Lisa Trudell & Sara Broers are the Co-Owners of the Midwest Travel Network. Together, we all rise!
Midwest Travel Network Mission
Midwest Travel Network was created to provide opportunities for travel writers and destinations to connect. We hope to make those connections easier. Our Midwest Travel Network mission is to connect the writers/bloggers/ influencers with tourism partners to share the great places, eats, and stories of the Midwest.
History
October 23, 2013 Sara Broers and Lisa Trudell co-founded Midwest Travel Bloggers. This was primarily a group made of travel bloggers based in the Midwest collaborating, networking and sharing the stories of the Midwest. Now five years later, the organization has evolved into Midwest Travel Network, a group made up of not only writers and bloggers but also the tourism partners working hard to promote their communities.
What we can offer You
Our fifth anniversary in October 2018 marked a perfect time to do some evaluating and upgrading of the business. For those with us from the beginning you will notice a new twist on the original name. We felt this name change more closely reflected the Midwest Travel Network mission. In line with this rebranding, here at Midwest Travel Network, we are working on some exciting new opportunities. Together we are placing new eyes on Midwest destinations, as well as helping destinations that market to the Midwest. It has been proven over and over, that our members can help propel your destination to a new level.
Twitter Chats and An Opportunity To Network
If you are looking for inspiration for where to go on your next road trip, check out #mwtravel on Instagram and Twitter. Our first venture was the #MWTravel Chat. Both writers and tourism partners learn of travel opportunities and strengthen connections and relationships during these Chats. The #MWTravel Chat happens the first and third Wednesday of every month of Twitter from 11 am- Noon (CST). This is where you can learn more about fun places to visit all across the midwest. We offer our members online and in person networking events.
Facebook Groups
Another valuable aspect of Midwest Travel Network is the strong support found on our Facebook Groups. These groups are a great way to share content, find connections and ask questions. Each of these groups has a distinct purpose.
Midwest Travel Network Facebook Page. This is the business page for Midwest Travel Network. Here you will find new and upcoming events, informative posts about the Midwest. The Facebook Live Shows happen here and are archived on this page.
Midwest Travel Network Group is a closed group where members (both destinations and bloggers) discuss tips, ideas, solutions and upcoming events.
Midwest Travel Bloggers Support Group. This is a members only group where writers share their links to their Midwest posts.
Midwest Travel Network Facebook Group for CVB’s and DMO‘s: This is a members only group where destinations share.
Connections are at the heart of our Midwest Travel Network mission
As indicated in our mission statement, connections is a vital component of Midwest Travel Network. These connections can happen during the Twitter Chats, , on any of our Facebook pages, and at our specially hosted events. In the spring of 2018 we hosted our first #MWTN Conference in Clear Lake, IA. The inaugural event boasted an attendance of nearly 100 writers and destination partners. We look forward to growing together with you!
Education
We believe that knowledge is power. When we each make the effort to learn more about what we do, we all win in the tourism industry. All of our events are designed for travel enthusiasts to meet up in real life and continue the conversations online. Networking in person is where magical things happen. Bloggers and destinations both have many success stories because of the connections they made by attending an event in person.
Blogger & Destination Friendly
As the business and its membership grows, we discover many ways that we can serve our followers. The homepage and blog of this website will highlight topics, news and events that are important to our entire readership. Midwest Travel Network also believes there is value in developing two separate areas of content. These will be specifically applicable to either writers or tourism partners. These areas will appear on the homepage menu as we get them up and running.
Stay connected to the Midwest Travel Network Future
As you can see there are many exciting developments here at Midwest Travel Network. Be sure to stay-tuned and up-to-date on everything happening. Here are several ways that you can keep informed:
- Tune into our monthly Twitter Chats (1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month) #MWTravelChat
- Join our Blogger Database
- Plan to attend our 3nd annual conference – VIRTUAL on June 11, 2021. Tickets are on sale now.