[:en]
…And finally, the boat arrived to the secluded island. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as it was my first time at an event like this. I had all sorts of anxious excitement built up inside of me, after spending the past 10 hours traveling, and the past 3 months anticipating. And tonight marked the start of it all. TBEX Europe. The continent’s largest travel bloggers convention, and the world’s biggest travel bloggers network. Let’s do this damn thang…
And I did. As a newbie travel blogger off to my first official industry event, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But whatever my clueless expectations were, TBEX superseded them, and then some. I made a mountain of connections (Literally- I have a stack of business cards that’d give Mount Everest a run for its money…), a boat load of new blogger friends, an overwhelming amount of new knowledge, inspiration…and a second stomach.
YEA. They didn’t stop feeding us.
Now, I realize how lucky I am that I got to attend TBEX as a newbie. And I also realize that every travel blogger in the world out there didn’t have the same luck. So, this ones for you. Throughout the course of the weekend, I learned some priceless lessons, or “secrets” rather, to this whole travel blogging game, that I never would have learned otherwise.
So, for those of you who couldn’t make it across the globe to Costa Brava, here you are. The Sparknotes version of TBEX 2015.
1) Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help from the Big Guy. 
I quickly learned that the travel blogging community is one of the most supportive, friendliest, BUBBLIEST networks out there. Seriously, I couldn’t believe it. I asked my new friend Dave (yes, the one and only Travel Dave) for advice of some things he wish he knew when he was starting out 5 years ago. Mind you, we met that night. Twenty minutes later, I had my notebook out frantically scribbling every word that came out of his mouth…
Don’t worry. You’ll get Dave’s words of wisdom too. The most important included below 😉
2) And Don’t Compare Yourself to the Bigger Bloggers.Â
They all started out like us! And what I learned from those big guys? The magic happens after that 1 year point. So keep your pants on and your fingers a’typin. A wise little man once said, “patience is a virtue, and diligence is key.” The little man was right.
3) Pick One Social Media to Focus On. 
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google Plus, Reddit, Periscope…AHHHHHHHHHH. The list goes on. As a blogger, it’s OVERWHELMING AS F. You can only dedicate so much of your life to sharing it with others. What I learned? Do some yoga, take a big deep breath, and pick ONE social media to really focus on. Do the rest on the side.
4) Getting Hotel Sponsorships is Easier than you Think…And Free Swag. DO IT.
Before TBEX, I heard some bloggers were staying at free hotels with sponsorships. I didn’t even bother,’cause I didn’t think I was there quite yet in the blogosphere. Well, my guardian angel sent me to Yulia, aka Miss Tourist. I ended up staying with her at the 4 star Hotel Anabel. All she did? Shot them a quick e-mail. I learned that other bloggers did the same, no fancy stats required. Easy as pieeeee.
5) Partnerships! Connect with People like You. 
Sure, it was awesome to talk to all those famous peeps. But it was even more awesome to befriend Jessica, Lisa, Mel and Lavi. The people who are on the same blogger boat as me! These people don’t only understand you and your struggles, but are wonderful sounding boards to bounce your crazy ideas off of. And maybe vent a little. And share. And grab a drink afterwards. And then combine powers and make a killer partner post and DOUBLE the power. Muahahahahahah (evil laugh).
6) Approach Speakers Afterwards. Don’t be Shy! 
If you’re going to a conference, or any educational thing of the sort, TALK TO THE DUDE AFTER. Even if you have nothing cool to say. Tell them you really enjoyed their presentation, and give them your card. They eat it up. One of the speakers even e-mailed ME after his talk. Now I might work for him this summer…Ballin? Yea.
7) Have Biz Cards and an Elevator Speech.Â
No matter where you go. Especially if it is a conference like TBEX. I can’t even tell you how many blank stares I witnessed when a fellow newbie was asked…”So, what’s your niche?” The normal response- “Uhhh…travelers?” Woahhh, bet they didn’t see that one comin’! But seriously. Define your target audience and the motive of your blog in one sentence, and pair that with a biznass card… and your golden. Or, you can be like my dear friend Dan, who decided it was part of his “swag” to have hand written biz cards. Whatever works.Â
8) Follow and Join the Facebook Groups!
I didn’t. Lesson learned. There’s always Facebook groups for everything. Whether it’s an event like TBEX, or just a general like-minded support group. Already a member of this groups? Great. Now READ THEM.  I made the mistake of joining the TBEX group, but not following all the posts. And boyyy did I miss out on some serious perks. If your looking for some new FB groups to join, here are some fab ones: Under 1000, We Travel We Blog, and Girl Vs. Globe (sorry boys).
9) Don’t think about Monetizing, think about Content.
It goes unsaid, that if your in this game for the money, get out. Until your on the top 50 bloggers in the world list, you ain’t gonna be rollin’ in the doe. However, it’s possible! But think in steps, and the first step is content. This was the advice I got: Focus your first year on content, and forget money is even possible. Once you hit that magical one year mark, your content will be gold, followers will come, and so will the money. Donald Trump didn’t get his ginger comb-over famous in a year, you know?
10) If you like to Eat…
and Party, You are in the Right Profession.
11) It’s YOUR Blog, be YOU! 
There’s no right or wrong formula to how it should be. And that’s the biggest thing I learned. If your blog reflects you…then you’re doing it right! Is my heart and soul a girl disguised as Mexican food? Yes. Yes, it is…
In conclusion?
Don’t let this blogger thing overwhelm you. It’s only as stressful as YOU make it! Step by step people, Rome wasn’t created in a day…or a year! OH. And go to TBEX. Your blog, brain and STOMACH will thank you.
Are you a travel blogger starting out in the blogosphere? What’s your biggest struggle? What do you think of this advice? Let’s talk about it! Venting welcome 😉
[:]
Great stuff here! Thanks a lot for sharing these insights.
Just curious about the free hotel stay: you just dropped them an email saying you wanted to stay there for free…in exchange for what? 😛
Thanks Bruno! Glad you found it useful. And to answer your Q, in exchange for my soul…….
JUST KIDDING!!! Hehe. Just some good old school social media publicity 🙂
Awesome Casie, so glad you had fun and were so successful! Great job! Stay Inspired, Stay Inspiring! Jakki
I just joined every group you mentioned and like you, I’ve joined others, but didn’t do a lot of reading. Q? The part about money, what money is there to be made? And from what sources? Yessss, this part is so foreign to me and I’ve been blogging since 2012. I have a travel club, but I only blog about our trips and local outings maybe once or every other month. Just curious, extremely curious about money I maybe missing out on… lol! Thank you
Trina, there’s a couple ways you can go about making money. I’m sure you know about the classic route, advertising. However advertisements like Google Ad Sense won’t really start making you money until your stats are out of the roof. The best way is to become an affiliate blogger for a sponsor. This means that you write and help promote their work, and they pay you. Every sponsor company does it a bit differently, but search for travel companies looking for travel bloggers, and send them your media kit with a proposal. You get to put their badge on your website too, which is cool because it looks super legit! 😛 Finally, this won’t make you money but it will SAVE you lots of money. Like I mentioned in the article, reaching out to hotels for sponsorships is easier than it sounds. You can also reach out to the tourism board of a destination or a tour company. Whatever tickles your fancy! In general, I’m sure there are even more ways to make money, but I’m not much farther along than you in this blogger journey. So if I find out more ways, I will let you know 🙂
First, thank you for taking the time to reply. I’d signed up for a couple of those affiliate programs and really didn’t understand how they worked. I’m currently in the process of revamping my website, blog and logo, so maybe the person that’s doing it can set those up again for me. Thank you for the new suggestion of becoming an affiliate blogger for a sponsor, never heard of it and will have to research to see what that’s all about. Plus, I need to do a media kit. And I do like the idea of reaching out to hotels for possible free stays, especially since I do have a travel club and I’m always looking for great places to stay. This coming August, myself and 23 other ladies in my group are going to Dubai, so I was able to get a group leader credit. Not a whole lot, but it’s opened my eyes to the possibilities of traveling free through group leader credits. Again, thank you so much for the advice and wishing you oodles of success. If I learn something new, I will be sure to share it with you.
Take care and happy trails :)!
Wonderful, thank you! You as well, and have an incredible time in Dubai 😉
I think you’re incredible!!!!!! xoxoxox A-L
Great post, Casie-dilla 😉 I blog for my own personal sanity, but I’m growing very inspired to use it as a tool/platform. I’m really enjoying the community that I’ve only VERY recently discovered, too. My blog is less than 1 year old, but I already see the possibilities!
These are great tips! I’ve been kicking around the idea of going to TBEX in Thailand in October (because I’m pretty sure I left my heart there, and what better excuse to return?) but I’ve never been and I’ve been contemplating whether it’s worth it. All the feedback I’m reading about Costa Brava sounds like it definitely is! Also, I’m headed to Mexico and Cuba this summer, and I’m going to try out the hotel thing. I hope it’s really as simple as you say it is! Such great insider knowledge 😉
I hope it all works out! And incase I didn’t preach enough in my post…GO GO GO! TBEX is totally worth it, not to mention the excuse to go to Thailand 😉
I’m so happy we met at TBEX!! You’re as bubbly and fun in person as you are in writing. As a fellow newbie at TBEX, it was nice to meet someone else in similar shoes. Can’t wait to follow more of your travels and can we meet up in Spain please?! xoxoxo
YES! I will tell you when I am in Madrid in the beginning of June 🙂 xoxoxo
Great post with some great tips for anyone’s first TBEX! Hoping to get to one soon enough 🙂 Keep at it with your blog! I like that you said just to be you and not compare to others! I often have to remind myself of that!
Being you is definitely the most important! Glad you found the tips useful 🙂
Oh I loved reading this! Thanks for sharing!
I wanted to go to the conference as well and I felt so jealous when I saw other people sharing their TBEX experiences on social media. Next year, though! 😀
Love everything that you have written. I could not agree more that being true to yourself, and always being yourself is really vitally important. Ditto, not being afraid to ask. You already know the answer if you don’t even try.
Exactly! Glad you agree 🙂
Just signed up to TBEX in Thailand in October because of this! Can’t wait to go! Thanks Casie! <3
Ah how exciting!!! I WISHHH I could make it to the Thailand TBEX. Unfortunately, it’s impossible with my schedule. But enjoy, soak up everything you can…and write a blog post about it so I can read it 😉
Great stuff, and you are right about the supportive community, big or small fish, we’re all exploring the same big pool! One thing I would add about the 1 year mark though, it’s card tricks and sleight of hand after 1 year, it’s when you get into the second year and beyond that the magic really happens! Be patient, keep plugging away, it WILL happen.
Thank you Bemused Backpacker!!! Great point. We are all in such a rush to be successful right away, but the best things take time! I’d expect the first year is the hardest, so at least I’ve (almost) got that out of the way 🙂 Thanks for your input!
Big fan of your work, I will be cooking up Casiedilla soon as a cultureal experiement, might work out better than spaghetti meatballs. Great meeting you at TBEX! Was a pleasure and an honour to be mentioned on your blog, peace and love.
Yo Casiedilla! Thanks for the advice. Now I know how to get started, blog about something that I love and convey that excellent content using my own voice! See you at the next TBEX event!!!
Sweet! I like this list a lot. =) I hope one day I can go to a travel blogger conference. That would be the best!!
These are great tips, Casie! It was great meeting you at TBEX. You clearly learned some stuff!
Great tips! Dave is an old friend of mine and I’m just starting with new projects after some struggling and failures, so this post will help to get focused 🙂
Awesome! So glad I could help 🙂
Thank you for a great wrap up post from a first timer perspective Casie. I am very glad to hear you enjoyed it. Hope to see you again at a future TBEX.
Sincerely,
rick
CEO
TBEX
Rick,
I’m so glad you like it! It means a lot 🙂 You and your team truly did a wonderful job putting the event together. Feel free to share with any new bloggers you come across that have questions or are hesitant about TBEX (or for that matter, anything bloggy!) I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will see you in Stockholm!
All the best,
Casie aka AWC
So nice to meet you!
You too Vicki! Let’s stay connected 🙂
Hi Casie! Thank you so much for this advice, attending my first TBEX this year and feeling a tad nervous, yet excited, yet hungry! 🙂
You will have a wonderful experience! And definitely won’t go hungry 😉 hope to see you there!
Thank you so much for all those great advices, Casiedilla !!! It helps a lot….. The struggle is real!
Tell me about it…it ain’t easy! Hope that helps and the best of luck!