New look and content coming up…
We’re currently working on a new layout and structure on our blog, so for a few weeks you will not see any new posts. Please be patient, it will be ready soon!
Team YouPlanet
When the Selling Gets Tough, the Tough Get Smart
1. Add the word “opportunity” in your lexicon
Your country may be in the middle of a recession, like Greece or Portugal, or maybe the tourism industry in your country has to deal with a really hard time. It doesn’t matter. You should always remember that opportunities exist.
Tourism businesses always need advertising and nowadays what they need more is online promotion. So, from the very first moment you do know that they need what YouPlanet offers. What you have to find out is how to persuade them.
Opportunities exist out there, but they exist only if you fight to find or even create them!
Create them?
2. Yes, try experiment with sales and marketing initiatives you’ve never tried or have avoided.
It is a common thing, especially when you are a new Ambassador, to be afraid to test and try new techniques and even avoid many successful recommendations from other Ambassadors.
When you think that you have tried everything, you’re wrong! There’s always something else to try! And if you don’t really know what this is, just ask us!
Makes you feel better!
Dear Ambassadors, that’s a personal story I’d like to share with you.
During the last 2 months I was really packed with my community management duties, Hot Spots and other new features we are about to launch on YouPlanet that I wasn’t able to meet potential Partners in a regular basis. But now I’m back. And to be honest from the very first meetings I had a really strange feeling.
I was back, out there, meeting many different types of people and trying to help and boost the online presence of well-known hotels, family-owned restaurants or even small bars, hidden gems, treasures hidden in secret corners of the city of Athens which can be found only BY a lover of this city IN a unique travel guide, just like ours.
I had some rejections but this must not be considered as an obstacle because I also had many positive answers. But the most important is that being an Ambassador is not a job, it’s an adventure. That’s the right mentality!
I’m George, I’m the Community Manager, I’m an Ambassador and I really enjoy it!
Because the adventure lives here fellows!
Do you know that you can earn more than 100$ per Partner?
About 7 months ago, something new was launched by YouPlanet. A new era began with the New Partner Packages!
Since last June we are able to offer more both to our Partners and our Ambassadors. Let’s see the hottest offers for our Partners and Ambassadors!
Partners
- Free website
- 1000 or 5000 guaranteed visitors
- Link to YouPlanet’s Social Media (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter etc)
- Booking form
- Unlimited Text & Photos
Ambassadors
Our Ambassadors is the most important part of our Travel Community! You are the heart and the soul of YouPlanet and that’s why the Ambassador Commissions keep increasing! Before June a YouPlanet Ambassador could earn just an instant commission of 100$ per Partner. But now things have changed and many new Ambassadors have earned up to 175$ just because they activated a Partner!
Imagine how great it would be to increase your travel budget by100-175$ , just by activating a Partner on YouPlanet. And what if you activate 2 or three Partners? You have the chance to earn up to 525$! Wouldn’t it be great?
Of course it would be! Don’t hesitate, start your YouPlanet Ambassador adventure and be sure that you will have a great time here and…travel more!
(You can find more about our offers to our Partners and Ambassadors in the “New Partner Packages” Blog post)
Can’t find the venue you’re looking for? Add it!
YouPlanet is growing really fast all around the world! Our members add new venues each month, review them and we’re trying really hard to offer to our Travelers everything they need before, during and after their travels, through our Travel Guide. However, things change really fast in the tourism indursty and new Bars, Hotels, Restaurants etc open and it’s quite hard to update the Guide of city right away.
This means that if you are trying to create a Hot List, with all your recommendations from cities you’ve been in the past, you may not find all the venues your’re serching for. Don’t worry, it’s easy to add your own!
1) Above the map, in your Hot List, you will find the “+ADD NEW” button.
2) Search for the venue you want.
3) If you can’t find it on YouPlanet, add your own venue or just look for more places on Foursquare!
Now, you know how easy it is to add new venues in your Hot List and share with your friends your favorite recommendations!
Different types of meetings
We can’t really say if it’s preferable to have shorter or longer meetings. It differs from meeting to meeting, from business owner to business owner.
Our experienced Ambassadors have given their view of different situations and kinds of meetings. The conclusion is: it really differs and it’s usually hard to know beforehand what kind of meeting you will have.
For example, if the Decision Maker or the owner shows an interest in online marketing and promotional activities you should expect at least a 30 minutes meeting. These meetings are great, as he/she quickly understands what YouPlanet is about and what we offer, understands the benefits of a complete and professional online presence and already realizes the importance of online marketing. This means that you can focus less on these topics, and instead discuss the Partner’s needs and how to further strengthen online presence. Usually, these meetings last longer just because you’ll find yourself in longer discussions about the possibilities and difficulties about online marketing in general, and social media in particular.
However, these owners may also be considered the “tough guys”, and because they know how things work, they may need strong arguments in order to give a GO!
On the other hand, there are some business owners who still don’t understand the importance of online marketing tools. These meetings could be either really short or really long. It could take some time if the owner is really willing to learn how things work and throws a thousand questions at you. Unfortunately on the other hand there are also owners who are not willing to learn anything new. They’ll listen to your presentation, ask no questions, say thank, and you’ll leave without being able to get the important two-way dialogue.
What are your thoughts? Do you have any different experience?
How do I collect Hot Spots?
Have you heard about YouPlanet Hot Spots?
If you have friends and family traveling in your footsteps I’m sure you’ve been asked about your favorite places in your city a number of times. Do you know any good restaurants? Where’s the best shopping? What museums should I visit? And how many times have you forgotten about the names of these places, or the addresses, or simply got bored of writing them down? YouPlanet Hot Spots is a new functionality on YouPlanet which enables you to create, edit and share personal top recommendations of things to see and things to do in places you have been. You can easily share these with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter or simply via email with a short link. It’s simply a great tool to keep your favorite places in one place, easy to share with anyone.
So, how does it work to collect Hot Spots?
Step 1: Log in (or sign up) on YouPlanet.com
Don’t forget that you can sign up by e-mail or simply log in with your Facebook Account.
Step 2: Find the city you’re looking for
Look for a city you have visited and where you have some recommendations to give. You can find the majority of all cities worldwide using the main search in the top navigation bar.
Step 3: Choose a category and find your favorite venue
On YouPlanet we have four different categories of venues: Lodging (hotels, hostels, Apartments etc), Dining (restaurants, cafes etc), Nightlife (bars, night clubs) and Experience (culture, shopping etc). Click on one of the tabs to see the list of venues. The screenshots below show the Nightlife category in Athens where you e.g. can find Barley Cargo Beer Bar.
Step 4: Make a review
Simply click on the “Add a review” button, rate the place, and write your review.
You’ve added a new Hot Spot!
The place with your review now shows up as a Hot Spot in your personal collection of Hot Spots in Athens. Click on the “Share” button in the top to share your Hot Spots with your friends and family who also have been or are planning to go to Athens!
Follow these simple steps to collect your own Hot Spots of places you’ve visited and want to share with others. It’s fun, it’s easy and your friends will definitively be happy to have your personal guide in their pocket when they’re out traveling!
Good luck!
Are you still asking yourself how to get started?
Are you still wondering how to get started as an Ambassador? Have you applied and been approved but never taken the first step? You can still do it!
You don’t need to have a planned and booked trip to start working as an Ambassador. You can just might as well start working in your home city since your home is someone else’s tourist destination. Neither do you need any experience in sales, since you as an Ambassador don’t really need to sell this offer, it sells itself!
All right, since it’s not difficult, what should I do if I want to start right away?
First make a brief plan of how many hours you want spend each week. Then, create a list of businesses in your area, such as hotels, cafes, restaurants or anything else that has to do with tourism. Basically, anything to see or do.
Next step is to contact us and let us advise you. It’s really important to remember how much easier it can be if you ask for our support for your very first meetings.
Are you ready to get started?
Follow our first Travelers’ Story on Facebook!
Two passionate Travelers, one journey, 4 days and a worldwide travel community!
These are the main characteristics of the first YouPlanet Travelers’ Story on our Facebook Page.
Marios and Xara, young travelers from Greece, are now in Paris. Their journey begins 2 days ago when they arrived in the city of Light! YouPlanet is by their side, every single moment of their trip. Whenever they go, they’re sharing wonderful pictures with our friends on Facebook, they use the YouPlanet App on their iPhone to share their reviews and they show how great is to travel and have the support of a worldwide travel community!
We, the YouPlanet Team, are really thrilled! It’s the first time we’re doing something like that and we should let you know how happy we are to follow Marios and Xara everywhere they are in the most beautiful city of Western Europe! You know, we feel like we are there, with them!
A couple of days are left!
Join the Adventure on Facebook.
See more of Marios’ and Xara’s Stories here
Have you used the Ambassador App during your meetings?
As you know, you can find the official YouPlanet App on iTunes. Our app is available for iOS for now and it gives you the chance to leave reviews for the places you’ve been easier and faster than any other review app!
Moreover, our app is connected to our Ambassador Program, which means that whenever you leave a review for a business, we contact them and if they become Partners, you earn an instant Ambassador Commission!
Also, our Smartphone App is connected with HotSpots, YouPlanet’s new feature, so you have the chance to create your HotSpots on-the-go!
Since you are already Ambassadors, the question is: “What do you think about our App?” and if you haven’t downloaded yet, why don’t you give it a try?
Using the Ambassador App can give you a great lead to contact the venue and maybe schedule a meeting, because you can go there and ask to schedule a meeting by showing them that they have been reviewed on YouPlanet.Also, you can use the App during the meeting, just to prove them how easy it is for someone to leave a review!
I know, this can’t be the Unique Selling Proposition that you will present to the potential partner but why not to be creative and find new ways to use all YouPlanet’s features for your benefit?
