NEW Feature at TWE: Under The Microscope

I’d like to introduce a new concept that will become a monthly feature here at Travel Writers Exchange

This new feature will be called “Under The Microscope”, and will be an in-depth travel blog review.

Each month we’ll take a look at one travel blog (volunteered by the blog owner, of course) and review it with the objective of identifying what works and what doesn’t, what’s great about it and what could benefit from being changed.

Our analysis will begin in our Travel Writers’ Forum, where I’ll post my thoughts on the guinea pig of…..ummm…I mean ‘volunteer’ of the month.

For one week after I post the travel blog to be reviewed, any and all Forum members are invited and encouraged to offer their own opinions and suggestions.

Then I’ll post the summarized results along with any particularly helpful or insightful comments here on our Blog.

If you would like to participate as a commenter, a few ground rules:

• Comments on the blog being reviewed should be added in the appropriate Forum post, not in our comments below this post;
• The intention is to be helpful, so please keep that spirit in mind and phrase your comments in a positive light, and ensure that any criticism is constructive;
• Please offer your comments using the following structure:
  • What Works: Offer your opinion on what you like about the travel blog being reviewed – what appeals to you;
  • What Could Be Better: If there is something that you find unappealing or confusing, please state it simply without using derogatory phrasing;
  • Suggestions for Improvements: think reasonable and actionable, and whenever possible try to give some specific instructions for implementation;
• Keep in mind the audience of the travel blog being reviewed, and the fact that everyone has a different style and voice. The goal is not to change how people choose to express themselves – after all this is not intended to be a lesson in writing – but to help them find ways to improve the overall performance and growth of their blog.

If you would like to volunteer your travel blog to be reviewed, please follow these guidelines:

• Understand that this may not be best for the faint of heart or thin-skinned – if you don’t handle criticism well, even when constructively given, you may want to wait and try incorporating suggestions made to others first before you open yourself up to this microscope;

You may suggest your site in this Forum Post, and we will try to get to everyone who volunteers by using our Forum to start the review;

• If there are a lot of volunteered travel blogs to review, please understand that if your site feedback or suggested changes are minor (which is good, after all!) it may not be chosen as a Featured Travel Blog Review Post for the blog (but you’ll still be getting valuable feedback);

Bryan Cassidy, a regular contributor to Travel Writers Exchange and the founder/editor at Tourfolio.com, has graciously agreed to kick-off this series by volunteering his own travel blog for review.

Let the games begin!

~Trisha