Miley Cyrus

The Importance of Being Ernest (Hemingway). Or Miley Cyrus

Published March 31, 2015 | By Clark Norton

Hemingway at work.

Hemingway again, in later years.

As a blogger, I’m always looking for helpful tips on how to expand my readership.

For instance, the tip I got to include the words “Miley Cyrus” in a headline has resulted in tons of search-engine-driven hits, even though the blog post (which was about baby boomer travel) had nothing to do with Miley Cyrus.

I ignored the tip not to use the word “algorithm” in a headline and lived to regret it, even though my use of it — “Algorithm and Blues: 99 Ways That Google Is Destroying Baby Boomer Travel” — seemed clever enough. But maybe 99 was pushing it because only my mother read it, and even she stopped at number 63.

So when I came across a tip that a blog should be written at an eighth-grade reading level, it caught my attention. It seems the majority of… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Blogging | Tagged Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway Editor, Miley Cyrus, William Faulkner | 8 Comments

Does Miley Cyrus Influence Baby Boomer Travel?

Published January 13, 2014 | By Clark Norton

Miley Cyrus putting “twerking” into the news.

The answer to the above heading is “probably not.”

But it may have caught your attention. And that’s the point.

Celebrities — celebrity news, celebrity endorsements, celebrity appearances — can help drive traffic to businesses, including travel businesses.

And while Miley Cyrus and her “twerking” routine — which Yahoo reported was one of the top-searched items of 2013 — may not be a baby boomer obsession, other, shall we say more mature, celebrities can be very helpful indeed.

In the theme cruise column I write for Porthole Cruise Magazine, some of the most successful cruises I’ve featured use appearances by old-time baseball stars, soap opera stars, Broadway music stars — even political pundits who often show up on TV — to attract passengers. The passengers get to mix and mingle with the celebrities, the cruise lines get to fill cabins, and… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Marketing | Tagged baby boomer marketing strategies, baby boomer travel, baby boomers, baby boomers and tourism, Discover Los Angeles, Greencastle Indiana, Magic Johnson, marketing baby boomer travel, Miley Cyrus, Rob Lowe, travel marketing | Leave a comment

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.