69 | Five Million Subscribers – and Why YouTube Isn’t Enough – Marty Music (1:2)
Travel Matters
What can a travel creator learn from one of the biggest guitar teachers on YouTube? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Marty Schwartz is the creator of Marty Music, a guitar education brand with close to five million YouTube subscribers and thousands of lessons produced over nearly two decades. Marty joined us at TBEX North America in Richmond, and although he works in a completely different corner of the creator economy, the similarities are striking. In Part 1 of our conversation, Marty talks with Palle Bo and Rick Calvert about growing an audience before anyone really knew what a “YouTuber”...
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69 | Slow Travel, Real Stories and a Blog Built to Last
Travel Matters
With AI producing more content and Google constantly changing the rules, how does a travel creator actually stand out? Josefine and Dom of Red White Adventures have a refreshingly simple answer: be more yourself. The Danish-Canadian couple has travelled together for more than eight years and turned what began as a casual travel blog into a full-time content business focused on outdoor adventures, slow travel, and the digital nomad lifestyle. Recorded at TBEX Europe in San Sebastián, this conversation gets into the reality behind that journey – from learning SEO and affiliate marketing to...
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67 | Will AI Replace Travel Bloggers – or Make Them Better?
Travel Matters
Can AI save travel creators hours of work without removing the personality, experience and human perspective that make people trust them? At TBEX Eau Claire, Palle Bo and Rick Calvert sat down with content entrepreneur and author Julia McCoy, who had recently made a dramatic transition from outspoken AI sceptic to President of Content at Scale (now BrandWell). Julia explains what changed her mind. Early AI writing tools produced generic, unreliable content filled with fluff. Then she discovered technology capable of researching, writing and producing content at a speed that forced her to...
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66 | How Travel Bloggers Can Make Real Money with Affiliate Marketing
Travel Matters
Shelley Marmor turned travel blogging into a multiple-six-figure business within two years. In this episode of Travel Matters, she shares why mindset matters, why SEO comes before monetisation, and how travel creators can use affiliate marketing more strategically instead of simply adding links and hoping for the best. What separates a travel blog that makes a little side income from one that becomes a serious business? In this episode of Travel Matters, Palle Bo and Rick Calvert sit down with Shelley Marmor, founder of TravelMexicoSolo.com, TravelBlogging101.com and several other niche travel...
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65 | Free Trips, Fair Pay – Know Your Value as a Creator
Travel Matters
Should travel creators ever work for free? And is a free trip fair compensation – or simply unpaid labour with a nicer view? Travel Matters is back, and our first conversation of the new season brings together two longtime members of the TBEX community: Jen Ruiz, the travel writer, author and entrepreneur behind Jen on a Jet Plane, and Melvin Boecher, founder of Travel Dudes. Jen believes that when a creator is brought in to produce work for a campaign, money should always be part of the agreement. Melvin agrees that professional creators need to be paid – but argues that collaborations,...
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64 | From Ground to Sky: Unleashing the Power of Drones with the Drone Queen
Travel Matters
In this electrifying episode of Travel Matters, Palle Bo and Rick Calvert sit down with Christine Lozada, famously known as the Drone Queen. Dive into the world of drone photography and videography as Christine shares her journey from a newbie to a renowned drone expert. Discover the secrets behind capturing breathtaking aerial shots, navigating legalities, and utilizing drones to land incredible travel partnerships. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just curious about drone technology, this episode is packed with insights and tips that will elevate your travel content creation to new...
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63 | AI Revolution in Travel: Insights from Mike Shubic at TBEX North America 2023
Travel Matters
In this episode of Travel Matters, join hosts Palle Bo and Rick Calvert as they sit down with travel blogger Mike Shubic from Mike’s Road Trip at TBEX North America 2023 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. They dive into Mike’s journey from early tech adoption to exploring the latest in AI tools, sharing invaluable insights for content creators. Tune in to hear about Mike's adventures, the transformative power of AI in the travel industry, and how technology is shaping the future of content creation. Key Points AI Tools for Content Creation: Mike Shubic discusses various AI tools like ChatGPT,...
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62 | TBEX Europe 2023 Kalamata, Greece with Elena Sergeeva and Ivan Bengeri
Travel Matters
In this final episode from TBEX Europe 2023 Kalamata, you can meet two guests. First, Rick talks to Elena Sergeeva. With a decade-long career in Sales & Marketing, she co-founded in 2015 with the purpose to unite like-minded individuals and to educate the Greek market on how to work with bloggers. She is the founder of several travel blogs. She also works with , one of the sponsors of TBEX. She did a session at this TBEX called “” where she talked about how working with blogging communities provides new marketing opportunities and continued growth for Andros Island. The session...
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61 | TBEX Europe 2023 Kalamata, Greece with Eric Stoen from Travel Babbo
Travel Matters
In this episode, you can meet travel blogger Eric Stoen from the family travel blog . He used to work in healthcare but was addicted to travel. So, in 2014 he quit his job and started the travel blog to inspire more people. So far, he’s been to 101 countries and seven continents. Hear how he got started and how he grew his blog. You can also hear him talk about the time he took his kids to Antarctica. Rick has tried to get Eric to be a speaker, but he keeps saying no. Will this interview make him change his mind?
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60 | TBEX Europe 2023 Kalamata, Greece with Cazzy Magennis and Bradley Williams
Travel Matters
In this episode, we have two guests. Cazzy Magennis and Bradley Williams are the travel blogging duo behind . Using captivating content and an intelligent approach to sharing their stories on mainstream media, their website reaches as many as 350,000 page views a month. In their session, they shared the step-by-step details of how they have landed a large number of high-profile mainstream media features in the last 18 months – which has, in turn, helped them to 3-4x their blog’s monthly traffic. This is their first TBEX, their first time as a speaker, and their first time as guests on a...
info_outlineThis is a quick bonus episode, where TBEX CEO, Rick Calbert shares some breaking news about upcoming TBEX events.
See more on TBEXcon.com
Travel Matters is hosted by The Radio Vagabond, Palle Bo and TBEX CEO, Rick Calbert, and produced by RadioGuru.