Day 1Sept 20, 2012
09:00 AM
Lobby
Registration
09:00 AM - 06:00 PM09:00 AM
Various
Pre-TBEX Excursions (Day Trips)
Option 1: Dalí Theater Museum + visit in a Wine Cellar of the Empordà denomination of originOption 2: Coastal path from Calella de Palafrugell to Llafranc + Boat trip from Llafranc to Palamós + Show cooking and lunch in Palamós
Date: Thursday, 20th September (aprox. from 09:00h to 17:00h)
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08:00 PM
Castell de Sant Gregori
Opening Night Party
Date & Time: Thursday, September 20th, 2012 starting at 8 pm.The Food: The menu and food for the evening will be provided by El Cellar de Can Roca – the second best restaurant in the world.
The Drink: Local wines from the regions. (Some of you will have visited these wineries on your excursion or will be visiting on your blog trip.) Also pouring local ales and beers.
The Entertainment: Local traditions, music, and some surprises. And no, we’re not going to give away all the surprises!
Transportation: Buses will be picking up at the Punt de Benvinguda (map below) beginning at 7:30pm. There will be five (5) buses rotating and bringing attendees up to the Castell and also returning people to the pickup point.
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Day 2Sept 21, 2012
09:00 AM
Lobby
Registration
09:00 AM - 06:00 PM09:30 AM
Room 4
09:45 AM
Room 4
11:00 AM
Room 1
Practical Tips to Improve your Photography
by Gary Arndt , Abigail King ,
Content Creation
Whether you use a point and shoot or a high end DSLR, there are practical ways to improve the quality of your photos. This session will have tips on how to implement those tips to enhance the photography on your blog.Takeaways
Six rules you can implement for better photography11:00 AM
Room 2
How to Create New Revenue Streams through Publishing
by Beth Whitman , Janice Waugh , Nellie Huang ,
Commerce & Community
If you've ever thought of publishing beyond your blog, come to this session to discover some options. We'll cover self publishing books, publishing a digital magazine, e-books, and print on demand.Takeaways
- How to decide if you're ready to publish beyond your blog.
- What additional publishing options exist.
- What are the risks and benefits of various publishing options.
- How your blog ties in with these additional publishing revenue streams.
11:00 AM
Room 3
How to Write an Effective Pitch
by Jessica Parker , Amy Moore ,
Travel & Tourism
Approaching destinations and brands can be a daunting task for beginners. You know your blog has value, but knowing where to begin when proving your value to others can be confusing.This session will talk about the best ways to write pitches, make a press kit, and hone your general approach to beginning partnerships.
Takeaways
- Making a press kit - what do you need to include, and what can you leave out?
- Pitching individual blog trips to destinations
- Pitching brands - get them excited to work with you with giveaways and reviews
12:15 PM
Room 1
How to Tell a Creative Travel Story
by Pam Mandel
Content Creation
Get past the trip recap, write something that goes beyond the itinerary "Went there, did that!" post. Pam Mandel (nerdseyeview.com) and Will Peach (travelsexlife.com) discuss their editorial approaches to travel writing and offer advice on how writers can make more engaging stories.Takeaways
In the session Pam and Will will cover- Finding and developing your voice
- Finding angles and stories that work
- Techniques for exceptional writing
Feedback helps writers grow, so the session includes the chance to workshop a post that you've submitted in advance. (first come first serve, within time constraints.) Learn how to benefit from critical constructive feedback and how to provide it. Send a link to a single post by 8th September to either Pam (pam@nerdseyeview.com) or Will (willpeach85@gmail.com). We'll workshop selected posts in the last half of the session.
12:15 PM
Room 2
How to Effectively Use Pinterest, Instagram, and Google+
by Michael Hodson , Kirsten Alana , C.C. Chapman ,
Commerce & Community
Do you feel like every time you turn around there's a new social media site you need to be involved in? Are you wondering how to figure out which of the many new tools are the best for you and your niche? Are you trying to figure out how to use all of these tools and still have time to write, travel, and do all the other things that you love? This session will answer those questions.Takeaways
Get an understanding of these relatively new sites and how they work. Identify where to spend your time and why. Learn tools and processes to help maximize your effort without taking over your life. Understand how to analyze your return on investment on these sites.12:15 PM
Room 3
How to Organize Blogger Trips
by Joantxo Llantada , Jaume Marin , Jodi Ettenberg , Reine Gammoh ,
Travel & Tourism
Experienced representatives from three different destinations talk about what it takes to organize a blogger trip. From coming up with the idea and selling it to your tourism board, to setting goals and measuring return on investment, to find the bloggers that best match up with your goals and needs, you'll leave this session with a better idea on how your destination can better work with bloggers.Takeaways
How to sell the idea of a blogger trip to your tourism board and then implement that idea effectively.03:00 PM
Room 4
04:30 PM
Lobby
08:00 PM
TBD
Day 3Sept 22, 2012
09:00 AM
Lobby
Registration
09:00 AM - 12:00 PM09:30 AM
Room 4
11:00 AM
Room 1
Podcasting: How to Take Your Show on the Road
Content Creation
Learn how to use an audio podcast to build your brand. The session will focus on travel podcasting and the challenges of podcasting from the road. We'll discuss the hardware and software you need, the various models for content creation and how to determine the options that best fit your niche and style.Takeaways
After this session you should be able to decide if podcasting is a good medium for you. You'll have a checklist of step to start a podcast and an idea of the work and commitment involved.11:00 AM
Room 2
Collaborating for Branding, Profit, and the Greater Good
Commerce & Community
A lightning fast session of seven travel bloggers explaining the how-to and why-to of different collaborative projects. If you've ever thought about joining forces with other bloggers, you won't want to miss this session.Takeaways
How to identify and develop a collaborative project. Practical considerations in working collaboratively. How to decide if working collaboratively is for you, and if so, what your next steps should be.11:00 AM
Room 3
Content that Rocks
by C.C. Chapman
Track
Sure, content is king, but what does that really mean to a destination or brand? Learn more where your content needs to be (hint: it's not just on your website), and how you can work with bloggers and key influencers to make sure your content rocks.Takeaways
How to work with bloggers to create influential content.12:15 PM
Room 1
Travel Writing 101: Writing the Creative Service Piece
by Michael Turtle , Chris Gray Faust ,
Content Creation
You don't have to be a professional writer to have a successful blog, but you do need to have a grasp on basic written communication skills. This session will break down the words and terms that you've heard successful writers use - and give you some tips on how to improve your own writing - including learning how to incorporate interviews into your posts.Takeaways
Learn how basic journalism skills and techniques translate to blogging and develop a blueprint for better writing habits. Learn how to ask for an interview and incorporate the information into your blog post. Tricks and tips to make writing easier.12:15 PM
Room 2
How to run your WordPress site like a WordPress.com VIP (even if you’re not)
by Sara Rosso
Commerce & Community
This session is for self-hosted bloggers who want to wrangle their Word Press site into shape.Takeaways
Learn the Word Press features and functionality most VIPs have enabled and how and why professional bloggers should too.12:15 PM
Room 3
How to Form Creative Tourism-Blogger Partnerships
by Nicholas Montemaggi , Jill Lloyd , Jennifer Miner ,
Travel & Tourism
It takes a lot of initiative, creativity, and work to put together effective blogger-tourism partnerships. This session will offer of case studies and tangible information to help you decide what is the right partnership for you.Takeaways
What type of partnerships have worked and why. What you should consider when creating a partnership plan.03:00 PM
Room 1
How to Creating Travel Videos People will Actually Watch (not just your Mom)
by JD Andrews
Content Creation
Learn from an industry veteran how to capture the best video and audio while on the road.- Best equipment for traveling videographers: cameras, Tri-pods, computers, lights, mics, batteries, bags etc. plus digital managment after the shoot.
- How to keep your gear safe, dry and ready to go at any time.
- How to shoot a professional video that people will want to watch, not just your Grandmother.
- Recommendations for music, graphics, sound effects etc.
- You and Copyrights - Where to host your videos including the best export, capture rates and settings.
- How to conduct a good interview.
- Different shooting angles and techniques
Takeaways
- Equipment needed to produce professional travel videos
- The best gear for the road
- What Music, graphics and sound effects to use
- Tips on shooting techniques, lighting, audio
03:00 PM
Room 2
How to Write Flagship Content to Maximize SEO
by Shannon ODonnell , Matthew Kepnes ,
Commerce & Community
In the expanding travel industry there is an increasing demand for authoritative content from trusted travel voices. Beyond telling narrative stories, travel bloggers now have to marry their creative content with useful content. We'll focus on how to build evergreen, flagship content that positions bloggers as an authority not only to their audience, but to the search engines as well.I'll discuss how to build a "wow factor" into your site's content, and why and how this is very, very important to Google and the other major search engines in addition to the SEO you must know for your site.
Takeaways
- What does evergreen, flagship content mean within the travel industry, how to create it, and why is it important from an SEO perspective.
- How and why spammy SEO tactics used to work, what they are, and how to avoid resorting to shady SEO to push your brand.
- The handful of SEO tactics bloggers should actually worry about, and how to make sure these SEO tactics are properly implemented on their site.
- How to take advantage of the link between social media sharing and SEO.
03:00 PM
Room 3
Blogger Campaigns: How to Measure ROI
by William Bakker , Melvin Böcher , Keith Jenkins ,
Travel & Tourism
Measuring the return on investment of a blogger campaign is dependent on knowing your goals for the campaign. In this session we'll talk about setting those goals and which metrics can help you decide your return on investment.Takeaways
What is return on investment. What are different ways it can be measured. How do you evaluate your return on investment.04:15 PM
Lobby
06:30 PM
Room 4
Day 4Sept 23, 2012
09:00 AM
Various
Post-TBEX Excursions (Day Trips)
Option 1: One day excursion in the Nuria Valley up in the PyreneesOption 2: Botanical gardens of Marimurtra in Blanes + Boat trip to Lloret de Mar + Typical Catalan Lunch in Lloret de Mar + Visita Cala Banys in Lloret de Mar
Date: Sunday, 23rd September (aprox. from 09:00h to 19:00h aprox)