Getaway launches travel blogging conference

14 Oct 2011

Getaway, the South African travel magazine, will hosts the first Getaway Travel Blog Conference at the Grand Daddy Hotel, Cape Town, on 5 November, 2011. The aim of the conference is to "show wannabe online travel writers how to become 'expert travel bloggers in a day'."

The conference, sponsored by Cape Town Tourism, will bring together the country's top bloggers, online gurus and digital marketers to share their tips on how to travel the world and make money writing about it.

Presenters will explore all aspects of travel blogging, from writing, photography and video, to design, search optimisation, marketing and monetisation.

Among the line-up of speakers are: Dave Duarte, MD of the Ogilvy Digital Marketing Academy; Tim Withers, SEO strategist at digital marketing agency Quirk; Lucy Corn, a freelance travel writer who has been published in media round the world; internationally renowned photographer Russell Smith; Cameron Ewart-Smith, Getaway's editor; Tristan Owen, co-founder of MyVideo; Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism; and Joseph Lawrence, Quirk UX designer and online columnist.

Writers need to stand out

"Competition is fierce - there are thousands of travel bloggers out there and writers need to stand out," commented Sarah Duff, Getaway's web editor and organiser of the event. "The quality of writing and photography, understanding social media and how to make it work for you, using search engine optimisation to best effect - these are just some of the factors bloggers need to consider. The conference will equip them with a host of skills to compete more effectively in this space."

"Getaway has over 100 contributing bloggers and is always looking to add skilled writers to the mix," she said.

The Getaway Travel Conference (Twitter hashtag #GTBC) costs R750 a person. Bookings can be made by emailing az.oc.aidemyasmar@lyznav.ahsas or online at www.getawayblogconference.co.za.