Travelwires.com unveils a new look
08. Jun, 2009
15 Comments
It’s been a while since this blog was last updated (this is the third redesign, since launching travelwires.com in 2006). The most obvious change comes with the new logo, I’ve done away with the South African map and replaced it with a background airline symbol. This is meant to expand the news coverage and not be only limited to South African news. The airline image represents travel, as it’s the most common form of travelling across the world.
I’ve introduced featured posts at the upper fold of the homepage, to allow for more airtime to the latest news. I’ve added more colour to the homepage with an image displaying on each post published.
I’ve also added a leader board banner (728X90 pixels) below the featured posts to increase my revenue stream. Advertising is the sole blood of travelwires.com and pays for all monthly expenses. You might consider advertising your brand to a focused readership of travel professionals and product owners. The blog currently records; 14,751 unique visitors and 28,863 page views monthly.
A special thank you goes to Mossel Bay Tourism (Martin Hatchuel, you’re my pillar of strength) and South African Tourism (a big shout out to Justin Dicey at InternetAdSales for always securing SA Tourism) who have been supporters of the blog through purchasing advertising space regularly. Nedbank is a new client who recently purchased two banner spots and I say it’s highly appreciated.
Before it slips my mind, travelwires.com also has a twitter account and you’re welcome to follow the blog on @travelwires.
I’m also interested at exploring business opportunities with a PR firm involved in staging events, to grow the travelwires.com brand. There are a few industry concepts I’m hoping to introduce by partnering with an experienced company. Should you be interesting at discussing this further, please drop me an email on muzi@travelwires.com.
Thank you to Calvin Ntombela, for all the work on tweaking wordpress theme and design of the new logo. I proudly recommend him for your next web design project and his rates are affordable.
Lastly though not related to the revamp, but equally important…to all the communication practitioners from the provincial tourism authorities and industry PR who received my mail two weeks ago and have not replied back, I’m still awaiting your feedback and I know you’ve read my mail. No need to avoid an opportunity for travelwires.com readers to get to know you better. Reply before 9th June Tuesday 12 noon, before I sing and dance.
My name is Muzi Mohale a full-time travel blogger, your host at Travelwires.com responsible for all editorial on this blog. I blog about the travel and tourism industry in Africa. Apart from blogging about tourism, I also run 
I really like the new look & feel to your website Muzi – much easier to read, and also a lot fresher. Well done to you. Hopefully my own will go live this week!
Greetings Lesley,
Appreciate the compliment and hope the other PR agencies also work on their websites.
Congratulations on a great new look Muzi!
Thank you Jeannine, now the struggle continues with getting advertisers on board, it’s a difficult process.
Hi Muzi, I like the new look but would drop the Google ads & banner at the top and rather place them at the bottom. I started my blog on 21 May and already have 480 subscribers. 1277 twitter followers. Got some excellent blogging tips from this guy. Take a look and tell me what you think http://www.incomediary.com/create-a-profitable-blog/
Greetings Jacques,
Appreciate the feedback…I assume you refer to the leader board banner above logo. That is premium spot, which generates higher impressions than any other spot on the blog and it’s accessible in all pages of the blog.
I’m in contact with Michael Dunlop (from time to time) before he launched http://www.incomediary.com through his other blog http://www.retireat21.com
Hi Muzi
I love the blog and especially the frequency with which posts are made. You have very much got your finger on the pulse of the South African travel industry.
@South African, your compliment is highly appreciated, though you still owe me an interview…I want to get to know the person behind http://www.southafrica.to and what motivates you. Thank you for all the endless comments you’ve added on the posts over the years.
Muzi,
I’d be sad if you lost your Southern African focus as it is one of the reasons I generally read yours and none of the other 25 travel feeds and blogs that I have subscribed to.
and I’d be keen to see you “sing and dance”…make sure you have your webcam rolling…today is the the 9th June.
Rgds
No Darron, this doesn’t mean South African content will be lost, I only means I’ll include a bit of non-South African content more than before. You’re based in Swaziland right and we hear nothing about your industry news. I want to ensure neighbouring countries also get more focus…a starting point will be by inviting your tourism organisation to send regular industry updates…