Family Travel Conference Recap

This past weekend, Michael and I were guests at the first Family Travel Conference that was held at the Omni Berkshire Hotel in New York City. The two-day conference geared towards travel writers and bloggers was hosted by Kim Orlando (TravelingMom.com), Kyle McCarthy (FamilyTravelForum.com) and Eileen Ogintz (TakingtheKids.com) and it was produced by JoAnne Vero (Travel Media Showcase). Although the majority of the forty attendees focus on travel writing exclusively, there were several “lifestyle bloggers” (like myself) who write about family travel as a part of their overall lives.

If you are interested in family travel, definitely read the overview of the conference that I wrote at ShePosts. Also, below are some of the specific tips that we learned…

-In the “Better Travel Writing” session, writers were encouraged to produce “shorter and tighter” posts (500 words or less by not talking about too much within one post); to be authentic (what would you tell your family or friends about the experience?) and to repurpose content for a variety of writing outlets. Press trips were also a hot topic of discussion. Asking for an itinerary beforehand and letting the trip coordinator know that attendance equals “consideration, not inclusion (on your site)” were key takeaways from Paul Eisenberg.

–“Monetizing Your Content” was a highly anticipated workshop for many of the travel writers and bloggers. Several monetization methods (ad revenues, affiliate programs, direct sales, sponsored conversations, generating content for others and speaking opportunities) were explored. BlogHer’s Susan Getgood was especially helpful as she reminded the audience that the best time to think about monetizing a blog is when starting it or redesigning it and encouraging site owners not to let the ads overpower their content.

-Many practical tips were shared at the “Travel Videos” workshops. Brevity (keeping videos one to two minutes); the importance of having a YouTube channel and SEO were addressed. Equipment (tripods, microphones, cameras) and practical production tips (lighting, white balance, preventing background noise; what to wear; video signatures) were also very helpful to note.

The biggest challenge for me will be cutting down the length of posts and videos. I’ll change. Meanwhile, here’s the video that Michael and I took during the video workshop:

In any event, I want to thank all of the sponsors who made this conference possible. Supporters include the following: New York Pass (which I will be writing about later this month after I use it.); Omni Hotels & Resorts (We loved that hotel and to our pleasant surprise, a personal friend was one of the concierges.); Camp Broadway; Visit Orlando (I still want to take the family to SeaWorld, and Universal.); Disney Parks; Atlantis (I’m still kicking myself over the past press trip that was necessary to turn down…Reggie/teacher timing!); Norwegian Cruise Line; Virgil’s (I will be doing a separate post on that after I use the dry rub recipe that their Chef Glenn shared.); Finger Lakes; Global Assistance Allianz and Cushe Footwear whose shoes are so comfortable that you really do forget that you are wearing them.

The organizers of the Family Travel Conference did an excellent job overall. I didn’t have any specific expectations going into the conference since it was its first year but I left impressed with the level of thought and care that went into the production. Everyone, including the conference attendees, worked together to make this time both educational and fun.

{Post image courtesy of Family Travel Conference}