Hey Reader,
Last week, I had the privilege of joining hundreds of travel creators in Puerto Rico for the North American TBEX conference.
I've wanted to go to TBEX since I started blogging back in 2018, but I was broke and in New Zealand, so that wasn't gonna happen. Then the pandemic hit and well... not the best times.
I could gush and fangirl over all the people I fangirled over in person - and probably actively scared away from ever speaking to me again 🤣 But y'all don't care about that.
You care about the takeaways!
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My biggest takeaway from TBEX: hope ⭐️
I spoke with travel creators in all forms who have been creating content for nearly 2 decades.
They've handled Google updates, Pinterest algorithm crashes, the launch and fall of many social media platforms, and all the other shifts our industry has gone through.
Not one of them is bothered by the updates - and not because they weren't hit.
I'll paraphrase their overall sentiments:
Businesses have to adapt. In the lifetime of a business, a single Google algorithm update is a blip.
These are the times to lean into SEO, when everyone else is bailing. It's like buying travel stock in 2020 - you're investing when others are bailing because you know it's all cyclical.
...obviously not ONLY SEO. Diversify!
There will always be sites that close down, but the ones who endure and figure out how to carve a new path, are the ones who will succeed.
We had amazing discussions about diversification methods.
Samantha of My Tan Feet and Tim of Travel Writing 2.0 (literally, he wrote the book on travel writing) gave an AMAZING talk about all their different streams of income.
But we also talked about traffic diversification and the various ways to get people to your site.
And I got to talk to one of my close friends, Anna Cook of Stuck on the Go, about how her business is doing.
She was hit hard by the Google updates - undeserved, her site is amazing and full of EEAT. But she's not panicked about her income.
Why?
Because she's got a great system for working with DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations - aka. tourism boards).
Anna has been crushing it with DMOs since as long as I've known her - seriously I was there when she sold her first piece of content to a DMO and got hooked!
Anna isn't some Instagram guru with 500k subscribers. Her blog gets less than 50k pageviews and she has less than 10k social media followers.
She's mastered what a lot of us struggle with - and what I heard a lot of people worried about at TBEX: how to pitch tourism boards.
I'm so excited to share she's running a free webinar at 9am PST / 12pm EST today!
(Short notice, I'm sorry. I'm still in my post-conference introvert hangover where I thought it was July 7th 🙈)
Can’t make it? Don’t worry, a replay will be sent out afterward. Here’s the link:
>>> How to Pitch Tourism Boards & Secure Partnerships
A few things you’ll learn:
- Mindset shifts to help you get past the nerves of hitting send
- Proven strategies on how to structure your pitch and tailor it to each destination
- Tips on standing out, even with a smaller audience
This is a great opp if you're heading to a conference soon, or looking to pitch.
I'll see ya at the webinar!
Ok back to TBEX inspo talk.
Even if you're not a travel blogger, I want to say that I have hope for y'all too.
After 9 months of a lot of negative echo chambers online - totally fair to express negative emotions! But equally, negative emotions are often reflected back the loudest - it was really nice to be in such a positive environment.
Yes, blogging has changed.
I am not discounting the people hit really hard by this, unfairly. I spoke at lengthhh with Aleyda of SEO FOMO about this at TBEX.
I've been hopeful for a while, but I'm even more hopeful after some case studies I've been tracking and speaking with so many wonderful veterans in our industry.
We've got this y'all ❤️
Cheers,
Nina
P.S. How is this different from my "Get Paid to Travel" course with Jami Savage? Our course isn't DMO specific. It's about becoming a travel media brand, and being able to work with any other brand. It's not focused on press trips in particular, but any type of brand collaboration.
I've used Jami's methods for landing sponsorships for my Youtube channels in non-travel spaces, too.
Anna is focusing on press/media trips and tourism boards, only. She's also specialized in US tourism boards, where my Canadian friend Jami and I are more global.
I haven't seen this webinar yet, but I've seen Anna present on tourism board collabs before. She crushes it and is so inspiring!
As always, I think there's room for learning for so many different people. Everyone has a unique way to do things, and it's wonderful!
P.P.S. I'm planning to go to TBEX Quebec City and WITS NYC next year, even if I don't get asked to speak.
Selfishly, I'd love the chance to teach more on digital products after seeing the struggles with finding travel blogs that have them for my bundle. If you'd like to see me speak at these events or any others, let them know!
It really helps me get invited to stuff when they know people want me there.
Thanks <3
My 6-figure blogging recommendations:
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