Welcome to our March Blog Hop!

This month we want to help you experience success in your business and life, featuring articles, how-to’s and resources for you today that have helped each consultant, blogger and business owner on the hop in their own lives and businesses. Get ready to be inspired for a fabulous year ahead of you as you move along through the blog hop.

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from Chérie Ronning at Chérie Ronning, Consultant-Mentor-Speaker on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you make sure to see and learn from all of the articles featured here today.

Write an Article or Post From Your Itinerary or Event

Starting my normal work day conducting my daily perusal of my Facebook newsfeed and checking to see what I could content curate or bring to the attention of my followers.  I do that to supply my peeps with content that they can use on their social media and newsletters.  I teach my clients that they don’t have to write the article (but fully attribute it), just a few comments or notes about their views or impressions of the article, and how it would benefit their followers.  It’s another way to get yourself in front of people and let them get to know you and your business.  You never know when a “tickle” will turn into a “trickle” of business.  And today I’m inspired to write this article!

So I found this fabulous blog post from The New York Times Travel section that was so yummy with images of Siena, Italy.  Then a detail of what the traveler did while in Siena, and get this, for 36 hours.  It was so enticing, and almost out of body experience.  I really felt I was there and along for the trip.  Then I thought if I was a travel entrepreneur and needed to write a blog post, article, postcard, warm letter, whatever, THIS is how and what I want to create.  I want to create that oozing, yummy, out of body feeling of coming along on the journey because it entices me to book the trip!  And who would I book it with?  The person writing the article, the travel entrepreneur that is giving me this oh so sensual experience.

And on top of that…writing the article should be easy!

How to write this inviting experience?  Pull from your own experience in vacation or travel, use an itinerary that you created for a client or yourself and relive the experience.  Sure images are fabulous and you MUST include them, but your potential customers want to have the sights and smells of being there.  So let’s take a look at the article I’m referring to:  36 Hours in Siena, Italy (you might want to have two browsers or pages open so you can flip back and forth).

1. Title:  something catchy but simple.  Here are some pointers from Karyn Greenstreet and her article: 3 Headline Formulas for Non-Copywriters
2. Imagery:  I love the collage that they did on the Siena article.  If you have a smartphone then you should be able to use Instagram.  If not, here is an online source: Photovisi
   or PicMonkey. If you can’t do that then place the images next to a paragraph.
3. Short lead in:  write something about the trip, how-when-where!
4. Daily or hourly itinerary:  now this is the fabulous part.
   1. Take 24-48 hours of your trip itinerary and list out what places you visited or experienced.  It might just be swimming with the dolphins or eating breakfast on the bus.  Pick out the highlights for that 24-48 hours and those are your points or paragraphs.
   2. Place yourself there, and relive the sights, sounds, smells, people, shopping, and feelings.
   3. You can also give advice or your impression of a particular aspect of your journey.
   4. Use the NYT article as a guide for what is making you feel like you’re in Siena, Italy or want to visit!

Believe me this doesn’t have to be only for travel entrepreneurs.  Bridal industry entrepreneurs, you can use this same method for enticing your brides with how you will calendar/layout/time their wedding day or a typical wedding day.  Make sure you use the sights, smells, and feelings of each chronological event.  You’re not only showing them what you do but you’re allowing them to buy into it and FEEL it!

So what do you think?  Want to try this?  I really see this as a way to serialize your vacations, events, and parts of your business so it invites and draws in your customer.  Again, it would be terrific for that warm letter or postcard to potentials!

The next stop is Natalie Bradley at Natalie Bradley Consulting on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you again next month!

1. Natalie Bradley at Natalie Bradley Consulting
2. Debra Burdick at The Brain Lady
3. Deb Brown at Touch Your Client’s Heart
4. Vicki Heise at Live Your Healthy Life
5. Rochelle Togo-Figa at Speaking Breakthrough Strategist
6. Robin Hardy at Integrity Virtual Services
7. Chérie Ronning at Chérie Ronning, Consultant-Mentor-Speaker
8. Kim McDaniels at iBiz Design Duchess <<– you are here!