I’ve had a great time meeting with fellow travel writers here but the 9299 altitude over the two days has taken its toll. I am so dried out that I have to drink every hour, resulting in waking up so often it’s making me feel a little crazy. I can’t wait to sink down to my normal 500 feet altitude later today to rid myself of insomniac dreams and fitful bouts of sleep.
After our TBEX presentation called “Monetize Like You Mean It” many people came up and thanked me…they especially liked that Beth, Tim and I were willing to show pie charts that broke down how we earned money on our travel websites. I got teary when another woman told me she saw me speak about travel writing years ago and it launched her career, now she’s at Travelocity. That felt good.
What are the takeaways I am leaving with after meeting with 725 people who all basically do much the same thing as me every day? The one thing many shared was how overwhelming it is…and how learning how people do things like get their blogs and sites to gain visitors and rise up in search engine rankings is sometimes a bit exhausting. I feel like I am a slacker and these young whippersnappers are showing me up!
I am inspired at the same time about the great possibilities that lie ahead if I can discipline myself to put in the time, make the calls and follow these simple rules that yield gains in all areas. While most of my chats were about how people make money, many were with tourism board heads who want me to visit them.
That’s the way to have fun and to avoid taking the time needed to do the harder stuff. It’s a balance like everything in life–a few trips, a few hard days in the office.
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