Last week I went to Traverse 17 and after attending the weekend sessions, I got a few useful tips that I thought I will share with you all here.
Photo of the Traverse 17 London Venue
Lessons I learnt from Traverse17
This are some of the tips I learnt from the sessions I attended:
PR YOURSELF AND YOUR BLOG – HOW TO STAND OUT THROUGH CONTENT AND CONNECTIONS
Speakers: Alexandra Delf & Susan L. Schwartz
- When communicating with the PR team, be honest about how you feel about things.
- When pitching, bring new ideas to the table and be very specific on what you could provide.
- Have a set schedule that is clearly communicated to the PR team you are working with. For example, how long after a trip are you planning to post about the venue?
- When approaching the PR team for a pitch or a collaboration, be clear and give them your media kit!
- Media kit pointers:
- One page concise PDF that is easy to send to a client
- Pictures
- Who are you? (intro)
- Tag lines
- key words
- Add logos of people you worked with or places you stayed in even if they haven't paid
- Bullet points of key strengths
- Add interactions and feedbacks
- Mention specific numbers
HOW TO GAIN FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM WITHOUT LOSING YOURSELF
Speaker: Nicola Easterby
Nicola aka polka dot passport is a brilliant blogger and instagramer and she shared some of her tips with us after three years growing her audience on instagram.
I did a whole post for this one! >> Instagram Tips and Highlights From Polkadot Passport.
MONEY MAKING GAME CHANGERS
Speaker: Monica Stott
I attended a talk by Monica two years ago at Blogtacular and I found her to be very insightful. Her talk was honest and filled with tips to get people started in making money in the field of travel blogging especially that she has been a full time blogger and depending on her blog for income for a while.
Charge for everything or charge for nothing
Set usual rates and even do packages: Video + blog post + social media
Don't be scared to turn down unpaid opportunities
Be clear with your deadlines
Write detailed reports after collaborations to prove your influence and reach
Send reports to brands: After camping finishes, 2 months later, 6 months later and even 1 year later if you are tracking the reach. For example: use bitly to track links to show brands.
Instead of trying to figure out your niche, ask yourself: What do you want to be the expert at?
Keep on writing. You can even write 15 blogs about one destination - 1000 words each to have more content in your blog.
Get you personality out there. Bloggers are different from copy writers. People want to read about people so don't just write about the facts. Write about the experience.
Group projects together to make the most out of your trip.
HOW TO TURN YOUR VISITORS INTO LOYAL FOLLOWERS
Speaker: Sabina Trojanova
I was very excited for this talk because of Sabina the presenter also known as Gil vs Globe. She is the creator of one of my favourite online travelling females communities Girls vs Globe.
- Create sharable content
- Be motivational
- Guide others and be generous with your advice
- Have something valuable to say
- Build your expertise and become an authority in your field
- Take your audience offline and be open to arranging meet ups
ADVANCED VIDEO EDITING WORKSHOP
Speaker: Greg Brand
This was a very cool talk about specialised video editing techniques using Adobe Premier CC such as colour grading, matching sound with video and so much more.
- Organise all your files before you get into Premier
- Create a proxy from a free software to save time
- Try using the "key frame" editing style
- Shooting flat and raw
- You can get colour grading effects online from free softwares
The sessions were great and had some useful gaudiness. I think the best outcome of these conferences are the connections and the blogging/vlogging friends. Content creating and digital story telling could be really lonely and having people in the same circle who share the same struggle is extremely useful.