t sure if “overprepared” was ever a word he’d use.

Roman sat cross legged in the middle, hair tousled messily from running his fingers through it all night from stress. His too large hospital gown pooled around and left him looking small and vulnerable, which was a far cry from his normally boisterous and extraverted self. He was only twenty-five but the lines on his face spoke a different story, wrinkles pulled far too many times from stress and pain and regret, bags sagging under heavy eyelids as he struggled to even look Logan in the eye. Par for the course when they were down here together, neither of them ever quite ready to address what they knew was coming whether they ever wanted it too or not.

Logan gripped the vile tightly, the needle covered for now as soft music played in the background. Everything was tuned to Roman as much as Logan could possibly make it. Soft disney instrumentals played to fill the tense air, lights turned dim so the brightness never hurt his eyes, hospital gown made by him and Logan themselves using softer but cheap materials so it was comfortable but didn't cost too much to fix or replace when it was torn to shreds. The clock was put in plain view for Roman to see since he often got time based anxiety when he was down here, which Logan could hardly blame him for. They had tried lining the cage comfortably with pillows and carpet and blankets a couple years back but it hadn’t gone over as well as they had hoped so they had  spent a couple days extra at the cabin cleaning up the unexpected mess before agreeing that unfortunately, a bare cage worked best for their purpose. 

“Logan.” Roman twisted his fingers together and looked up at him finally, face tight and eyes wide as they caught the time and the angle of the  moon. “Can you...not the whole time obviously but...can I maybe hold your hand?”

Logan had always prided himself on keeping his emotions in check even through the most painful situations. Scientific research often had you making tough calls and difficult decisions that needed to be made fast with any guilt pushed to the background as you carried out what needed to be done. But hearing Roamn ask for such a simple thing, voice hesitant and quiet, his heart nearly cracked at the mere thought of denying him though they both knew how dangerous it had the potential to be.

“Roman, of course.” Immediately he was on his knees, vial stored safely in his pocket and reaching out with his now free hands to clutch at Roman’s desperately, squeezing every ounce of reassurance he had into the gesture as he smiled thinly. His chest grew tight at the realization that this really was all he could do, hold onto Roman pale, shaking hands through a cage while they both sat on the floor and waited. Both of them let the simple ambiance of soft violins wash over them as the minutes ticked away, their hearts beating rapidly through their hands.

“I said- I said goodbye today. Just in texts I- normal send off from talking about nothing. They don’t know that I might...I didn’t make it obvious.” Roman hung his head. “We don’t know if this one will be the cure right?”

Logan swallowed thickly, not daring to look up. “No, we don’t”

“If it doesn’t work...I don’t want to leave.”

“I know.” The last one hadn’t worked, and Logan was determined for this to be the most comfortable setting he could muster. He wouldn’t break, not yet, not while Roman still needed him. Over the past month he had hid his expenses from his friend, setting things up he knew Roman would enjoy. He could tell Roman had an idea it was his “just in case” plans and played along accordingly. Logan didn’t have the heart- no, the courage to tell him he had known it was the end a month ago. The last “cure” he had tried had failed to reverse anything like it was supposed to. Years of research carefully poured into a mix of perfect chemistry failing miserably and settling its weight on his heavy shoulders every time he had taken Roman to that restaurant he liked, or the park where they had first met, or the hill they had first danced on. All of the memories  that brought joy and laughter to Roman’s face spoiled in Logan’s eyes every time the thought that he had failed him entered his mind. 

He had successfully kept Roman in the dark however, knowing how hard Roman would take it. They had discussed this before, Roman knew on some level that this was coming, it was Logan’s job to tell him when. But...Roman had said his goodbyes. He had lived as best he could, he trusted Logan to know what was best. Even if Logan felt as if he was simply taking an old dog through the motions one last time, the thought made even worse with the fact that he had stolen enough euthanizer from a vets office to serve his purpose. But Roman was relatively happy, he was still hopeful, he still clung to Logan like a lifeline; so Logan couldn’t tell him there was no cure left. There was nothing at all but a syringe full of death that Logan would use when Roman had turned because it was easier to see the pain of a beast's eyes rather than the pain of the person he loved most.

He fell backwards suddenly as Roman shoved him away, face already twisted as his limbs began twitching. Logan forced himself not to look away- this was his punishment. He had to watch every second of this to burn it into his memory as petinance for what he had done, what he was going to do. He hoped it tortured his mind every second until he died and continued to do so while he burned in hell. He hoped Roman hated him for it, resented him and told him so in his dreams if he ever managed to sleep again. He watched wide-eyed and stiff as Roman curled into himself, a pained whine escaping through his mouth as his back spasmed and split, instantly soaking the gown he wore with thick, dark blood and splattering on the bottom of the cage. Twisting limbs slid on the slippery surface as joints popped and bones cracked under the force of his transformation, becoming longer and bent to accommodate for the hulking form finally shredding the gown as it flopped to the floor. His face was the worst, mouth open in a shrill scream that echoed in the soundproof basement as rows and rows of teeth shattered the pre existing ones and the jaw jutted forward to accommodate them all. Acid spilled from it, making the swelling tongue writhe in pain and temporarily cut off the scream, replacing it with a dull gurgling that had haunted Logan’s worst nightmares for years. His hair fell in clumps as his ears tore from their usual place to reposition themselves, becoming pointed and alert before folding back as his body shifted one final time to adjust itself to the beast it had become.

Roman’s new forn barely fit in the cage, twitching muscle pressed painfully into the bars as the skin worked desperately to knit itself back together, sticking to the bars in its haste and being torn away as he attempted to turn in the small space. Growling low the beast swiveled its massive head to look directly at Logan, as if he knew exactly what was going to happen as Logan slowly stood and wiped the annoying rivulets of water that ran down his face. He wasn’t crying, he needed to hold it together for Roman. Roman needed him right now, more than he ever had in the years after Logan had found out about this, in the years he had studied to be able to help him, in the months leading up to the final try. Roman needed him and Logan would be damned if he wasn’t there for him as he needed him to be.

Taking shaking steps forward he fumbled in his pocket for a second before grabbing the syringe and bringing it out. The beast looked warily at the needle as it was exposed, the glint from the moon flashing briefly in his eyes. Logan jerked his head up to meet Roman’s desperate gaze, his features softening as he saw the worry in his friend’s face. He took a steadying breath as he reached the cage, bringing his hand up slowly, both of their eyes locked onto Logan’s hand as he positioned it correctly on the plunger. With a quick movement the liquid disappeared from the glass, the caged beast jerking away as far as he could but only succeeding in distancing himself an inch or two. The empty syringe dropped to the floor at the same time Logan’s knees hit it with a resounding crack.

Logan jerked his head up to meet Roman’s desperate gaze, his features softening as he saw the worry in his friend’s face. He brought his hand up to lay on the bars of the cage, trying his best to smile in reassurance. Roman's eyes flashed once before they began to dull, muscles finally untensing as he slumped to the floor slowly. Watching as he closed  his eyes Logan reached in carefully to take his deformed hand  in his own, squeezing it gently despite the burrs that dug into his skin. He held it long after blood began to run from his much softer flesh, long after it grew cold in his palm and the blood dried and the fingers relaxed, long after the sun came up and went down again and enough time passed for whatever it was that plagued Roman’s body to leave once more leaving only a small, scarred form behind. A form that was far too cold and stiff to be Roman’s but one that Logan forced himself to accept that it was. His back hurt and his legs were numb while his stomach growled and his dry throat spasmed in unspoken sobs but he refused to move. 

Moving meant he had control of his actions. And that meant he had had the choice of doing what he had done. He could have tried and convinced Roman to bear through the pain just a few months longer while he tried to find something else. But he hadn’t.

Logan jerked his head up to meet Roman’s desperate gaze, his expression set in death to haunt Logan with its misplaced hope and fear and trust. He hoped Roman had finally found peace even as he prayed he himself never would. The lights buzzed faintly as Logan looked at their hands still intertwined together as comfort for him or Roman he couldn’t remember.

This work is also available on AO3!

Logan jerked his head up to meet Roman’s desperate gaze, and let go.

If you like this, please consider reblogging, as sharing a creator’s work is very encouraging to us and helps our creations reach more people!

[illfoandillfie]

d4 + e6 + e12 w/ ben pls

pegging/strapons + dom/sub dynamic + begging

It had been Ben’s turn to organise your date night and he had delivered. A bunch of your favourite flowers hidden behind his back, dinner at your favourite restaurant (at the best table, the one with the view of the city), followed by a moonlit stroll through a night market, stopping to watch the live music and share a box of chocolate covered cherries. But the real fun was waiting at home.

Much more often than not your date nights, whoever had planned them, ended in sex. It was nearly guaranteed, baring injury or on one occasion food poisoning. Ben had prepared for that portion of the evening too, potentially overprepared, laying out a collection of things on the bed. Lubes (flavoured and not), your heart shaped tin of pleasure balm which made orgasm easier to achieve, two varieties of vibrator, and, most noticeably of all, your strapon harness and dildo. You raised your eyebrows at Ben.

“Just wanted to cover all the bases,” he laughed.

“What are you hoping I’ll want though?”

“I am happy with anything,”

“Missionary with paper bags on our heads?”

“Hey don’t diss missionary, I get you off best like that,”

“Hmmm true. Paper bags are a bit of a turn off though.”

You laughed but you could feel Ben’s eyes on you, waiting to see how the night would end. You considered your options, considered what had been laid out for you. Your eyes kept drifting back to the strapon, right in the centre of the bed, right where your eyes would naturally fall. You wouldn’t put it past Ben to deliberately place the thing that excited him most in the middle of everything else. Especially since you knew he got flustered asking for it.

“I think I want to flip things around a bit tonight,” you said, trailing your fingers over the edge of the harness, “But I think I need to hear you ask for it first,”

“What?”

“Well I need to know you want it too baby, so I need to hear you ask for it,”

A soft pink blush spread over Ben’s cheeks as he gave you his I know what you’re doing and it’s so mean but I’m so turned on right now look, “Please fuck me,”

“What was that baby? Couldn’t hear you?”

“Yes you could,”

“Alright, I could. But I want to hear it again,”

A deep inhale, a scrunched up nose, a sigh, “Please fuck me,”

“Good boy. Can you clear away everything else while I get set up?”

Ben nodded, still blushing, and began packing away the vibrators and flavoured lube. You made sure to snatch the pleasure balm before he could make it disappear too, just in case. After stripping down to your underwear you stepped into the harness, tightening straps until everything sat comfortably. Ben watched closely as you attached the dildo, swearing softly under his breath.

Once you were set up you stepped closer to Ben, leaning up to kiss him as you unbuttoned his shirt slowly. He whined as you let your hand slip lower, rubbing over his crotch a few times before undoing the fly on his pants. You broke the kiss to let him step out of them and pushed his shirt from his shoulders. He made to push his briefs down too but you stopped him.

“I know you love being full of my cock Benny, but I’m not ready to fuck you just yet.”

It was impossible to hide your grin as he tried to hide his flushed face and let you push him onto the bed. You straddled his lap and kissed him again, deliberately going slow. You rolled your hips against him and felt his hand grab your arse, pulling you tighter against him. So you did it again, feeling him getting harder under you. You sat up a bit and grabbed his hand, bringing it instead to the inside of your thighs.

“Go on, under the fabric, you know how I like to be touched,”

He nodded as he wiggled his fingers into your knickers, “shit, you’re so wet,”

“Of course I am baby, you know how excited fucking you makes me. But maybe I should forget that and just spend all night riding your fingers instead?”

“No,”

“Maybe,”

“Please don’t. I want it so bad, I need you to fuck me, please,”

“Oh, you need it?”

He nodded again, biting his lip, “I’ve been thinking about it all day and I need it,”

“Hmm, I don’t know,” you pretended to think about it, grabbing hold of his wrist at the same time and pulling his hand, fingers now slick with your juices, towards your fake dick.

He took the hint, wrapping his hand around the dildo and began jacking it off, “Please Y/N. I need you. I need your cock, please. Please give it to me, please,”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me,” you said, kissing him again before getting off his lap, “Undies off, hands and knees.”

He let out a sigh of relief before kicking off his underwear and getting into position.

You grabbed the tube of lube, squirting a dollop onto your fingers. Ben watched over his shoulder as you rubbed your hands together to make sure it was warm, though his head dropped forward again as you began stretching him out.

“Y’know if you’d been thinking about it all day, you could have just asked to be pegged from the beginning,”

“I know but, it’s not easy to ask for. And I didn’t know if you’d be in the mood for it and y’know I love being in your pussy just as much so if you’d have suggested something else I would have been happy with that too,” he spoke faster the deeper you pushed your fingers, his voice becoming more strained as you added another.

“I understand,” you laughed, rubbing your other hand over his bum, “just stay nice and relaxed baby, good boy. But all I’m saying is, don’t always assume I don’t want to do this, because I do really enjoy it. A lot. And I like being able to make you happy in this way. Think you’re ready for me now?”

“Yes, please, so ready.”

You dildo was already smeared in your arousal but you reached for the lube again.

“And I’ll try to remember that. I know you like when I ask fo- F-fuck,”

You rubbed his cheek again as you slowly pushed into him, praising him for taking you so well as he dropped his head to the mattress and whined. You could hear his breath catch and stutter as you filled him, giving him some time to adjust to it before you began to pull out and thrust back in a little at a time. As you both settled into the rhythm of it, you adjusted your pace, speeding up, pulling back further, pushing in deeper. Ben was always very vocal when you took him like this (a contributing factor to why you liked doing it so much) and this time was no different, keens and moans muffled by the bed until you pulled his head up by his hair so you could hear him properly.

“Fuck, you sound so pretty Benny, I want to hear you,”

He nodded around another moan and shifted his hands to hold himself up more.

“Good boy, tell me how good it feels to be fucked like this. I bet you look real pretty too Benny. Downside of this position is that I can’t watch how fucked out you get, I can’t see your eyes fluttering and your pretty mouth falling open. Maybe next time I have you, I’ll take you in front of a mirror. Then we can both watch you be my pretty little cocksleeve. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

Ben nodded, though you weren’t totally sure that was in agreement or just because he liked what you were doing.

You reached your hand around to grasp his cock, slowly pumping him as you fucked him, “You wanna cum Benny? Or do you want to wait until after I’ve wrecked you and then fill one of my holes?”

“N-no, I wa-anna cum-m now ple-ase,”

“Alright baby, since you said please,” you let go of him but shushed his whine of protest as you reached behind you for the pleasure balm you’d kept out, “Gonna give you something special. I normally keep this for myself but you’ve been so good and planned such a lovely date night, I think you deserve it.” You gathered a little of the balm on your hand, more than you’d normally put on your clit, but still it was powerful stuff so you wouldn’t need much. It was made with menthol, peppermint and other essential oils and made everything cool and tingly and sensitive. You hoped it’d work just as well for Ben as it did for you.

“Thank you,” he sighed as you began stroking him again, though it was soon followed with, “H-holy shit, what the fuck-k is that?”

“You like it?” you trailed your hand over his entire length but made sure to get most of the balm on and around his tip.

“Yes, fuck,”

You laughed a little at his reaction, thrusting a little harder as you swiped your thumb over his now extra sensitive tip, “Okay next time we’re definitely doing this in front of a mirror.”

“Fuck, Y/N, I’m gonna-”

“Oh? Already?”

“Please don’t stop,”

“I’m not going to stop baby, cum for me,”

It only took another pass over the head of his cock and he was swearing as he came. You made sure to fuck him through it, slowing your hips when he was spent and panting. He collapse on the bed when you’d carefully pulled out, watching as you took off the harness. You crawled over to him, laying on his chest to kiss him again and push his hair off his face.

“Holy shit,”

“That good huh?”

“That shit is magic,”

“Why do you think I keep buying it?” you laughed before dropping your lips to his once more.

[blackroseraven]

So I slept at the barn last night, out in a horse paddock.

I may have also ridden my horse naked but I will neither confirm nor deny this.

It was a good night.

Okay so. We got there at the usual time and did some easy riding. The biggest thing is that I got my partner on Quattro again and he rode around for a bit without a pad or anything. It went really super well.

Then he went and got me Burger King, and then left me there, and I went and set myself up a nice little camping spot outside in the paddock.

The horses were all very curious what the hell I was doing. Which is fair, I had my backpack and an outdoor sleeping bag and all, all new things, and of course I was in a nice little nook near the shed and next to the boys’ pasture.

Buster was like. Terrified, but also extremely curious. Just kept coming back again and again to check it out. Rhymer and Turbo were just enamored with me being there and hung out most of the night by the fence. And Tosh basically turned into a giant dog and at first ran back and forth in front of the fence, then repeatedly tried to stick his head through to get to the sleeping bag.

Quattro was anxious, but Q and Zara both got over it very quickly. I mean, Zara didn’t care. Quattro was also very confused why I was still there at first, and he got kind of skittish, kind of nervous, but... then when I got up and came over to pet Q he literally ran around the hay bale to be touched, too, so... I was glad that worked out.

Also. I brought ice cream cones, and filled them with grain.

None of the goddamn horses would eat them. None of them, except finally Sunny. I thought it’d be perfect but they all hated them, even Jaeger and Hale.

But anyway. Being out there, in the paddock with the horses was... I dunno how to describe it properly. It was really wonderful. I was laying there in twilight, as darkness came in, and it went from “haha this is a dumb idea” to just... peaceful. I didn’t want to turn on anything, or even read. I just wanted to lay there and bask in this feeling, like that feeling when you wake up early on a day off and you can just... lie there forever, in bed, at peace.

It was really nice.

It helped that, you know, there was a truck hauling garbage out of the barn. But once that was finally gone, I was able to go in at nine at night and get Jaeger, and then spend some really good, relaxed time grooming him and going over him and just... being with him.

That was wonderful.

I went back outside, spent time with the horses. And so like. At one point, Q came over, right? And he starts nosing my feet through the sleeping bag. I ignore him, until he starts pawing a hoof at it, and then I tell him to stop and boot him away. And then he goes back to nuzzling for a while before he suddenly freaking bites me hard through the sleeping bag, and I squawk and kick at him and scare all the horses.

Q only goes about ten feet back but. At least it was enough he got the point.

Mostly.

So late in the night. When everyone was asleep. I got Quattro and Q, brought them in, groomed them nicely, and then took them up to the arena. And there was some riding done, and it may or may not have involved no clothing.

It was exciting, though. Not gonna lie.

Then it was just. Time to try and sleep. Okay so. A silly dumb thing but I got up once to pee. No I did not pee on the electric wire. But like. Q and Quattro RUSHED over to see, and then Q. Also just started peeing.

It made me feel very awkward and I just kind of went back to bed.

Then like. One thirtyish?  Two in the morning?

Yeah, I felt a breeze, I shifted, and my foot went through the zipper at the bottom of the bag. Teeth came completely undone. Mad as hell, literally bought the outdoor bag for this express purpose and it didn’t last a single night. Thankfully, I am used to camping and so I overprepared - or just right prepared, as it turned out - and brought a sheet sleeve too.

It was actually rather chilly, which ended up being really nice, to be honest. No bugs to worry about. I heard a few raccoons and some mice and/or rats, but nothing bothered me. Except for the horses that kept coming over to stare at me, but that was a good kind of bother.

I apparently was near Buster’s sleeping spot, which is why he kept checking me out, but he settled and slept once he realized I wasn’t going to bother him. Q also slept, no problem, which is unsurprising.

I was worried about Quattro. That I was going to disrupt his sleep cycle and everything, that he wasn’t going to settle, that I was just stressing him out. He would come and go now and then, stand nearby, but never lay down, all that. I figured if he did sleep it would be in the far paddock, since at night they have access to two.

But he actually came into this paddock, relatively close, and laid down and slept.

And after that I slept. Just... melted all my stress away.

I woke up to Q breathing heavily in my face. Literally inches away from my face, just standing over me, staring down at me.

It was a little odd.

I slept again, and woke up to Cowboy and his daughter getting their horses. Mostly because. Tosh went crazy and was cantering furiously all over the pen, and Cowboy is not a quiet person.

Shocking, I know.

Finally, sevenish rolled around. I got up, got dressed, got going. Bagged my stuff up and went to feed horses, and then start putting them out. Made some good progress by the time anyone showed up.

Partner showed up a bit after eight? And he rode Zara. I only rode Quattro down and back along the lower trail to make sure it was tied, and I wasn’t going to ride Q but... somehow I ended up on him, and just let him wander the lower trail without any reins or anything. It ended up being super nice.

It was a good gift to myself.

I know that. You know, I have just turned a third of a century old. I am twenty years too old for this.

Bu tit felt good. Right. And I was glad to have the experience, especially while I’m still able to handle it so well. My body barely hurts; it’s also a reminder that... I am in shape. I am decently capable. It’s just... I get a lot of pain, from my stupid broken brain.

So I have to make the most of what I do have. And remember to take advantage of everything while I still can.

[snapdragonquest]

Library Date

Cygnus and Sagitta hold hands while studying. Because I am weak and crave that sweet content.

@thankourluckystars

The grand library was almost always empty, silent and devoid of sound, other than the odd rustle of turning pages, and the distant padding of footprints. The deep, musky smell of old books wafted through the air like a heavy cloud. Coffee and parchment, the smell of fresh ink. From a few open windows, a light spring breeze drifted in, bringing with it the fresh scent of honeysuckle and pollen. Warm morning sunlight danced across the room with a soft golden hue, and flecks of dust sparkled in the beams. It lit up the wooden flooring, between the dark shadows of the towering bookcases.

Sagitta had always been deeply fond of the atmosphere here. Quiet, cosy, and rich with history. Ancient and undisturbed. Wide open spaces and yet still so snug. The ornate stone pillars and the carved wooden shelves sang of the stories they held, promises of infinite knowledge, to those with the patience to read them.

As the clouds passed by, her head remained ducked in a large, brown stained book, fingers tracing the rugged edges of the paper as she neared the end of her page. Even with the window by her right, table pressed up to the glass, the vast expanse of sky rolling forever beneath her, she did not spare it a glance. Simply content to feel the cool air as it brushed across her cheek.

Untouched scrolls had been splayed out in front of her, along with other selections of books that she planned to skim over later. She wasn’t close to finishing her first chapter yet, but it was nice to have them there anyway. If anything, it would appear to others like she had finished them all before noon, and she liked the smell of the parchment anyway.

So engrossed in the contents of her history book, she didn’t even notice Cygnus’s approach until she had pulled out the adjacent chair out and sat down, sinking into her seat rather heavily. Sagitta turned her head, mouth open to offer their regular greeting, reaching into her bag to pass over the breakfast she knew her friend had neglected to eat that morning. But as she did, Sagitta found herself rather taken aback. Cygnus’s expression was all dishevelled, her eyes were wide with nerves, wings ruffled up, and her face was lit up with a ruddy colour.

“What could have happened so early in the morning to have you like this? You can’t have been awake more than an hour.” She asked, nudging a few slices of cinnamon nut cake towards her, and drumming her fingers on the open page. It wasn’t uncommon to find her like this, all flustered and agitated, her worried thoughts tangling together into a bird’s nest of scenarios before anything bad had even remotely happened. Be it stressing about her work, or tardiness, or being unprepared for something she hadn’t been assigned yet, or even just her appearance, she was superbly skilled at worrying about it. Sagitta really couldn’t understand how her mind worked. Cygnus was one of the most hardworking Celestrians she had ever met, and if anything, she was overprepared in everything she did.

“I’ve done something terrible.” Cygnus whispered back, voice wavering with urgency, and brows furrowed tight. Hands trembling, she reached into her bag, placing her own books across the table. The way she acted seemed significantly more unorganised than her usual manor, and Sagitta tucked the red bookmark string over her current page before flipping it closed.

As Cygnus stumbled over her notebooks and folders, laying them haphazardly and arranging them in careless piles, Sagitta gave her an inquisitive look. “I highly doubt that.”

“I lied to my teacher.”

Her voice was so hushed, it took Sagitta a few moments to process the words. But when she finally did, the realsiation hit her so unexpectedly that she was nearly alarmed.

“Oh.” She replied in a flat sort of tone, too surprised to give offer any sort of proper answer. No wonder Cygnus looked so fearful; Aquila was not the sort of teacher to be messed with. She could easily admit, he even made her a little nervous. “What did you say to him?”

She chewed her lip, brushing a loose strand of hair behind one ear and looking down at the table. “I told him we were studying together.”

“That’s…” Sagitta paused, the worry immediately vanishing from her and quickly turning into perplexity. She gave Cygnus a look, mouth turned up. “That’s not a lie. We are studying together.”

“Yes but it’s not the whole truth either!” She whispered back in a frantic tone, reorganising her books again to stack the smaller ones upon the largest, and shuffling her loose paper notes. “We’re… you know. He asked what we were doing together. I got so nervous I couldn’t get the right words out. And it feels like lying all the same, even if I didn’t say anything wrong. I’m just so stressed about it. He’ll be so, so angry when he finds out.” She ran her fingers through her hair, mussing it up, and then spent the next few moments trying to neaten it up again.

Sagitta shook her head, exasperated. The library was supposed to be her calm, safe space, where she could spend her time studying in peace. And while Cygnus was usually such a good reading partner, the two of them working together through difficult paragraphs and keeping each other company when the boredom began to sink in, she had quite the ability to get in a tizzy.

“He won’t.” She said firmly, voice low and impassive. And while she reopened her book, out of the corner of her eye, she watched the other apprentice reorganise hers again.

“I just can’t stop thinking about whats he’s going to say. I’ve never kept anything from him before.” Suddenly she jolted upright in alarm and tucked her hands into her lap, fidgeting with the tassels of her skirt. “I bet he already knows.” Her voice was quiet, and yet somehow laced with enough panic to feel it buzz off of her in waves. “He probably knew I was lying and he’s going to drop me as his student. Or he’s going to tell Apus Major. I think I might have to run away and spend my life as a sheep herder on the nomadic plains–”

“Cygnus, hush.” She slammed her book together with enough force to make the other girl jump, but gentle enough to keep the sound dimmed. This was still a library after all. Startled into silence, Cygnus ducked her shoulders, and glanced back at her sheepishly.

“Sorry.”

“You worry too much.” Sagitta said, and picked up a dry quill off the desk to flick her on the head with. She handed it back to Cygnus, who placed it in an orderly line with her others. “You haven’t done a single thing wrong, stop panicking. Besides, have we actually done anything other than work when we’re together?”

“Well… I suppose not.” She admitted, the tension visibly ebbing away.

“There you go. You didn’t lie.”

“But–” She started, and Sagitta picked up the quill again in warning, giving her another look. Cygnus huffed, but smiled a little anyway, finally leaving the arrangement as it was and picking a single book to read. A study of weapon forging; relatively new, if the bright cover was any indication. “I’m not just here because I like studying. Though I do, I do like studying.” She nodded earnestly, and Sagitta found herself holding back a snigger. “But, I also like spending time with you.”

Her face immediately lit up with a slight dusting of pink, and her mottled grey and white wings shifted a little, becoming more comfortable over the back of the chair. She must have been blessed with her namesakes’ feathers, Sagitta thought. While pristinely groomed, the dark, fluffy fledgling colours still clung across them like a young swan, making her look like a mosaic.

Sagitta couldn’t help but tsk at her reaction, and despite herself, she felt a faint smile tug at the corners of her lips, heat rising up to her cheeks as well. She scooted her chair in a little more to the table, fingertips subconsciously brushing against the beauty spot by her mouth.

Opening back up to a previous page, using the decorated bookmark to keep tabs on which line she was reading, Cygnus mumbled, “I know we haven’t done anything different than usual, but I still feel so... scandalous.”

“Scandalous!” Sagitta barked out a laugh, before hastily glancing away, aware of how loud that had been. But still, as she looked back at Cygnus’s expression; rose hued and suddenly abashed, a wide grin spread across her face. “You haven’t even held my hand yet.”

Cygnus opened up her mouth to reply, almost mortified, spluttering on words and growing redder by the second. A few moments passed before she finally found her voice, but only managed to stumble out a few syllables before hiding away in her book, avoiding Sagitta’s eye. Her wings fluffed up as she hunched over the table, and Sagitta watched with a sense of amusement, waiting patiently. On cue, her posture slowly, habitually straightened up, and her face loosened up from its scrunched-up expression. Surely that position was uncomfortable, always rigid backed and held up tall, but truthfully, a lot of things Cygnus did eluded her.

That was what made her so charming.

As the other girl began furiously writing in her notebooks, her quill working against the paper in a familiar, scratching rhythm, Sagitta let herself return to her own book, reading over the long, droning paragraphs until she found herself caught in its flow. The sound of Cygnus’s writing and the crinkle of pages was enough of a comforting sound to let her really study. Before long, she found that she was on the last page, and with a blooming of pride in her chest, went to pick out another book.

Cygnus, as always, hadn’t really understood the idea of taking notes, and appeared to have written down more information than was even expressed in the text. Pages upon pages of tidy, elegant letters lay before her, underlined and titled, and Sagitta didn’t know how she was possibly supposed to remember it all. Was she even supposed to remember it all? She doubted it. When could she ever require this information in her guardianship?

The sun passed by, the rays of light drifting their way across the room, and Sagitta poked the nut cake with her elbow to remind Cygnus to actually eat it. Incredibly, she actually stopped writing, pausing to look down at the food. Sagitta could practically hear the gears turning in her head, and watched as she began to gnaw on her lip again.

She took a deep breath, placing down her quill.

“Would you like to?”

It was more of a squeak than a whisper, and when Sagitta looked over at her, her face exploded in red, right up to the tips of her ears.

“Hm?” She asked, raising one brow.

Cygnus cleared her throat, and it almost seemed like her halo glowed brighter, heat radiating off of her as she brushed her fringe out of her eyes. “Would you like to hold hands?” She whispered.

Sagitta blinked, and her thoughts stuttered to a stop, clouding over with a mixture of sudden adoration and blind panic until the only sounds that came out of her mouth were, “It will be a struggle to write notes with my left hand.”

Cygnus nodded stiffly, hair tumbling across her face in long waves of colour, and her expression tightened. Mouth pulling into a thin line. “Right, right, of course. Sorry.”

That wasn’t what she meant to say. That wasn’t what she meant to say at all. What did she mean to say? She didn’t quite know, her stomach twisting suddenly with butterflies as her heart started to pound a little harder. Cygnus looked genuinely crushed, hiding her face in her books as she ducked back over, not even remembering to pick up her quill.

As she tried to fix her muddled brain back into working order, Sagitta decided it would be best to shut her mouth for now. Instead, with one hand, she reached out and took Cygnus’s in hers.

To her credit, the other Celestrian didn’t jump too abruptly, only a little bit, freezing solid for a good few seconds before eventually melting into her hold. Her fingers gingerly moved to interlace with her own, and Sagitta couldn’t help but marvel at how warm she was, how rough her skin was already from handling her sword.

Aquila trained her hard, and it showed in the calloused edges. She should feel envious about that, Rigel was so relaxed with his methods, some days she wanted to scream with boredom. Her training never pushed her too far, never left her tired or worn out in the evening. Cygnus would work herself down to the bone, until she was nodding off during their evening study sessions. Already the improvements were visible.

She felt a light squeeze to her hand.

She did not feel envious.

Cygnus peeked out from behind the ribbons of her hair, her eyes wide and glimmering with light. She quickly looked around, checking if anyone had seen them. Of course, hidden away as they were between the bookshelves, not a soul remained there to bother them, and her face lit up in an expression Sagitta could only describe as giddy. Her eyes crinkling up with the size of her grin.

As their hands began to rest underneath the table, swinging loosely between the two of them, Sagitta wondered if her face looked equally as flustered. It certainly felt a lot hotter, though that could have been the afternoon sun. It gleamed off Cygnus’s hair like solid gold, her own personal sunbeam, and yet she was looking back up at Sagitta like she was the moon and the stars.

She squeezed Cygnus’s hand back, reminding her to get back to work, and it took another, tighter one to pull her out of her daze. Her shoulders flinched, grinning sheepishly as she finally drew her gaze away, and went to pick up her quill.

Just as she reached it, she paused, fingers twitching, before reaching for her breakfast and taking a bite.

Sagitta beamed. Clearly she liked it, if the way her face lit up was any indication, and she gave Sagitta’s hand another squeeze in appreciation. A loose crumb stuck to her face, clinging to the side of her cheek, and she wrinkled up her nose trying to lick it off. But with one hand keeping her page open, and the other one occupied, she couldn’t reach it.

The dilemma obviously troubled her. She looked back at each hand, and scrunched up her lip, deciding whether it was worth leaving it alone, poking her tongue out one side. With her free hand, Sagitta reached over and brushed it off her face with one thumb. While Cygnus was still reeling, somehow turning even redder, eyes growing wider, she tapped the paper in front of her.

“Keep working. Or Aquila really will start to get suspicious.”

It was a complete lie. Cygnus had already done enough work to last the entire day, but if Sagitta was being honest, if she looked up at her like that for any longer, she was going to melt completely. It was only fair that she fluster a bit too. Besides, the quiet Eep that escaped her partner as she jumped and buried herself back in her books was more than worth it.

Sagitta sighed quietly, turning back to her own work. The words were tiny, and the paragraphs drowned out each page in solid blocks of text, but it didn’t really seam to matter. She did always study better when Cygnus was scrawling away next to her, and the feeling of her fingers tangled with hers kept her mind focused.

She squeezed her hand again, and smiled as she turned a page.

The sun meandered its way across the sky, leaving prickles of warmth across her face, and Sagitta’s little sunbeam squeezed her hand back.

[bubmyg]

litigation of temperature - myg

pairing: yoongi x reader

genre: lawyer!yoongi

warnings: implications of smut, there’s a plot if you squint but it’s mostly just making out with yoongi

a/n: based off a conversation I had with @staygold-93 today aka bea this is your fault

word count: 2075

Yoongi often complained of the frigid air clinging around the mountain of sheets and blankets and pillows you encased him in each night, promising, ensuring you that the new air conditioning system wasn’t perpetually stuck at sixty-seven degrees. It was the fan that became the bane of his existence, stirring up the cool air and stinging it to the rise of goosebumps on his arms slung loosely around your waist. Grunts of indignation gurgled in his throat as his alarm mocked him from the bedside table, trailing the drag of his bare torso into arctic air until he could sling thick suede suit jackets over his milked complexion.

You awoke not to his irritation but instead the bubble of his coffee pot down the hall, brewing a fresh pot for its owner that would not come to empty it into cartoon character lain cups. The space underneath the doorknob was free of the fabric that would swing like a pendulum from the brush of air off the blades of the whirring fan, tie of the day now the tie of yesterday, likely loose around his neck from incessant tugging.

Denim jeans stretched over your hips before your thumb tapped at your phone, knowing, aware that Yoongi hadn’t texted, hadn’t called. He was busy and your lectures were no use, particularly when high profile litigation fell on his desk just weeks before a trial. You blackened the blank slate of notifications, shoving the device in your pocket with a grunt.

“You win, babe,” You roughed a palm across your forearm, before snatching one of his university hoodie’s off a hanger. The warmth of his scent was welcomed, burrowing your chin into the hood as you snatched another, messily folding it at your chest, “It’s freezing in here.”

Puffed fabric of sweatshirt and sweatpants clutched tightly to your chest as you pattered down the hall, taking the wooden staircase two at a time to round into the kitchen. The fresh clothes plopped against marble, body crouching underneath the sink to fish out a plastic grocery sack. You bagged the plush fabric, tying a neat bow that hooked into your index finger, swinging back and forth as you pivoted for the refrigerator.

Your blackboard calendar mocked you, the magnetic strip failing on one side so that it hung lopsided, the court date four days from the current Saturday circled in thick pink chalk twice over. Pastel dust coated your fingertips when you reached to touch the specific square, head shaking as you snatched keys off their labeled hook and ducked into the garage.

Yoongi’s car was the only one in the parking lot, the neon sign tucked in the front window monochromatic, blinds drawn through every office besides that in the very back corner, lights glimmering through the flipped spaces in plastic white.

The pointed slam of your car door covered the sigh that slumped your shoulders, pleats of heavy fabric bouncing against the back of your thigh as you trudged up the asphalt. If your door hadn’t alerted him, the affirming beep of the security system surely did as you jammed in the code, slipping through the back door only for it to lock behind you. Light from his office painted into the dark hall, catching the pivot of your heel, hand around the doorframe stalling your movements in the threshold.

His stature was languid, laid out across the tiny leather couch pressed under the window. The heel of one leather shoe tapped against tile, the latter dangling at the ankle against the cushions. His suit jacket lay forgotten at the wide back of his desk chair, cuffs unclasped and exposing the links of watches and bracelets dangling off delicate wrists. Slender fingers wrapped in various rings fit into tousled blonde bangs, exposing the planes of his forehead that crinkled expectantly at you, dark eyebrows cocked over eyes smoldered somewhere between invitation and exhaustion.

The timbre of Yoongi’s chuckle roughed at your ears, jarred with slumber.

He’d been asleep.

His croaked articulation mirrored your assumption, “Hi. I think I dozed off.”

“I can see that,” You mused, shoulder tucking against the oak door. The bag in hand was haphazardly thrown, plopping into one of the two chairs situated at the head of his desk. You tucked both arms across your chest, raising an eyebrow.

Yoongi’s hand lazily fell away from his hair, slumping off the back of the couch, “What’d you bring?”

“A change of clothes for you,” Your eyes scanned the creases of dress pants where they disappeared at the cinch of his belt, morphing into silk white buttons scattered across his broad chest. Your chin dipped, inquiring, “Is that seat taken?”

The widen of his pupils swallowed his irises, a gradual expanse as he scrambled, “Oh, no. I’ll make room I’m sorry-“ The pressure of your palm against his shoulder stuttered at his words, stalling his movements as you hovered over him, smile teasing.

“I meant-“ Your knees sank into the cushions on either side of him, stretching to clamber across waist, “-here-“ Crooked fingers tucked into the dip of his clavicle, brushing across to fiddle at the collar of his shirt, “-you suck at flirting.”

Hooded eyes flicked to your ministrations at his neck, sucking in a breath when you popped the confining button at the base of his throat. “I haven’t needed to flirt with you since college,” His hands dipped to your thighs, thumbs rubbing up and down the seam on the inside.

You hummed, popping the next button down to spread your palms open against soft skin. Your fingers traced a line around his throat, lacing together at the nape of his neck. “You sucked at flirting then too, Yoon.”

Red scrawled across Yoongi’s skin, dulling into a soft dusting of pink on his cheeks and at the tips of his ears. He pinched your thigh in reprimand, “Well, I’m too tired to start now.”

You cocked your head, carding crooked fingers through silky stubs of white as the base of his neck, “How’s case preparation coming?”

His shoulders tensed, uneasy sigh preceding his shrug, “It’s coming…”

“Did they fax you the notes on the new evidence?”

“Blurry ass photos of the scene and autogenerated transcriptions of handwriting,” Yoongi curved his index finger, drawing a shape on the outside of your jeans, “They said someone from the state’s office would run me over hard copies. On Monday. Said they could give me a ride to view the evidence in person if I like. Still, on Monday.”

“Do you already have your questions for the witnesses outlined?”

Yoongi blinked, “Yes.”

“Are these couple hairs and scene notes detrimental to your arguments?”

He shrugged, “I’ll have to amend a few things, but nothing central to my points. We already knew the trace DNA found matched our defendant. I don’t need some half-assed notes taken by a scene investigator to confirm that.”

Your voice was gentle, “Then why are you worried?”

“I feel like I need to do more but the things I need to do I can’t do-“ Yoongi’s drew a pitch higher as he mocked, “-until Monday!”

“I’m overprepared, I think,” His eyes trained over your shoulder to the neat piles of manila folders stacked across his desk, ones he’d organized and reorganized while glaring at his idle copy machine in the corner. The slightest peek of his gums appeared, gaze flicking back to you, “Is that possible? To be overprepared for an attempted murder case?”

You hummed, a curious sound in sealed lips as your hands trailed to his shoulders, kneading into the coiled skin. One hand dropped, twisting the loose hang of his tie around your wrist, “I think you need to relax.”

His gummy grin felt out of place as a hand skirted underneath his hoodie hanging off your stature, settling against your ribs, “You didn’t really come here to bring me comfier clothes or to check on me, did you?” He met your movements when you tugged on his tie again, shifting to have you craned above him, “You missed me.”

You shrugged, pressing the flat of his silk tie into his cheek, cupping his jaw to peck his mouth once, “You’re okay. I missed your mouth, though.”

Yoongi groaned, a guttural sound deep in his throat, “College you said that too.”

“College me said a lot of things,” The tie slithered from your grasp, knot looser and dangling against the shining pendant of his necklace tucked against the planes of his chest. Your fingers flexed against the side of his neck, fist in the ironed fold of his collared button up to flatten the tip of his nose against yours, “Now, kiss me.”

He wasted no time in swallowing the purse of your mouth, arm curved and hand flat between your shoulder blades as his latter hand curled around your jaw, angling your lips to his liking. They were lazy plucks of his swelled lips nudging between your own, a stark reminder of his slumber not minutes before your arrival. He pressed you flush against his chest, rocking your hips high on his waist to meld your lips into a single being, particularly when he coaxed open the seam of your mouth to taste at his coffee you’d splashed across your tongue before adventuring off to find him.

Yoongi didn’t need to ask to know you stilled hated his preference in coffee.

Your shared kisses drew on a pattern of methodical consistency, your soft mewls of encouragement vibrating against his parted mouth, fueling him to aid your steady rolls across his lap. He gasped, pulling off your lips with a lewd smack when you rutted particularly hard against his slacks, hand blindly falling from your chin to seek out your wrist. You anticipated his gentle guide of your fingers into his hair, scratching blunt fingernails into his scalp as he reattached to your mouth, easily slipping his tongue between your teeth.

A fine glimmer of sweat worked at the elegant dip of his throat as you crouched over him, nipping at the pale skin. “You’re distracting, my angel,” He heaved, tilting his head for your nose to bump against the hinge of his jaw, “You’re very distracting.”

You mouthed at the irritated skin, not enough to form a lingering mark as you hummed. “I told you I missed you,” You accused, nudging his cheek gently, “You didn’t come home last night.”

“I’ll come home tonight,” Yoongi’s voice wheezed in his throat when your eyes blazed up to his, “I promise I’ll come home tonight, I just have to-“

“No,” You jerked down on the triangle end of his tie, “Come home now.”

“But, I have a few things I need to outline and organize, just so I don’t have to do it after I finally get the legible copies of the notes-“

“You just said you’re overprepared,” You pecked the red of his swollen mouth, teasing in sinking your teeth into his plush bottom lip. At last resort, you threw your voice, purring, “I turned off the fan in the bedroom.”

Your surroundings whirled as Yoongi shifted below you, arms securing around your waist to lift and place you to your feet in front of him. His keys tinkered together as he snatched them from his pocket, absently shrugging his jacket over one shoulder. He towered in front of you once more, beaming smile laced across tired features.

“Now,” He confirmed, amended, “I’ll come home now.”

Yoongi blindly flicked off lights in your path as you clamped down on his hand and dragged him toward the back door, amused in observing your huffing movements as you wretched open the door and yanked him outside.

“If I would have known turning off the damn fan would make your dick that hard I would have turned it off months ago,” You ranted, releasing his hand to totter for your car.

“Love you!” Yoongi grinned. He was unabashed in widening his arms across the parking at you when you turned to face him, knee sunk into the leather of your driver’s seat, “Race you home?”

You scoffed, ducking inside to jam the key in the ignition, rolling down your passenger side window, “You’ll lose.”

“There’s no longer penguins inhabiting my bedroom,” He winked, mirroring your actions as he swung a lazy arm out the window, throwing his SUV into reverse and idling out of the parking space, “I doubt it.”

[blackrose-ffxiv]

The Venomous Vixen Finale 09/27

Ryoko Kasai sits in a makeshift 'blind' of sorts, the shirogane night filled with a light rain. Perfect for obscuring sounds. This would be an easy trap, she was sure. "Right. So. One last time, let's go over th' plan. How ya feelin' Leg Boy?"

Lebeaux Desrosiers had dressed in black for once, his arms folded across his chest as he looked around the area. He couldn’t see any of the rest of the ‘support’. Was that a good thing or bad. Probably good. So long as they were actually there. “Simply marvelous. I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would rather be at this moment.” He declared, every last word dripping in sarcasm.

Tubisa Kikai rested with fingers folded over her knees. The calm smile she always wore rested with a more terse edge--One she did as she could to soften, to instill confidence in Lebeaux, perhaps. "Quite ready, Lady Kasai--I have checked the perimeter. All seems as expected."

"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine." Kasai waves her hand dismissively. "I got six a' my best here, plus I came personally. We spent all day settin' this up. Paid off th' Sekiseigumi not ta interfere. An' I got a fuckin' superweapon." She holds up an odd-looking revolver. Matte black, and much longer than most of her handguns. And a much higher calibre. "This'll put her straight in th' ground if I need ta. I wanna capture her, but I'll blow her fuckin' head off if I think she's gonna be a problem fer ya. An' don't forget ya got yer gun." She narrows her eyes. "...Ya did bring it, right?"

Lebeaux rested a hand on his chest as though in prayer, then gave the spot a small pat. “I had it removed from the wrist-holster as it has caught on my cuffs more than once and it began chafing my wrist.” He explained calmly. “But yes, I do have it on me. It is loaded.” He added, just in case there were concerns he would be daft enough to forget something important like that. He smiled serenely between the two. “I do hope it won’t come to that.”

"Certainly not. But, of course--" Kikai lifts a finger, and points it to Lebeaux, thumb-up. "'Tis best to overprepare than under. Speaking of." She points her finger to Kasai's gun. "We have not been able to test it yet. In the event it must be used... I will be certain of the safety of all involved." She states with a resolute nod.

"Chafes on yer cuffs," Kasai mutters. Plainly irritated. "It'll be fine. Just make sure ya aim fer th' body an' fire as quick as ya can. Don't go fer a head shot on her, too easy ta miss an' blowin' her damn lungs out her back'll kill her just as dead." Kasai nods towards the bench. "Go siddown. She'll be comin' soon. It's almost midnight." She nods to Kikai. "It'll be great. It'll be awesome. Wanted ta save these fer that shadow fuck, but hell, maybe I can just dig 'em outta th' corpse an' re-use the slugs."

Lebeaux tilted his head slightly at Kikai. “Wonderful. Two untested weapons in the field.” As he hadn’t had a chance to really practice with his either. You will have your hands full tonight. I’ll trust you to take care of it.” He noted with the same small smile. He didn’t really have a choice in the matter but what use was there pointing that out. He could snark later, if they all made it through. “That’s… actually nevermind. You’re welcome to try it.” He chimed in with Kasai’s musing about fishing through corpses for spent ammunition. “Is there anything else I should bear in mind? Signals or signs.”

"The standard-practices:  Palm-forward to stop, thumb toward oneself to come closer; pointing away to move back.." Kikai taps her chin. "Ah. And, if you hear panicked shouting, feel free to either duck, or open fire. But, of course, that rests upon your discretion." She smiles widely-.. Pauses.. And shakes her head. "Little ought to come to such a head. Just relax, and be your usual charming self." She states without any intonation that she's making a joke.

"If ya think yer in danger, all ya gotta do is stand up. That'll be our cue ta jump on her real fast. She draws a weapon, everyone lights her th' fuck up. You try ta keep her alive if she goes down so we can interrogate her. Otherwise, we'll talk it out. At gunpoint. I'll figure out who keeps sendin' fuckin' assassins at me tonight." Kasai rubs her right hand along her arm, left still gripping the gun tightly. "Matchlight's got th' right of it. Just be calm."

Lebeaux exhaled a long-suffering sigh as he indicated himself. He had his standard smile settled firmly in place and was generally calm looking. He did adjust the lay of his shirt cuffs or smooth the lapels of his shirt slightly more than usual, yet that was negligible. “Alright. I suppose I can manage that.”

With a nod, Kikai took Lebeaux's acceptance of this situation as a firm go-ahead. She looks to Kasai, and nods firmly. "Primary goal: Safety of all involved. Secondary: Capture. If impossible; kill." Simple, and quick. She kneels behind the rock, momentarily checking her hidden tools.

"Exactly." Kasai grins. "Now get out there, Leg Boy. Rain ain't gonna last forever. She'll be here soon. An' don't worry. We got yer back."

Lebeaux tilted his head in agreement to the two. Don’t die. Try not to let anyone else die. Fair enough. He had fought dragons. This would be a piece of cake, of course. That would be the first thing he would buy with the pay from this nonsense. A nice big cake. With a half-sarcastic bow the medic turned on his heel and headed towards the arranged meeting area.

With a wiggle of her fingers to bid him a momentary-farewell, Kikai settles in with Kasai behind the stone. Just high enough to cover them. With hair sticking to her cheeks, she grinned over the little knives in her sleeves. Ready, ready, for the stake-out!*

Kasai watches, in silence. Waiting. Ready. Clutching her gun.

The medic made his way over to the bench and settled himself down on it, crossing a leg primly over the other. To show just how calm he was, obviously, he removed a leatherbound journal from his jacket and began making notes in it. Now and then he glanced up to check for company.

With knives checked and readied, Kikai settles in beside Kasai; a hand resting on a long, thin bag at her hip; thumb toying with the flip-latch idley--Awaiting for a signal--Awaiting a sign of motion.. With a terse, present smile.

Time passes. Eventually, Kasai shifts impatiently, her tail drifting. "She should be here by now," she mutters. "I don't like this. Maybe Leg Boy's been made? Maybe she's got a sniper set up somewhere? I didn't think a' that possibility. Shit. We're right by th' apartment buildin', too. I don't like this."

An aetheric rush. Sudden. "If you don't like this, you're going to hate what comes next." A cool voice with a hint of bemusement - DIRECTLY behind Kasai. The figure calmly, quickly yanks the gun from Kasai's hand with all the enthusiasm of someone picking a discarded bottle off the floor. "There we go. Ooh, such a high calibre! Perfect. Precisely what I needed. Kugane appreciates your contribution."

"Not to worry, I made sure to check the high poin--" A figure--Motion, quick--Knives in hand, swiping out with a fan of tiny knives, at the figure's arm!*

Lebeaux glanced up from the journal and swept his icy gaze over the surrounding area. Just as there was a motion over where Kikai and Kasai were waiting. Fury have mercy. He snapped the book shut and shoved it back into his pocket beside the fake gun he was supposed to be swapping as he rose to his feet, moving quickly to close the distance between the rendezvous spot at the rock.

Kasai's eyes widen - her jaw clenches - "GIMME MY FUCKIN' GUN BACK!" - she draws a switchblade of her own, stabbing for the figure's chest.

Some of the knives bounce off metallic bits seemingly under Chiaki's sleeves, but she takes several knives directly into her arm, which remains calmly clutching the handgun. As Kasai thrusts for her chest, she calmly pivots, the blade going right past her - and Kasai with it. "Wonderful. I can already feel it. These bullets really are the real deal. Very, very well done." She looks towards Lebeaux, nodding. "Much appreciated, ijin." In a quick motion, she clears half the distance between her and he, blowing him a kiss, knives falling from her arm which... isn't dripping blood.

The initial shock, short as it had been, now dissipated--She was before Lebeaux, armed. In danger? Possibly: Kikai flings three knives at Chiaki--Before flicking open her pouch; retrieving a slender scroll from it. With a flick, the scroll unravels--And aether begins to channel from the scroll, through her.

Lebeaux slid to a short stop when he saw what the situation was. Kasai was disarmed, Chiaki had the gun and an arm that looked more like a porcupine. Yet something stood out, one of the things he would notice as a medic. There was no blood. The blades were definitely stuck in something, he assumed her flesh, yet there wasn’t a drop of blood. Kikai took the point on the defensive and the Ishgardian reached into his jacket to fetch the tiny pistol and raise it.

Kasai stumbles full to the ground, with how furious and hard she had thrust, and shoots back up to her feet, scrambling to pull a pocket flamethrower. As it reaches her hand, she clenches her jaw. Right. Lebeaux and Kikai were there, too. "LIGHT HER UP, BOYS!" And yet... No motion.

Chiaki pulses, noticeably, with aether - a thin ward forming around her - and the knives bounce off. "Come, now, let's be civil. My name is Chiaki, and I'm sorry I'm late. There's some sleeping guards I had to deal with. Oh, don't berate them, they really, truly did try their best." She reaches into her jacket - pulling from it a small leather pouch. "And hey, you're a hero, Lebeaux. Could never have done this without you. Won't you lower that silly little popgun?" She offers the pouch. She is pointedly, completely ignoring Kikai.

Aetherially infused from the scroll she'd produced; a rapid series of hand-seals; four in total: After two, the sandy mud beneath Chiaki's feet bubbles; oils produced near the surface--After the fourth; the wet mud crunches and crackles; seeking to climb Chiaki's feet as rapidly-forming ice.

Lebeaux inhaled sharply as Chiaki was suddenly there. Right in front of him and holding out a pouch… that certainly did look heavy with payment. She had single handedly taken out every guard and disarmed Kasai before the au ra could get a single shot off. She was good. He was not. His smile returned as he eased out of his rigid stance and lowered the gun obediently. “I do aim to please. I’m full glad to see there’s no hard feelings for all of this…” He agreed as he took a small step forwards and reached for the pouch. At the same moment his finger curled and he squeezed the trigger of the pistol. He had lowered it, sure, now it was aimed at the woman’s shin instead, just above the rising ice from Kikai’s spell.

The gun erupted in his hand with the force of… well he wasn’t sure what to equate it to. He’d never fired a cannon himself but he supposed this was like a Dragonkiller condensed into pocket size. There was a crunch of bone that was felt rather than heard and a cry of pain that went through it. Lebeaux dropped the gun and clutched at his wrist, his soft smile gone in exchange for a grimace of pain.

"FUCKIN' BITCH!" Kasai clenches her jaw, aiming the flamethrower. Ready to fire. "YA CAN'T HAVE MY FUCKIN' GUN, YA CREEPY FUCK!"

Katana at her waist, metallic claws on her fingers and a gun in her hand, Chiaki looks back. And then down, at her legs. Ice. How amuse-BLAM. Aetherial ward blasted away, along with half the width of her leg - shattered shards of bone going with it. She doesn't seem to react much, beyond a dramatic sigh, and once more - no blood. Until blood starts filling into the gaping wound, and sticky tendrils begin to criss-cross between hanging bits of flesh and bone - mending the flesh at a horrifyingly unnatural speed. "I really don't have time for this." She raises her arm, dropping the pouch directly on Lebeaux's head. Filled with large gemstones. "Try holding your wrist stiffer, next time. Don't bend it."

With the infusion, and weaves as quick as they were; Kikai left herself aetherically exhausted. Dropping the spent scroll, she moves to draw the sword stuffed down her hakama-.. .. .. Though, her motion ceases: Flesh knitting itself without any reaction of the horrifically-dismembered limb. Sharply sucking air through teeth, she lunges to plunge the blade through the woman; committing overmuch to the lunge.

Lebeaux dropped to a knee just as Chiaki dropped the ‘payment’ on his head. How humiliating. He grit his teeth, forcing himself to watch as the strange woman pieced herself back together in the strangest way he had ever seen done. This was probably a whole lot of heresy he was witnessing, but it was difficult to think straight at the moment.

Seeing Kikai fully commit, Kasai does as well - lunging forward to drive her knife into Chiaki as well. She aims for the base of her spine.

Chiaki twists on her feet - the loud CRRRRRAKKK of ice being shattered at her feet, though this takes a modicum of visible effort - and with her left hand, grabs Kasai - claws dig into her shoulder - "Take a break and think it over." - and pirouettes, Kikai's blade passing close enough to tear Chiaki's coat - before Chiaki yanks Kasai, now bleeding from the shoulder, directly into Kikai, using the hapless yakuza as a makeshift weapon to try to shove both to the ground. She then starts walking off, at a brisk pace. "Give it an hour, it'll wear off."

Fully-committed, with one foot off the ground, one hand on the hilt and the other steadying the back of the straight blade, Kikai truly has gone all-in--But without rooting to the ground; she is easily thrown off-balance by the dead weight of Kasai's body. Tumbling over herself, she rolls--To her feet, crouching with a gasp-.. "Putting herself between Kasai and Chiaki. A quick glance to Lebeaux: With payment. But he had taken a shot. And was in no position to defend himself. The assailant walks away? "Who sent you?" She shouts through the drizzling rain; crouching low with the blade held toward the ground. Any further confrontation would put Kasai and Lebeaux at risk.

"I sent myself!" Chiaki calls out. "The fate of the realm's at stake. Maybe we'll get tea, sometime, when it's all over." Further away, fading into the rain, voice quite raised, now: "I hear sake helps the pain, if you pour it into the wound soon enough! But that's your call, really. Bye-bye, Ryo-chan!"

@safestsephiroth

[xaydungtruonggia]

How to Make the Most of MozCon (and Stay Motivated Once it's Over)

Posted by Kirsten_Barkved

Show of hands if the following scenario has ever happened to you:

You make it to a conference. You sit through three to four days of amazing content, network like a boss, fill up on coffee and donuts, and cover page after page of notes — your wrist is dangerously close to being diagnosed with carpal tunnel. The energy in the room is contagious and everyone leaves the conference with the promise of new strategies, connections, and ideas that have the possibility to transform the way you think about business.

Photo credit: Turk Photos

At least, that’s the dream. But the reality is that once the conference is over, you're back to the grind. No longer surrounded by that vibrant "we can do anything" energy that had you so inspired just days before — the buzz is now a dull hum. Your notebook is full of scribbles that you can no longer decipher, and you have a daunting to-do list to catch up on while you nurse a sugar hangover from eating three-days worth of the best damn donuts you've ever had.

You’ve lost the fire. The conference motivation is gone. You, my friend, have the post-conference scaries.

Now, it’s July and you’ll be at MozCon in less than a week. The excitement is building. But so is the anxiety: you know there’s going to be a ton of insightful talks and takeaways to write home about. But how do you keep all that goodness going after MozCon?

We've all been there! And with MozCon fast approaching, we want to make sure you’re set up for success. So we put together an effective guide to make sure you can put all the goodness you’ve absorbed to work straight away. We even asked our Subject Matter Experts for some advice. Read on to see what Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Cyrus Shepard, Dr. Pete, and Miriam Ellis have to offer!

Get your tickets before they're gone!

Before you head to MozCon, though, make sure you do these things first

We know this isn’t your first rodeo. But on the off chance that it is, or if you need a reminder before you set foot in MozCon, make like the Boy Scouts of America: Be prepared.

Because I’m a keener (remind me to tell you about the time I waited for 24 hours to be first in line for The Fellowship of the Ring movie) with a tendency to overprepare (remind me also to tell you about my first day of school where I packed all my favorite Nancy Drews, my best pencil crayons, a raincoat, and a pair of extra socks), I spend quite a chunk of time ensuring I have everything I need before an event. 

You don't need to be as prepared as my eight-year-old self, but here’s a brief checklist of things to do before you pack your bags and set sail for MozCon:

Study the agenda — You’ve likely already glanced at who’s speaking. Take another skim to get an idea of who is speaking and what topics will fulfill an educational gap. Even if a topic isn't related to your area of work, it's still worthwhile to listen — who knows what you'll uncover. 

Set goals for what you’d like to learn — Whatever your game plan looks like, flesh it out to flesh out. Show up ready to learn.

Prepare your note-taking tools — There is no such thing as too many pens, not at a conference like MozCon. You’ll be taking a ton of notes, so prepare your note-taking tools, whatever they may be — charge your laptop or tablets, pack a spare notebook and some well-inked pens, or practice your telepathy if you plan on sending takeaways to your team via your mind.

Subscribe to the Moz blog — We have oodles of content for you to sink your teeth into and there’s something for everyone, from basic SEO to local search to the nitty-gritty technical. Plus, we'll be doing conference recaps after each day, so even if you couldn't make it this year, you'll get all the juicy details straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

Connect — There is ample opportunity at MozCon to network and meet new people but it never hurts to get a lay of the digital land before you step foot in Seattle. Follow the hashtag #mozcon on Twitter to stay up to date with MozCon goers and ask important questions of our speakers, like this:

#mozcon The single most important question that probably needs to be answered before anything else: did you or did you not get the cat? #mozcon #CatCon pic.twitter.com/CGBszFXsI8

— STAT Search Analytics (@getSTAT) July 9, 2018

You can also join the Facebook group to find out when people are arriving and pop in on conversations to get your name and face out there. If you know of people you want to reconnect that will be attending, now is a good idea to reach out and reconnect. Set up a time to chat over a coffee or maybe make plans to sit together at our Birds of Feather table.

At the conference

It's Day One of MozCon and you've successfully found the coffee. Now what?

Attend every session...

And we mean every. Single. Session. 

The great thing about MozCon is that it's a single track session, so you don't have to pick one talk over another. That also means, though, that the temptation can be high for skipping one or two. 

“It may be tempting to sleep in on a morning session, but so much magic happens when you aren't there. You never know what nuggets of insight you'll miss.” — Cyrus Shepard

"I often find I have some of my best ideas at conferences, even if they're not related to anything the speaker is talking about. Capture those ideas, too, and add them to your action plan." — Dr. Pete

...But don't be afraid to mingle in-between sessions

"Take breaks if you feel like it and spend some time meeting people out in the lobby. New MozCon friends can help hold each other accountable after the conference. I've met some of my closest industry friends in the lobby of conferences during a session — hi, Cyrus!" — Britney Muller

Remember what you learn

There's a lot of information to digest and chances are that your hurried note-taking isn't going to make a ton of sense once the MozCon high is over. To make deciphering your notes easier once you're back at the office, add three key takeaways or any follow up you want to do on the topic after each session.

You can also create a page dedicated to takeaways that you think are worthy. While I’m definitely taking notes during each session, I reserve a separate page for any ideas, theories, or strategies that I think are valuable to explore.

Make sure you're keeping your goals in mind, too. If you had planned on learning new things at MozCon, keep your ears open for any topics that piqued your interest.

"Write down at least one topic that grabbed your interest but that you felt could be studied further and commit to doing that study at your business and publishing your findings. Don't forget to ping the original presenter when you do, letting them know their talk inspired your further investigation." — Miriam Ellis

"At the end of each conference day, I also like to schedule emails to myself (a few weeks out) as reminders to attempt the things I learned about that day." — Britney Muller

Keep tabs on live tweeters

MozCon has some pretty prolific live tweeters that know just how to distill all the right takeaways into 280 characters (which, IMO, is quite a feat). Some of our past MozCon live-tweeters have included: 

Ruth Burr

Greg Gifford

Dana DiTomaso

Matt Decuir

Casie Gillette 

Andy Crestodina

You can also keep up with the conference goers by following the conference hashtag, #mozcon.

"Also, follow Cyrus Shepard on Twitter and do everything he says!" — Britney Muller

Take note of any free templates, tools, or spreadsheets

Much like parents who want nothing but the best from you (and also to sometimes show off your life successes on the family fridge), the speakers want you to excel in life after MozCon. Which is why you’re bound to find a plethora of downloadable templates and spreadsheets during their talk. Take note of any that you'd like to try back at the office. Make sure to also follow the speakers on Twitter for any updates or insider tips on how to make the most of their new resources.

Thanks #mozcon! Here is the Google Tag Manager recipe we released today to help you measure if people are actually reading your content. Enjoy! https://t.co/9Iy8VQA51l

— Dana DiTomaso (@danaditomaso) July 11, 2018

Download the talks

I’m sure you already know, but on the off chance you didn't know, you’ll be able to download all the speaker's slide decks once their talks are over. So if there was something you missed, wanted to share with the team at home base, or needed clarification on, you can do so with one click of a button once they're available.

After the conference

Write about it

I know the last thing you want to do right after three days of learning and writing is to go and do more writing. But Future You will be so happy that Past You did this one thing. 

The second you're done MozCon-ing, write everything down. Get it all out of your brain and onto paper. Because otherwise, you'll forget why you underlined a word or phrase three times or the cool new project ideas you had while chatting at dinner. You won't mean to, obviously. It's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. Kind of like drifting off to sleep��with a really great idea for a band name — you'll tuck it away in a pocket of your brain, certain you won't forget about it in the morning. But you will. And the world will never know of They Might Be Little Pigeons. 

So, write everything down the second you can.

"I'm one of those people who takes notes like, "Cheese fritters + SEO = YES!" and am very excited about it and have no idea what it meant a week later. So: Re-copy your notes or write a summary, ASAP, while it's still fresh in your mind— even if it's on the flight home." — Dr. Pete

Schedule thinking time

The first week back at the office, block out some time in your calendar to percolate over what you learned at MozCon. I can’t stress this one enough: When we get back into the real world, we dive right into our list of to-dos, at home and at work. And the longer we delay the thinking and brainstorming process, the bigger the chance we’ll lose motivation or get bogged down by more projects. 

Carve out some thinking time for yourself in your calendar the second you’re back at your desk to ask yourself some questions:

What really stood out for me?

What do I want to apply right away?

What is going to be effective short term vs. long term?

I like to ideate to-do lists from these questions — maybe that’s a follow-up email with the speaker or a task to read further resources from their talk. Or maybe it’s to set up a meeting with my team to try out a new strategy. The point is: if I take this time now to marinate, the better chance I have of helping out future me — and future me really appreciates that.

"It's so easy to go from hundreds of ideas to doing nothing concrete, and as soon as you return to your desk, you're going to be buried in emails and requests. Commit to something actionable before you open up your inbox." — Dr. Pete

Review your action items

Now that you’ve done your big thinking, it’s time to turn those takeaways and actions items into, well, action. 

Think back to the goals you outlined before you set foot inside MozCon — did you meet any of them? How well did the topics address your questions? And how will you apply your action items? When I’m looking over my notes for any new ideas we can execute on, I like to make a table with two columns: 1) Things that we don’t do but could and 2) Things we’re currently doing but could be doing better.

Got a lot of action items and feel a tad overwhelmed? Just remember: If you apply just one action item a week, even if it's small, that's still fifty small changes you've made in one year. And they can all add up to one big change.

You’ll want to prioritize them like so:

Strategic initiatives to implement right away

Processes you can improve

Areas for future learning

“A week after the conference, review your "action items" — either by yourself or with your team. Prepare a presentation for the top things you learned and share with any team members that didn't attend." — Cyrus Shepard

"Pin yourself down to three specific to-dos for the month after the conference." — Dr. Pete

Stay inspired

Remember that anything in life worth having (relationships, bangs, product launches, puzzles) requires more than just an idea — it takes time and work. Rather than let all that enthusiasm you had at MozCon fade away, keep the momentum going by reading and learning new things. A good place to start is by subscribing to daily industry reads that can fuel your inspiration. Here is just a sampling to get you started: 

Roast

KickPoint

UpBuild

Seer Interactive

Merkle

Distilled

"Having a go-to list of daily industry reads is a really good way to keep the sense of inspiration up." — Rob Bucci

Use your connections

What good was all that networking if you don’t put it to use — especially if, like me, you're a Level-12 Introvert?

Make sure all those hard-earned connections don't go to waste. Chances are, if you saw them at MozCon, you’ll be seeing them at the same tracks and conferences, so it'd be good to set some sort of foundation

All it takes is a LinkedIn message or an email. And they'll appreciate you following up — bonus points if you make it personal. I’ve made several follow up emails after conferences and almost all blossomed into successful working relationships thanks in large part to emails that began as though we were continuing the conversation we had at MozCon. It doesn't have to be the same as “Hi, how’s your dog, is she still afraid of traffic cones?,” but a nice "Hi, how is life after MozCon — are you settling back into the 9-5, yet?" goes a long way.

“It’s great to collect business cards, but it’s better to form life-long relationships. If you haven’t connected with those you met at MozCon, now is the time to do so. At a minimum, email everyone you enjoyed meeting with and let them know that you can be a resource for them.” — Cyrus Shepard

Takeaways

MozCon only comes once a year — like International Pancake Day or 7-11's Free Slurpee Day — so make sure you're prepared so you can keep that MozCon fire burning all year round.

Grab my MozCon ticket now!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[daynamartinez22]

How to Make the Most of MozCon (and Stay Motivated Once it's Over)

Posted by Kirsten_Barkved

Show of hands if the following scenario has ever happened to you:

You make it to a conference. You sit through three to four days of amazing content, network like a boss, fill up on coffee and donuts, and cover page after page of notes — your wrist is dangerously close to being diagnosed with carpal tunnel. The energy in the room is contagious and everyone leaves the conference with the promise of new strategies, connections, and ideas that have the possibility to transform the way you think about business.

Photo credit: Turk Photos

At least, that’s the dream. But the reality is that once the conference is over, you're back to the grind. No longer surrounded by that vibrant "we can do anything" energy that had you so inspired just days before — the buzz is now a dull hum. Your notebook is full of scribbles that you can no longer decipher, and you have a daunting to-do list to catch up on while you nurse a sugar hangover from eating three-days worth of the best damn donuts you've ever had.

You’ve lost the fire. The conference motivation is gone. You, my friend, have the post-conference scaries.

Now, it’s July and you’ll be at MozCon in less than a week. The excitement is building. But so is the anxiety: you know there’s going to be a ton of insightful talks and takeaways to write home about. But how do you keep all that goodness going after MozCon?

We've all been there! And with MozCon fast approaching, we want to make sure you’re set up for success. So we put together an effective guide to make sure you can put all the goodness you’ve absorbed to work straight away. We even asked our Subject Matter Experts for some advice. Read on to see what Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Cyrus Shepard, Dr. Pete, and Miriam Ellis have to offer!

Get your tickets before they're gone!

Before you head to MozCon, though, make sure you do these things first

We know this isn’t your first rodeo. But on the off chance that it is, or if you need a reminder before you set foot in MozCon, make like the Boy Scouts of America: Be prepared.

Because I’m a keener (remind me to tell you about the time I waited for 24 hours to be first in line for The Fellowship of the Ring movie) with a tendency to overprepare (remind me also to tell you about my first day of school where I packed all my favorite Nancy Drews, my best pencil crayons, a raincoat, and a pair of extra socks), I spend quite a chunk of time ensuring I have everything I need before an event. 

You don't need to be as prepared as my eight-year-old self, but here’s a brief checklist of things to do before you pack your bags and set sail for MozCon:

Study the agenda — You’ve likely already glanced at who’s speaking. Take another skim to get an idea of who is speaking and what topics will fulfill an educational gap. Even if a topic isn't related to your area of work, it's still worthwhile to listen — who knows what you'll uncover. 

Set goals for what you’d like to learn — Whatever your game plan looks like, flesh it out to flesh out. Show up ready to learn.

Prepare your note-taking tools — There is no such thing as too many pens, not at a conference like MozCon. You’ll be taking a ton of notes, so prepare your note-taking tools, whatever they may be — charge your laptop or tablets, pack a spare notebook and some well-inked pens, or practice your telepathy if you plan on sending takeaways to your team via your mind.

Subscribe to the Moz blog — We have oodles of content for you to sink your teeth into and there’s something for everyone, from basic SEO to local search to the nitty-gritty technical. Plus, we'll be doing conference recaps after each day, so even if you couldn't make it this year, you'll get all the juicy details straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

Connect — There is ample opportunity at MozCon to network and meet new people but it never hurts to get a lay of the digital land before you step foot in Seattle. Follow the hashtag #mozcon on Twitter to stay up to date with MozCon goers and ask important questions of our speakers, like this:

#mozcon The single most important question that probably needs to be answered before anything else: did you or did you not get the cat? #mozcon #CatCon pic.twitter.com/CGBszFXsI8

— STAT Search Analytics (@getSTAT) July 9, 2018

You can also join the Facebook group to find out when people are arriving and pop in on conversations to get your name and face out there. If you know of people you want to reconnect that will be attending, now is a good idea to reach out and reconnect. Set up a time to chat over a coffee or maybe make plans to sit together at our Birds of Feather table.

At the conference

It's Day One of MozCon and you've successfully found the coffee. Now what?

Attend every session...

And we mean every. Single. Session. 

The great thing about MozCon is that it's a single track session, so you don't have to pick one talk over another. That also means, though, that the temptation can be high for skipping one or two. 

“It may be tempting to sleep in on a morning session, but so much magic happens when you aren't there. You never know what nuggets of insight you'll miss.” — Cyrus Shepard

"I often find I have some of my best ideas at conferences, even if they're not related to anything the speaker is talking about. Capture those ideas, too, and add them to your action plan." — Dr. Pete

...But don't be afraid to mingle in-between sessions

"Take breaks if you feel like it and spend some time meeting people out in the lobby. New MozCon friends can help hold each other accountable after the conference. I've met some of my closest industry friends in the lobby of conferences during a session — hi, Cyrus!" — Britney Muller

Remember what you learn

There's a lot of information to digest and chances are that your hurried note-taking isn't going to make a ton of sense once the MozCon high is over. To make deciphering your notes easier once you're back at the office, add three key takeaways or any follow up you want to do on the topic after each session.

You can also create a page dedicated to takeaways that you think are worthy. While I’m definitely taking notes during each session, I reserve a separate page for any ideas, theories, or strategies that I think are valuable to explore.

Make sure you're keeping your goals in mind, too. If you had planned on learning new things at MozCon, keep your ears open for any topics that piqued your interest.

"Write down at least one topic that grabbed your interest but that you felt could be studied further and commit to doing that study at your business and publishing your findings. Don't forget to ping the original presenter when you do, letting them know their talk inspired your further investigation." — Miriam Ellis

"At the end of each conference day, I also like to schedule emails to myself (a few weeks out) as reminders to attempt the things I learned about that day." — Britney Muller

Keep tabs on live tweeters

MozCon has some pretty prolific live tweeters that know just how to distill all the right takeaways into 280 characters (which, IMO, is quite a feat). Some of our past MozCon live-tweeters have included: 

Ruth Burr

Greg Gifford

Dana DiTomaso

Matt Decuir

Casie Gillette 

Andy Crestodina

You can also keep up with the conference goers by following the conference hashtag, #mozcon.

"Also, follow Cyrus Shepard on Twitter and do everything he says!" — Britney Muller

Take note of any free templates, tools, or spreadsheets

Much like parents who want nothing but the best from you (and also to sometimes show off your life successes on the family fridge), the speakers want you to excel in life after MozCon. Which is why you’re bound to find a plethora of downloadable templates and spreadsheets during their talk. Take note of any that you'd like to try back at the office. Make sure to also follow the speakers on Twitter for any updates or insider tips on how to make the most of their new resources.

Thanks #mozcon! Here is the Google Tag Manager recipe we released today to help you measure if people are actually reading your content. Enjoy! https://t.co/9Iy8VQA51l

— Dana DiTomaso (@danaditomaso) July 11, 2018

Download the talks

I’m sure you already know, but on the off chance you didn't know, you’ll be able to download all the speaker's slide decks once their talks are over. So if there was something you missed, wanted to share with the team at home base, or needed clarification on, you can do so with one click of a button once they're available.

After the conference

Write about it

I know the last thing you want to do right after three days of learning and writing is to go and do more writing. But Future You will be so happy that Past You did this one thing. 

The second you're done MozCon-ing, write everything down. Get it all out of your brain and onto paper. Because otherwise, you'll forget why you underlined a word or phrase three times or the cool new project ideas you had while chatting at dinner. You won't mean to, obviously. It's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. Kind of like drifting off to sleep with a really great idea for a band name — you'll tuck it away in a pocket of your brain, certain you won't forget about it in the morning. But you will. And the world will never know of They Might Be Little Pigeons. 

So, write everything down the second you can.

"I'm one of those people who takes notes like, "Cheese fritters + SEO = YES!" and am very excited about it and have no idea what it meant a week later. So: Re-copy your notes or write a summary, ASAP, while it's still fresh in your mind— even if it's on the flight home." — Dr. Pete

Schedule thinking time

The first week back at the office, block out some time in your calendar to percolate over what you learned at MozCon. I can’t stress this one enough: When we get back into the real world, we dive right into our list of to-dos, at home and at work. And the longer we delay the thinking and brainstorming process, the bigger the chance we’ll lose motivation or get bogged down by more projects. 

Carve out some thinking time for yourself in your calendar the second you’re back at your desk to ask yourself some questions:

What really stood out for me?

What do I want to apply right away?

What is going to be effective short term vs. long term?

I like to ideate to-do lists from these questions — maybe that’s a follow-up email with the speaker or a task to read further resources from their talk. Or maybe it’s to set up a meeting with my team to try out a new strategy. The point is: if I take this time now to marinate, the better chance I have of helping out future me — and future me really appreciates that.

"It's so easy to go from hundreds of ideas to doing nothing concrete, and as soon as you return to your desk, you're going to be buried in emails and requests. Commit to something actionable before you open up your inbox." — Dr. Pete

Review your action items

Now that you’ve done your big thinking, it’s time to turn those takeaways and actions items into, well, action. 

Think back to the goals you outlined before you set foot inside MozCon — did you meet any of them? How well did the topics address your questions? And how will you apply your action items? When I’m looking over my notes for any new ideas we can execute on, I like to make a table with two columns: 1) Things that we don’t do but could and 2) Things we’re currently doing but could be doing better.

Got a lot of action items and feel a tad overwhelmed? Just remember: If you apply just one action item a week, even if it's small, that's still fifty small changes you've made in one year. And they can all add up to one big change.

You’ll want to prioritize them like so:

Strategic initiatives to implement right away

Processes you can improve

Areas for future learning

“A week after the conference, review your "action items" — either by yourself or with your team. Prepare a presentation for the top things you learned and share with any team members that didn't attend." — Cyrus Shepard

"Pin yourself down to three specific to-dos for the month after the conference." — Dr. Pete

Stay inspired

Remember that anything in life worth having (relationships, bangs, product launches, puzzles) requires more than just an idea — it takes time and work. Rather than let all that enthusiasm you had at MozCon fade away, keep the momentum going by reading and learning new things. A good place to start is by subscribing to daily industry reads that can fuel your inspiration. Here is just a sampling to get you started: 

Roast

KickPoint

UpBuild

Seer Interactive

Merkle

Distilled

"Having a go-to list of daily industry reads is a really good way to keep the sense of inspiration up." — Rob Bucci

Use your connections

What good was all that networking if you don’t put it to use — especially if, like me, you're a Level-12 Introvert?

Make sure all those hard-earned connections don't go to waste. Chances are, if you saw them at MozCon, you’ll be seeing them at the same tracks and conferences, so it'd be good to set some sort of foundation

All it takes is a LinkedIn message or an email. And they'll appreciate you following up — bonus points if you make it personal. I’ve made several follow up emails after conferences and almost all blossomed into successful working relationships thanks in large part to emails that began as though we were continuing the conversation we had at MozCon. It doesn't have to be the same as “Hi, how’s your dog, is she still afraid of traffic cones?,” but a nice "Hi, how is life after MozCon — are you settling back into the 9-5, yet?" goes a long way.

“It’s great to collect business cards, but it’s better to form life-long relationships. If you haven’t connected with those you met at MozCon, now is the time to do so. At a minimum, email everyone you enjoyed meeting with and let them know that you can be a resource for them.” — Cyrus Shepard

Takeaways

MozCon only comes once a year — like International Pancake Day or 7-11's Free Slurpee Day — so make sure you're prepared so you can keep that MozCon fire burning all year round.

Grab my MozCon ticket now!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[drummcarpentry]

How to Make the Most of MozCon (and Stay Motivated Once it's Over)

Posted by Kirsten_Barkved

Show of hands if the following scenario has ever happened to you:

You make it to a conference. You sit through three to four days of amazing content, network like a boss, fill up on coffee and donuts, and cover page after page of notes — your wrist is dangerously close to being diagnosed with carpal tunnel. The energy in the room is contagious and everyone leaves the conference with the promise of new strategies, connections, and ideas that have the possibility to transform the way you think about business.

Photo credit: Turk Photos

At least, that’s the dream. But the reality is that once the conference is over, you're back to the grind. No longer surrounded by that vibrant "we can do anything" energy that had you so inspired just days before — the buzz is now a dull hum. Your notebook is full of scribbles that you can no longer decipher, and you have a daunting to-do list to catch up on while you nurse a sugar hangover from eating three-days worth of the best damn donuts you've ever had.

You’ve lost the fire. The conference motivation is gone. You, my friend, have the post-conference scaries.

Now, it’s July and you’ll be at MozCon in less than a week. The excitement is building. But so is the anxiety: you know there’s going to be a ton of insightful talks and takeaways to write home about. But how do you keep all that goodness going after MozCon?

We've all been there! And with MozCon fast approaching, we want to make sure you’re set up for success. So we put together an effective guide to make sure you can put all the goodness you’ve absorbed to work straight away. We even asked our Subject Matter Experts for some advice. Read on to see what Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Cyrus Shepard, Dr. Pete, and Miriam Ellis have to offer!

Get your tickets before they're gone!

Before you head to MozCon, though, make sure you do these things first

We know this isn’t your first rodeo. But on the off chance that it is, or if you need a reminder before you set foot in MozCon, make like the Boy Scouts of America: Be prepared.

Because I’m a keener (remind me to tell you about the time I waited for 24 hours to be first in line for The Fellowship of the Ring movie) with a tendency to overprepare (remind me also to tell you about my first day of school where I packed all my favorite Nancy Drews, my best pencil crayons, a raincoat, and a pair of extra socks), I spend quite a chunk of time ensuring I have everything I need before an event. 

You don't need to be as prepared as my eight-year-old self, but here’s a brief checklist of things to do before you pack your bags and set sail for MozCon:

Study the agenda — You’ve likely already glanced at who’s speaking. Take another skim to get an idea of who is speaking and what topics will fulfill an educational gap. Even if a topic isn't related to your area of work, it's still worthwhile to listen — who knows what you'll uncover. 

Set goals for what you’d like to learn — Whatever your game plan looks like, flesh it out to flesh out. Show up ready to learn.

Prepare your note-taking tools — There is no such thing as too many pens, not at a conference like MozCon. You’ll be taking a ton of notes, so prepare your note-taking tools, whatever they may be — charge your laptop or tablets, pack a spare notebook and some well-inked pens, or practice your telepathy if you plan on sending takeaways to your team via your mind.

Subscribe to the Moz blog — We have oodles of content for you to sink your teeth into and there’s something for everyone, from basic SEO to local search to the nitty-gritty technical. Plus, we'll be doing conference recaps after each day, so even if you couldn't make it this year, you'll get all the juicy details straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

Connect — There is ample opportunity at MozCon to network and meet new people but it never hurts to get a lay of the digital land before you step foot in Seattle. Follow the hashtag #mozcon on Twitter to stay up to date with MozCon goers and ask important questions of our speakers, like this:

#mozcon The single most important question that probably needs to be answered before anything else: did you or did you not get the cat? #mozcon #CatCon pic.twitter.com/CGBszFXsI8

— STAT Search Analytics (@getSTAT) July 9, 2018

You can also join the Facebook group to find out when people are arriving and pop in on conversations to get your name and face out there. If you know of people you want to reconnect that will be attending, now is a good idea to reach out and reconnect. Set up a time to chat over a coffee or maybe make plans to sit together at our Birds of Feather table.

At the conference

It's Day One of MozCon and you've successfully found the coffee. Now what?

Attend every session...

And we mean every. Single. Session. 

The great thing about MozCon is that it's a single track session, so you don't have to pick one talk over another. That also means, though, that the temptation can be high for skipping one or two. 

“It may be tempting to sleep in on a morning session, but so much magic happens when you aren't there. You never know what nuggets of insight you'll miss.” — Cyrus Shepard

"I often find I have some of my best ideas at conferences, even if they're not related to anything the speaker is talking about. Capture those ideas, too, and add them to your action plan." — Dr. Pete

...But don't be afraid to mingle in-between sessions

"Take breaks if you feel like it and spend some time meeting people out in the lobby. New MozCon friends can help hold each other accountable after the conference. I've met some of my closest industry friends in the lobby of conferences during a session — hi, Cyrus!" — Britney Muller

Remember what you learn

There's a lot of information to digest and chances are that your hurried note-taking isn't going to make a ton of sense once the MozCon high is over. To make deciphering your notes easier once you're back at the office, add three key takeaways or any follow up you want to do on the topic after each session.

You can also create a page dedicated to takeaways that you think are worthy. While I’m definitely taking notes during each session, I reserve a separate page for any ideas, theories, or strategies that I think are valuable to explore.

Make sure you're keeping your goals in mind, too. If you had planned on learning new things at MozCon, keep your ears open for any topics that piqued your interest.

"Write down at least one topic that grabbed your interest but that you felt could be studied further and commit to doing that study at your business and publishing your findings. Don't forget to ping the original presenter when you do, letting them know their talk inspired your further investigation." — Miriam Ellis

"At the end of each conference day, I also like to schedule emails to myself (a few weeks out) as reminders to attempt the things I learned about that day." — Britney Muller

Keep tabs on live tweeters

MozCon has some pretty prolific live tweeters that know just how to distill all the right takeaways into 280 characters (which, IMO, is quite a feat). Some of our past MozCon live-tweeters have included: 

Ruth Burr

Greg Gifford

Dana DiTomaso

Matt Decuir

Casie Gillette 

Andy Crestodina

You can also keep up with the conference goers by following the conference hashtag, #mozcon.

"Also, follow Cyrus Shepard on Twitter and do everything he says!" — Britney Muller

Take note of any free templates, tools, or spreadsheets

Much like parents who want nothing but the best from you (and also to sometimes show off your life successes on the family fridge), the speakers want you to excel in life after MozCon. Which is why you’re bound to find a plethora of downloadable templates and spreadsheets during their talk. Take note of any that you'd like to try back at the office. Make sure to also follow the speakers on Twitter for any updates or insider tips on how to make the most of their new resources.

Thanks #mozcon! Here is the Google Tag Manager recipe we released today to help you measure if people are actually reading your content. Enjoy! https://t.co/9Iy8VQA51l

— Dana DiTomaso (@danaditomaso) July 11, 2018

Download the talks

I’m sure you already know, but on the off chance you didn't know, you’ll be able to download all the speaker's slide decks once their talks are over. So if there was something you missed, wanted to share with the team at home base, or needed clarification on, you can do so with one click of a button once they're available.

After the conference

Write about it

I know the last thing you want to do right after three days of learning and writing is to go and do more writing. But Future You will be so happy that Past You did this one thing. 

The second you're done MozCon-ing, write everything down. Get it all out of your brain and onto paper. Because otherwise, you'll forget why you underlined a word or phrase three times or the cool new project ideas you had while chatting at dinner. You won't mean to, obviously. It's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. Kind of like drifting off to sleep with a really great idea for a band name — you'll tuck it away in a pocket of your brain, certain you won't forget about it in the morning. But you will. And the world will never know of They Might Be Little Pigeons. 

So, write everything down the second you can.

"I'm one of those people who takes notes like, "Cheese fritters + SEO = YES!" and am very excited about it and have no idea what it meant a week later. So: Re-copy your notes or write a summary, ASAP, while it's still fresh in your mind— even if it's on the flight home." — Dr. Pete

Schedule thinking time

The first week back at the office, block out some time in your calendar to percolate over what you learned at MozCon. I can’t stress this one enough: When we get back into the real world, we dive right into our list of to-dos, at home and at work. And the longer we delay the thinking and brainstorming process, the bigger the chance we’ll lose motivation or get bogged down by more projects. 

Carve out some thinking time for yourself in your calendar the second you’re back at your desk to ask yourself some questions:

What really stood out for me?

What do I want to apply right away?

What is going to be effective short term vs. long term?

I like to ideate to-do lists from these questions — maybe that’s a follow-up email with the speaker or a task to read further resources from their talk. Or maybe it’s to set up a meeting with my team to try out a new strategy. The point is: if I take this time now to marinate, the better chance I have of helping out future me — and future me really appreciates that.

"It's so easy to go from hundreds of ideas to doing nothing concrete, and as soon as you return to your desk, you're going to be buried in emails and requests. Commit to something actionable before you open up your inbox." — Dr. Pete

Review your action items

Now that you’ve done your big thinking, it’s time to turn those takeaways and actions items into, well, action. 

Think back to the goals you outlined before you set foot inside MozCon — did you meet any of them? How well did the topics address your questions? And how will you apply your action items? When I’m looking over my notes for any new ideas we can execute on, I like to make a table with two columns: 1) Things that we don’t do but could and 2) Things we’re currently doing but could be doing better.

Got a lot of action items and feel a tad overwhelmed? Just remember: If you apply just one action item a week, even if it's small, that's still fifty small changes you've made in one year. And they can all add up to one big change.

You’ll want to prioritize them like so:

Strategic initiatives to implement right away

Processes you can improve

Areas for future learning

“A week after the conference, review your "action items" — either by yourself or with your team. Prepare a presentation for the top things you learned and share with any team members that didn't attend." — Cyrus Shepard

"Pin yourself down to three specific to-dos for the month after the conference." — Dr. Pete

Stay inspired

Remember that anything in life worth having (relationships, bangs, product launches, puzzles) requires more than just an idea — it takes time and work. Rather than let all that enthusiasm you had at MozCon fade away, keep the momentum going by reading and learning new things. A good place to start is by subscribing to daily industry reads that can fuel your inspiration. Here is just a sampling to get you started: 

Roast

KickPoint

UpBuild

Seer Interactive

Merkle

Distilled

"Having a go-to list of daily industry reads is a really good way to keep the sense of inspiration up." — Rob Bucci

Use your connections

What good was all that networking if you don’t put it to use — especially if, like me, you're a Level-12 Introvert?

Make sure all those hard-earned connections don't go to waste. Chances are, if you saw them at MozCon, you’ll be seeing them at the same tracks and conferences, so it'd be good to set some sort of foundation

All it takes is a LinkedIn message or an email. And they'll appreciate you following up — bonus points if you make it personal. I’ve made several follow up emails after conferences and almost all blossomed into successful working relationships thanks in large part to emails that began as though we were continuing the conversation we had at MozCon. It doesn't have to be the same as “Hi, how’s your dog, is she still afraid of traffic cones?,” but a nice "Hi, how is life after MozCon — are you settling back into the 9-5, yet?" goes a long way.

“It’s great to collect business cards, but it’s better to form life-long relationships. If you haven’t connected with those you met at MozCon, now is the time to do so. At a minimum, email everyone you enjoyed meeting with and let them know that you can be a resource for them.” — Cyrus Shepard

Takeaways

MozCon only comes once a year — like International Pancake Day or 7-11's Free Slurpee Day — so make sure you're prepared so you can keep that MozCon fire burning all year round.

Grab my MozCon ticket now!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[ductrungnguyen87]

How to Make the Most of MozCon (and Stay Motivated Once it's Over)

Posted by Kirsten_Barkved

Show of hands if the following scenario has ever happened to you:

You make it to a conference. You sit through three to four days of amazing content, network like a boss, fill up on coffee and donuts, and cover page after page of notes — your wrist is dangerously close to being diagnosed with carpal tunnel. The energy in the room is contagious and everyone leaves the conference with the promise of new strategies, connections, and ideas that have the possibility to transform the way you think about business.

Photo credit: Turk Photos

At least, that’s the dream. But the reality is that once the conference is over, you're back to the grind. No longer surrounded by that vibrant "we can do anything" energy that had you so inspired just days before — the buzz is now a dull hum. Your notebook is full of scribbles that you can no longer decipher, and you have a daunting to-do list to catch up on while you nurse a sugar hangover from eating three-days worth of the best damn donuts you've ever had.

You’ve lost the fire. The conference motivation is gone. You, my friend, have the post-conference scaries.

Now, it’s July and you’ll be at MozCon in less than a week. The excitement is building. But so is the anxiety: you know there’s going to be a ton of insightful talks and takeaways to write home about. But how do you keep all that goodness going after MozCon?

We've all been there! And with MozCon fast approaching, we want to make sure you’re set up for success. So we put together an effective guide to make sure you can put all the goodness you’ve absorbed to work straight away. We even asked our Subject Matter Experts for some advice. Read on to see what Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Cyrus Shepard, Dr. Pete, and Miriam Ellis have to offer!

Get your tickets before they're gone!

Before you head to MozCon, though, make sure you do these things first

We know this isn’t your first rodeo. But on the off chance that it is, or if you need a reminder before you set foot in MozCon, make like the Boy Scouts of America: Be prepared.

Because I’m a keener (remind me to tell you about the time I waited for 24 hours to be first in line for The Fellowship of the Ring movie) with a tendency to overprepare (remind me also to tell you about my first day of school where I packed all my favorite Nancy Drews, my best pencil crayons, a raincoat, and a pair of extra socks), I spend quite a chunk of time ensuring I have everything I need before an event. 

You don't need to be as prepared as my eight-year-old self, but here’s a brief checklist of things to do before you pack your bags and set sail for MozCon:

Study the agenda — You’ve likely already glanced at who’s speaking. Take another skim to get an idea of who is speaking and what topics will fulfill an educational gap. Even if a topic isn't related to your area of work, it's still worthwhile to listen — who knows what you'll uncover. 

Set goals for what you’d like to learn — Whatever your game plan looks like, flesh it out to flesh out. Show up ready to learn.

Prepare your note-taking tools — There is no such thing as too many pens, not at a conference like MozCon. You’ll be taking a ton of notes, so prepare your note-taking tools, whatever they may be — charge your laptop or tablets, pack a spare notebook and some well-inked pens, or practice your telepathy if you plan on sending takeaways to your team via your mind.

Subscribe to the Moz blog — We have oodles of content for you to sink your teeth into and there’s something for everyone, from basic SEO to local search to the nitty-gritty technical. Plus, we'll be doing conference recaps after each day, so even if you couldn't make it this year, you'll get all the juicy details straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

Connect — There is ample opportunity at MozCon to network and meet new people but it never hurts to get a lay of the digital land before you step foot in Seattle. Follow the hashtag #mozcon on Twitter to stay up to date with MozCon goers and ask important questions of our speakers, like this:

#mozcon The single most important question that probably needs to be answered before anything else: did you or did you not get the cat? #mozcon #CatCon pic.twitter.com/CGBszFXsI8

— STAT Search Analytics (@getSTAT) July 9, 2018

You can also join the Facebook group to find out when people are arriving and pop in on conversations to get your name and face out there. If you know of people you want to reconnect that will be attending, now is a good idea to reach out and reconnect. Set up a time to chat over a coffee or maybe make plans to sit together at our Birds of Feather table.

At the conference

It's Day One of MozCon and you've successfully found the coffee. Now what?

Attend every session...

And we mean every. Single. Session. 

The great thing about MozCon is that it's a single track session, so you don't have to pick one talk over another. That also means, though, that the temptation can be high for skipping one or two. 

“It may be tempting to sleep in on a morning session, but so much magic happens when you aren't there. You never know what nuggets of insight you'll miss.” — Cyrus Shepard

"I often find I have some of my best ideas at conferences, even if they're not related to anything the speaker is talking about. Capture those ideas, too, and add them to your action plan." — Dr. Pete

...But don't be afraid to mingle in-between sessions

"Take breaks if you feel like it and spend some time meeting people out in the lobby. New MozCon friends can help hold each other accountable after the conference. I've met some of my closest industry friends in the lobby of conferences during a session — hi, Cyrus!" — Britney Muller

Remember what you learn

There's a lot of information to digest and chances are that your hurried note-taking isn't going to make a ton of sense once the MozCon high is over. To make deciphering your notes easier once you're back at the office, add three key takeaways or any follow up you want to do on the topic after each session.

You can also create a page dedicated to takeaways that you think are worthy. While I’m definitely taking notes during each session, I reserve a separate page for any ideas, theories, or strategies that I think are valuable to explore.

Make sure you're keeping your goals in mind, too. If you had planned on learning new things at MozCon, keep your ears open for any topics that piqued your interest.

"Write down at least one topic that grabbed your interest but that you felt could be studied further and commit to doing that study at your business and publishing your findings. Don't forget to ping the original presenter when you do, letting them know their talk inspired your further investigation." — Miriam Ellis

"At the end of each conference day, I also like to schedule emails to myself (a few weeks out) as reminders to attempt the things I learned about that day." — Britney Muller

Keep tabs on live tweeters

MozCon has some pretty prolific live tweeters that know just how to distill all the right takeaways into 280 characters (which, IMO, is quite a feat). Some of our past MozCon live-tweeters have included: 

Ruth Burr

Greg Gifford

Dana DiTomaso

Matt Decuir

Casie Gillette 

Andy Crestodina

You can also keep up with the conference goers by following the conference hashtag, #mozcon.

"Also, follow Cyrus Shepard on Twitter and do everything he says!" — Britney Muller

Take note of any free templates, tools, or spreadsheets

Much like parents who want nothing but the best from you (and also to sometimes show off your life successes on the family fridge), the speakers want you to excel in life after MozCon. Which is why you’re bound to find a plethora of downloadable templates and spreadsheets during their talk. Take note of any that you'd like to try back at the office. Make sure to also follow the speakers on Twitter for any updates or insider tips on how to make the most of their new resources.

Thanks #mozcon! Here is the Google Tag Manager recipe we released today to help you measure if people are actually reading your content. Enjoy! https://t.co/9Iy8VQA51l

— Dana DiTomaso (@danaditomaso) July 11, 2018

Download the talks

I’m sure you already know, but on the off chance you didn't know, you’ll be able to download all the speaker's slide decks once their talks are over. So if there was something you missed, wanted to share with the team at home base, or needed clarification on, you can do so with one click of a button once they're available.

After the conference

Write about it

I know the last thing you want to do right after three days of learning and writing is to go and do more writing. But Future You will be so happy that Past You did this one thing. 

The second you're done MozCon-ing, write everything down. Get it all out of your brain and onto paper. Because otherwise, you'll forget why you underlined a word or phrase three times or the cool new project ideas you had while chatting at dinner. You won't mean to, obviously. It's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. Kind of like drifting off to sleep with a really great idea for a band name — you'll tuck it away in a pocket of your brain, certain you won't forget about it in the morning. But you will. And the world will never know of They Might Be Little Pigeons. 

So, write everything down the second you can.

"I'm one of those people who takes notes like, "Cheese fritters + SEO = YES!" and am very excited about it and have no idea what it meant a week later. So: Re-copy your notes or write a summary, ASAP, while it's still fresh in your mind— even if it's on the flight home." — Dr. Pete

Schedule thinking time

The first week back at the office, block out some time in your calendar to percolate over what you learned at MozCon. I can’t stress this one enough: When we get back into the real world, we dive right into our list of to-dos, at home and at work. And the longer we delay the thinking and brainstorming process, the bigger the chance we’ll lose motivation or get bogged down by more projects. 

Carve out some thinking time for yourself in your calendar the second you’re back at your desk to ask yourself some questions:

What really stood out for me?

What do I want to apply right away?

What is going to be effective short term vs. long term?

I like to ideate to-do lists from these questions — maybe that’s a follow-up email with the speaker or a task to read further resources from their talk. Or maybe it’s to set up a meeting with my team to try out a new strategy. The point is: if I take this time now to marinate, the better chance I have of helping out future me — and future me really appreciates that.

"It's so easy to go from hundreds of ideas to doing nothing concrete, and as soon as you return to your desk, you're going to be buried in emails and requests. Commit to something actionable before you open up your inbox." — Dr. Pete

Review your action items

Now that you’ve done your big thinking, it’s time to turn those takeaways and actions items into, well, action. 

Think back to the goals you outlined before you set foot inside MozCon — did you meet any of them? How well did the topics address your questions? And how will you apply your action items? When I’m looking over my notes for any new ideas we can execute on, I like to make a table with two columns: 1) Things that we don’t do but could and 2) Things we’re currently doing but could be doing better.

Got a lot of action items and feel a tad overwhelmed? Just remember: If you apply just one action item a week, even if it's small, that's still fifty small changes you've made in one year. And they can all add up to one big change.

You’ll want to prioritize them like so:

Strategic initiatives to implement right away

Processes you can improve

Areas for future learning

“A week after the conference, review your "action items" — either by yourself or with your team. Prepare a presentation for the top things you learned and share with any team members that didn't attend." — Cyrus Shepard

"Pin yourself down to three specific to-dos for the month after the conference." — Dr. Pete

Stay inspired

Remember that anything in life worth having (relationships, bangs, product launches, puzzles) requires more than just an idea — it takes time and work. Rather than let all that enthusiasm you had at MozCon fade away, keep the momentum going by reading and learning new things. A good place to start is by subscribing to daily industry reads that can fuel your inspiration. Here is just a sampling to get you started: 

Roast

KickPoint

UpBuild

Seer Interactive

Merkle

Distilled

"Having a go-to list of daily industry reads is a really good way to keep the sense of inspiration up." — Rob Bucci

Use your connections

What good was all that networking if you don’t put it to use — especially if, like me, you're a Level-12 Introvert?

Make sure all those hard-earned connections don't go to waste. Chances are, if you saw them at MozCon, you’ll be seeing them at the same tracks and conferences, so it'd be good to set some sort of foundation

All it takes is a LinkedIn message or an email. And they'll appreciate you following up — bonus points if you make it personal. I’ve made several follow up emails after conferences and almost all blossomed into successful working relationships thanks in large part to emails that began as though we were continuing the conversation we had at MozCon. It doesn't have to be the same as “Hi, how’s your dog, is she still afraid of traffic cones?,” but a nice "Hi, how is life after MozCon — are you settling back into the 9-5, yet?" goes a long way.

“It’s great to collect business cards, but it’s better to form life-long relationships. If you haven’t connected with those you met at MozCon, now is the time to do so. At a minimum, email everyone you enjoyed meeting with and let them know that you can be a resource for them.” — Cyrus Shepard

Takeaways

MozCon only comes once a year — like International Pancake Day or 7-11's Free Slurpee Day — so make sure you're prepared so you can keep that MozCon fire burning all year round.

Grab my MozCon ticket now!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[epackingvietnam]

How to Make the Most of MozCon (and Stay Motivated Once it's Over)

Posted by Kirsten_Barkved

Show of hands if the following scenario has ever happened to you:

You make it to a conference. You sit through three to four days of amazing content, network like a boss, fill up on coffee and donuts, and cover page after page of notes — your wrist is dangerously close to being diagnosed with carpal tunnel. The energy in the room is contagious and everyone leaves the conference with the promise of new strategies, connections, and ideas that have the possibility to transform the way you think about business.

Photo credit: Turk Photos

At least, that’s the dream. But the reality is that once the conference is over, you're back to the grind. No longer surrounded by that vibrant "we can do anything" energy that had you so inspired just days before — the buzz is now a dull hum. Your notebook is full of scribbles that you can no longer decipher, and you have a daunting to-do list to catch up on while you nurse a sugar hangover from eating three-days worth of the best damn donuts you've ever had.

You’ve lost the fire. The conference motivation is gone. You, my friend, have the post-conference scaries.

Now, it’s July and you’ll be at MozCon in less than a week. The excitement is building. But so is the anxiety: you know there’s going to be a ton of insightful talks and takeaways to write home about. But how do you keep all that goodness going after MozCon?

We've all been there! And with MozCon fast approaching, we want to make sure you’re set up for success. So we put together an effective guide to make sure you can put all the goodness you’ve absorbed to work straight away. We even asked our Subject Matter Experts for some advice. Read on to see what Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Cyrus Shepard, Dr. Pete, and Miriam Ellis have to offer!

Get your tickets before they're gone!

Before you head to MozCon, though, make sure you do these things first

We know this isn’t your first rodeo. But on the off chance that it is, or if you need a reminder before you set foot in MozCon, make like the Boy Scouts of America: Be prepared.

Because I’m a keener (remind me to tell you about the time I waited for 24 hours to be first in line for The Fellowship of the Ring movie) with a tendency to overprepare (remind me also to tell you about my first day of school where I packed all my favorite Nancy Drews, my best pencil crayons, a raincoat, and a pair of extra socks), I spend quite a chunk of time ensuring I have everything I need before an event. 

You don't need to be as prepared as my eight-year-old self, but here’s a brief checklist of things to do before you pack your bags and set sail for MozCon:

Study the agenda — You’ve likely already glanced at who’s speaking. Take another skim to get an idea of who is speaking and what topics will fulfill an educational gap. Even if a topic isn't related to your area of work, it's still worthwhile to listen — who knows what you'll uncover. 

Set goals for what you’d like to learn — Whatever your game plan looks like, flesh it out to flesh out. Show up ready to learn.

Prepare your note-taking tools — There is no such thing as too many pens, not at a conference like MozCon. You’ll be taking a ton of notes, so prepare your note-taking tools, whatever they may be — charge your laptop or tablets, pack a spare notebook and some well-inked pens, or practice your telepathy if you plan on sending takeaways to your team via your mind.

Subscribe to the Moz blog — We have oodles of content for you to sink your teeth into and there’s something for everyone, from basic SEO to local search to the nitty-gritty technical. Plus, we'll be doing conference recaps after each day, so even if you couldn't make it this year, you'll get all the juicy details straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

Connect — There is ample opportunity at MozCon to network and meet new people but it never hurts to get a lay of the digital land before you step foot in Seattle. Follow the hashtag #mozcon on Twitter to stay up to date with MozCon goers and ask important questions of our speakers, like this:

#mozcon The single most important question that probably needs to be answered before anything else: did you or did you not get the cat? #mozcon #CatCon pic.twitter.com/CGBszFXsI8

— STAT Search Analytics (@getSTAT) July 9, 2018

You can also join the Facebook group to find out when people are arriving and pop in on conversations to get your name and face out there. If you know of people you want to reconnect that will be attending, now is a good idea to reach out and reconnect. Set up a time to chat over a coffee or maybe make plans to sit together at our Birds of Feather table.

At the conference

It's Day One of MozCon and you've successfully found the coffee. Now what?

Attend every session...

And we mean every. Single. Session. 

The great thing about MozCon is that it's a single track session, so you don't have to pick one talk over another. That also means, though, that the temptation can be high for skipping one or two. 

“It may be tempting to sleep in on a morning session, but so much magic happens when you aren't there. You never know what nuggets of insight you'll miss.” — Cyrus Shepard

"I often find I have some of my best ideas at conferences, even if they're not related to anything the speaker is talking about. Capture those ideas, too, and add them to your action plan." — Dr. Pete

...But don't be afraid to mingle in-between sessions

"Take breaks if you feel like it and spend some time meeting people out in the lobby. New MozCon friends can help hold each other accountable after the conference. I've met some of my closest industry friends in the lobby of conferences during a session — hi, Cyrus!" — Britney Muller

Remember what you learn

There's a lot of information to digest and chances are that your hurried note-taking isn't going to make a ton of sense once the MozCon high is over. To make deciphering your notes easier once you're back at the office, add three key takeaways or any follow up you want to do on the topic after each session.

You can also create a page dedicated to takeaways that you think are worthy. While I’m definitely taking notes during each session, I reserve a separate page for any ideas, theories, or strategies that I think are valuable to explore.

Make sure you're keeping your goals in mind, too. If you had planned on learning new things at MozCon, keep your ears open for any topics that piqued your interest.

"Write down at least one topic that grabbed your interest but that you felt could be studied further and commit to doing that study at your business and publishing your findings. Don't forget to ping the original presenter when you do, letting them know their talk inspired your further investigation." — Miriam Ellis

"At the end of each conference day, I also like to schedule emails to myself (a few weeks out) as reminders to attempt the things I learned about that day." — Britney Muller

Keep tabs on live tweeters

MozCon has some pretty prolific live tweeters that know just how to distill all the right takeaways into 280 characters (which, IMO, is quite a feat). Some of our past MozCon live-tweeters have included: 

Ruth Burr

Greg Gifford

Dana DiTomaso

Matt Decuir

Casie Gillette 

Andy Crestodina

You can also keep up with the conference goers by following the conference hashtag, #mozcon.

"Also, follow Cyrus Shepard on Twitter and do everything he says!" — Britney Muller

Take note of any free templates, tools, or spreadsheets

Much like parents who want nothing but the best from you (and also to sometimes show off your life successes on the family fridge), the speakers want you to excel in life after MozCon. Which is why you’re bound to find a plethora of downloadable templates and spreadsheets during their talk. Take note of any that you'd like to try back at the office. Make sure to also follow the speakers on Twitter for any updates or insider tips on how to make the most of their new resources.

Thanks #mozcon! Here is the Google Tag Manager recipe we released today to help you measure if people are actually reading your content. Enjoy! https://t.co/9Iy8VQA51l

— Dana DiTomaso (@danaditomaso) July 11, 2018

Download the talks

I’m sure you already know, but on the off chance you didn't know, you’ll be able to download all the speaker's slide decks once their talks are over. So if there was something you missed, wanted to share with the team at home base, or needed clarification on, you can do so with one click of a button once they're available.

After the conference

Write about it

I know the last thing you want to do right after three days of learning and writing is to go and do more writing. But Future You will be so happy that Past You did this one thing. 

The second you're done MozCon-ing, write everything down. Get it all out of your brain and onto paper. Because otherwise, you'll forget why you underlined a word or phrase three times or the cool new project ideas you had while chatting at dinner. You won't mean to, obviously. It's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. Kind of like drifting off to sleep with a really great idea for a band name — you'll tuck it away in a pocket of your brain, certain you won't forget about it in the morning. But you will. And the world will never know of They Might Be Little Pigeons. 

So, write everything down the second you can.

"I'm one of those people who takes notes like, "Cheese fritters + SEO = YES!" and am very excited about it and have no idea what it meant a week later. So: Re-copy your notes or write a summary, ASAP, while it's still fresh in your mind— even if it's on the flight home." — Dr. Pete

Schedule thinking time

The first week back at the office, block out some time in your calendar to percolate over what you learned at MozCon. I can’t stress this one enough: When we get back into the real world, we dive right into our list of to-dos, at home and at work. And the longer we delay the thinking and brainstorming process, the bigger the chance we’ll lose motivation or get bogged down by more projects. 

Carve out some thinking time for yourself in your calendar the second you’re back at your desk to ask yourself some questions:

What really stood out for me?

What do I want to apply right away?

What is going to be effective short term vs. long term?

I like to ideate to-do lists from these questions — maybe that’s a follow-up email with the speaker or a task to read further resources from their talk. Or maybe it’s to set up a meeting with my team to try out a new strategy. The point is: if I take this time now to marinate, the better chance I have of helping out future me — and future me really appreciates that.

"It's so easy to go from hundreds of ideas to doing nothing concrete, and as soon as you return to your desk, you're going to be buried in emails and requests. Commit to something actionable before you open up your inbox." — Dr. Pete

Review your action items

Now that you’ve done your big thinking, it’s time to turn those takeaways and actions items into, well, action. 

Think back to the goals you outlined before you set foot inside MozCon — did you meet any of them? How well did the topics address your questions? And how will you apply your action items? When I’m looking over my notes for any new ideas we can execute on, I like to make a table with two columns: 1) Things that we don’t do but could and 2) Things we’re currently doing but could be doing better.

Got a lot of action items and feel a tad overwhelmed? Just remember: If you apply just one action item a week, even if it's small, that's still fifty small changes you've made in one year. And they can all add up to one big change.

You’ll want to prioritize them like so:

Strategic initiatives to implement right away

Processes you can improve

Areas for future learning

“A week after the conference, review your "action items" — either by yourself or with your team. Prepare a presentation for the top things you learned and share with any team members that didn't attend." — Cyrus Shepard

"Pin yourself down to three specific to-dos for the month after the conference." — Dr. Pete

Stay inspired

Remember that anything in life worth having (relationships, bangs, product launches, puzzles) requires more than just an idea — it takes time and work. Rather than let all that enthusiasm you had at MozCon fade away, keep the momentum going by reading and learning new things. A good place to start is by subscribing to daily industry reads that can fuel your inspiration. Here is just a sampling to get you started: 

Roast

KickPoint

UpBuild

Seer Interactive

Merkle

Distilled

"Having a go-to list of daily industry reads is a really good way to keep the sense of inspiration up." — Rob Bucci

Use your connections

What good was all that networking if you don’t put it to use — especially if, like me, you're a Level-12 Introvert?

Make sure all those hard-earned connections don't go to waste. Chances are, if you saw them at MozCon, you’ll be seeing them at the same tracks and conferences, so it'd be good to set some sort of foundation

All it takes is a LinkedIn message or an email. And they'll appreciate you following up — bonus points if you make it personal. I’ve made several follow up emails after conferences and almost all blossomed into successful working relationships thanks in large part to emails that began as though we were continuing the conversation we had at MozCon. It doesn't have to be the same as “Hi, how’s your dog, is she still afraid of traffic cones?,” but a nice "Hi, how is life after MozCon — are you settling back into the 9-5, yet?" goes a long way.

“It’s great to collect business cards, but it’s better to form life-long relationships. If you haven’t connected with those you met at MozCon, now is the time to do so. At a minimum, email everyone you enjoyed meeting with and let them know that you can be a resource for them.” — Cyrus Shepard

Takeaways

MozCon only comes once a year — like International Pancake Day or 7-11's Free Slurpee Day — so make sure you're prepared so you can keep that MozCon fire burning all year round.

Grab my MozCon ticket now!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

#túi_giấy_epacking_việt_nam #túi_giấy_epacking #in_túi_giấy_giá_rẻ #in_túi_giấy #epackingvietnam #tuigiayepacking

[gamebazu]

How to Make the Most of MozCon (and Stay Motivated Once it's Over)

Posted by Kirsten_Barkved

Show of hands if the following scenario has ever happened to you:

You make it to a conference. You sit through three to four days of amazing content, network like a boss, fill up on coffee and donuts, and cover page after page of notes — your wrist is dangerously close to being diagnosed with carpal tunnel. The energy in the room is contagious and everyone leaves the conference with the promise of new strategies, connections, and ideas that have the possibility to transform the way you think about business.

Photo credit: Turk Photos

At least, that’s the dream. But the reality is that once the conference is over, you're back to the grind. No longer surrounded by that vibrant "we can do anything" energy that had you so inspired just days before — the buzz is now a dull hum. Your notebook is full of scribbles that you can no longer decipher, and you have a daunting to-do list to catch up on while you nurse a sugar hangover from eating three-days worth of the best damn donuts you've ever had.

You’ve lost the fire. The conference motivation is gone. You, my friend, have the post-conference scaries.

Now, it’s July and you’ll be at MozCon in less than a week. The excitement is building. But so is the anxiety: you know there’s going to be a ton of insightful talks and takeaways to write home about. But how do you keep all that goodness going after MozCon?

We've all been there! And with MozCon fast approaching, we want to make sure you’re set up for success. So we put together an effective guide to make sure you can put all the goodness you’ve absorbed to work straight away. We even asked our Subject Matter Experts for some advice. Read on to see what Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Cyrus Shepard, Dr. Pete, and Miriam Ellis have to offer!

Get your tickets before they're gone!

Before you head to MozCon, though, make sure you do these things first

We know this isn’t your first rodeo. But on the off chance that it is, or if you need a reminder before you set foot in MozCon, make like the Boy Scouts of America: Be prepared.

Because I’m a keener (remind me to tell you about the time I waited for 24 hours to be first in line for The Fellowship of the Ring movie) with a tendency to overprepare (remind me also to tell you about my first day of school where I packed all my favorite Nancy Drews, my best pencil crayons, a raincoat, and a pair of extra socks), I spend quite a chunk of time ensuring I have everything I need before an event. 

You don't need to be as prepared as my eight-year-old self, but here’s a brief checklist of things to do before you pack your bags and set sail for MozCon:

Study the agenda — You’ve likely already glanced at who’s speaking. Take another skim to get an idea of who is speaking and what topics will fulfill an educational gap. Even if a topic isn't related to your area of work, it's still worthwhile to listen — who knows what you'll uncover. 

Set goals for what you’d like to learn — Whatever your game plan looks like, flesh it out to flesh out. Show up ready to learn.

Prepare your note-taking tools — There is no such thing as too many pens, not at a conference like MozCon. You’ll be taking a ton of notes, so prepare your note-taking tools, whatever they may be — charge your laptop or tablets, pack a spare notebook and some well-inked pens, or practice your telepathy if you plan on sending takeaways to your team via your mind.

Subscribe to the Moz blog — We have oodles of content for you to sink your teeth into and there’s something for everyone, from basic SEO to local search to the nitty-gritty technical. Plus, we'll be doing conference recaps after each day, so even if you couldn't make it this year, you'll get all the juicy details straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

Connect — There is ample opportunity at MozCon to network and meet new people but it never hurts to get a lay of the digital land before you step foot in Seattle. Follow the hashtag #mozcon on Twitter to stay up to date with MozCon goers and ask important questions of our speakers, like this:

#mozcon The single most important question that probably needs to be answered before anything else: did you or did you not get the cat? #mozcon #CatCon pic.twitter.com/CGBszFXsI8

— STAT Search Analytics (@getSTAT) July 9, 2018

You can also join the Facebook group to find out when people are arriving and pop in on conversations to get your name and face out there. If you know of people you want to reconnect that will be attending, now is a good idea to reach out and reconnect. Set up a time to chat over a coffee or maybe make plans to sit together at our Birds of Feather table.

At the conference

It's Day One of MozCon and you've successfully found the coffee. Now what?

Attend every session...

And we mean every. Single. Session. 

The great thing about MozCon is that it's a single track session, so you don't have to pick one talk over another. That also means, though, that the temptation can be high for skipping one or two. 

“It may be tempting to sleep in on a morning session, but so much magic happens when you aren't there. You never know what nuggets of insight you'll miss.” — Cyrus Shepard

"I often find I have some of my best ideas at conferences, even if they're not related to anything the speaker is talking about. Capture those ideas, too, and add them to your action plan." — Dr. Pete

...But don't be afraid to mingle in-between sessions

"Take breaks if you feel like it and spend some time meeting people out in the lobby. New MozCon friends can help hold each other accountable after the conference. I've met some of my closest industry friends in the lobby of conferences during a session — hi, Cyrus!" — Britney Muller

Remember what you learn

There's a lot of information to digest and chances are that your hurried note-taking isn't going to make a ton of sense once the MozCon high is over. To make deciphering your notes easier once you're back at the office, add three key takeaways or any follow up you want to do on the topic after each session.

You can also create a page dedicated to takeaways that you think are worthy. While I’m definitely taking notes during each session, I reserve a separate page for any ideas, theories, or strategies that I think are valuable to explore.

Make sure you're keeping your goals in mind, too. If you had planned on learning new things at MozCon, keep your ears open for any topics that piqued your interest.

"Write down at least one topic that grabbed your interest but that you felt could be studied further and commit to doing that study at your business and publishing your findings. Don't forget to ping the original presenter when you do, letting them know their talk inspired your further investigation." — Miriam Ellis

"At the end of each conference day, I also like to schedule emails to myself (a few weeks out) as reminders to attempt the things I learned about that day." �� Britney Muller

Keep tabs on live tweeters

MozCon has some pretty prolific live tweeters that know just how to distill all the right takeaways into 280 characters (which, IMO, is quite a feat). Some of our past MozCon live-tweeters have included: 

Ruth Burr

Greg Gifford

Dana DiTomaso

Matt Decuir

Casie Gillette 

Andy Crestodina

You can also keep up with the conference goers by following the conference hashtag, #mozcon.

"Also, follow Cyrus Shepard on Twitter and do everything he says!" — Britney Muller

Take note of any free templates, tools, or spreadsheets

Much like parents who want nothing but the best from you (and also to sometimes show off your life successes on the family fridge), the speakers want you to excel in life after MozCon. Which is why you’re bound to find a plethora of downloadable templates and spreadsheets during their talk. Take note of any that you'd like to try back at the office. Make sure to also follow the speakers on Twitter for any updates or insider tips on how to make the most of their new resources.

Thanks #mozcon! Here is the Google Tag Manager recipe we released today to help you measure if people are actually reading your content. Enjoy! https://t.co/9Iy8VQA51l

— Dana DiTomaso (@danaditomaso) July 11, 2018

Download the talks

I’m sure you already know, but on the off chance you didn't know, you’ll be able to download all the speaker's slide decks once their talks are over. So if there was something you missed, wanted to share with the team at home base, or needed clarification on, you can do so with one click of a button once they're available.

After the conference

Write about it

I know the last thing you want to do right after three days of learning and writing is to go and do more writing. But Future You will be so happy that Past You did this one thing. 

The second you're done MozCon-ing, write everything down. Get it all out of your brain and onto paper. Because otherwise, you'll forget why you underlined a word or phrase three times or the cool new project ideas you had while chatting at dinner. You won't mean to, obviously. It's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. Kind of like drifting off to sleep with a really great idea for a band name — you'll tuck it away in a pocket of your brain, certain you won't forget about it in the morning. But you will. And the world will never know of They Might Be Little Pigeons. 

So, write everything down the second you can.

"I'm one of those people who takes notes like, "Cheese fritters + SEO = YES!" and am very excited about it and have no idea what it meant a week later. So: Re-copy your notes or write a summary, ASAP, while it's still fresh in your mind— even if it's on the flight home." — Dr. Pete

Schedule thinking time

The first week back at the office, block out some time in your calendar to percolate over what you learned at MozCon. I can’t stress this one enough: When we get back into the real world, we dive right into our list of to-dos, at home and at work. And the longer we delay the thinking and brainstorming process, the bigger the chance we’ll lose motivation or get bogged down by more projects. 

Carve out some thinking time for yourself in your calendar the second you’re back at your desk to ask yourself some questions:

What really stood out for me?

What do I want to apply right away?

What is going to be effective short term vs. long term?

I like to ideate to-do lists from these questions — maybe that’s a follow-up email with the speaker or a task to read further resources from their talk. Or maybe it’s to set up a meeting with my team to try out a new strategy. The point is: if I take this time now to marinate, the better chance I have of helping out future me — and future me really appreciates that.

"It's so easy to go from hundreds of ideas to doing nothing concrete, and as soon as you return to your desk, you're going to be buried in emails and requests. Commit to something actionable before you open up your inbox." — Dr. Pete

Review your action items

Now that you’ve done your big thinking, it’s time to turn those takeaways and actions items into, well, action. 

Think back to the goals you outlined before you set foot inside MozCon — did you meet any of them? How well did the topics address your questions? And how will you apply your action items? When I’m looking over my notes for any new ideas we can execute on, I like to make a table with two columns: 1) Things that we don’t do but could and 2) Things we’re currently doing but could be doing better.

Got a lot of action items and feel a tad overwhelmed? Just remember: If you apply just one action item a week, even if it's small, that's still fifty small changes you've made in one year. And they can all add up to one big change.

You’ll want to prioritize them like so:

Strategic initiatives to implement right away

Processes you can improve

Areas for future learning

“A week after the conference, review your "action items" — either by yourself or with your team. Prepare a presentation for the top things you learned and share with any team members that didn't attend." — Cyrus Shepard

"Pin yourself down to three specific to-dos for the month after the conference." — Dr. Pete

Stay inspired

Remember that anything in life worth having (relationships, bangs, product launches, puzzles) requires more than just an idea — it takes time and work. Rather than let all that enthusiasm you had at MozCon fade away, keep the momentum going by reading and learning new things. A good place to start is by subscribing to daily industry reads that can fuel your inspiration. Here is just a sampling to get you started: 

Roast

KickPoint

UpBuild

Seer Interactive

Merkle

Distilled

"Having a go-to list of daily industry reads is a really good way to keep the sense of inspiration up." — Rob Bucci

Use your connections

What good was all that networking if you don’t put it to use — especially if, like me, you're a Level-12 Introvert?

Make sure all those hard-earned connections don't go to waste. Chances are, if you saw them at MozCon, you’ll be seeing them at the same tracks and conferences, so it'd be good to set some sort of foundation

All it takes is a LinkedIn message or an email. And they'll appreciate you following up — bonus points if you make it personal. I’ve made several follow up emails after conferences and almost all blossomed into successful working relationships thanks in large part to emails that began as though we were continuing the conversation we had at MozCon. It doesn't have to be the same as “Hi, how’s your dog, is she still afraid of traffic cones?,” but a nice "Hi, how is life after MozCon — are you settling back into the 9-5, yet?" goes a long way.

“It’s great to collect business cards, but it’s better to form life-long relationships. If you haven’t connected with those you met at MozCon, now is the time to do so. At a minimum, email everyone you enjoyed meeting with and let them know that you can be a resource for them.” — Cyrus Shepard

Takeaways

MozCon only comes once a year — like International Pancake Day or 7-11's Free Slurpee Day — so make sure you're prepared so you can keep that MozCon fire burning all year round.

Grab my MozCon ticket now!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[noithatotoaz]

How to Make the Most of MozCon (and Stay Motivated Once it's Over)

Posted by Kirsten_Barkved

Show of hands if the following scenario has ever happened to you:

You make it to a conference. You sit through three to four days of amazing content, network like a boss, fill up on coffee and donuts, and cover page after page of notes — your wrist is dangerously close to being diagnosed with carpal tunnel. The energy in the room is contagious and everyone leaves the conference with the promise of new strategies, connections, and ideas that have the possibility to transform the way you think about business.

Photo credit: Turk Photos

At least, that’s the dream. But the reality is that once the conference is over, you're back to the grind. No longer surrounded by that vibrant "we can do anything" energy that had you so inspired just days before — the buzz is now a dull hum. Your notebook is full of scribbles that you can no longer decipher, and you have a daunting to-do list to catch up on while you nurse a sugar hangover from eating three-days worth of the best damn donuts you've ever had.

You’ve lost the fire. The conference motivation is gone. You, my friend, have the post-conference scaries.

Now, it’s July and you’ll be at MozCon in less than a week. The excitement is building. But so is the anxiety: you know there’s going to be a ton of insightful talks and takeaways to write home about. But how do you keep all that goodness going after MozCon?

We've all been there! And with MozCon fast approaching, we want to make sure you’re set up for success. So we put together an effective guide to make sure you can put all the goodness you’ve absorbed to work straight away. We even asked our Subject Matter Experts for some advice. Read on to see what Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Cyrus Shepard, Dr. Pete, and Miriam Ellis have to offer!

Get your tickets before they're gone!

Before you head to MozCon, though, make sure you do these things first

We know this isn’t your first rodeo. But on the off chance that it is, or if you need a reminder before you set foot in MozCon, make like the Boy Scouts of America: Be prepared.

Because I’m a keener (remind me to tell you about the time I waited for 24 hours to be first in line for The Fellowship of the Ring movie) with a tendency to overprepare (remind me also to tell you about my first day of school where I packed all my favorite Nancy Drews, my best pencil crayons, a raincoat, and a pair of extra socks), I spend quite a chunk of time ensuring I have everything I need before an event. 

You don't need to be as prepared as my eight-year-old self, but here’s a brief checklist of things to do before you pack your bags and set sail for MozCon:

Study the agenda — You’ve likely already glanced at who’s speaking. Take another skim to get an idea of who is speaking and what topics will fulfill an educational gap. Even if a topic isn't related to your area of work, it's still worthwhile to listen — who knows what you'll uncover. 

Set goals for what you’d like to learn — Whatever your game plan looks like, flesh it out to flesh out. Show up ready to learn.

Prepare your note-taking tools — There is no such thing as too many pens, not at a conference like MozCon. You’ll be taking a ton of notes, so prepare your note-taking tools, whatever they may be — charge your laptop or tablets, pack a spare notebook and some well-inked pens, or practice your telepathy if you plan on sending takeaways to your team via your mind.

Subscribe to the Moz blog — We have oodles of content for you to sink your teeth into and there’s something for everyone, from basic SEO to local search to the nitty-gritty technical. Plus, we'll be doing conference recaps after each day, so even if you couldn't make it this year, you'll get all the juicy details straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

Connect — There is ample opportunity at MozCon to network and meet new people but it never hurts to get a lay of the digital land before you step foot in Seattle. Follow the hashtag #mozcon on Twitter to stay up to date with MozCon goers and ask important questions of our speakers, like this:

#mozcon The single most important question that probably needs to be answered before anything else: did you or did you not get the cat? #mozcon #CatCon pic.twitter.com/CGBszFXsI8

— STAT Search Analytics (@getSTAT) July 9, 2018

You can also join the Facebook group to find out when people are arriving and pop in on conversations to get your name and face out there. If you know of people you want to reconnect that will be attending, now is a good idea to reach out and reconnect. Set up a time to chat over a coffee or maybe make plans to sit together at our Birds of Feather table.

At the conference

It's Day One of MozCon and you've successfully found the coffee. Now what?

Attend every session...

And we mean every. Single. Session. 

The great thing about MozCon is that it's a single track session, so you don't have to pick one talk over another. That also means, though, that the temptation can be high for skipping one or two. 

“It may be tempting to sleep in on a morning session, but so much magic happens when you aren't there. You never know what nuggets of insight you'll miss.” — Cyrus Shepard

"I often find I have some of my best ideas at conferences, even if they're not related to anything the speaker is talking about. Capture those ideas, too, and add them to your action plan." — Dr. Pete

...But don't be afraid to mingle in-between sessions

"Take breaks if you feel like it and spend some time meeting people out in the lobby. New MozCon friends can help hold each other accountable after the conference. I've met some of my closest industry friends in the lobby of conferences during a session — hi, Cyrus!" — Britney Muller

Remember what you learn

There's a lot of information to digest and chances are that your hurried note-taking isn't going to make a ton of sense once the MozCon high is over. To make deciphering your notes easier once you're back at the office, add three key takeaways or any follow up you want to do on the topic after each session.

You can also create a page dedicated to takeaways that you think are worthy. While I’m definitely taking notes during each session, I reserve a separate page for any ideas, theories, or strategies that I think are valuable to explore.

Make sure you're keeping your goals in mind, too. If you had planned on learning new things at MozCon, keep your ears open for any topics that piqued your interest.

"Write down at least one topic that grabbed your interest but that you felt could be studied further and commit to doing that study at your business and publishing your findings. Don't forget to ping the original presenter when you do, letting them know their talk inspired your further investigation." — Miriam Ellis

"At the end of each conference day, I also like to schedule emails to myself (a few weeks out) as reminders to attempt the things I learned about that day." — Britney Muller

Keep tabs on live tweeters

MozCon has some pretty prolific live tweeters that know just how to distill all the right takeaways into 280 characters (which, IMO, is quite a feat). Some of our past MozCon live-tweeters have included: 

Ruth Burr

Greg Gifford

Dana DiTomaso

Matt Decuir

Casie Gillette 

Andy Crestodina

You can also keep up with the conference goers by following the conference hashtag, #mozcon.

"Also, follow Cyrus Shepard on Twitter and do everything he says!" — Britney Muller

Take note of any free templates, tools, or spreadsheets

Much like parents who want nothing but the best from you (and also to sometimes show off your life successes on the family fridge), the speakers want you to excel in life after MozCon. Which is why you’re bound to find a plethora of downloadable templates and spreadsheets during their talk. Take note of any that you'd like to try back at the office. Make sure to also follow the speakers on Twitter for any updates or insider tips on how to make the most of their new resources.

Thanks #mozcon! Here is the Google Tag Manager recipe we released today to help you measure if people are actually reading your content. Enjoy! https://t.co/9Iy8VQA51l

— Dana DiTomaso (@danaditomaso) July 11, 2018

Download the talks

I’m sure you already know, but on the off chance you didn't know, you’ll be able to download all the speaker's slide decks once their talks are over. So if there was something you missed, wanted to share with the team at home base, or needed clarification on, you can do so with one click of a button once they're available.

After the conference

Write about it

I know the last thing you want to do right after three days of learning and writing is to go and do more writing. But Future You will be so happy that Past You did this one thing. 

The second you're done MozCon-ing, write everything down. Get it all out of your brain and onto paper. Because otherwise, you'll forget why you underlined a word or phrase three times or the cool new project ideas you had while chatting at dinner. You won't mean to, obviously. It's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. Kind of like drifting off to sleep with a really great idea for a band name — you'll tuck it away in a pocket of your brain, certain you won't forget about it in the morning. But you will. And the world will never know of They Might Be Little Pigeons. 

So, write everything down the second you can.

"I'm one of those people who takes notes like, "Cheese fritters + SEO = YES!" and am very excited about it and have no idea what it meant a week later. So: Re-copy your notes or write a summary, ASAP, while it's still fresh in your mind— even if it's on the flight home." — Dr. Pete

Schedule thinking time

The first week back at the office, block out some time in your calendar to percolate over what you learned at MozCon. I can’t stress this one enough: When we get back into the real world, we dive right into our list of to-dos, at home and at work. And the longer we delay the thinking and brainstorming process, the bigger the chance we’ll lose motivation or get bogged down by more projects. 

Carve out some thinking time for yourself in your calendar the second you’re back at your desk to ask yourself some questions:

What really stood out for me?

What do I want to apply right away?

What is going to be effective short term vs. long term?

I like to ideate to-do lists from these questions — maybe that’s a follow-up email with the speaker or a task to read further resources from their talk. Or maybe it’s to set up a meeting with my team to try out a new strategy. The point is: if I take this time now to marinate, the better chance I have of helping out future me — and future me really appreciates that.

"It's so easy to go from hundreds of ideas to doing nothing concrete, and as soon as you return to your desk, you're going to be buried in emails and requests. Commit to something actionable before you open up your inbox." — Dr. Pete

Review your action items

Now that you’ve done your big thinking, it’s time to turn those takeaways and actions items into, well, action. 

Think back to the goals you outlined before you set foot inside MozCon — did you meet any of them? How well did the topics address your questions? And how will you apply your action items? When I’m looking over my notes for any new ideas we can execute on, I like to make a table with two columns: 1) Things that we don’t do but could and 2) Things we’re currently doing but could be doing better.

Got a lot of action items and feel a tad overwhelmed? Just remember: If you apply just one action item a week, even if it's small, that's still fifty small changes you've made in one year. And they can all add up to one big change.

You’ll want to prioritize them like so:

Strategic initiatives to implement right away

Processes you can improve

Areas for future learning

“A week after the conference, review your "action items" — either by yourself or with your team. Prepare a presentation for the top things you learned and share with any team members that didn't attend." — Cyrus Shepard

"Pin yourself down to three specific to-dos for the month after the conference." — Dr. Pete

Stay inspired

Remember that anything in life worth having (relationships, bangs, product launches, puzzles) requires more than just an idea — it takes time and work. Rather than let all that enthusiasm you had at MozCon fade away, keep the momentum going by reading and learning new things. A good place to start is by subscribing to daily industry reads that can fuel your inspiration. Here is just a sampling to get you started: 

Roast

KickPoint

UpBuild

Seer Interactive

Merkle

Distilled

"Having a go-to list of daily industry reads is a really good way to keep the sense of inspiration up." — Rob Bucci

Use your connections

What good was all that networking if you don’t put it to use — especially if, like me, you're a Level-12 Introvert?

Make sure all those hard-earned connections don't go to waste. Chances are, if you saw them at MozCon, you’ll be seeing them at the same tracks and conferences, so it'd be good to set some sort of foundation

All it takes is a LinkedIn message or an email. And they'll appreciate you following up — bonus points if you make it personal. I’ve made several follow up emails after conferences and almost all blossomed into successful working relationships thanks in large part to emails that began as though we were continuing the conversation we had at MozCon. It doesn't have to be the same as “Hi, how’s your dog, is she still afraid of traffic cones?,” but a nice "Hi, how is life after MozCon — are you settling back into the 9-5, yet?" goes a long way.

“It’s great to collect business cards, but it’s better to form life-long relationships. If you haven’t connected with those you met at MozCon, now is the time to do so. At a minimum, email everyone you enjoyed meeting with and let them know that you can be a resource for them.” — Cyrus Shepard

Takeaways

MozCon only comes once a year — like International Pancake Day or 7-11's Free Slurpee Day — so make sure you're prepared so you can keep that MozCon fire burning all year round.

Grab my MozCon ticket now!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[nutrifami]

How to Make the Most of MozCon (and Stay Motivated Once it's Over)

Posted by Kirsten_Barkved

Show of hands if the following scenario has ever happened to you:

You make it to a conference. You sit through three to four days of amazing content, network like a boss, fill up on coffee and donuts, and cover page after page of notes — your wrist is dangerously close to being diagnosed with carpal tunnel. The energy in the room is contagious and everyone leaves the conference with the promise of new strategies, connections, and ideas that have the possibility to transform the way you think about business.

Photo credit: Turk Photos

At least, that’s the dream. But the reality is that once the conference is over, you're back to the grind. No longer surrounded by that vibrant "we can do anything" energy that had you so inspired just days before — the buzz is now a dull hum. Your notebook is full of scribbles that you can no longer decipher, and you have a daunting to-do list to catch up on while you nurse a sugar hangover from eating three-days worth of the best damn donuts you've ever had.

You’ve lost the fire. The conference motivation is gone. You, my friend, have the post-conference scaries.

Now, it’s July and you’ll be at MozCon in less than a week. The excitement is building. But so is the anxiety: you know there’s going to be a ton of insightful talks and takeaways to write home about. But how do you keep all that goodness going after MozCon?

We've all been there! And with MozCon fast approaching, we want to make sure you’re set up for success. So we put together an effective guide to make sure you can put all the goodness you’ve absorbed to work straight away. We even asked our Subject Matter Experts for some advice. Read on to see what Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Cyrus Shepard, Dr. Pete, and Miriam Ellis have to offer!

Get your tickets before they're gone!

Before you head to MozCon, though, make sure you do these things first

We know this isn’t your first rodeo. But on the off chance that it is, or if you need a reminder before you set foot in MozCon, make like the Boy Scouts of America: Be prepared.

Because I’m a keener (remind me to tell you about the time I waited for 24 hours to be first in line for The Fellowship of the Ring movie) with a tendency to overprepare (remind me also to tell you about my first day of school where I packed all my favorite Nancy Drews, my best pencil crayons, a raincoat, and a pair of extra socks), I spend quite a chunk of time ensuring I have everything I need before an event. 

You don't need to be as prepared as my eight-year-old self, but here’s a brief checklist of things to do before you pack your bags and set sail for MozCon:

Study the agenda — You’ve likely already glanced at who’s speaking. Take another skim to get an idea of who is speaking and what topics will fulfill an educational gap. Even if a topic isn't related to your area of work, it's still worthwhile to listen — who knows what you'll uncover. 

Set goals for what you’d like to learn — Whatever your game plan looks like, flesh it out to flesh out. Show up ready to learn.

Prepare your note-taking tools — There is no such thing as too many pens, not at a conference like MozCon. You’ll be taking a ton of notes, so prepare your note-taking tools, whatever they may be — charge your laptop or tablets, pack a spare notebook and some well-inked pens, or practice your telepathy if you plan on sending takeaways to your team via your mind.

Subscribe to the Moz blog — We have oodles of content for you to sink your teeth into and there’s something for everyone, from basic SEO to local search to the nitty-gritty technical. Plus, we'll be doing conference recaps after each day, so even if you couldn't make it this year, you'll get all the juicy details straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

Connect — There is ample opportunity at MozCon to network and meet new people but it never hurts to get a lay of the digital land before you step foot in Seattle. Follow the hashtag #mozcon on Twitter to stay up to date with MozCon goers and ask important questions of our speakers, like this:

#mozcon The single most important question that probably needs to be answered before anything else: did you or did you not get the cat? #mozcon #CatCon pic.twitter.com/CGBszFXsI8

— STAT Search Analytics (@getSTAT) July 9, 2018

You can also join the Facebook group to find out when people are arriving and pop in on conversations to get your name and face out there. If you know of people you want to reconnect that will be attending, now is a good idea to reach out and reconnect. Set up a time to chat over a coffee or maybe make plans to sit together at our Birds of Feather table.

At the conference

It's Day One of MozCon and you've successfully found the coffee. Now what?

Attend every session...

And we mean every. Single. Session. 

The great thing about MozCon is that it's a single track session, so you don't have to pick one talk over another. That also means, though, that the temptation can be high for skipping one or two. 

“It may be tempting to sleep in on a morning session, but so much magic happens when you aren't there. You never know what nuggets of insight you'll miss.” — Cyrus Shepard

"I often find I have some of my best ideas at conferences, even if they're not related to anything the speaker is talking about. Capture those ideas, too, and add them to your action plan." — Dr. Pete

...But don't be afraid to mingle in-between sessions

"Take breaks if you feel like it and spend some time meeting people out in the lobby. New MozCon friends can help hold each other accountable after the conference. I've met some of my closest industry friends in the lobby of conferences during a session — hi, Cyrus!" — Britney Muller

Remember what you learn

There's a lot of information to digest and chances are that your hurried note-taking isn't going to make a ton of sense once the MozCon high is over. To make deciphering your notes easier once you're back at the office, add three key takeaways or any follow up you want to do on the topic after each session.

You can also create a page dedicated to takeaways that you think are worthy. While I’m definitely taking notes during each session, I reserve a separate page for any ideas, theories, or strategies that I think are valuable to explore.

Make sure you're keeping your goals in mind, too. If you had planned on learning new things at MozCon, keep your ears open for any topics that piqued your interest.

"Write down at least one topic that grabbed your interest but that you felt could be studied further and commit to doing that study at your business and publishing your findings. Don't forget to ping the original presenter when you do, letting them know their talk inspired your further investigation." — Miriam Ellis

"At the end of each conference day, I also like to schedule emails to myself (a few weeks out) as reminders to attempt the things I learned about that day." — Britney Muller

Keep tabs on live tweeters

MozCon has some pretty prolific live tweeters that know just how to distill all the right takeaways into 280 characters (which, IMO, is quite a feat). Some of our past MozCon live-tweeters have included: 

Ruth Burr

Greg Gifford

Dana DiTomaso

Matt Decuir

Casie Gillette 

Andy Crestodina

You can also keep up with the conference goers by following the conference hashtag, #mozcon.

"Also, follow Cyrus Shepard on Twitter and do everything he says!" — Britney Muller

Take note of any free templates, tools, or spreadsheets

Much like parents who want nothing but the best from you (and also to sometimes show off your life successes on the family fridge), the speakers want you to excel in life after MozCon. Which is why you’re bound to find a plethora of downloadable templates and spreadsheets during their talk. Take note of any that you'd like to try back at the office. Make sure to also follow the speakers on Twitter for any updates or insider tips on how to make the most of their new resources.

Thanks #mozcon! Here is the Google Tag Manager recipe we released today to help you measure if people are actually reading your content. Enjoy! https://t.co/9Iy8VQA51l

— Dana DiTomaso (@danaditomaso) July 11, 2018

Download the talks

I’m sure you already know, but on the off chance you didn't know, you’ll be able to download all the speaker's slide decks once their talks are over. So if there was something you missed, wanted to share with the team at home base, or needed clarification on, you can do so with one click of a button once they're available.

After the conference

Write about it

I know the last thing you want to do right after three days of learning and writing is to go and do more writing. But Future You will be so happy that Past You did this one thing. 

The second you're done MozCon-ing, write everything down. Get it all out of your brain and onto paper. Because otherwise, you'll forget why you underlined a word or phrase three times or the cool new project ideas you had while chatting at dinner. You won't mean to, obviously. It's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. Kind of like drifting off to sleep with a really great idea for a band name — you'll tuck it away in a pocket of your brain, certain you won't forget about it in the morning. But you will. And the world will never know of They Might Be Little Pigeons. 

So, write everything down the second you can.

"I'm one of those people who takes notes like, "Cheese fritters + SEO = YES!" and am very excited about it and have no idea what it meant a week later. So: Re-copy your notes or write a summary, ASAP, while it's still fresh in your mind— even if it's on the flight home." — Dr. Pete

Schedule thinking time

The first week back at the office, block out some time in your calendar to percolate over what you learned at MozCon. I can’t stress this one enough: When we get back into the real world, we dive right into our list of to-dos, at home and at work. And the longer we delay the thinking and brainstorming process, the bigger the chance we’ll lose motivation or get bogged down by more projects. 

Carve out some thinking time for yourself in your calendar the second you’re back at your desk to ask yourself some questions:

What really stood out for me?

What do I want to apply right away?

What is going to be effective short term vs. long term?

I like to ideate to-do lists from these questions — maybe that’s a follow-up email with the speaker or a task to read further resources from their talk. Or maybe it’s to set up a meeting with my team to try out a new strategy. The point is: if I take this time now to marinate, the better chance I have of helping out future me — and future me really appreciates that.

"It's so easy to go from hundreds of ideas to doing nothing concrete, and as soon as you return to your desk, you're going to be buried in emails and requests. Commit to something actionable before you open up your inbox." — Dr. Pete

Review your action items

Now that you’ve done your big thinking, it’s time to turn those takeaways and actions items into, well, action. 

Think back to the goals you outlined before you set foot inside MozCon — did you meet any of them? How well did the topics address your questions? And how will you apply your action items? When I’m looking over my notes for any new ideas we can execute on, I like to make a table with two columns: 1) Things that we don’t do but could and 2) Things we’re currently doing but could be doing better.

Got a lot of action items and feel a tad overwhelmed? Just remember: If you apply just one action item a week, even if it's small, that's still fifty small changes you've made in one year. And they can all add up to one big change.

You’ll want to prioritize them like so:

Strategic initiatives to implement right away

Processes you can improve

Areas for future learning

“A week after the conference, review your "action items" — either by yourself or with your team. Prepare a presentation for the top things you learned and share with any team members that didn't attend." — Cyrus Shepard

"Pin yourself down to three specific to-dos for the month after the conference." — Dr. Pete

Stay inspired

Remember that anything in life worth having (relationships, bangs, product launches, puzzles) requires more than just an idea — it takes time and work. Rather than let all that enthusiasm you had at MozCon fade away, keep the momentum going by reading and learning new things. A good place to start is by subscribing to daily industry reads that can fuel your inspiration. Here is just a sampling to get you started: 

Roast

KickPoint

UpBuild

Seer Interactive

Merkle

Distilled

"Having a go-to list of daily industry reads is a really good way to keep the sense of inspiration up." — Rob Bucci

Use your connections

What good was all that networking if you don’t put it to use — especially if, like me, you're a Level-12 Introvert?

Make sure all those hard-earned connections don't go to waste. Chances are, if you saw them at MozCon, you’ll be seeing them at the same tracks and conferences, so it'd be good to set some sort of foundation

All it takes is a LinkedIn message or an email. And they'll appreciate you following up — bonus points if you make it personal. I’ve made several follow up emails after conferences and almost all blossomed into successful working relationships thanks in large part to emails that began as though we were continuing the conversation we had at MozCon. It doesn't have to be the same as “Hi, how’s your dog, is she still afraid of traffic cones?,” but a nice "Hi, how is life after MozCon — are you settling back into the 9-5, yet?" goes a long way.

“It’s great to collect business cards, but it’s better to form life-long relationships. If you haven’t connected with those you met at MozCon, now is the time to do so. At a minimum, email everyone you enjoyed meeting with and let them know that you can be a resource for them.” — Cyrus Shepard

Takeaways

MozCon only comes once a year — like International Pancake Day or 7-11's Free Slurpee Day — so make sure you're prepared so you can keep that MozCon fire burning all year round.

Grab my MozCon ticket now!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[paulineberry]

How to Make the Most of MozCon (and Stay Motivated Once it's Over)

Posted by Kirsten_Barkved

Show of hands if the following scenario has ever happened to you:

You make it to a conference. You sit through three to four days of amazing content, network like a boss, fill up on coffee and donuts, and cover page after page of notes — your wrist is dangerously close to being diagnosed with carpal tunnel. The energy in the room is contagious and everyone leaves the conference with the promise of new strategies, connections, and ideas that have the possibility to transform the way you think about business.

Photo credit: Turk Photos

At least, that’s the dream. But the reality is that once the conference is over, you're back to the grind. No longer surrounded by that vibrant "we can do anything" energy that had you so inspired just days before — the buzz is now a dull hum. Your notebook is full of scribbles that you can no longer decipher, and you have a daunting to-do list to catch up on while you nurse a sugar hangover from eating three-days worth of the best damn donuts you've ever had.

You’ve lost the fire. The conference motivation is gone. You, my friend, have the post-conference scaries.

Now, it’s July and you’ll be at MozCon in less than a week. The excitement is building. But so is the anxiety: you know there’s going to be a ton of insightful talks and takeaways to write home about. But how do you keep all that goodness going after MozCon?

We've all been there! And with MozCon fast approaching, we want to make sure you’re set up for success. So we put together an effective guide to make sure you can put all the goodness you’ve absorbed to work straight away. We even asked our Subject Matter Experts for some advice. Read on to see what Britney Muller, Rob Bucci, Cyrus Shepard, Dr. Pete, and Miriam Ellis have to offer!

Get your tickets before they're gone!

Before you head to MozCon, though, make sure you do these things first

We know this isn’t your first rodeo. But on the off chance that it is, or if you need a reminder before you set foot in MozCon, make like the Boy Scouts of America: Be prepared.

Because I’m a keener (remind me to tell you about the time I waited for 24 hours to be first in line for The Fellowship of the Ring movie) with a tendency to overprepare (remind me also to tell you about my first day of school where I packed all my favorite Nancy Drews, my best pencil crayons, a raincoat, and a pair of extra socks), I spend quite a chunk of time ensuring I have everything I need before an event. 

You don't need to be as prepared as my eight-year-old self, but here’s a brief checklist of things to do before you pack your bags and set sail for MozCon:

Study the agenda — You’ve likely already glanced at who’s speaking. Take another skim to get an idea of who is speaking and what topics will fulfill an educational gap. Even if a topic isn't related to your area of work, it's still worthwhile to listen — who knows what you'll uncover. 

Set goals for what you’d like to learn — Whatever your game plan looks like, flesh it out to flesh out. Show up ready to learn.

Prepare your note-taking tools — There is no such thing as too many pens, not at a conference like MozCon. You’ll be taking a ton of notes, so prepare your note-taking tools, whatever they may be — charge your laptop or tablets, pack a spare notebook and some well-inked pens, or practice your telepathy if you plan on sending takeaways to your team via your mind.

Subscribe to the Moz blog — We have oodles of content for you to sink your teeth into and there’s something for everyone, from basic SEO to local search to the nitty-gritty technical. Plus, we'll be doing conference recaps after each day, so even if you couldn't make it this year, you'll get all the juicy details straight to your inbox when you subscribe.

Connect — There is ample opportunity at MozCon to network and meet new people but it never hurts to get a lay of the digital land before you step foot in Seattle. Follow the hashtag #mozcon on Twitter to stay up to date with MozCon goers and ask important questions of our speakers, like this:

#mozcon The single most important question that probably needs to be answered before anything else: did you or did you not get the cat? #mozcon #CatCon pic.twitter.com/CGBszFXsI8

— STAT Search Analytics (@getSTAT) July 9, 2018

You can also join the Facebook group to find out when people are arriving and pop in on conversations to get your name and face out there. If you know of people you want to reconnect that will be attending, now is a good idea to reach out and reconnect. Set up a time to chat over a coffee or maybe make plans to sit together at our Birds of Feather table.

At the conference

It's Day One of MozCon and you've successfully found the coffee. Now what?

Attend every session...

And we mean every. Single. Session. 

The great thing about MozCon is that it's a single track session, so you don't have to pick one talk over another. That also means, though, that the temptation can be high for skipping one or two. 

“It may be tempting to sleep in on a morning session, but so much magic happens when you aren't there. You never know what nuggets of insight you'll miss.” — Cyrus Shepard

"I often find I have some of my best ideas at conferences, even if they're not related to anything the speaker is talking about. Capture those ideas, too, and add them to your action plan." — Dr. Pete

...But don't be afraid to mingle in-between sessions

"Take breaks if you feel like it and spend some time meeting people out in the lobby. New MozCon friends can help hold each other accountable after the conference. I've met some of my closest industry friends in the lobby of conferences during a session — hi, Cyrus!" — Britney Muller

Remember what you learn

There's a lot of information to digest and chances are that your hurried note-taking isn't going to make a ton of sense once the MozCon high is over. To make deciphering your notes easier once you're back at the office, add three key takeaways or any follow up you want to do on the topic after each session.

You can also create a page dedicated to takeaways that you think are worthy. While I’m definitely taking notes during each session, I reserve a separate page for any ideas, theories, or strategies that I think are valuable to explore.

Make sure you're keeping your goals in mind, too. If you had planned on learning new things at MozCon, keep your ears open for any topics that piqued your interest.

"Write down at least one topic that grabbed your interest but that you felt could be studied further and commit to doing that study at your business and publishing your findings. Don't forget to ping the original presenter when you do, letting them know their talk inspired your further investigation." — Miriam Ellis

"At the end of each conference day, I also like to schedule emails to myself (a few weeks out) as reminders to attempt the things I learned about that day." — Britney Muller

Keep tabs on live tweeters

MozCon has some pretty prolific live tweeters that know just how to distill all the right takeaways into 280 characters (which, IMO, is quite a feat). Some of our past MozCon live-tweeters have included: 

Ruth Burr

Greg Gifford

Dana DiTomaso

Matt Decuir

Casie Gillette 

Andy Crestodina

You can also keep up with the conference goers by following the conference hashtag, #mozcon.

"Also, follow Cyrus Shepard on Twitter and do everything he says!" — Britney Muller

Take note of any free templates, tools, or spreadsheets

Much like parents who want nothing but the best from you (and also to sometimes show off your life successes on the family fridge), the speakers want you to excel in life after MozCon. Which is why you’re bound to find a plethora of downloadable templates and spreadsheets during their talk. Take note of any that you'd like to try back at the office. Make sure to also follow the speakers on Twitter for any updates or insider tips on how to make the most of their new resources.

Thanks #mozcon! Here is the Google Tag Manager recipe we released today to help you measure if people are actually reading your content. Enjoy! https://t.co/9Iy8VQA51l

— Dana DiTomaso (@danaditomaso) July 11, 2018

Download the talks

I’m sure you already know, but on the off chance you didn't know, you’ll be able to download all the speaker's slide decks once their talks are over. So if there was something you missed, wanted to share with the team at home base, or needed clarification on, you can do so with one click of a button once they're available.

After the conference

Write about it

I know the last thing you want to do right after three days of learning and writing is to go and do more writing. But Future You will be so happy that Past You did this one thing. 

The second you're done MozCon-ing, write everything down. Get it all out of your brain and onto paper. Because otherwise, you'll forget why you underlined a word or phrase three times or the cool new project ideas you had while chatting at dinner. You won't mean to, obviously. It's just one of those unfortunate facts of life. Kind of like drifting off to sleep with a really great idea for a band name — you'll tuck it away in a pocket of your brain, certain you won't forget about it in the morning. But you will. And the world will never know of They Might Be Little Pigeons. 

So, write everything down the second you can.

"I'm one of those people who takes notes like, "Cheese fritters + SEO = YES!" and am very excited about it and have no idea what it meant a week later. So: Re-copy your notes or write a summary, ASAP, while it's still fresh in your mind— even if it's on the flight home." — Dr. Pete

Schedule thinking time

The first week back at the office, block out some time in your calendar to percolate over what you learned at MozCon. I can’t stress this one enough: When we get back into the real world, we dive right into our list of to-dos, at home and at work. And the longer we delay the thinking and brainstorming process, the bigger the chance we’ll lose motivation or get bogged down by more projects. 

Carve out some thinking time for yourself in your calendar the second you’re back at your desk to ask yourself some questions:

What really stood out for me?

What do I want to apply right away?

What is going to be effective short term vs. long term?

I like to ideate to-do lists from these questions — maybe that’s a follow-up email with the speaker or a task to read further resources from their talk. Or maybe it’s to set up a meeting with my team to try out a new strategy. The point is: if I take this time now to marinate, the better chance I have of helping out future me — and future me really appreciates that.

"It's so easy to go from hundreds of ideas to doing nothing concrete, and as soon as you return to your desk, you're going to be buried in emails and requests. Commit to something actionable before you open up your inbox." — Dr. Pete

Review your action items

Now that you’ve done your big thinking, it’s time to turn those takeaways and actions items into, well, action. 

Think back to the goals you outlined before you set foot inside MozCon — did you meet any of them? How well did the topics address your questions? And how will you apply your action items? When I’m looking over my notes for any new ideas we can execute on, I like to make a table with two columns: 1) Things that we don’t do but could and 2) Things we’re currently doing but could be doing better.

Got a lot of action items and feel a tad overwhelmed? Just remember: If you apply just one action item a week, even if it's small, that's still fifty small changes you've made in one year. And they can all add up to one big change.

You’ll want to prioritize them like so:

Strategic initiatives to implement right away

Processes you can improve

Areas for future learning

“A week after the conference, review your "action items" — either by yourself or with your team. Prepare a presentation for the top things you learned and share with any team members that didn't attend." — Cyrus Shepard

"Pin yourself down to three specific to-dos for the month after the conference." — Dr. Pete

Stay inspired

Remember that anything in life worth having (relationships, bangs, product launches, puzzles) requires more than just an idea — it takes time and work. Rather than let all that enthusiasm you had at MozCon fade away, keep the momentum going by reading and learning new things. A good place to start is by subscribing to daily industry reads that can fuel your inspiration. Here is just a sampling to get you started: 

Roast

KickPoint

UpBuild

Seer Interactive

Merkle

Distilled

"Having a go-to list of daily industry reads is a really good way to keep the sense of inspiration up." — Rob Bucci

Use your connections

What good was all that networking if you don’t put it to use — especially if, like me, you're a Level-12 Introvert?

Make sure all those hard-earned connections don't go to waste. Chances are, if you saw them at MozCon, you’ll be seeing them at the same tracks and conferences, so it'd be good to set some sort of foundation

All it takes is a LinkedIn message or an email. And they'll appreciate you following up — bonus points if you make it personal. I’ve made several follow up emails after conferences and almost all blossomed into successful working relationships thanks in large part to emails that began as though we were continuing the conversation we had at MozCon. It doesn't have to be the same as “Hi, how’s your dog, is she still afraid of traffic cones?,” but a nice "Hi, how is life after MozCon — are you settling back into the 9-5, yet?" goes a long way.

“It’s great to collect business cards, but it’s better to form life-long relationships. If you haven’t connected with those you met at MozCon, now is the time to do so. At a minimum, email everyone you enjoyed meeting with and let them know that you can be a resource for them.” — Cyrus Shepard

Takeaways

MozCon only comes once a year — like International Pancake Day or 7-11's Free Slurpee Day — so make sure you're prepared so you can keep that MozCon fire burning all year round.

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