25 October 2014
Again, I was late for the 9:15am keynote address with “Mary Jo Manzanares and Paula Froelich.
Hey, I was on holiday – it is allowed!
At 1030am I attended my first session of the day: “Building a Better Blogging Business: Getting it done every single day” by Tammillee Tillison:
Going to be a great #TBEX session. @TammileeTips is talking about how to turn our blog into a business pic.twitter.com/wuguiKjNnj
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Is your blog a hobby or a business? If it’s a hobby don’t judge your blog against them?People are at different points in their story? #tbex
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Example of National Geographic’s editorial calendar. @Tammileetips #tbex pic.twitter.com/MCXuQOk9Q9
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Example of social scheduling tools to help bloggers organize #tbex @Tammileetips pic.twitter.com/YTT0Nm4czi
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
For traffic generation are you giving readers what they want to read? Write related posts for your popular content @Tammileetips #tbex
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Is your money all in the same basket? All with one affiliate company or one eBook? @Tammileetips #tbex pic.twitter.com/xyeeB25Xcs
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Build a blog tribe (community / network). @Tammileetips #tbex I truly believe this pic.twitter.com/oAoirskcRN
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
The next session was “Brand Partnerships: Before You Think Big, Think Medium” by Katie Hammel and Sara Robles.
What to consider before your first pitch as a blogger to a brand? pic.twitter.com/GvaRm6FwIy
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
List of types of travel blogging collaborations #tbex pic.twitter.com/2uggxHpDwG
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Find a way to work creatively with a brand. You must like / fit with the company before? #tbex pic.twitter.com/n6zbOHsWTr
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
What do you have to offer brands as a blogger? #tbex pic.twitter.com/YvoFkVi95D
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Bloggers, considerations to get your pitch noticed? #tbex pic.twitter.com/VofwpVwmE4
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Examples for a great pitch as a travel blogger #tbex pic.twitter.com/srU2vCkQHu
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Examples of a good pitch to a brand. #TBEX pic.twitter.com/oQYyoQN2ZJ
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
What to avoid in your pitch as a blogger to brands #tbex pic.twitter.com/l8GaQ8lFCF
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
This was a very informative session. Perhaps the most useful during TBEX Athens. It left me with a lot to think of before my Speed Networking session with a number of companies that afternoon.
I then headed for lunch. After lunch I quickly met with staff from G Adventures who told me how they work with travel bloggers. I attended part of David Farley’s session on “Tips for Freelancers” before my Speed Networking appointments with Viator, Tripit and Toposophy.
Session for freelance journalists earlier this morning at @TBEXevents! #TBEXAthens #ThisIsAthens pic.twitter.com/3tzl6XiXgy
— Maria Petropoulou (@mapetropoulou) October 25, 2014
It was a very beneficial experience participating in these Speed Networking sessions.
So many exciting stories behind the scenes of #TBEXAthens! The speed networking was amazing! #TBEX #Athens #travel pic.twitter.com/u9qWtXTYHH
— AthensWalkingTours (@AthensWalking) October 25, 2014
I caught up with fellow South Africa bloggers Dawn Jorgensen and Simon Lewis.
“@DawnJorgensen: Team #travelmassive at #tbexathens spreading the travel community love to new cities. pic.twitter.com/mIMni9VmVj”
— Travel Massive (@travelmassive) October 26, 2014
Plus I met Arnaud Wiehe, a South African V-logger who now lives in Amsterdam.
We all had to collect TBEX t-shirts to be worn for a group photo and for that night’s street party.
The closing session was with Rick Calvert and Robert Reid.
They announced where the next TBEX Europe will be held.
#TBEX Europe will be #InCostaBrava, Catalonia, Spain. April 30 – May 2 2015. #ttot #lp pic.twitter.com/N4zu0H6YeU
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
At that time I realised that if I attend TBEX Costa Brava in 2015, my conference calendar for 2015 may be quite full:
Travel bloggers calendar for #SouthAfrica is busy next year. #WTMAfrica 15-17 April #TBEX Europe 30 April – 2 May #Indaba2015 9-11 May #ttot
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Robert Reid delivered a thought provoking talk.
This is the age of #Travel. There are 1.1 billion travelers. @reidontravel #tbex #ttot pic.twitter.com/1a20wk37qt
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Will travel experts still have a place? With all this user generated content? #ttot #tbex @reidontravel pic.twitter.com/cPqA1jOUPl
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Do you consider yourself an expert? Experts don’t admit it. @reidontravel #tbex pic.twitter.com/IZt3DWD12O
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Practice (read, experiment) and talent = expertise. #travelblogging #tbex @reidontravel #LP #ttot pic.twitter.com/roVliqUk4h
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Travel bloggers can claim to know the world better than anyone else. Traditional media needs us. #ttot #lp pic.twitter.com/9xTaH7VnPV
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
So many laughs in @reidontravel #TBEX keynote! Well done, Robert!!! @ Megaron Athens International… http://t.co/RKS8XQZsD7
— Jennifer Leo (@jenleo) October 25, 2014
Travelers bloggers need to practice. Break away from press trips and experiment. Add to the convo of a place, not noise @reidontravel #tbex
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Travel bloggers must do research. Add interesting quotes. Offer different insights than locals. Talk to other experts. #ttot @reidontravel
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Travel bloggers must look beyond the facade / window pane of a destination a press trip offers #tbex @reidontravel
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Be true travel bloggers. Don’t say that it’d not in any guidebook (off the beaten track) if it is. @reidontravel #tbex
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Travel bloggers, “Run for the shadows”. Find places that nobody goes to. Reveal it @reidontravel #tbex pic.twitter.com/iXsb5BLODA
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Doesn’t matter how many places you’ve been to. @reidontravel #tbex pic.twitter.com/IvrxAz176z
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
There are 157000 travelers for every travel blogger in the world. We bloggers need to be leaders! @reidontravel pic.twitter.com/1EVMsa3euo
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
The closing session then ended with a surprise announcement. There would also be a TBEX Asia conference in 2015.
There will be a #TBEXAsia in Bangkok, Thailand, October 2015 #TBEX #discoverthainess pic.twitter.com/EYamjwYcVj
— Zaid -Travpacker.com (@zaidmo) October 25, 2014
Thank you for joining us @ #TBEX Athens! Don’t forget to attend Farewell Street Event @ the Pandrossou Street Market! http://t.co/R78Y2r1NYJ
— Travel Blog Exchange (@TBEXevents) October 25, 2014
We all assembled on the stage for a final group picture.
Amazing time at #TBEX & sad to be leaving Athens tomorrow but looking forward to seeing everyone in Costa Brava! pic.twitter.com/c0Cw7TOOmj
— Travelling History (@_TravelHistory) October 25, 2014
I left Megaron at 7pm as the farewell street party was to start soon.
I headed to City Circus Athens (my hostel) to rest until 8:15pm and then took a walk to the Pondorossa Street market, where the farewell ceremony would be held.
A night to remember the vibrant spirit of Greece. #Tbex #TbexAthens #TbexAthensfilm #Expediatbex #Greece #Athens pic.twitter.com/Uraaa8vx7O
— Mochileros (@mochileros_org) October 25, 2014
There were a number of participating shops, and interesting crafts being demonstrated.
Hand painted pottery from Pagani in the Pandrossou street market #ThisIsAthens #TBEXAthens #Athens pic.twitter.com/BznQtG39vy
— Heathercowper (@Heathercowper) October 25, 2014
Making a 3 string bouzouki at Pegasus at the Pandrossou street market #TBEXAthens #ThisIsAthens pic.twitter.com/CYzj5BVVLq
— Heathercowper (@Heathercowper) October 25, 2014
This was an excellent way to end a travel conference.
I bumped into Dorothy Lefering (we follow each other on Instagram and Twitter) and we decided to have supper at a restaurant that served vegetarian food. Dorothy lives in Germany but is very clued up on South African politics. We had a great discussion.
After supper there were hardly any bloggers around so I headed back to City Circus Athens and was fast asleep by midnight.
Note: TBEX Europe 2016 will be held in Stockholm, Sweden from July 14-16, 2016.
