How I got a job blogging for an entire region and not just for myself

This morning I changed my profile 'photo" on TBEX from the logo of my personal blog, arttrav, to my photo. Because I now write three blogs, and I'm writing professionally and full time. How did this happen?

Last summer, after finishing my first year as a professor of art history on a study abroad program in Tuscany, I found myself without a job. I threw my energy into my blog, anxiously adding the ton of material I'd collected in my teaching notes as I led 50+ students and a dozen other profs around Italy in the previous months. Posts about places like Pienza, Montepulciano, and Cortona (which was our home base) ensued.

At the same time, my students wanted to keep in touch with me so I reluctantly joined facebook, mainly upon the urging of my husband who had read that it was the greatest generator of traffic for blogs. I put my name on the blog and started promoting it on twitter and LinkedIN, and in general creating relations through it (including joining TBEX).

Three things happened once I made arttrav "personal".

my students found out about it and said they wished they'd known about it before, while they were in Italy. This gave me great satisfaction as I'd conceived of this generation of the site as precisely an extension of the study abroad process. But until this time, i'd kept the blog secret. It didn't seem like a serious thing to do when one was supposed to be a serious grad student and then professor.
people on twitter started getting to know me, and vice versa. Judy Witts Francini, great food writer in Tuscany, had me out to her place in Certaldo and then she said "I've known about arttrav for a long time, but I didn't know it was YOU, and that makes all the difference. Why should I read the blog of just another expat grad student." I realized that my name, and my degree (a PhD from the University of Chicago) was just as important on a blog as it was on my CV and in any job.
The folks behind a new tourism campaign in Tuscany, called "Voglio Vivere Cosi", noticed me and my blog. And hired me part time to get the campaign going.

As the campaign progressed, it came into the hands of another company who ran a major online job search. 1500 candidates and 400 interviews later, and strangely enough they picked me as their "arts editor". Now I work full time for H-art, a communications company that is in charge of Tuscany's tourism campaign in social media, as well as many exciting clients in Italy.

To read more about what I do for Tuscany, check out the article in the local English paper "The Florentine" called Virtual Tuscany. On a daily basis I publish an article about the arts in Tuscany - I never lack material - on the blog Tuscany Arts, and I promote it on Tuscany Arts facebook fan page and twitter. The seeding part is done with maximum transparency (I always state who I am and who I work for) and in general we get great responses from enthusiastic travelers or future visitors.

For H-art's other arts-related clients I get to write proposals for future projects in the fields of art, design, and tourism. I am the online editor for the blog related to the decade-old (and rather prestigious) magazine illywords, which is a big honour!

Anyway, enough about me... but I hope that this experience helps inspire or guide "amateur" travel bloggers (and I mean amateur in the linguistic root of this word - to love) to seek a job in the field should they so desire. If you have ideas, comments, or think I can give you some advice, comment here or get in touch with me on one of a hundred or so social networks! I'm on all of them... it's my job.

< Previous Post

Comment

You need to be a member of Travel Blog Exchange to add comments!

Join Travel Blog Exchange

Comment by Alexandra Korey on August 25, 2010 at 12:14am: Thank you everyone! (and @Joanne, your comment cracked me up).
I honestly didn't expect any reaction at all to this post and am a bit embarrassed by all the attention, but glad to have made new contacts with all of you and to be a bit more active here on TBEX.

Offhand, if anyone is interested in knowing more about what Tuscany is doing with the social media team and this innovative marketing campaign (it's the first in Italy of its type for sure) and thinks it is in some format newsworthy for your blog, I'm happy to send more info or be interviewed - all for the sake of getting the word out about my favourite place in the world!

Comment by Travelhugger on August 24, 2010 at 2:31pm: I love to hear stories like this. That's awesome! Congrats! Such an inspirational story. All the best =)

Comment by Joanne O'Sullivan on August 11, 2010 at 8:13am: I found your blog earlier this year and have to admit I kept wondering "How did she get that $#* awesome job?" Thanks for telling the story. It inspired me to approach our local TDB about doing an art blog for the "art town" where I live--Asheville, North Carolina.

Comment by Nastasha Alli on August 4, 2010 at 7:39pm: Thanks for sharing this Alexandra! You're certainly a glimmer of hope in the online travel seas. Hope some of that luck comes our way! (Well, hard work is a given.) I agree with finding a niche- so much so that I think I'm a little wary of promoting what my "planned" niche is before I start. But, that's the fun & surprise in networking! You never know what you're gonna get (great ideas included.)

And yes, the power behind putting a face to the name (or, a profile picture to a Twitter handle) is pretty amazing :) Best of luck to you!

Comment by Jessie Voigts on August 4, 2010 at 10:00am: yay, alexandra! i am so happy for you - you've worked HARD.

Comment by Alexandra Korey on August 4, 2010 at 5:19am: Thanks everyone, once again I'm glad if my story can inspire someone, though I'm just a little embarrassed - i didn't expect anyone to actually read it ;-) !
Both Julia and Marjorie you'll find Tuscany great for relaxing, wellness, and yoga. There are a lot of thermal baths targetted at various cures, so i'll be in touch Marjorie for a few suggestions in private.

Comment by wanderlass on August 3, 2010 at 7:54pm: it makes sense! i used to have an icon of my blog as my gravatar until i noticed i like those of people who have their faces and real name in commenting.. so i changed mine too, without understanding the psychology behind it. :)

Comment by Julia Coney on August 3, 2010 at 1:43pm: This is a great story. I'm coming to Tuscany next fall for a yoga retreat. I missed the sign up date this year. I look forward to reading your blog.

Comment by Marjorie Hope Rothstein on August 3, 2010 at 12:05pm: Wow, what a great story! You certainly have a great target niche! Thanks for sharing the success story, very encouraging. My focus is on the boomerbabe-specifically-wellness, new aging secrets and traveling to spas and health oriented resorts. If you have any tips, I'd welcome the suggestions!

Comment by Rebecca Winke on August 2, 2010 at 4:54pm: Great story! The bottom line is if you do something you love with passion good things inevitably result.