NEWRY — Everyone has outdoor recreation. Everyone says they’re unique.

As a business, you need to find your niche, what makes you “you” — and then go get ’em.

Marketing guru Roger Brooks opened the keynote at the annual Maine Governor’s Conference on Tourism on Tuesday with humor and endless advice to a crowd of more than 400 at Sunday River Ski Resort.

One mistake many businesses make is using the same timeworn catch phrases, he said.

Don’t lead promotions with words like “discover,” “explore,” “the best-kept secret” or the overused “real Maine,” he said, because — guess what — everyone else is doing that.

“Look at your tag lines, look at your message,” said Brooks, from Arizona, the author of “Your Town: A Destination — The 25 Immutable Rules of Successful Tourism.” 

“If it can fit anybody else, toss it and start over,” he said. “What do you have that people can’t get, or do, closer to home? You need to be different, or clearly better.”

And not better because you say so. Better because someone else — think Fodor’s, Yankee Magazine, AAA — says so.

Brooks also panned marketing communities or regions. Instead, he suggested, market what there is to do there — the activities — not the place.

He’s working with the Moosehead Lake region to rebrand itself “America’s Crown Jewel,” highlighting everything there is to do near and on the lake.

“Tourism is a means to an end,” Brooks said. “It’s about importing more cash than you export.”

On that front, the state’s gaining ground.

Carolann Ouellette, director of the Maine Office of Tourism, said the state counted 33.8 million tourist visits in 2015, up 3 percent over 2014. First-time visitors were up 8 percent.

Direct tourism-related sales grew 3.2 percent to $5.6 billion. Overall economic impact passed $8 billion for the first time.

Tourism employs about 99,000 people in Maine, also up 5 percent.

“Five years ago, we were flat or declining,” Ouellette said. “We’re seeing good, strong growth over the last three to four years.”

Brooks praised the tourism office’s work, noting that its job is to promote the entire state and point would-be visitors in the direction of companies like those in the room. But it’s up to those companies to then close the sale, he said.

“A lot of ‘aha!’ moments,” said Audrey Miller, the owner of Cottage Connection, a vacation rental business in Boothbay.

She related to another piece of Brooks’ advice: Load your websites with photos and make sure you have people in your pictures. Her new website has beautiful pictures of homes — but not a soul in sight, she said. 

“We need people sitting in the Adirondack chairs,” she said. “We know our website can close the deal. That was an ‘attaboy.'”

Scott Riccio, president of Northeast Charter & Tour Co. in Lewiston, said Brooks’ message was “inspirational and right on target.”

Riccio is the head of a new Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce tourism subcommittee.

“The timing is perfect for what’s going on within Lewiston-Auburn,” he said. “How do we capitalize on what we have?”

Longtime Travel Channel host Samantha Brown, a New Hampshire native with family in Maine, closed out the afternoon. She largely offered advice for making the most of overseas travel, but said that when it comes to traveling in the U.S., she likes to be pointed to a city’s up-and-coming district.

“The new area that’s been down and out for decades, but now because of artists and chefs and shops is now experiencing a resurgence,” Brown said. “That’s where I want to go. I always want to spend money there.”

Deborah Carroll from the L-A chamber was the first to stand up during an open Q&A session with Brown.

“If you’re interested in exploring places like that, Lewiston-Auburn — shameless plug — is one of those places,” Carroll said.

kskelton@sunjournal.com

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