Sheila's Guide To The Good Stuff

A good pitch is timely, short, punchy and answers the question WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?) for the recipient.

If this sounds familiar, it should. A good pitch to bloggers is very much like a good pitch to any media person.

At BlogWorld and New Media Expo West in Los Angeles, I talked to Jared Degnan from Brandware Public Relations about pitching bloggers….the video is about a minute long, and here’s the direct link to it on YouTube in case you can’t see the embed box below.

Did I get it right, or was I too simplistic?  Leave a reply down in the comments….thanks!

(If you like this post, please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS feed or by email – the email signup box is on the right sidebar near the Search box. Thanks!)  

Welcome to the Carnival of Cities blog carnival, where we tour the world in a single post, via submissions from a variety of different blogs, all about any aspect of one, single city or fair-sized town.

The previous Carnival edition was hosted on the Perceptive Travel Blog, and you’ll find the next one (February 8, 2012) on Edutech Musings.

If you would like to host a future Carnival edition on your blog, please contact me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in the Americas

Seattle, Washington, USA   Mary Jo Manzanares presents Tourist at Home: Visiting the Seattle Aquarium posted at Traveling with MJ, saying, “Fun for adults and kids. . . and the otters are just so darned cute!”

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA   Angela Gaitaniella presents Pittsburgh is “In” posted at The Burgh, Exposed.

San Francisco, California, USA   Byteful Travel presents What’s Hidden Underneath the Golden Gate Bridge? (Exploring historical Fort Point) posted at Byteful Travel, saying, “Even though you’ve probably never heard of it, something very old is hidden underneath the Golden Gate bridge; and one a sunny day in September, I had the opportunity to photograph it.”

Orlando, Florida, USA   Eileen Ludwig presents Artsfest FREE Ticketed Non-Ticketed Florida posted at Freelance Tourist: Travel Tips.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA   hello haha narf presents Still So Much posted at Midnight Cliff.

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA   Tui Snider presents New Orleans? Cafe du Monde: A Taste of History posted at Mental Mosaic: Even Home is a Travel Destination, saying, “Coffee played a big role in New Orleans’ history, and at one point in the 1800′s there were nearly 500 coffeehouses in the French Quarter. Cafe du Monde is the sole survivor from that era, with a menu that is virtually unchanged since it first opened in 1862.”

Niagara Falls, Canada   Andy Hayes presents Top 10 Quirky Things To Do in Niagara Falls posted at eTourism Insight, saying, “Quirky things in what is perhaps the quirkiest place in Canada. ”

New York, New York, USA   Priya Mony presents My Reasons to Love New York: The Winter Edition posted at Let’s Take The Scenic Route, saying, “Great things to do and places to visit in New York even in the coldest months of the year.”

Cities in Europe

Panicale, Umbria, Italy   Ciao Bambino! presents Art Camp for Kids in Umbria, Italy posted at Ciao Bambino, saying, “Arte al Sol art camp is a great way for children to experience Italian Culture. It’s not just painting here. Activities may include glass blowing, cooking or even sheep herding – experiences that your kids won’t soon forget.”

Barcelona, Spain   Amanda Kendle presents Gaudi makes Barcelona beautiful posted at Not A Ballerina: A Travel Blogger’s Life.

London, England   Brooke Allen presents London Pub Crawl posted at Rambling Brooke.

Liverpool, England    Mr. Brightside presents [Come Dine With Us] Gusto! posted at The Wild Swans, saying, “One of the best Italian restaurants in Liverpool!”

Cities in Asia

Delhi, India   Mariellen Ward presents Delights of Delhi posted at BreatheDreamGo.

That concludes this Carnival edition, and thank you for visiting.

Please submit your (ONE, non-spammy) blog post to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Fourth and final post in a series for the get-revved-up week between Christmas and New Year’s.

The right question is not, “How do we get more Twitter followers?” or “How do we get more Like-ers/fans on Facebook?”

The right question is, “What do we want to DO with our followers and fans?”

Counting heads is fun – we’re all guilty of it, including me – but unless those people are helping you achieve stated objective(s) for your organization or business, you’re fooling yourself that anything is accomplished by totting up raw numbers.

Rev-up recommendation for you:

**  As you gather more supporters in 2012, have plans for what you want to do for them, and what they could do for you.

—->>  On your blog – do you want readers to sign up to get your posts by email or RSS?  Take a hard look at whether you have made that signup process as simple as possible, including on a mobile device.

—->>  It’s Facebook Page 101:   make sure that people can sign up for your email newsletter right there on your Page.  On our Tourism Currents Facebook Page, we use a tab and a short signup form via our MailChimp email service.

Are you trying to build your own list, or are you busy building Mark Zuckerberg’s list?  Use Facebook for your own business success!

—->>  On Twitter, periodically let followers know how to sign up for your email updates.  Note: Send them directly to your signup page – don’t dump them onto your homepage and hope they find it.

—->>  What are you doing with your email newsletter list?  What’s your point to cranking it out? WHY should people open up their already-overloaded IN boxes to you?  Ask yourself those tough questions….often.

Back to numbers:  if you suddenly picked up 1000 more fans or followers, what would you DO with them that you couldn’t do already, right now?

My own 2012 plan for the fans and followers of this blog

Since I’m asking you about your plans for your platforms, here are mine for Sheila’s Guide:

1)  Lead the tourism industry away from a somewhat silo’d focus on social media, and toward a more general incorporation of social communications as simply “how we do things.”  It’s like email – nobody has an Email Department, do they?  It’s time for social media to stop being new or special.

2)  Support the growth of my Tourism Currents business with Becky McCray.  We’ve set a performance goal that we’ve agreed to meet by our 3rd anniversary in business (September 2012) or we’re going to radically overhaul what we offer.

3)  Support my work as a professional speaker on tourism and social media.

4)  Support the marketing of my upcoming book, The Elastic Waist Entrepreneur.

Thanks so much for your support, and hope to see many more of you in person in 2012.

(If you like this post, please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS feed or by email – the email signup box is on the right sidebar near the Search box. Thanks!) 

Third in a blog post series for the get-revved-up week between Christmas and New Year’s.

Many people avidly read every one of marketer Seth Godin’s blog posts.

I think it’s mostly because they’re well-written and helpful, but part of the reason is that his posts are often quite short.

As in, a few sentences.

Most of them do not include a photo or video; they’re just plain ol’ text.

But….his readers know that he’ll be pithy, get to the point and not take up too much of their time.

(I won’t go into the fact that he does not allow comments on his posts, which is not how I prefer to blog.  He has his reasons, and it’s his blog, after all.)

Rev-up recommendation for you:

**  Go short more often in 2012.

—->>  Just a few interesting sentences can be a blog post for you, too. Try it one day in the first week of January 2012.

—->>  Make every other Facebook Page update a one-sentence declaration or question for a few days.

—->>  Twitter is MADE for pithy thoughts. In the early days of the service, we called an exactly 140 character tweet a “twoosh.”

—->>  Make your email newsletter unexpectedly short one month (and say that it is short, in your Subject line.) See what happens with the open/click rate. Does it improve?

—->>  Challenge yourself to shoot a 30-45 second video, or a fun Google Search Story or a short Animoto video out of photos you already have.

Can you think of any other ways to “go short?”

For more ideas on effective content creation, see Lesson Two of our Tourism Currents online course, Building a Home Base. It includes a video of our own blogging lessons learned.

(If you like this post, please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS feed or by email – the email signup box is on the right sidebar near the Search box. Thanks!) 

Welcome to the Carnival of Cities blog carnival, where we tour the world in a single post, via submissions from a variety of different blogs, all about any aspect of one, single city or fair-sized town.

The previous Carnival edition was hosted on Travel with Teens and Tweens, and you’ll find the next one (January 11, 2012) on Perceptive Travel Blog.

If you would like to host a future Carnival edition on your blog, please contact me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in the Americas

Panama City, Panama Mary Jo Manzanares presents Casino glitz and indigenous Kunas are just two reasons to visit Panama posted at The Traveler’s Way, saying, “The San Blas Islands of Panama are largely uninhabited, but on those that are it is an opportunity to meet the indigenous Kuna Indians.”

Los Angeles, California, USA Jennifer Miner presents Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood posted at The Vacation Gals, saying, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was such a huge success at Universal Studios Orlando, it’s no surprise that Universal Studios Hollywood has announced plans to build its own Harry Potter experience in Los Angeles.”

Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA Cynthia Miller presents Chattanooga Getaway posted at Our Travels Together.

Big Sky, Montana, USA Nancy Brown presents Insider Tips for Things to See and Do in Big Sky, Montana posted at Nancy D Brown, saying, “If you have never been to Montana, Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown suggests making Big Sky your home base for day trips to Yellowstone, horseback riding, rafting and fly fishing.”

Montevideo, Uruguay Michael Turtle presents Morning in Montevideo posted at Time Travel Turtle : Stories from the world.

Portland, Oregon, USA Andy Hayes presents Photo Essay: Christmas on Peacock Lane, Portland Oregon posted at Travel for Christmas, saying, “Prettiest street in the Pacific Northwest.”

Columbus, Ohio, USA Joe Vargo presents Columbus’ Coffee Scene Takes Center Stage posted at The Columbus Experience, saying, “Columbus is becoming a Coffee Capital! Food blogger and Columbus Food Adventures tour guide Bethia Woolf gives a rundown of the new crop of coffee shops that have opened recently.”

Park City, Utah, USA Sharlene Earnshaw presents Park City for Families- Winter Fun Abounds! posted at the talking trekaroo.

Lima, Peru Bastiaan Reinink presents It never rains down in Liiiiii-hiiiiii-maaaa posted at Perpetual Wonder.

Cities in Australia and New Zealand

Christchurch, New Zealand Liz Lewis presents A Christchurch Christmas Tale posted at Perceptive Travel Blog, saying, “In Christchurch, New Zealand mother nature might still be shaking but that doesn’t stop resilient Cantabrians from celebrating Christmas”

Sydney, Australia Vi presents What to do in Sydney in December, 2011 posted at Travel Tips.

Cities in Europe

Brussels, Belgium Mary presents Eating in Brussels with kids posted at The World Is A Book, saying, “Loved the chocolate samples throughout the city!”

Tallinn, Estonia MoTravels presents Exploring Tallinn in Winter posted at MO TRAVELS, saying, “Exploring the European City of Culture for 2011 and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tallinn.”

London, England Caitlin Fitzsimmons presents London at Christmas: Ten Unmissable Spots posted at Roaming Tales, saying, “Guest post on London at Christmas time. By the way, technically it is still Christmas until the 6th of January!”

Brussels, Belgium Paige Totaro presents 5 Things to Do in Brussels With Kids posted at All Over the Map..

That concludes this Carnival edition, and thank you for visiting.

Please submit your (ONE, non-spammy) blog post to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

While we mess around with our Facebook Pages, mobile devices and tweet-crafting, I’d like to pause for a moment and talk about books.

Lots of books, in a place that doesn’t have them, for people who want them very badly.

We’re talking about raising US$80,000 (yes, it’s a lot of zeroes) to build two libraries in Zambia …. the building construction, all the books and educational materials, teacher training and support for three years …. through Passports with Purpose, the annual travel bloggers’ fundraiser.

One of the PwP co-founders, Pam Mandel, is a dear friend of mine and a blogging kindred spirit, so I look forward to this every year. The #PwP hashtag is already jumping on Twitter.

Last year we raised enough money (mostly in US$10 increments) to build an entire village in southern India in partnership with Friends of LAFTI.  This year, PwP is partnering with Room to Read for the libraries.

I started my first travel blog in February 2006, and I’ve supported PwP since the beginning, but this is the first time that I’ve offered a sponsored prize as part of the fundraiser.

It works rather like a raffle – in addition to the goodie I’m showcasing below, you can browse through this full list of travel-related prizes and bid for chances to win whichever ones appeal to you.  At the end of the fundraiser – it runs through December 16, 2011 – one winner of each prize will be randomly selected from all of those who have bid.  A $10 donation per bid is suggested, but if you don’t want to make a donation, mail one self addressed stamped envelope to: Passports with Purpose, P.O. Box 16102, Seattle WA 98116.  Include the name of the prize you are entering to win.

Thanks to Nick from Guerrilla Packs, I get to showcase one of their top backpacks as the Sheila’s Guide PwP prize – the Voltij.  (Shipped to winners in the continental US only – bummer – but the winner can choose red, blue, or orange.)

This pack is designed for the serious traveler/hiker who needs cleverly designed storage space, comfort, and style.  My favorite feature is the detachable day pack, so you don’t have to look dorky wearing the whole framed backpack walking through, say the Uffizi in Florence or grabbing a bubble tea in Shanghai.

Here are some other Voltij specs:

- Detachable padded laptop sleeve shoulder carry bag
- Aluminum internal frame
- Fully adjustable EVERYTHING!
- Built in compass and thermometer
- Rain cover
- Passport pocket & cell phone pocket
- Supports H20 hydration system
- Sleeping bag / wet clothes pocket

Want to know more?

Here’s a helpful video about the pack (direct link to Voltij demo if you can’t see the embed box below:)

For a chance to win this prize or one of many others, go here to the PwP Prize List/Donate page and follow the directions.

Thanks for your support of Passports with Purpose, and I look forward to showing off some photos of the libraries in the next year or so.

(If you like this post, please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS feed or by email – the email signup box is on the right sidebar near the Search box. Thanks!) 

Thank you, Mom.

Both my mother (a long-time journalist) and I are members of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications.)

This year, Mom noticed that there was a new category, Personal Blogs, in the Online Media section of AWC’s annual Clarion communications awards.

She encouraged me to enter this blog in competition for a Clarion.

Like a good Mom, she then followed up just before the deadline to ensure I’d entered. I’d totally forgotten, of course, and had to race off to the post office to mail in my paperwork.

So, it was pretty cool to attend the 2011 AWC National Conference in Tulsa with Mom last month, have her in the room when I spoke with Maria Henneberry about more effective webinars, and then turn around and win the Clarion for Sheila’s Guide.

Thank you to all of my readers for your support since I launched the blog in September 2008, and thanks, Mom, for always encouraging me to excel.

(If you like this post, please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS feed or by email – the email signup box is on the right sidebar near the Search box. Thanks!) 

Welcome to the Carnival of Cities blog carnival, where we tour the world in a single post, via submissions from a variety of different blogs, all about any aspect of one, single city (or fair-sized town.)

The previous Carnival edition was hosted on the Perceptive Travel Blog, and will return there on November 30.

If you would like to host a future Carnival edition on your blog, please contact me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in the Americas

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA   Amy @ The Q Family presents Myrtle Beach With Kids: Guided Kayak Tour with Black River Outdoors Center posted at The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog.

Santa Cruz, California, USA   Eileen Ludwig presents Exploring Coastal Highway Santa Cruz California posted at Freelance Tourist: Travel Tips.

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA   Jennifer Miner presents Hawaii History and Culture: Princess Ka’iulani posted at The Vacation Gals, saying, “A vacation in Waikiki is enriched by attending a ceremony honoring the last crown princess of Hawaii.”

Ottawa, Canada   Zhu presents Rideau Hall posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying, “In a typ­i­cal relaxed Cana­dian fash­ion, the offi­cial res­i­dence of the Gov­er­nor Gen­eral of Canada is open to the pub­lic and it’s not rare to see hordes of pho­tog­ra­phers, cricket play­ers (!) and fam­i­lies pic­nick­ing there.”

San Francisco, California, USA   Kristin presents Breakfast at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market posted at SFTravel – San Francisco Underground Travel, saying, “A popular destination on Saturday morning in San Francisco becomes even better with savory and sweet offerings at gourmet breakfast stands.”

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA   Michael Turtle presents The Big Easy is harder than you think posted at Time Travel Turtle.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil   Jason Noronha presents 10 Reasons to Pack Your Bags for Rio de Janeiro posted at theOrangeMango, saying, “Having spent 2 weeks in Rio de Janeiro recently, I fell in love with the city and decided that I’d have to move to this beautiful place at some stage in my life. Here’s why you need to pack your bags for Rio..”

Mountain View, California, USA   Byteful Travel presents Computer History Museum Review: 7 Striking Exhibits from the Digital Age posted at Byteful Travel, saying, “With over 90,000 objects, photographs, and films the Computer History Museum of Mountain View, CA has no equal in its field. In fact, the CHM contains the largest collection of computing artifacts on the planet! So, needless to say, we were in for a real treat, and in this article I reveal the 7 most memorable artifacts I stumbled across that day, including the “Godfather” of the iPhone and a 150 lb. computer that you just HAVE to get your loved one this holiday season. But we’ll get to that!”

Columbus, Ohio, USA   Joe Vargo presents Top Three Things to Do With Your Extra Hour of Darkness posted at The Columbus Experience.

Cabo Polonio, Uruguay   Michael Hodson presents Cabo Polonio, Uruguay in Photos posted at Go, See, Write – overland RTW adventure travel.

Laramie, Wyoming, USA   Angi Harper presents Wyoming Roundup: A Sunny Day in Laramie Town posted at Wyoming Roundup.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA   JoAnna presents Images: Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory | Oklahoma City posted at Kaleidoscopic Wandering, saying, “I never expected to find botanical gardens in Oklahoma City, and that’s what I love about cities like this: They continue to surprise me.”

Seattle, Washington, USA   Mary T presents Photo Friday: Teen’s View of the Port of Seattle posted at Travel With Teens and Tweens, saying, “A short cruise of Seattle’s harborfront uncovered all kinds of interesting views. Our traveling teen captured some great photos along the way.”

San Francisco, California, USA   Kirsten Larsson presents San Francisco’s Chinatown posted at Aviators and a Camera.

Cities in Asia/Australia/New Zealand

Kyoto, Japan   Erin McNeaney presents The Weird and Wonderful World of Vegetarian Cuisine in Kyoto: Part 1 posted at Never Ending Voyage, saying, “Our exploration of Buddhist vegetarian cuisine in Kyoto, Japan.”

(more…)

How do you keep up (or even better, stay ahead) in a fast-moving environment?

You pay attention to the important things, while everyone else gets sucked into a noise vortex and wastes time on the unimportant.

BusinessWeek had a cover story in April 2005 – yes, 2005 – called “Blogs Will Change Your Business.”

Then they did a follow-up social media report in May 2008, titled “Beyond Blogs.”

Yet, even today in 2011 (almost 2012) there are still plenty of professional communicators who seem rather gobsmacked by what’s happened to their world.

They would not pay attention, roll up their sleeves and do their homework even a year ago, and now they wonder how they got so far behind.

You fall behind by not keeping up.

(If you like this post, please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS feed or by email – the email signup box is on the right sidebar near the Search box. Thanks!) 

In the wildly diverse and ever-growing world of bloggers and other online publishers, how do you sort through the stack to find the ones who interest you?

The ideas below were adapted from a comment of mine on the SpinSucks post “Blogger Outreach: Three Steps to a Successful Program“….in the spirit of more content in less time, I’m also going to put the same information here as a blog post.

Where do you find bloggers who might want to know about your destination, attraction, product, service or book?

I’m not sure I’d recommend that old warhorse Technorati for much of anything these days – I’d go for Alltop.com instead, if you’re looking for online publishers in lots of different subject areas.

Pssst – there’s an Alltop Tourism Industry channel, too!

Consultant Christina Pappas suggests looking for blogrolls (lists of favorite blogs, usually found in the sidebar) which is good when you can find blogs that still do them. Also look at Twitter Lists on Listorious and the membership of open Facebook Groups (one travel blogging Facebook Group has over 800 members; no harm in asking to join a Group if you have something to contribute, but don’t go in there and start overt marketing or you’ll probably get a digital spanking.)

Consider Twitter chats – many travel bloggers hang out on the #TBEX and #TBU hashtags, for example, and they also attend the associated TBEX / @TBEXEvents and Travel Bloggers Unite / @tbloggersunite travel blogging conferences, so show up there and participate.

It’s very effective to connect OFFline by going where the geeks are;  events like BlogWorld & New Media Expo, SXSWi (South by Southwest Interactive,) BlogHer, SOBCon, the 140 Character Conferences worldwide, Blissdom, local Social Media Clubs and Social Media Breakfasts plus small niche gatherings …. there’s a pet blogging conference, a beer blogging conference, food blogger events, craft blogger conferences….you get the idea.

But yes – meet bloggers on their blog, not in their email IN box (where I spend an inordinate amount of time deleting stupid stuff that I don’t want, thanks to people buying my name from companies like Vocus, Cision and BurrellesLuce.)

Meet bloggers where they are, on their terms. After all, YOU want what THEY have.

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