Congratulations! You bought your first ticket to TBEX, you’ve made a promise (or at least a purchase) in the right direction to professional travel blogging. Now what? Now it’s time to prepare as you step up onto a metaphoric stage in front of all your peers. No pressure, none at all. Okay, now that your panic attack has subsided, let’s talk about how to prepare for TBEX shall we.
TBEX What is it Really?
So let’s talk about the focus of TBEX -a travel blogger conference designed as a learning, networking and partner environment for bloggers of all stages. This is a place where you can get good instruction from seasoned writers, bloggers and techies on what works and what doesn’t in the industry. For beginners it’s a must, for more seasoned bloggers, it’s all about the partnership opportunities. In their open marketplace you can meet potential partners for future work, but that all depends on how you present yourself. Again, why it’s so very important to prepare for TBEX!
Being a Newb is Tough
Let’s talk about new travel bloggers, affectionately referred to as “newbies”. You guys are like, “What the heck am I supposed to do, with this and that, and traffic that or social media this…” I know, it’s exhausting. Picture TBEX as a place for you to get those “this and thats” answered and maybe even having a brand like your brand enough to say, “Hey come on over!” It’s exciting, but imperative to put your best foot forward. All too many times I have seen bloggers show up and treat TBEX like a party session. Bad move.
So How do You Prepare for TBEX???
I am by no means calling myself a “TBEX expert” I’m simply sharing what I’ve seen to work with my brand and basic business networking fundamentals. Assuming you don’t have to prepare will be your first huge mistake. Assuming you only have to prepare the week before will be your second huge mistake. Assume you need to perfect everything on this list and you will be in good shape. Right down to the extra bottles of water. Behold, how to prepare for TBEX, the do’s and don’ts.
TBEX DO: Get yourself a logo shirt!!!
I can not stress this enough. When I found myself buried under a pile of business cards, guess who I remembered the most? The person with their logo on their shirt! Sadly, this was about 4 people outside of sponsors. This may not be for everyone, you may not care about meeting a ton of people because you’re already so awesome that you don’t need people to remember you… psssshhht. Everyone needs to be remembered, chances are you’re not a superstar public figure otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.
I have too many connections.” -said no one ever.
Get a few logo shirts made, something that will work well under a blazer or alone, and show off your brand!
DON’T: Make any plans 5 days prior or 3 days post-TBEX.
I made the mistake of booking press trips outside of Ireland after TBEX and missed out on some pretty sweet trips. I purchased my airline ticket in June (4 months out) having no idea that there would be press trips open pre TBEX. These trips give you a head start on building relationships with great people who can and will help catapult you into the professional blogger world. EVERY CONNECTION COUNTS!
Building a reputation for yourself is runner-up to building traffic, if not (along with quality content), the foundation for building real organic traffic. As Gary Arndt said to me at TBEX,
Audience, audience, audience, traffic will come once you engage your audience!”
Part of engaging your audience is by building face to face friends, fans of your blog, and interacting with them as you would your friends from back home. Take it from Gary. He’s kind of a big deal.
TBEX DO: Ask people about themselves.