I’m very excited (and nervous) to announce that at this exact moment, I’m on a plane to Toronto for lots of travel blogging fun! A few months ago I applied for and was accepted to Navigate Media Group’s BlogHouse, which basically means that I get to meet a ton of awesome established travel bloggers and a bunch of up-and-coming travel bloggers. We’ll spend several days in a castle(!!!) learning all the ins and outs of blogging, SEO, taking better photos, writing better content, and maybe even a little bit of video creation. As I said, I am beyond excited to meet some amazing bloggers that I’ve been following for a couple of years and to learn as much as possible from them.
After the BlogHouse, I have about two days to explore as much of the city as possible before heading to the Travel Blog Exchange, TBEX! I’ll spend two days listening to bloggers give talks about various subjects. In addition, I get to meet a ton of other bloggers and some PR and sponsors to try to forge relationships. This is the part that I’m most nervous about. As a relatively new blogger, it feels a bit difficult to come up with pitches and ways to tell people why I’m the blogger they should work with for a particular trip, tour, or whatever. I’m hoping that after the BlogHouse I’ll feel a bit more confident about all of this and will feel prepared to talk to reps. I already feel very proud of how far I’ve come in just one short year (yes, I’m admitting I forgot to commemorate my blog’s one-year birthday), and it’s wonderful to see how much it’s been growing especially within the past few months thanks to forging relationships with other bloggers and really working hard to put myself out there. By nature, I’m a very introverted and anxious person, so putting myself out there really scares me, but I’m working hard to overcome that.
Anyway, I’ve got some posts scheduled while I’m in Toronto, and you can follow along with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Congrats on being chosen for the house! I actually bought tickets to TBEX last year, but decided against going since it was just too much money considering I still have more traveling to do this year. Hopefully they will be a bit closer to California next year!
Enjoy though! I’m sure you’re going to have a blast and meet so many folks!
CeCe recently posted..“You Don’t Have To Find Out You’re Dying To Start Living.” – Zach Sobiech
WOOOHOO!! Megano, this is so exciting. I can’t wait to hear more about it!!!
Liz @ The Shrinking Owl recently posted..Friend Makin’ Monday!
It is exciting, Lizzy! Can’t wait for you to read about it! ;) <3
Yay!
Looking forward to hearing all about it!
Enjoy my home country :)
Jay recently posted..Summer Travel
Thanks, Jay! It’s been really great so far. I’m loving Toronto! It’s so cute.
I’m glad you acknowledged being introverted, as the very thought of doing these things someday frightens the heck out of me! I’m not sure how I would handle so much interaction with so many other people all at the same time, and yet, I feel like it’s probably something that needs to be done to learn more about what’s out there.
JR Riel recently posted..Visiting a Traditional Village in Viti Levu, Fiji
I agree, and now that I’m a few days into it, I realize it’s not so bad. I’ve never been one who can talk to people about anything, but I’m finding it a bit easier now that I’m forced to do it and I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone. It’s not as scary as I thought it would be. A lot of people I’ve been meeting have reiterated one point: We’re all the same. We’re all just people. That’s helped me a lot when I’ve felt nervous or insecure.
Wow! Congratulations, Megan! How exciting for you! I can’t wait until you get back and you can share all of your newfound wisdom with all of us.
Meagan @ Life Outside of Texas recently posted..Say WHAT?! Wednesday
Thanks! I’ve been learning a lot, and once I feel like I’ve got a handle on it enough to explain to others, I’ll certainly share! :)
Hi there Megan. Just thought I’d leave you a comment on this post (seemed as good as any) to say that I’ve read a few of your posts and I’m enjoying the blog! Expect to see me around in the comments! ;-)
Shaun Hoobler recently posted..The No red face formula
Thank you, Shaun! Glad to have you here. :)