THE E-MAGAZINE THAT FOCUSES ON THE REALITY OF SELLING TRAVEL
PLUS The O&M The EDGE The Frontline The BDM
BOOST YOUR SALES BY LEARNING MORE ABOUT HOW TO APPLY YOUR CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS
THIS IS THE WAY OF THE NEXT GENERATION INDEPENDENT LOCATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL NOMAD TRAVEL AGENT
AUGUST 2012
In this issue
TRAVEL WRITING & PHOTOGRAPHY
EDITORIAL – Writing For Sales
Everyone wants to write a book! It’s a fact. Everyone has something in them they want to get out, tell the world about, share with others. Then comes the time to do that very thing. After the first 1,000 words or about two pages… nothing! It’s not that easy to write a book. It’s easier to write an article however and it’s faster too and many times will support the sale of travel. Learn how to write and shoot images for your client base and you could very well boost your sales – or make a name for yourself as a travel writer and be invited on media fams. Don’t forget, if you need help with anything you read in Selling Travel I am as close as your email or Skype button.
Best regards, Steve Crowhurst, CTM Publisher www.sellingtravel.net steve@sellingtravel.net www.facebook.com/sellingtravel Skype: smptraining1 T: 250‐752‐0106 CHECK FOR WEBINARS HERE
THE O&M – Business Writing Skills FRONTLINE – Add The Art Of Writing To Your Skill Sets THE EXTREME BDM – Story Lines for Agents LOVE TO TRAVEL, LONG TO WRITE? TRAVEL TOPICS TO WRITE ABOUT PUBLISHING YOUR WORK SOCIAL WRITING CALLIGRAPHY, FONTS & COLOURS STEVE GILLICK – If You Wish To Be A Writer… THE EDGE – Media Trips CORY ANDRICHUK – Travel Agent Revolution PHOTOGRAPHY THAT SELLS BEEN THERE, TOOK THE SHOT MARKETING FROM THE WRITTEN WORD TO THE SPOKEN WORD
JOIN ST MAILING LIST Selling Travel is owned and published by Steve Crowhurst, SMP Training Co. All Rights Reserved. Protected by International Copyright Law. Selling Travel can be shared, forwarded, cut and pasted but not sold, resold or in anyway monetized. Using any images or content from Selling Travel must be sourced as follows: “Copyright SMP Training Co. www.smptraining.com” SMP Training Co. 568 Country Club Drive, Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada V9K 1G1 Note: Steve Crowhurst is not responsible for outcomes based on how you interpret or use the ideas in Selling Travel or on the Selling Travel Website.
editorial
Writing right is what we’re all supposed to have learned how to do. Trouble for me was I was always staring out the classroom window in my school years, dreaming of travelling. How I write then is pure OTJ and in later life being guided by others comments, such as, “What the…?” “You can’t put one of those there!” “Now that just doesn’t read right.” Embarrassment is a great coaching technique. If you get the chance to study the art of writing, or travel writing, even full blown journalism… then you must do it if you have your heart set on travelling the world and writing about it as a career or to generate new sales for your agency, which is always my focus. The photograph, which in the old days was a pen & ink sketch, supports your travel writing, or it should do if you wish to create a following amongst your clients. Imagery and an eye grabbing slogan is what tends to attract people to read your work and brochures. It’s a good idea to study other travel writers, too and read travel magazines. Then there’s the concept of writing like you talk so that the real you comes across versus trying to be too fancy and losing the reader in the process. I’m not too bad at one word sentences and messing up the Queen’s English and the odd quip or two. That’s me. How about you? Plenty of room for you to write like you want to, publish how you want to and get your articles out there working for you. No longer can anyone say no to you being published. All the techno tools are in place to accommodate your new sales activity and career. Let’s go make something happen! Let me know what you need! Creatively Yours!
Steve Crowhurst Author, Trainer, Columnist, Keynote Speaker, Publisher and world traveller.
Here’s my good pal and author Anthony Dalton. A former travel man and still a travelling man. Tony used to drive the London Kathmandu overland route. He led an expedition for the CBC into Timbuktu in 1980 and since those days has travelled the world, written for airline and travel magazines, published 14 books in the process. Currently he is a keynote speaker sailing on luxury cruise ships – cor, wot a life eh?
How’s your business writing skills these days? Have you had much practice, what with the quick ‘n’ easy email we now use to shoot off a note or two? Business correspondence and corporate writing skills are disappearing fast. It may be a good thing to resurrect those old talents and put them to good use. One way to rekindle your writing skills is to write about your company in general, your services, your specialty services, your niche market/s and even where you are planning to take your company in terms of growth and new services ‘down the road’. Not too many travel agency owners or managers bother to tell their clients about their plans for the future and how the agency’s clients will benefit. The door is pretty much wide open. If you own and manage a corporate agency then this release of information is a must do. Let your talents out and write about new mobile apps that can save time, money and even a life. The leisure agency can write about new and exciting tours, a planned group to an unfamiliar land, anything new that is related to your online / website promotions and even a simple ‘Meet The Staff’ column can rejuvenate interest in your company and the skills of the people working for you. Email has become the business page for most of us these days, however, there is still room for an old fashioned deckle edged sheet of paper, carefully folded and inserted into a heavy weight envelope – both being scribed by hand in a dark mauve‐blue ink and preferably via the nib of the italic persuasion. Too much work? Well here’s the pay off – everyone, repeat, everyone opens a hand addressed, deckle‐edged envelope – AND they read the contents too. 100%!
One of the keys to business writing and I would suggest writing in general, is this: you must write to the audience, the reader and you must write like you speak. Also, you must write it yourself. You clients will know you and they will quickly assess a fake! Let’s return to email for a moment. You may wish to employ business writing etiquette to the opening line, the greeting, your sign off and your signature. That would mean trading off the “Hi!” for a “Dear…” and a “see ya later…” for a “Best regards…” – you know, raise the bar a tad and instruct your frontline sales team to do the same. In fact, you could arrange for a business writing skills trainer to present a 2‐hour workshop to you and your team. Something different and a career / life skill for sure. FYI: Deckled edge paper is the ragged or feathered edge of the paper as it comes from the papermaking machine. The edge gets its name from the frame — called a deckle. Handmade paper normally has four deckle edges while machine made paper has two.
Publishing later this year. Dream Merchants tells the story about what you do. It’s a reference, a business guide, a playbook, a book based on success and succeeding as a travel agent and what it takes to ‘make it’. Dream Merchants also explores the success traits that have been inherent in travel agents for 170 years since the industry as we know it, started in the mid 1800s. The book will also reference YOUR input. Would you like to participate and tell your side of the story?
As you may know I prefer the real thing to fluff. That means street smarts and savvy been there, done it know‐how ‐ versus academic, never been there, never done it. So, if you would like to submit your street smart input as to what makes a travel agent successful please click to the link below and complete one of the two submission forms. One is for Travel Agents and one is for Suppliers – (a supplier in this case means: any person working for a company that services the travel trade / travel agent – tour company, hotel chain, printer, college, association, etc.) By submitting one of the two forms, you will be giving me permission to use your input all or in part and reference your quotes to you. The information you provide will not be shared with anyone other then the reader of the book when published. Thank you in advance to those who do participate. Your input will be greatly appreciated both by me and those that read the book. Here’s where you click:
http://www.sellingtravel.net/dream‐merchants.html
ADD THE ART OF WRITING TO YOUR SKILL SETS There was a time when we frontline agents of any record always carried a quality pen. It was a sign of prestige and how well you were doing and how professional you wished to be considered by your peers and clients. I can recall when a group of us from various agencies would be in the hotel lounge on a Friday after work and there would be slight gasps around the table as and when someone drew a very nice looking pen from the inside of their jacket, purse or briefcase to sign the tab. The gadgets have changed somewhat, or should I say a lot? The art of writing has been or seems to have been lost as I hear younger travel agents say, “Wow, you can do cursive!” – when someone writes in a flowing style versus caps. Amazing how things change and how fast young fingers can tap out a text quicker than it takes someone to remove the cap to their pen! Now… if you would like to stand out from the current agency crowd and appeal to those baby boomer clients and even the younger traveller – it might be time to become acquainted or reacquainted with the pen and the art of writing. You can study online or you could take a local community writing program, or if you catch the desire and passion for the written word then you could return to university. Or, you could study the art of blogging.
One thing for sure is this: before you release your writing to the world, better check with your agency owner / manager to get clearance. Remember what you write and send out under the banner of your agency means you are representing that brand therefore whatever you write must support the company and it’s suppliers, destinations and so on. Assuming that’s done – now you are free to write within the parameters laid down by the agency owner. Prove yourself to management and your client base and be sure to count the validations and growth in bookings that have come about through customers reading your articles. Your writing skills will help grow bookings, attract new clients, sell you as a travel professional, open up new channels for you in terms of your articles being accepted – you can earn money for your writing too. Overall, putting the skill of writing back into your life has no downsides. Everything is looking pretty good as long as you write good, clean, exciting stuff that your audience cannot wait to read. Again with the approval of the agency owner, you could write the agency blog, you could produce an e‐magazine, you could write for the local newspaper or community magazine and you might also be called upon to deliver a few public speeches. Your writing skills can boost your profile, boost your sales, boost your group departures, boost the agency profile, too and all from a written word or two whether it is hand‐ written or typed, deckled edge paper or email… the art of writing well is up there with the skill to speak in public. Add it to your skill set as soon as you can.
As I always say, a home based travel agent has the written travel world by the tale and now, if done right, the travel writing, photo‐journalism world too. WOW! What a situation to be in. So much potential and not a manager to tell you no, or an editor to tell you how. How sweet is that? Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s get at it. Now I know I am preaching to the converted, and that’s okay. I like to work with professionals versus what I call the home based dabblers who play at selling travel. With your professional game face on, your well crafted website, your professional .com email address (no Hotmail) and a terrific looking, eye grabbing logo and linked to a top notch host… well now, what’s stopping you writing up a storm, a book, a magazine or a how‐to guide? Nothing. You are cleared for take off! STEP ONE: Get into the books. Start reading everything you can about travel writing. The best and quickest route is to Google it all. As always more than enough information online. Limit your search to writing about travel and that will reduce the results by a million web pages or more!! STEP TWO: Write something, suck it up and send it out. Where to you ask? Well try your local community first. Better still target your existing clients and their friends. This can go viral.
I’m looking for real‐time challenges that stop you from being the best you can be. Be sure to include your email and website links. Thanks! Viral is what you want to have happen. Have your clients act as your distribution system. Ask them to pass it on to their friends. Look for comments and feedback. STEP THREE: Time to step out. Head to the big time. Post your articles online. You can do this via a blog, in your own e‐ magazine, on your website and at other hosted blogs, too. As and when you do this, you’ll be checking the comments and responding to them – both good and bad. If anyone corrects your grammar or information, accept it, say thanks, learn from it. Move on. Keep writing. STEP FOUR: The focus of your writing MUST contain a sales push. You are in it to win it – which means selling yourself, selling the places you are writing about, selling yourself again and then inviting your readers to contact you. Yes it’s ALL about YOU and selling travel. You knew that. STEP FOUR: Write about the group departure you are planning. Here’s a great medium for promoting and selling your next cruise group or tour group or adventure group. The technology today lets you use all the multi media you can muster to support your article, newsletter and magazine. So there ya go! If you’re feeling WRITE at home, then write at home and get that phone ringing and email zinging.
Is that you? Do you love to travel and long to write? Don’t we all. It’s something that goes hand in glove when you have a passion about travelling the world as a true traveller versus a tourist bent on scoffing as much food during the all‐you‐can‐eat event at the resort. Then again, that could prove to be an interesting assignment! Chances are you have done this before. Perhaps you have always been a writer ‐ the one in the family who communicates with cousins, uncles and aunts and those who have emigrated to another country. You come by your communication skills genuinely and you are practiced. Can you turn those skills into a double life… almost a double agent (ooh!) you can be both a travel agent and a travel writer. How about them apples? Love to travel, long to write is very close to becoming your mantra. Step 1: A good place to start is the reading of others travel books, articles and columns. Everyone has their style. Some might be boring to you but thrilling to others and then thrilling to you and a big yawn for your friends. Reading the works of others will give you a frame of reference. Step 2: Start to make notes on what actually works for you. What style of writing do you enjoy, and how do those words make you feel and what’s different about the phrasing that you like?
Step 3: Collect words and phrases that appeal to you that might be used to replace the same old time worn travel verbiage such as grand, beautiful and sunny. Come up with your own phrasing and add a little novella to your articles, tickle the reader’s fancy here and there. Step 4: Also collect metaphors and similes you catch in travel books and magazines. Build a bank of phrases so you can draw on them and be sure to reference the source if you use the metaphor of another writer: “… as JK once described this view…” and off you go with JK’s description. Better to create your own, but then sometimes the view can only be described as JK saw it. You should also carry a decent camera in your bag and one that shoots 1080 HD video. It’s the world of the blog and vlog – you’ll need to interview fellow travellers along the way. The current technology is a travel writer’s dream. You can stock up on a laptop or template computer, a smart phone, various apps, and a word processer, plus a speech to text recognition program… and you are pretty well good to go. Spend a few more bucks and join an online writers group, blog site and learn as you go. You are well aware of fam trips and now, as a travel writer you can put your name out there to attract media trips too. Mind you, you must be able to write something and have it published upon your return. So… what’s your next move?
If you’ve LIKED Selling Travel’s Facebook page then this webinar is for YOU!
Okay then, we’re a GO! This is 90-minutes of the original Travel Writing for Travel Agents webinar, PLUS Travel Writing Chapter 2, PLUS tips on how your travel photography can help sell your writing. Special Facebook Fan price of $20 all-in. That’s the 90 minute webinar, handout and recording. Note: The content is all about how your travel writing and imagery can help boost your travel sales. Chop! Chop!
As promised… when we reached 200 clicks on the LIKE button… I’m delivering a 90minute special edition of this webinar with EXTRAS just for ST’s Facebook Fans.
DATE: Tuesday August 14th 2012 Starting at: 10am Pacific If you cannot make the date you can enjoy the recording. Either way, everyone needs to register below…
You still have time to LIKE Selling Travel and join in!
AUDIO IS VOIP – LISTENING THROUGH YOUR COMPUTER SPEAKERS
So much to write so little time! Where are you sitting just now? Are you in the agency, on a fam trip, on vacation, at home, atop a mountain peak looking out… stuck in a traffic jam? All of these situations are adding to your list of topics you could & might write about. On the sofa, “Thinking About Travelling to…” In the agency, “Dreaming Of Where I Sent The MacLeods”… on top of that mountain, “Go to the Edge, That’s where the view is!” It’s a fact that pretty much everything you do can be turned into a topic to write about. You or someone else of course. Your client’s travels and subsequent reports would be ideal content to factor into your writing. The topic you choose could become the slogan for your article. Topic & slogan are both mashable into a word or phrase that, if it’s to do it’s job, will attract the reader’s eyes and travel soul to read your work. When the brain is drained you could always ask your readers and your clients what they would like to know about. If you are social and online and networking ask your fans and followers what topic they would enjoy next. Get them involved in writing the blog for instance. “This is for Mike in …” is your lead in sentence, “.. who wanted to know about the best museums in London…” Right. Here’s a short list of topics. Expand as you wish and get writing.
Topical Topics found on various websites: 1. Go for an unusual meal and report on it. 2. The London Olympics are a given. 3. Focus on a personal passion. 4. Compare one place over another. 5. Do the trek and report on each stop. 6. Attend a summer religious festival. 7. Review & Rank Luxury Hotels, Resorts & Spas. 8. Love wine? Visit vineyards & wineries. 9. For your foodie readers – choose a dish. 10. Beaches? http://www.drbeach.org/ 11. Write about off‐the‐beaten tourist path places. 12. Travel Hassles and Then Some! 13. Write about the similarities of traveling with your family and your pets. 14. Road Trip. Women only. Bungie jump in NZ. 15. From culture to green. 16. Space Tourism. 17. Go on a pilgrimage, check into a haunted hotel, take a religious tour… 18. Tour guiding and why only the best survive. 19. What a world and why it’s getting smaller. 20. Travel safety.
Time is of the essence. Time waits for no man, woman or travel writer. Time is raw – it never comes back. Time – they’re not making any more – got to use what you’ve been given. Time is the enemy. Time out! Today, you can control all the time you want and need and no editor, publisher can tell you that your work is not good enough to be published. YOU can control it all. How about that, eh? Great news if you didn’t already know. It’s true. There are enough websites, tools and technologies that you have access to right now that set the pattern. You can be printed and out there by 9am tomorrow morning if that’s your goal. Having set that path – perhaps it’s time (that word again) to step back and ponder the path. Not every writer is an editor, marketer, salesperson, gifted technoid, webmaster and online guru. You’ll no doubt need a few other people in your corner before you push your first article out there. On the other hand there are travel blogging websites that have all the tools you need. Which path are you walking?
The main message here is that whatever you want to do in terms of your travel writing, it can be done. For instance you are reading this e‐Magazine that I write and produce without anyone else involved other than a colleague or two who will offer advice and guidance and advise when they catch a typo. All‐in‐all my writing style remains: short, snappy, contains too many of these…. and a misuse of punctuation. What can I say? It’s me. How about you? What’s your style? No matter. You can publish it anytime you want. Go with a blog. Start an e‐Magazine using Issuu.com. Seek out a well known travel magazine to take on a column written by you. Self promote until your readership picks up and blossoms. Read http://www.writersmarket.com/ and visit the store… look for this book as it really is jammed with the Information you need.
It’s the wanna get published bible. So much information here that it’ll take a few weeks to read it all. Well worth it. Many more books at the same link – all geared to your writing success. Self publishing is the way to go and sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes there are book publishers who scour the internet looking for new writers and e‐Books that they feel would do well in printed, soft cover format. You never know. It could be your lucky day and for that day to come, you must be writing and publishing and putting your efforts on the Internet. Chop chop! Let’s get busy!
THERE’S NO USE DENYING IT. THE WORLD OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IS HERE AND NOT GOING AWAY ANY TIME SOON. THAT’S A HEADS UP FOR YOU TO START WRITING IN THE SOCIAL GENRE. SAY WOT!? Here’s the click‐through. If your clients are on the Internet, emailing their pals and texting their sons and daughters then the messaging is loud and clear isn’t it. Tis to me – so it should be to you. Ya gotta get into writing socially. Family travel. Do you sell it? Sure you do. You might, if you had a client base of Mums with kids and hubby who will tag along. Reading the stats and facts one would soon learn that Facebook is a haven for Mums. It’s where Mums chat, share pics and more. The facts suggests that you start writing and posting to a Facebook page – a business page, not a personal page. Remember that old saying about growing through referrals? Many or most travel agencies learn along the way to actually ask for those referrals. Well Facebook is the best referral network of it’s kind and it’s waiting for you to go there, open that business page, build a base of friends and fans and once you have that trust built – ask for referrals. Even 200 Likes can introduce you to a worthy 1,500 other Facebooking travellers. What makes it all special for travel agents who write is the viral connection. When your article is liked & enjoyed, it’s shared with friends and family. Just like it has always been done.
Your mission then is to contact your client / audience and find out where they socialize and then plan your social writing campaign. You’ll need to ask your clients outright which social sites they belong to and you might go further to query if they would pass along anything you send them if they thought it would be useful to their friends. With that information you can start writing and posting, giving your clients something to share. Your website is still in the mix: by now you have trained your clients to click to your website for updates and news. Your email is still in the mix: it’s been with us now for 40 years… every client knows how to use it and your newsletter can still be sent by email. Websites and emails are all part of the social networking infrastructure ‐ that’s two you know how to use and must continue to write and post to both. Now comes the task of writing to those potential clients on social sites like Facebook and using communication tools such as mobile phones to text via Twitter, post images on Flickr and connect with businesspeople on LinkedIn. To do this right, you must get it right. Facebook is NOT where you chase a corporate account. That would be LinkedIn. When you understand who uses which social site and for what, you’ll be able to target write your articles and socialize them then monetize them.
The outcome of your social writing is not so much to build your reputation as it is to have your words sent virally from one fan to the next. That’s it pure and simple. In old language – it’s asking for referrals. It will happen without you asking, however you can generate more response if you do ask. Write with going viral in mind.
CALLIGRAPHY, FONTS & COLOURS My dearest Mum had a style all her own. She wrote in the ink colour of mauve. When you received a letter in the mail and it was addressed in mauve, you knew who it was from. During WW2 she wrote to my father almost every day for 5 years during his POW days in Germany and Poland. That colour ink was her sign. It was her brand. It gave him hope. Kept him going. Your colour of ink could build your brand. Put a smile on your customer’s face and not only keep them going but get them going too! I tell you that “mum” story because there is power in the written word and even more power in the colour of the written word, too. Add to that the combination of font style, size of the lettering and the calligraphic hand you write in and you are indeed building a writing style, a recognizable brand that will attract readers to your work. When my Mum was writing is was of course with pen and paper. Today you can emulate exactly what she used as there are hundreds of fonts designed in hundreds of styles – and all you have to do to change the colour of the ‘ink’ is click Font Colour on the toolbar and make your choice. When, Where, How and WHY Would You Handwrite Anything? Good question! The answer is, when you need to be read, want to stand out, want to make a statement and when it suits the product you are marketing. Today you can convert your own handwriting to a font style that you can then use as you type your newsletter or e‐Letter. There are many programs and websites that offer free instant generation. You select the handwritten font you like, you type in your text and click the generation tab. Then you download your creation.
http://www.yourfonts.com/ The image above shows the home page for YourFonts and when you land there you will see the Getting Started column on the right – 7 steps and you’ll have your personal handwriting font.
Now, believe it or not, calligraphy is a niche market and people do actually travel the world to view, study, and learn how to write in Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and what I feel are the most beautiful, Islamic designs and brushwork. What would you use to promote such a high end tour? You got it… a promotional piece bearing a wonderful attractive calligraphic design. Search Google Images for such designs – you will be inspired. Here’s one of my own calligraphic designs – embossed in tin and this symbol represents Dainichi Nyorai (JAP) related to the 13 Buddhas. You might use such a symbol if you were going to market a tour to Tibet or India, Japan… So over to you. Font, colour and style to be created and recognized as YOU when your clients see it, receive it, read it and click on it. Signatures too, are very powerful marketing mediums.
Guest Article by Steve Gillick, CTM steve@talkingtravel.ca
Epictetus, the Greek philosopher, determined that “If you wish to be a writer, write”. This was a reflection of his firm belief that people are responsible for their own actions, and therefore ‘wanting’ or ‘dreaming’ to do something can only happen if you actually do it! This does not imply that you have to be born into the role of ‘writer’. There are many avenues that lead writers to success and in every circumstance, that old adage that ‘practice makes perfect’, comes into play.
When I was 14 years old, I took a five week student trip to Europe. We travelled by ship to various coastal cities and part of our assignment was to keep a daily diary. I still have that diary today and can see snippets of a budding travel writer as I attempted to describe the incredibly luxurious Hermitage Museum in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), or the amazing souk, or marketplace, that we visited in Gibraltar. And my writing got a bit of a boost when Mr. Sperling, our teacher, asked if I would like to contribute an article to the ship’s newsletter on any topic I chose. I wrote about what was before me: A huge ship that grew smaller every day as we became more familiar with where everything was located, and as we discovered short cuts to get to the classroom or the theatre or the dining hall. And then I used this as an analogy to talk about the cities and countries that we were visiting on the trip. I wrote about Copenhagen and how on the first day it seemed so confusing and difficult to get around on the bus tour, but when we had some free time on the second day, we found that it was easy to walk from one place to another and in fact, the city had shrunk in size. My article was published and I read it 40‐50 times, thinking that me—Steve Gillick—was a published writer! And perhaps this was the feeling of travel‐writing‐euphoria that lay the groundwork for my love of writing. So when I worked at summer camps, I wrote for the newsletter; when I worked for a tour company, I started a newsletter, and later when I worked for a travel association, I revamped their newsletters and became the writer, editor and publisher. No matter how busy I was, I would always find time to write—usually on weekends, and many times on my home computer after a long day at the office and into the wee hours of the night. It became my way of relaxing and it still is a pleasant means of escape from reality and routine. But for me, writing is also an intellectual challenge, based on my personal credo that every word in the English language has a very specific connotation and it is the travel writer’s task to use the most meaningful words in each sentence to express thoughts, emotions, vistas and people, and try to capture
the ambiance of a destination; the exuberance of an event, the titillation of one’s taste buds when partaking of unique foods, the exhilaration of seeing a global landmark that has always been on your ‘must‐see’ list, and the euphoria of discovering something that you never knew existed. Travel writing topics are sometimes directly in our sight lines: If you visit Prague, then you may choose to write about Prague. Or you can look at specific aspects of the city which may be more meaningful to readers with different interests. Culinary. Our favourite lunch included grilled sausage, served with horseradish and mustard, fresh rye bread and dark beer (usually at U Glaubicu in Lesser Town); while our favourite dinner was at U Medvidku (In Old Town near the Narodni Bridge) which consisted of grilled duck, potato dumplings, sweet red cabbage and different varieties of dark beer. Marionettes. There is a puppet culture in the Czech Republic dating back to the Middle Ages. You can find Marionette shops in many towns and cities with varying degrees of quality but they are all fascinating to see. As a mask collector visiting a country with no masks per se, I was entranced by the faces of the Marionettes and spent lots of time just appreciating the quality. Scenery. There are some amazing vistas in Prague. You can climb a number of towers, depending on the strength in your legs and your ability to negotiate winding staircases (eg. in the Astronomical Clock Tower or one of the Charles Bridge Towers, or the view from Prague Castle or the cable car that takes one to the viewing tower, overlooking the city)
Steve’s company, Talking Travel, specializes in the art of Destination Mastery, which includes customized writing for tourist boards, airlines, agency associations, conferences and talks. You can contact Steve at info@talkingtravel.ca or check out his site at www.talkingtravel.ca
And there are many other angles for writing about the city: history, architecture, music, art, tourists, shopping, the subway system, the bridges, museums, gardens, wine, street life, the Jewish Quarter, hidden attractions (eg. the grotto and the albino peacocks), and just about any other area or ‘niche’ that interests you.
And that is one of the keys to writing: write about your own interests. Once I decide on a topic, I will spend time filling in my knowledge gaps with research, mostly online, but also from guide books or contacting someone who knows more than I about the topic. (which is a good reason to exchange emails with the tour guides and locals you may meet along the way). Accuracy is very important. If you are into historical dates, then ensure the dates are correct. If you are not a big history buff, then give a general time frame (eg in the early 20th century, as opposed to “1911”) And then there are other forms of writing inspiration (from the Latin ‘in spirare’ meaning ‘to breathe’, as in ‘to breathe life into something’). Many writers have what they call “eureka moments”. The word “Eureka’ has an ancient Greek origin and means “I have found it”, and goes along with the legend that the scholar Archimedes yelled out “Eureka” when he immersed himself into his bath water and realized that the water level rose at the same time. A Eureka moment may be listening to a song on your iTunes and something about that song relates to an incident or a thought that profoundly inspires you. I have two favourite Eureka moments. One involves the song Wooden Ships, by Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, wherein one of the lines is “You smile at me and I will understand/cuz that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language”. Well when I first heard that, I realized that as an inveterate traveller who only speaks English, there is a masterful way of communicating with the whole planet—and that is in the simple act of smiling. I have written about travel to non‐English speaking countries and communication on many occasions.
My second Eureka moment came when I was stuck in traffic on Highway 401. We were in a construction area and it was unbelievably noisy and then drivers started to honk the car horns and it became really annoying. But through all this, with my iPod set to randomly shuffle songs, came the mesmerizing tune “Sounds of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkle. It was like a breathe of fresh air and, after a bit of research, I wrote an article on “Silence’ as a niche market that many travellers want, appreciate and in some cases, yearn while they are stuck on a crowded beach on a package tour during the holidays. And other forms of inspiration may include the ‘serendipitous” (something that occurs by happenstance and is rewarding, or fortuitous). When our group arrived in the town of Pisac in Peru, the festival of the Virgin of Carmen was taking place. We had no knowledge of this until we arrived and found the town in a festive mood with costumes, masks, decorations and dancing. What an opportunity for writing and photographs! Likewise, when we arrived in Douz, Tunisia, we were not aware that the annual International Sahara Festival was opening on the same day. Groups from all across northern Africa were present for the camel races and the cultural competitions with costumes, singing, dancing, music and food. I was in seventh heaven—and I wrote about it! When our friend Epictetus wrote that “If you want to be a writer, write”, he was speaking a truism that some may say is not necessarily profound, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense and is in itself, inspirational. Write, re‐write, show your friends what you have written and have them provide suggestions. Proof‐read your writing and then post it on your blog (or start your own blog) or add it to a site such as www.brouwaha.com, or send it as an addendum or comment to a newsletter article or as the article itself. Travel writing breathes fire into your experiences and allows readers to share in the spirit of your adventures. It’s an extremely satisfying activity to pursue. If you want to be a writer….start now and write! Steve Gillick’s first article appeared in the Dunera Ship Newsletter in 1967. Since then he has written extensively about travel. He authored the Scam Watch column in Canadian Traveller Magazine for many years, wrote and edited CITC’s industry and consumer newsletters from 1995 to 2012, authors a column in www.TravelIndustryToday.com , since 2010; composes travel blogs at www.talkingtravelblog.ca, contributes articles to www.sellingtravel.net, and pens press releases, special event observations and letters to the editor on a regular basis.
Travel Agents are tired of hearing they are ”unprofessional, hobbyists, order takers and that the average Joe can book his own vacation online without the aid of a travel agent”. Yes there are tools available for consumers to book their own travel, however the fact remains that the excitement of a great price is instantly forgotten when the consumer experiences the bitterness of a badly planned vacation. Three Travel Agents have started a revolution. Mary Clegg and Cory and Cheri Andrichuk are founders of the "Travel Agent Revolution", a company dedicated to "shouting from the roof tops" the value of using a professional travel agent. The Travel Agent Revolution is a grassroots movement. It’s about putting travel agents FIRST. It is about helping all travel agents from all walks of life understand that they matter in their business; that personal and professional development are just as important as product knowledge when it comes to selling travel. The Revolution offers innovative business resources that will teach agents how to brand and market themselves and then align with the correct products to sell. Agents will discover who they are, what they want to achieve and how to define their success, not someone else’s definition of it. Travel Agents who join the "Revolution" will be trained on how to market themselves and grow their business based on personal branding and their professional passion for travel. "Our mission at the Travel Agent Revolution is to provide a roadmap for travel agents to build their own brand and business, focusing on personal and professional development and training and not just product training. Finding out why the agent is in travel, what their passions are and then fitting the right products that relate to their passions, is what we are all about." said Cory Andrichuk, Principal Founder of the Travel Agent Revolution. The Travel Agent Revolution launched their new website on June 25th. According to Mary Clegg Principal Founder of the Travel Agent Revolution, Travel Agents are able to join for as low as $12 per month which includes opportunities for certification training, mentorship, group business coaching, industry resources, and regularly scheduled live and virtual training events. The Revolution will also spear head a revolutionary consumer campaign that is aimed at promoting the value of using a professional travel agent when planning a vacation of a life time. “Making this type of training value packed and affordable for all agents is extremely important in today’s economy. Another focus that has been travel agent driven, is our goal to fund a social media consumer campaign that will educate the public to plan their next vacation with a trusted travel agent and not even consider any other booking options.” Clegg added.
We believe the professional travel agent needs to take a stand to position themselves as the personal bridge between supplier and consumer. “Agents are still the best option when planning a dream vacation of a life time” according to Cheri Andrichuk , Travel Agent Revolution’s Principal founder. “Consumers need to protect themselves from being "stung" when planning their own travel and by using a professional travel agent they can avoid the pitfalls of a low price vs. the actual vacation they really expect. The Revolution helps agents communicate their value and much needed expertise to the traveling public through special training and resources available on www.travelagentrevolution.com .” Andrichuk added. Professional Travel Agents who join by August 1st will receive a discount off the normal rate of $12 per month to just $9 per month as a founding member of the Travel Agent Revolution! Anyone who is serious about building their travel business will benefit by being a part of this incredible training event. To learn more about the Travel Agent Revolution sign up for our FREE webinar at www.travelagentrevolution.com . The Travel Agent Revolution is a grass roots movement / organization started in June 2012 by three travel professionals Mary Clegg, Cory and Cheri Andrichuk who have over 75 combined years of experience in the travel industry. The Travel Agent Revolution is focused on providing one of a kind travel agent training, events and mentorship for travel professionals. Visit the Travel Agent Revolution at www.travelagentrevolution.com and LIKE us on www.facebook.com/travelagentrevolution.com
On this page we enhance the sales relationship between supplier BDMs and the travel agent. Outcome: faster, quicker, larger, higher revenue sales!
Wouldn’t it be great if all your agency accounts wrote articles about you, blogged about you and promoted your brand through their written word? Sure it would. Well here’s how an Extreme BDM would make this happen. First things first, you need to have a resource where such story lines are banked. Secondly, you should be well read and by now would have consumed your own brand’s propaganda – also known as your story to tell. And of course you have to believe the story. You cannot peddle something you don’t support. If you are out of synch with what the company is writing about itself then it’s your job to make recommendations and fire it to the marketing department. As you well know – the marketing team are sometimes removed from what’s actually happening on the front lines. Check your sales guide. Are there any stories to be found there? Any special events that could be written about? Is there a new logo, new tour, now colour scheme, new hotel, new departure date, new service for clients who book your product through one of your agency accounts? Somewhere in there is a story. Many times it can be the story of how the company, your company, started. How it has built it’s business by being creative in the level of customer service it delivers. Have you gone social? What’s new here? How can your agency accounts point clients towards your Facebook page for instance without losing them to book direct. Social everything and anything is gaining press time and eye time. If you have anything happening socially, tell your agency accounts about it. Discuss it. Plan a press release.
Some story ideas for you to think on, start, create, suggest plus ideas to help your agency accounts learn how to give you the good word: 1. Historical facts 2. Video content for a vlog 3. Specific Images 4. Galleries 5. Press Releases 6. Ready to Send emails 7. Pre – written newsletters 8. Apps to go 9. Writing software 10.Blogging webinars
What else? Got something? Tell your HQ about your ideas and more so, do whatever you can to have your accounts tell your story.
Remember the BDM Mantra: “If I can’t sell it to them… they won’t sell it for me!”
Training in MANAGEMENT SOFT SKILLS for the travel trade now available from
SMP Move your management team To the next level www.smptraining.com
PHOTOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL ARE JOINED AT THE CLICK AND THAT MEANS TO GET YOUR IMAGES RECOGNIZED YOU MIGHT HAVE TO KICK SOME SERIOUS ASA. IT’S BEEN DONE BEFORE AND THERE’S NO REASON WHY YOU CAN’T DO IT, TOO. This could be a case of have camera will write or vice versa, have mouse will shoot shots. Your call how you come at it, the thing is, today and going forward your writing will probably need to be supported by your photography. This means looking for the photo‐ story in the scenes right there before you. Take all that and mash it up and think online and all things digital. When you come to think about it, you actually have two or three choices. You can write, you can shoot and you can combine the two for the third choice. I’ve just read about a woman called Lise Gagne, she’s a photographer. Decided to focus on that line of work at the age of 40 – up until then it had been a hobby. Cutting to the chase, her work is featured on iStockphoto and she’s the #1 seller with over one million downloads. Now what goes with that word download is another word pronounced moo – la. You got it one! Moola… money and she is making six figures. Back to you and your camera. You can shoot to support your writing and write to support your photography and once again, you could just write or just shoot. Hey, that’s four paths you could take. SHOOTIN’ SOUP Join me on a trip through Prague… we’re in the main square, walking past a few street side café tables… we sit and order soup. Now, you could step back shoot the café, you could be taken eating your soup, or you could search out a character and shoot them slurping their soup. Somewhere in there is the soup shot. Somewhere in there is the theme of your article, Soup Slurpers of Europe and it’s supported by an interesting angle shot of that soup being slurped. Yes you may have to lay on the ground or dangle from a post to get the slurp shot.
THE ALL IN ONE TECHNIQUE If you are planning to go online with your articles and use an array of software and ready to click programs then you might use your smart phone to do it all as in capture the image, capture the video, narrate it as you go then save, edit and upload. This is you writing, talking, shooting as you go. A true travelling journalist of the next generation. Imagine that scene with you in it. Powerful isn’t it. Keep that scene in mind as the intent of this issue of ST is to generate new business from your travel writing and travel photography. After you’ve walked, talked, snapped and uploaded you now email your clients to point them towards your blog and your new post. This is happening between sips of that Czech beer. Yes it is. INVITE YOUR CLIENTS What just happened was this. Your clients received a notice from you to click to a webpage where they read an instant report and looked at the just in photographs. The combination of the two kick starts their travel genes into high gear. They want to go. Now, you can book their trip from that café table because you know how and you have the tools. Any other travel writer is not in the game. They don’t do what you do. If you are staying in Prague for instance for a week or two, advise your clients that you can book their trip and you’ll meet them for a coffee on date, time and place. In that same sentence you add, bring your friends, bring a group. You must go for it. You never know what the response will be. What if this couple turned up with twenty friends? Nice commission. You could wait until you arrive home to post your article and your photography. No big rush really. Same situation unfolds. Your clients love your article they want to go there too, they know you are back, they make the call, visit your agency and you handle their booking. All coming from your writing and photography. Your article can be turned into a newsletter, posted to your Facebook page, your website… and you do this to build that group to escort back ‘there’.
Buying and wearing the t‐shirt is one thing. Bringing home excellence imagery is another. When you bring home both the t‐shirt and the photographs you have a winning combination that will most certainly help you boost your travel sales. The question is, HOW? One way is to strut your stuff. Showcase your photography and you can do this by hosting an event wherever there is wall space. There’s an investment here of course. Room cost, matting and framing your photographs, time to set up etc. You’ll need to factor in the costs and the effort and judge whether or not the expected ROI will pay off. Below you see me at my desk in my travel agency and this dates to 1979! So the ideas have been around a l‐o‐n‐g time. I used my own photography to decorate my agency walls. Most people love a sunset – when they visited my agency they always asked where the sunset was taken and that was my cue: “Oh, I took that in Acapulco and I can still see…” – leading right into a conversation about being there, what it was like and perhaps into a sale.
Current technology allows you to host your photography and video online, on your website or on any of the social sites that are image focused (pun intended!) Whichever outlet you use, make sure you promote your images, to promote your writing, to promote your been‐there‐self and to close more business. (Note: this is an actual photograph shot in the moment as a new seat sale was announced! Oh yeah!)
Now here’s a way you can use your writing prowess, your photography AND those wonderful vocal chords that rarely get to be showcased. See below: this is my set up for when I present online. You can do this very same thing using any of the platforms that allow you to beam your computer desktop out to your client’s computer desktop/s – or, smart phone, tablet computer or handheld screen device.
You’ll need some quality kit, otherwise you’ll sound like you are talking into a can. Check out the professional microphone on the right – it’s called the Yeti! Cost around $149 and on sale often for less. Think about turning your article into presentations. Check out the iTunes podcast potential. If you have PowerPoint 2010, check out saving it as a video file – add your voice over the images, add your voice by reading your article. Many consumers now want the full multi media experience versus reading 2‐pages of text. Now you can produce this experience for them. You have all you need from your travel experience. You are on the AIR! Try it.
SOON! Yes The Travel Agent’s Store will be opening in the fall and thanks for your patience. I appreciate all your emails and comments about buying my self study workbooks online and finally I’m getting closer to finishing the project.
When the store does open you will be able to purchase and download a series of manuals and ebooks, plus ready made graphics and Facebook timeline covers, webinar recordings and if you run a training division or travel school you will enjoy the PowerPoint training kits. You will also be able to purchase a variety of forms, contracts and agreements, business plan examples and more. My new book, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING for Travel Agents will be released as an e‐Book in the fall and you will be able to buy it right from The Travel Agent’s Store too. Like my 273 Ideas book, the Social Media Marketing book will deliver the no‐fluff / no theory how‐to‐do‐it information you need to boost your social marketing activities. Keep an eye on the trade press and be sure to read Selling Travel for an update on the Store and my new book.
SELLING TRAVEL is on a sales mission. That’s it pure and simple. Any and all SELLING TRAVEL services are focused on generating new business for you and your agency. The missing link between marketing, sales and closing that sale is generally a lack of experience, know‐how and creativity. SELLING TRAVEL CAN SHOW YOU HOW Be sure to subscribe to the eMagazine and join the list.
CONFERENCE KEYNOTES Fast paced, humourous, excellent imagery and delivered with a street‐savvy, no‐fluff and little theory format. Click 4 More.
WEBINARS & WORKSHOPS Webinar’s are a SELLING TRAVEL specialty. Running 75 to 90 minutes, they include a workbook plus 30 minutes of post webinar time with me AND a 5‐day review of the webinar recording for additional note taking. Click here for details.
PUBLICATIONS The ultimate desk reference for TAs. With 412 pages, covering 273 marketing ideas + 700 links to additional information. Order today from Big Bark Graphics – Enter the Big Bark Store here. Now available in e‐Book format from The Travel Institute, CITC and Travel Agent Revolution.
Read sample copy here
SELF‐STUDY GUIDES AVAILABLE FROM CITC
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www.sellingtravel.net T: 250-752-0106 steve@sellingtravel.net