The first thing you should do before adding content to the site is to make your home page.

My Place is where you manage your contributions, photos, articles, blogs and build your presence on the site. My Place includes your home page, your profile, your portrait and your content.

My Place allows other users to interact with you and for you to become recognised for your contributions.

Select the my place button to get started.

There are two tabs – view and edit. Select the edit tab.

Tips

1. Try to complete as much of this form as you feel comfortable with. The more people know about you the more rapport you will build and soon you will have a loyal base of readers waiting for your next entry.

2. Spend some time on your biography. Don’t only describe who you are, but tell readers what they should expect to see when they read your reviews and blogs.

3. Please ensure you include http:// when entering your web address or it will not work.

4. Spend time cropping your image to 75 x 100. Your portrait will appear against your contributions all through the site, not just on you’re my place page.

5. Please include a portrait photo. Members with photos attract more readership and interaction than members without.

Basics - The easiest way to quickly add a photo is to select the green + photo button.

Tips

1. You can select the + photo button at any stage whilst using the site and this screen will appear. You might be looking at a town in Australia and think ‘I’ve got a photo for this place. Just hit + photo!

2. It is best to upload low resolution files. These files are smaller in file size and will be quicker to upload into the site. I tend to make most of my photos around 400 pixels wide and 272 pixels high or less than 100kb. This is a good size for standard images.

3. Make file names lowercase and without spaces. Applying good file naming conventions has its benefits – most importantly photos are more easily found by users, the site and search engines.
GOOD: the-beach.jpg BAD: IMG 1256#.JPG

4. The + photo button will only allow you to upload photos in jpg format – you cannot add zip files of photos using + photo. To upload a zip (batch of several images) use the ‘import’ tab – This is an advanced user option.

5. Spend time writing a comprehensive description and select relevant key words for the image. Photos with relevant key words and well thought out descriptions receive the greatest number of views.

6. Once saved, don’t forget to submit for publishing. To edit the image again after it is published it must be re-tracted again.

One of the best ways to publish your experiences is to write an article.

Articles can include images, links and star ratings. Once published, your articles will appear at relevant locations in the site and can be reviewed, ranked and commented on by users.

Select from different templates to change the reviews appearance and layout. Adding articles to locations on planbooktravel.com helps the location to be discovered and experienced by other travellers.

To write an article select + article

Tips:

Articles can contain text, images and links.

1. The easiest way to add photos and links to your article is to follow the process that is set out in the site.

Step 1. Write the article and provide a location reference (what town it is for).

Step 2. Select next and you will be able to add images to the article

Step 3. Select next and you will be able to add links to the article

Step 4. Select save.

2. It is often difficult to think of something to write about. The best and most well read articles are written by authors who are passionate about the topic. In other words, write about your interests, your hobbies, great characters you know, hidden treasures. If you are short of a topic – check the ‘Key Words’ – that should help you get started.

What is a blog? A blog is derived from the term ‘web log’. In the context of planbooktravel, think of a blog as a travel log, diary or date based journal.

Use your Blog to keep a journal of your daily experiences as you travel. Keep family, friends and the planbooktravel community informed of your daily activities through your Blog.

Use your Blog to link to your favourite content on planbooktravel.com, locations you have visited and relevant articles you find on-line. Once you have completed your travels your Blog represents a complete archive of personal experiences which you can re-visit and reflect upon, to inspire your next adventure.

Tips:

1. To create a blog select the green + blog button

2. A blog is different from a review. Think of a blog as a date based journal and a review as single story relevant to a location. Blogs and reviews are also different in terms of how they are presented in the site. A blog is more personal. Blogs are not linked to locations – where reviews and photos are.

3. Short, sharp and punchy makes for well read, interesting blogs.

4. How to add a photo to the text of a blog: Note – the photo needs to already be uploaded into the site. Either use + photo (page 5) or write and save the blog and select ‘Image’ from the drop down ‘add to folder’.

5. Now you have photos in the site, you can return to your blog, select edit and the insert image button in the text editor. Select ‘My recent items link. This will bring up all items recently added to your folder. Select the image.