This weekend, I was in Milwaukee Wisconsin for the Women In Travel Summit or #WITS17 if you’re checking hashtags. To say that I was inspired is an understatement. I was surrounded by brilliant women, and moving women. TRAVELING women! I was in the midst of single women, married women, widowed, divorced and dating women. I was in the midst of first time moms and grandmothers. One thing united us all, and that was our love of travel. The nitty-gritty love of being on the road, in a plane, on a train, bike, or by foot. We love being everywhere, and taking in the beauty of it all.
In the short time that I was there, I learned quite a bit. I would share it all, but it would take a blog series, and I’m not sure I have it in me. Instead, I’ll share five takeaways, and reasons why you should join WITS in Quebec City next year.
1. Your People are Here
There were a TON of us first timers in the place this weekend. Some of us have been traveling for years and don’t have a hard time mingling with locals wherever we go, yet there was a bit of stage fright when it came to interacting sometimes. There were LOTS of people a little shy about approaching speakers or even attendees. By the second day, it all seemed to melt away because we all knew we were there to network, and share our travel stories. I found friends from every corner of the world. Some I’ve known on social media for a while, others I met for the first time at the Women In Travel Summit. I even found travelers that look for urban farms when they travel. Like, worlds colliding for real!
2. There is Something to Do and See in Every City You Visit
Before attending the event, we were sent options for tours and places to visit. When I say that Visit Milwaukee were great city hosts, I mean it. Just like when traveling for a feature on the blog, there was something to do even after the official tours ended. Places to eat. Little corners of the city to explore. There is always some place, and some street hidden behind a busier one, that’s just waiting for you to see it. On the architectural tour, we were able to duck in and out of some of the buildings and marvel at the architecture both inside and out. One of those places happened to be an indoor shopping center. Who thinks to look at architecture there except for travel writers?
3. Know Your Worth
We’re writers. People really want to know what we think, and to see a city, state, country, continent through our lens. They want to know WHY they should go to this specific space using their time off of work, and the money that they’ve earned. These places depend on people like us to drive those folks to their areas. We are more than just influencers who come in for a nice time and leave and write a great blog post, or newspaper article. We are word of mouth, and are experiences are vital to their success.
4. Perfect Your Craft
You aren’t above bettering your craft. There is always something new to learn. Always. This doesn’t just mean SEO either. It means your photos. Your videos. Your ways of touring. We all know that travel is fun, and being a travel writer is fun too, but it’s still work. We need to be our best at all times. Asking for help isn’t showing weakness either, it’s investing in yoursefl and your business, and presenting the best to your readers.
5. Do Something Different
We all know we have “things” we’re known for on our blogs. I’m known for family travel, and showcasing wonderful places you can visit with a family of six. But did you know that I like visiting libraries in cities that we go to? I also love taking Ryder the Bear with me on trips (I FORGOT HIM THIS TIME) and using him to really showcase areas that I visit in general. Ryder is a new aspect of the blog, as well as the series #TrippinWithMyDaddy I’m always looking for ways to incorporate our reality in a way that allows the reader to relate to the story. I’m sure many of you have taken road trips with your parents when you were little, but didn’t really think about how awesome it would be to do it with them as adults. It’s amazing!
If you are a woman who writes travel articles, then you can join in the fun next year. The Women in Travel Summit will be taking place in Quebec City, Quebec and you can snag tickets HERE for their early bird rate, which is how I got mine last year. Paying half price for such a valuable conference was worth it to me, and I’m sure if you’re in the travel writers business, and a woman, it will be worth it for you too!
Wow give solid takeaway’ s. I love the photos and I appreciate you sharing your experience.
Great takeaways. I would love to start doing more travel blogging. I see you met the founder of the Everywhere Agency. Exciting!
It was a great conference! Danica and I have actually been friends since about 2012, but she’s great, isn’t she?!
Loved meeting you and some of the other Midwest Travel Bloggers! Looking forward to following your adventures.
Great takeaways! I thought about going this year, but just didn’t work out with everything else I had going on during this time! It looks like you had a blast. And I love your ideas about doing something different, stepping outside the box! And I think the idea of doing trips with your dad is priceless! Definitely continue to do that, I would love to get back some of my precious time with my Dad!
Love your pics! I thought about attending this because it was so close but I really don’t travel much. I need to though!
This sounds like it was a fabulous conference. Your pictures are beautiful.
I definitely want to tell our travel stories better. I love traveling with my children and I want to share how I do it as a single mom.
Great to see you at WITS Natasha. Loved your take on the conference, spot on. Beautiful photos!
Great job with your recap! Loved your photos too! Keep on inspiring women to do what they do!
Looks like a great event. I love to travel too, would be great to be able to write about some of our adventures. We like to find off the beaten path things when we travel. My kids always look up “unique or weird museums”. We have been to interesting places with their searches.
Sounds like some great things were learned! We found that there is always something to see wherever you go – you just have to know where to look!
Thank you so much for your words of advice. I try to use humor as my unique twist on my blog, but you never know if it’s going to reach your entire audience (I guess this is where your advice on “bettering my craft” comes in handy).
I’m glad Milwaukee treated you so well! Now I kinda want to go to.
Oh, I see what you did, there.
As my kids grow older I think I will be able to travel more. Lately, I’ve revisited my love and hate for blogging. It’s been hard for me to raise the lull I’ve seen in my visitors recently and I feel like I’ve got to do something different to get people to stick around. Sometimes visiting a conference helps bloggers regain focus or perfect what they are already doing.
I love your takeaways. Plus, I’ve never heard of this summit. I think I should consider attending the next one. I haven’t gone to a conference in a while, and since I focus on family and couple travel, this just might be a good one.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Natasha! Each piece resounded with me. Relationships are so important, sometimes it is nice to step away from the computer.
I’m glad yu connected with your tribe. That is so important. Your pictures were great!
I wish that I could travel a lot more than I do. It seems like I am taking more trips each year, so that is a start. When I do travel, I love eating at new places and visiting the non-touristy spots in the new city. These pictures are cool!
I’ve not heard of this summit but I definitely have to check it out. I’m really interested in doing more travel blogging.