It wasn’t all that long ago that we were new to travel blogging.
We became travel bloggers because of our huge passion for travelling, and we believed we had a lot of stories, photos, information and inspiration to share that could help others create great memories.
We knew exactly how much travel could benefit your life and help improve the health of the planet by bringing so many people together; helping us to understand we are indeed more alike than we are different.
We wanted to share online, just like we always did on the road.
Share stories, share tips, share good times.
Not only that, but we wanted to create something where we could become location independent. How we were going to do that with a travel blog, we did not know. But, we had big plans for it to lead to something.
It had to. Because any other way of living would not work for us. We tried it. We failed and we were miserable.
I spent days, weeks, months, asking the questions, pleading that I soon discover what my purpose was in life. I knew there was something out there for me, but I could not find it due to my own doubts and insecurities.
We made bad choices, terrible ones in fact, that led us down a dark and scary path. We were lost and afraid and in a lot of pain.
Eventually, the questioning paid off and we found the answers. We have been doing it for the past 18 months now and we love every second of it.
It has not been easy. In fact, it has been so hard.
We have had many obstacles and challenges including financial, health, job issues, and the commitment of being the best parents we can be, but we have fought through them because we believed in our dream enough and we wanted it so badly.
When you love it and you want it, you are happy to allow it to consume every waking hour and even the sleeping ones.
Some may say now that we are one of the more established travel blogs out there, and we will certainly agree that we have had some good success.
We don’t see this as an ego thing, however, or that we have attained any type of special status. To us, we are just as we were 2, 4, 5, 10 years ago. We have a travelling spirit and are happy to sit and chat to anyone, preferably over a few cold beers.
Tell me your story and we’ll share ours.
That sort of thing.
Life is too short to play games of “I am better than you,” or “I need to stomp all over you to get ahead.” We don’t believe this is how you move forward to attaining your dreams at all.
We believe it is all about helping one another, being a friend, being true to your ideals, and offering constructive criticism when it’s needed.
So why am I writing to all you new travel bloggers now?
I spend many an hour each day reading other blogs around the net. I’d love to comment more, but with two blogs, and two beautiful girls, my time is a little stretched.
But, I like to show my support and help in as many ways as I can. This being one of them.
I’ve noticed from a lot of new travel bloggers certain feelings of not being sure where they are heading with their travel blog, what their place is in the travel industry, a certain amount of angst, and then some unhappiness at ways they have been treated by others, others that are seen to be the “big” bloggers.
I know how you feel.
We once felt like this too. In fact, there are still many moments that we do.
It happens in any industry. It is all part of your progress – you figuring it out.
You have to get clear on it or you won’t have the success you desire.
And that is the first thing you have to figure out.
What is it you desire from your blogging?
Where do you really want to see it go? Do you want to eventually make an income from it? And if so how? Or do you want it to be a place where you just express yourself?
Every blogger has different dreams, goals, and values. And they will do things on their blog that relate to these things and their purpose for blogging.
The trick for you is to forget what others are doing and why. Don’t measure your success against the success of others. Everyone comes into this with different skills, backgrounds, and time constraints.
What are you doing and why?
If you want to make income and create a lifestyle around it then great. If you just want it as a place to write, then that’s great too.
Do what you want to do with your blog and let others do what they want to do.
No one else’s actions can change the blogging world for you. You create your own blogging world based upon your purpose and goals.
The tendency to compare ourselves to others is dangerous because it usually leads to either feelings of insecurity or envy.
It is far better for you to compare yourself to yourself.
How much better am I doing today than what I was yesterday?
And then use that as a way to move forward.
Turning the Negative into Positive
Learn from others, use them as motivation to help you do the best you can, and be the person you want to be.
As long as any critique you receive is constructive, you can use it to move forward. If it is nastiness then simply ignore it.
When we made the decision to start a travel blog we made a list of all the goals we wanted to achieve. And they were BIG. And they remain BIG.
We believe if you are going to be thinking anyway, then you might as well be thinking big.
Some individuals told us that basically our goals were unrealistic and that we couldn’t do it. We couldn’t do it based upon what others had achieved. I particularly remember one man’s words telling us we couldn’t do it when we first began travel blogging. He made our dreams seem silly.
I read the words and sat and cried. I felt like my dream had just died in front of me.
Later that afternoon, a fire was lit from underneath me, and I wanted to reply…
“Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t know anything about our desire, our background, or what we are capable of? What right do you think you have to stomp all over our dreams?”
I thank him and others every single day because they provide that extra determination to be the best we can. It’s been a great source of motivation.
And it paid off. He said we couldn’t pull off our goals in three years; we’ve done most of them in 18 months.
NEVER ever let anyone else determine the results you can have in your life. Only you know what you can do. Dream big. You deserve it.
Be Yourself Online and Offline
I have heard many new bloggers talk of how they have been treated by other veteran bloggers. Kind of like they are not worth their time or below them.
I think this happens no matter what industry you are in.
Unfortunately, some people do think they are above others once they achieve a certain level of success. But, it also could be that they are just strapped for time, having a bad day, or are feeling just as insecure as you.
In fact, I think most of the time when someone acts in an arrogant manner it is because they feel insecure.
I remember approaching a blogger to do a guest post on his site. He was probably the first travel blog I came across and one that really inspired us when we were creating our own. It was almost as if he wrote the words straight from my own heart. I was a fan and looked up to him.
And then I dealt with him personally and was shocked at how different he was, not at all like his persona online and I was shattered and felt betrayed.
It is easy to be someone different when you hide behind a computer screen. True authenticity is what brings success – so whoever you are online, be the same offline.
Especially if your site is not JUST a resource site, but more of a personality site and you are building a brand. We are much more than just our blog. We can be seen as a spokesperson, an ambassador. Authenticity is very important.
Be yourself always and everywhere. It’s too much friggin hard work being someone you’re not.
It can be disheartening when someone you admire and look up to brushes you off. It has happened to us many times offline and online.
We choose to handle it like this: we make a vow that when we get to an authority position that we never become like this; we use them as motivation for us to move forward in achieving our goals; we no longer give them any energy, positive or negative.
Allow yourself to feel pissed off for a little while, but then let it go. It won’t serve you. Just don’t follow them anymore. Choose instead to hang around those who uplift and inspire you and who help you to believe that you can achieve those goals of yours.
Like I said, criticism is good as long as it is constructive. It helps you to learn and grow. But there is no reason why we can’t encourage each other to be bigger and better than what we were yesterday.
Making Money off your Blog
Making money off your blog is a topic that is hotly debated across any blogging niche.
My advice to you is to figure out what works best for you and to forget what anyone else is doing. We all have different wants and needs and things we feel comfortable with doing.
There is no reason why you should not make money off your blog.
Why not? If it is your passion and you work hard and you provide value and a service then you deserve to be compensated.
If you are treating it as a business, aren’t businesses supposed to make money?
It is not selling out, like many would like to have you believe you are doing. If I don’t find a way to make money from our blog then I am selling out;
Selling out on my dream, on my purpose, on those who I can offer some sort of value to, my family and my own happiness.
As someone once said to me, “Who do you think you are to hide yourself away? Who are you to deny those people in this world who need you for whatever particular reason you arrived here for?”
When you look at it like that, each of us then has a duty to live out our purpose, and if that involves making money doing what you love then so be it. No one has the right to comment on that.
I believe that MOST people in the world are just doing the best they can and are making the best choices for themselves based upon what they know at the time.
They are not trying to cheat people or hurt them. Most people are good.
I don’t know the circumstances of anybody’s life and I have no right to try and deny them things that will make them feel happy. That is not my place.
My place is to let them know it is possible and give them permission to live their dreams.
You won’t know all the answers straight away and you’ll make many mistakes trying to figure it out. This is okay. Just get started and learn as you go.
As long as you are transparent, you recognize your mistakes, you learn from them and then change your strategy accordingly.
And if those around you make mistakes, then forgive them, give them another chance,they are only learning.
The best thing you can do is to always provide value. This will take away any guilt you may feel in making money. If you provide value then you should never have to feel bad.
Self-Promotion
Know that if you are striving towards those goals of financial independence with blogging then there are certain things you’re going to have to do.
One of them is self-promotion. That thing that makes us feel icky inside.
It gets easier, although has never really left me, especially with my cultural background of the Tall Poppy Syndrome. In Australia, most people who try to stand above the crowd are quickly put in their place.
But I cannot worry about those people who do not wish good things to happen for me.
I can only worry about my goals, my happiness, my family and the fact that I am doing my best.
Work on promoting others just as much as yourself to help reduce those icky feelings.
Shouting out the good about what you are doing is not a bad thing. And always know that with us, we will help lift you up when you are shouting and shout it out for you as well.
Know that you are a good person and don’t let others make you feel any different.
I don’t see it so much as self-promotion, but more as celebrating.
Celebrating your successes, your wins, your uniqueness, your story, your expertise, and what you have to offer the world. What is so wrong with celebrating these things?
Imagine the world if we all celebrated more than condemned.
Gratitude
One thing you must always do is spend each day in total gratitude.
Gratitude for every small step forward, gratitude for every comment that lands on your blog, gratitude for every reader who crashes on your blogging couch, gratitude for every milestone, and everything that comes your way, good or bad.
Gratitude is such a powerful energy to throw out into the world and one that will bring many more things in your life to be grateful for. Let your readers know how much you appreciate and value them.
Helping Others
I think the biggest challenge in becoming more successful with blogging is the fact that I can no longer help everyone individually as I would like to.
If I could, I would sit down with each of my readers one on one, buy them a drink and ask “How can I help you?.”
But, I can’t and sometimes that hurts.
realize that you can’t possibly be everything to everyone and be ok with that. Try to find other ways which you can serve.
Writing this letter is one way for me.
I want you to know that your dream is possible.
I want you to know that you can create how that dream will look.
I want you to know that it is up to you.
I want you to understand that what others are doing is not important, it is how you are being and doing that is.
I want you to know that other people’s opinion of you does not matter – it is actually none of your business.
I want you to know if you focus with razor sharp vision on your goals, if you dream big, if you work hard, if you are kind to others, and if you believe, you can do it.
Spend each day asking yourself, “Am I being the best I can be? Am I doing the best I can do? Am I being true to who I am? Am I making each moment count?“
And then the most important way forward each day is to do the best you can, with what you have, from where you are. Even if you are crawling you are still moving forward.
We are no different to you. We just had a dream, we believed in it, we acted, and we did not worry about what anyone else was doing or what they were saying was possible.
You have a story worth sharing.
The world needs you to share it.
Caz
P.S. One more thing. This is your dream, your passion – go have fun with it. Despite the hard work and challenges you should still be making it all about having fun!
Thanks for this Caz. This was a great read and very inspirational. I didn’t realize that the two of you had only been doing this for 18 months. Seems Craig has been annoying me for a lot longer than that!! 🙂
One thing that really hit me as I read this post – blogs constantly evolve. Even those with a focus and direction learn new things, grow as bloggers, and have revelations that open new doors.
When I started my blog, I wrote from a budget travel perspective. I was a bit selfish in promoting myself. I didn’t start with a blog but wrote for a travel site. Then I wanted to do things my own way. So the topics I wrote about and things I did evolved. I did travel tips, travel deals, and Where in the world am I? I’ve done destinations, interviews, and photos. Now, I have started my new project, the College Football Travel Tour, and I have had opportunities, a passion, and focus that I’ve never had before. It’s amazing the clarity and direction that I have now and it has allowed me to view travel in a different way. Now, it’s not as much about me as it was when I started. It’s about helping others.
Other travel blogs and the community have taught me so much. That is one thing I would really encourage people to grasp – you will be much better off and more successful helping others, encouraging, and sharing than you will trying to beat them. It’s very hard to explain this feeling but it’s one of gratitude. I think my attitude that has gone from writing about me to writing for others has extended to my relationship with others.
Yet each day, I learn more things. I struggle. I question how I do things. I change directions. I come back to where I was. I want to do things bigger and better. And I am constantly changing and learning through this process. No matter how focused you are, a blog is a work in progress. It’s a bigger story of OUR adventures as people – the challenges, obstacles, highs, lows, transformations, lessons, and victories. This is so much bigger than us and it is quite a ride!
I understand your pain Jeremy! I’ve been putting up with Craig annoying me for what feels like forever!! 🙂
Thank you for your comments. I LOVE them. I love how you talk about your blog evolving. I think this is so important to understand, not just for blogging but life itself. It is okay to change things as you move forward and your needs and wants change.
We started off as a backpacking blog but as we have changed and are now family travellers, who still aim for budget but not so scrounging every penny, our blog has changed with this.
I love your college football tour. So original and perfect for you because you love it. It really shows to all new travel bloggers how possible it is to find that niche within the niche that suits your personality and likes.
And I 100% agree with you that the more you help and encourage the more you will get back and it makes all the hours worthwhile to know that you are helping someone else somehow.
It is an amazing ride
Thank you so much Caz for this. I’m one of those newbies of which you write about, and I’ve asked myself all of those questions. What do I want out of this? If I take that free night in a hotel, am I selling out? Where do I want my blog to be next year? I lose sleep over this stuff. Long story short, thanks for letting me know its OK to think what I’m thinking:)
My pleasure. As long as you are asking the questions you wll find the answers.
As long as you are providing value than you can never be selling out. So don’t beat yourself up about it.
Thanks for this, Caz.
I keep my blog up for mostly selfish reasons. I really do hope people read it and enjoy it, but for me, it’s mostly a way to keep in a ‘travel’ mindset during the times between trips. I have no aspirations of making money off it, or using it to become ‘location independent’. I have a good job and a wife I love who doesn’t travel, so my days of dreaming about spending 18 months on the road have passed me by. That doesn’t mean I don’t think about travel everyday, it just means I hope I’m realistic about my future with it.
I have a great deal of admiration for those who have become location independent, because I think I grasp how much work it takes to get to that point. I applaud those people for living their dreams. If you are willing to put in the blood, sweat and tears, you deserve the fruits of such an investment.
As far as the being dismissed by the ‘big-time’ bloggers, I understand where the people who complain about this come from. There is a great deal of arrogance out there, but this is the case in every field. If you are popular at this and can afford to offend people with obnoxiously sanctimonious posts, more power to you. I feel bad for them, having lost touch with what makes blogging so great– the ability to be yourself and have people appreciate that. I guess it’s the same as it always has been, people devour what’s good, and if some one has over 22,000 twitter followers, they must be doing something right 🙂
You guys have a great blog. I’ll bet what makes it popular is two things- Content, which is always king, and the fact that you guys are REAL. I would be shocked if you and Craig were different than the personalities that come through in your writing.
Your blog needs to be for selfish reasons, otherwise how are you going to keep doing it! I like how you are really clear on what you want to get out of it Erik and what your purpose for it is. I think you have more fun with it once you know these things,
I find it really sad how others can be arrogant towards other people, but you are right it can happen anywhere. It just shocks me more in the travel niche as I have this notion that travellers understand that we are all really the same. But that is just my living in la la land Utopian view on things. Makes me sad.
Thanks for your positive words towards us. we really appreciate it.
It’s always a win win situation when you compare yourself to.. yourself, right? Thanks for reminding us why we’re in this in the first place. Truly inspired by this community of travel bloggers — people like you — and our hope is that we can do the same, maybe on a slightly smaller scale. We wanted a vessel to catalog our journey together and more importantly, share it among our family and friends. We wanted to connect with like minded people who share the same passion as we do about exploring the world. We’re slowly getting into the groove of things, but like you said, when you enjoy what you do, it’ll seem less like work. Thanks, Caz.
I like that- we are all about win win! You have to love what you do otherwise you’ll be looking for the exit door at the first hurdle. This is way too much work to hate it. You guys will do great! You have the right energy
Great post Caz and I totally agree with Jeremy as well. Your blog will evolve in ways that you never think it will so be prepared for that.As you speak with other bloggers, you will find out tricks and techniques etc that will help you on the way. I have a love-hate relationship with my blog but I always remember that it has mainly acted as a portfolio for me and I have got a lot of side work from it. I never imagined that would happen. As for the negative bloggers, two fingers is all I am saying 🙂
Love the two finger comment Natalie. Your blog is an example of how well you can do when you focus in on your expertise and passion. you have had a lot of great things come about!! There are many ways you can turn your blogging into a lifestyle. New bloggers need to spend time exploring those options and thinking way ahead.
Ok, so I’m one of the newbies – it’s a long post and I have to do a lot of mail checking before my daughter wakes up. I’m halfway down it and already I feel inspired and determined.
The past couple of days, I’ve been on the fence about getting a “regular” job again. But I would like to be able to pursue this location independent lifestyle to be a full on digital nomad. Thanks for the push. I need lots of it so I won’t wimp out and go back.
thanks!
You are welcome Eileen. The decisions are that much harder when you have children. There is a lot more you have to consider.
Very nice advice. It’s great that you are reaching out to newer bloggers and offering positive words. I love seeing the picture of you and your 2 girls!! Reminds me of me and my 2 little boys. 🙂
Thanks Jenna! I love travelling and having photos with them. it is such a trip isn’t it? They add so much more to your travel experiences
Hi Caz, Hi Craig
Your growth has occurred at an exponential rate recently. I only interviewed you a couple of months ago about your Qantas Rugby World Cup opportunity. In that short time, you stats have literally doubled since then, with many, many fantastic opportunities flowing from there.
As you, your family, your travels, your views on life – and of course, your blog – evolve, so will your place in the blogosphere. With that, you reap rewards, but that also comes with great responsibility.
I love how you’re taking on your inevitable leadership role within your niche with such grace, humility and down-to-earthness.
Knowing that you have to use your time and resources differently as you evolve, I love that you asked yourself HOW ELSE, you can help others. Writing this post and essentially offering yourself as mentor to newbies, is admirable. You know that you don’t know it all, and that you can learn as much from newbies as they can from you.
The travel niche is so lucky to have you to guide them through the waves.
The more you grow, the more you can help and give back. I have 100% absolute confidence and certainty in you, that you’ll remain true to yourselves and embrace the challenges, rewards, fun and lessons with good humour and playfulness.
With Gratitude,
Lina
Sometimes the responsibility scares me a little, but then I remember that I said yes to it from the very beginning and I have to believe in my own ability to handle it. I’ll make mistakes sure enough along the way, but I think if our intention is honest and pure they will become lessons and we can only use that as a way to improve.
I just want all newbies to know, in any field, that I understand what it feels like and that you can get to your dream life. I would love a world where everyone is living out their purpose. I think they call it Utopia! Can it ever exist, I don’t know but it doesn’t stop me from trying to do my bit to help.
I love blogging, especially travel blogging!
We so appreciate everything you have done to help us move forward! It is all going super well.
Great advice. I’ve been travelling and teaching for about 8 years now, 6 years in one place. I can’t imagine doing it with kids though. Thanks for the advice on blogging.
You are welcome. Sounds like you are having a grand adventure. Where have you been based for the six years?
I’m in Seville, Spain, now and I guess I will be for the long run, just got married to a Spanish lady. Still have those moments when I want to take off again though, with her of course.
Congratulations!! You enjoy your time wiht your beautiful lady. I love Seville, it is such a pretty place. Hoping to take Craig there next summer.
Hello Caz and Craig!
This is a really cool inspiring post for new travel bloggers. I’m new myself and I always worry about how my blog has been reaching to others. Thanks for the words of wisdom. 🙂 Although I’m not a full-time traveler, I enjoy it a lot and I thought it was a niche of mine so I ended up starting a blog. Even buying my own domain name!
Keep up the cool blog guys! ♥
You are welcome. Just compare how your blog is doing to what it was yesterday, and don’t stress too much. You will have good days and bad, it is all part of the adventure. Keep travelling and writing about it.
Hi Caz,
I love your style, and the way you write! When you wrote “I want you to know that other people’s opinion of you does not matter – it is actually none of your business” I was nodding my head yes!! Because I have that as my motto on my details on FB…its none of my business what people think of me, its their business!!!
We have a huge dream, and we are sharing it every day.
We have made huge lifestyle changes, and we will keep on making them. Sometimes we have made huge mistakes (especially with our parenting!) but we are learning more and more about life – dreaming what we want, seeing it come true, and then letting the universe provide those dreams….it works every time. We are using the LOA and its true – you really do have to ask for what you want, at the same time be very clear with what you are asking!!
So go get em – you deserve the red carpet, and you deserve to live your dreams…after all – you are so good with sharing your journey…so really everyone lives a part of their travelling dreams here at ytravel – so love that!
Cheers
Lisa
Thank you Lina you are so sweet!
You have to be very clear on what you are asking for sure. It is scary what has come our way as a result of that. A lot of the time you aren’t aware of what you are asking. Thankfully, I think we have got it down pat now, and the right things are coming our way. It has not been easy though.
I think the mistakes are wonderful as they show you where you need to go next and what you need to do. They are lessons and I love learning. You guys should try to get on the Today Show now with your bus in the Australia Zoo logos. I reckon you could get on it. You have a great story
Thanks to you both for being so awesome and thinking of others as well as yourselves. You’d be surprised to know how many only have a one track mind- me, me, me. And while that is ok, paying it forward and helping others feel pretty good too- especially when your heart is in it.
I look forward to meeting you both (and your girls)when I finally get to Ozlandia next June/July to begin my working visa.
You guys are truly an inspiration. Sending positive vibes your way!
Mica
Our pleasure Mica! Ad it would be awesome to meet you when you come Down Under. Let us know if you need any help in your preparations.
We love helping others and paying it forward. It brings good cheer to everyone then! And fun and happiness is where we are at!
Awesome Caz, a lot of great stuff in here, really good advice! We’re still pretty new at this too, but learned very early that if we tried to hard to be something we’re not, it wasn’t going to work. We used to lose sleep over it, fight over it, and then we just found our “groove” and been passionately loving it ever since.
Also, needed to forget about stats too. We constantly used to compare with others, but it was also driving us nuts and we had to let that go.
Your P.S. at the end is the best piece of advice – HAVE FUN WITH IT! As soon as it’s not fun, then I’m doing something wrong. 🙂
I love how you two have found your groove! Very unique and honest.
The stats do drive you nuts and I hate thinking about it too. Wish that it wasn’t a part of what we do, but you can’t run any business without having any numbers running in the background somewhere. But it should certainly not be the focus- value and community comes first.
I think that we are on the same wave length these days. We wrote a similar article earlier this week called So you Want to be a Pro Travel Blogger http://theplanetd.com/travel-business-pro-blogger/
It’s a lot of hard work being a travel blogger but the payoff is awesome!
I always love reading your positive messages. Great advice to new bloggers. Cheers guys!
You guys are always offering so much advice and inspiration to others. you show us all just what is possible and have helped keep us on track plenty of times 🙂
Yep, I’m def one of the newbies. I have to say ytravelblog is one of my favourites and one of the reasons I thought I’d try my hand at travel blogging.
Thank you so much Mike, that is so awesome to hear. Enjoy the journey
Great post. Our website went down last week and it felt so bad. It is such a rewarding thing to do though 🙂
Ugh. We have been through those horrible website issues. It can be a good sign. It might mean you are now receiving too much traffic for your server to cope. Look into that as you may need a new host or server plan. We had to change and since then we have not had an issue
I love this post. It’s uplifting and very helpful. You guys are awesome. I’m glad you stuck with making your travels and this website work, because you’re an inspiration to me 🙂
Thanks so much Bobbi! We really appreciate it. I have been enjoying your posts lately on California that are coming through on SU. Makes me keen as mustard to get back there!
You two are such great examples of having success and yet still maintaing your sense of “YOU”! I think one of my best compliments has been when someone told me that I talk exactly like I write–woohoo authenticity! The travel blogging world is just like the real world: good people, bad people, good parts, bad parts. You just have to find out what works for you and what makes you happy–whether that’s money, appreciation, people loving what you’re doing, or just having your own space online to say what you want to say. Do the best you can, and then to hell with it 🙂
Thank you Christine. It is always great to hear that you are the same offline and on. But then when people say that to me, I always immediately tend to think, Why wouldn’t I be?
It’s hard enough being one person, I couldn’t keep up with being two!! 🙂
You always have down to earth wise advice. You are so clear with what you are doing and it always shines through with your writing and online presence.
I love this post. It’s a perfect example of why I read you guys.
Thank you so much Miss Britt!! Love you work too.
Great post! Even though I’ve been at this a year now, I still feel like a newbie. So much of what you mention above I have experienced and it can get discouraging at times. I just try to remind myself that this should be something I enjoy and that “success” (however I define that) will not come overnight.
I still get discouraged really frequently, even when we have good things happening. When I look more deeply at that discouragement it almost always comes from me comparing myself to others. That’s when I take a big step back and focus my attention on how far I have come from when I started, and I feel much better and more focused.
That is why it is so important to celebrate your wins no matter how small. It serves as a constant reminder to you of what an awesome job you are doing. And look how far you have come. You are now travelling and living your dream. I was there when you dreamt it, announced it and now you are doing it!! That is huge and so inspirational!
Thank you so much for writing this!! I am one of the newbies and I have big lofty goals that I can barely even admit to myself! Blogging can be incredibly difficult-finding the time, coming up with new ideas, writing well, networking…not to mention the actual set up it takes (mine is currently a disaster as I’m switching themes), Twitter, FB, Stumble…But I really, really, really love it!! Anytime I begin to find myself discouraged I’m definitely coming back to re-read this post! Thanks again!!!
Don’t be scared to admit your goals Caitlin. Your goals should be big enough that they scare you. Even if you set them masive and you don’t achieve them you will get further along then if you set them smaller.
Blogging is hard work but you stated the absolutely most important thing about it- you have to really really really love it. That much that you will do it for free. That’s always the sign that you are on the right track.
Our advice (for travel blogging and otherwise):
• Be authentic – do what feels right and feels like YOU.
• Lean into your strengths – if you don’t enjoy writing now, you will not enjoy doing it form the road. Instead, focus on finding ways to marry your passions with your strengths.
• Follow your own path – don’t focus on other’s success (or perceived success).
Great advice Caanan! You guys are great examples of how you can carve your own path and give back. You are both awesome!
Fantastic blog post! Thanks so much for caring not just about your own blog but about travel blogging generally. It should be a fun community, full of great stories and shared experiences, so it’s really nice to read these words of encouragement!
You’re welcome Turtle. I LOVE travel blogging, there is so much for everyone, and I believe that the majority of travel bloggers really care about being positive and making a difference. It’s a great place to hang out! We love hearing travel stories, it inspires us so much
I love you guys. Really, I do. You two have always been a blog I’ve followed since about the time you started. This is something that any person, new or experienced, could learn from. At the end of the day, it’s about doing what you want to do. You don’t have to make money from it if you don’t want to. You can use it as a way to get other gigs. You can use it as a place for your family to make sure you’re still alive when traveling. That’s the great thing about it. You can do what you want. I talk with a lot of newbies that feel pressured or overwhelmed by the travel blogosphere, but there’s really no reason to. I kind of fell into it. My voice and style just evolved as I went. It’s not something that I just knew where I was going with it from the start.
You are so lovely Spencer. And you are a great example of what someone can do with their travel blog and lifestyle You are an inspiration to many. Someone who believed and went after his dream.
And you are such a great writer, without any formal training, proving that all you need is a unique voice and a story to share.
I think what you mentioned is so important. You don’t have to have all the answers to begin with, as Jeremy spoke of above. It is forever changing and evolving. Find your voice and your style ad then roll with it. The great thing about blogging is that there are so many other amazing things it can lead to!
How’s that book of yours going?
Thanks Caz! this is such an inspiring post. Being a newcomer on the travel blogging industry is hard, it’s hard to find your place, let alone discover your own voice – it’s very challenging but I’m happy to have you guys here as support and inspiration!
I’m a big fan of your blog and I must say hearing these words from you is quite reassuring. We’ll work hard as you said!
The first place to start is discovering your own voice. It does take some time,but is so important as this will be the thing that makes you different from others.
Thank you for your positive words about what we do here! We wish you all the best, you will do really well.
Hello
I have been following your blog for while.Each article is worth and so do this article.I too am new to travel blogging,probably the first travel blogger in Nepal.I really appreciated your article of support and encouragement for new travel bloggers.
Thank you so much.
Wow! First travel blogger in Nepal. You are in a perfect position. You know travel blogging is really not that big in Australia which put us in a great position. Run with it. You will do really well Sunil
Caz, what a lovely post. This blog continues to be an inspiration for me and I really appreciate how genuine you two are. I started blogging just for a laugh, but seeing all this success around me allows me to dream big too! Keep it up 🙂
Dream big roy! You are doing so well with your blog and you have found a definite niche with it. I love all your drawings. Keep going you are doing awesome!
Hi Caz,
Thanks for the inspiring and wonderful words. It does feel like getting an advice from a mummy though 🙂 U have revive my spirit in writing and make me believe AGAIN that my dream of traveling the world is not impossible. Thanks for acknowledging new travel bloggers 🙂
Ha Ha! Maybe my mummy blog is transferring over here. Have you seen my “mummy” or personal blog http://MojitoMother.com
Your dream of travelling the world is there because you are meant to live it, and it can be so easily done. So glad I could help boost your spirits. Keep moving forward!
Thank you for writing this! It does get discouraging watching so many bloggers know what they want, make a plan & succeed when I don’t really know where I want to go with my blog, even though I’ve been blogging for almost 2 years. It’s nice to have this reminder that it’s ok to not have it all figured out yet. I love how positive you guys always are. Congrats on accomplishing so many of your goals!
Thanks Ali! Blogging is in constant motion so what you thought you wanted at the beginning can change along the way. It is hard figuring it out but just keep asking the right questions and the answers will find their way to you. You’re doing great Ali! and look what blogging brought you- a lovely husband!!
Caz and Craig! Thanks fort eh loads of advice in this post! It is great to know, others feel the same way, and have gone through the ups and downs with their blogs.
Thank you
eva
The path to success is a roller coaster ride. It’s all part of it, so it is very normal to feel on a high one day and a downer the next. If you don’t quit then you can’t fail.
Thank you so much for your inspiring words. Today I really needed to hear them as I have been doubting myself and the decisions I have made.
Two months ago I left my full time job because I could not stand working in a job that was so stressful, where I didn’t feel appreciated for my hard work and that made me so unhappy. I had no other job lined up I just new that I had to pursue this passion for travel that I had and that I was not prepared to wait any longer.
So I have been on a mission to somehow make a full time job out of traveling and apart of that is creating a travel blog/website so I can share my love of travel and the knowledge I have gained from my travel adventures with others so I can inspire and help others to travel.
However, of late I have been doubting whether I am just being silly in thinking I can make a living from this and have been starting to wonder what direction I am heading in, whether what I want is even achievable or even a realistic dream and what others might think or say. But your words and hearing about your success has made me realise that I can achieve my dreams and really anything that I put my mind to I just have to have faith in myslef and need to believe that I can do it! After all, your dreams are what you make them to be!
It is really great knowing that I am not alone in what I am feeling or doing and that there is a wonderful commuity of like-minded people out there who are willing to share and help each other.
Caz, thank you again for helping me believe in myself again. I am sure I am not alone in saying that your words have just helped many people to continue working towards and believing in their dreams!
I’m so glad I could help you Cally, and I can understand your fear. Focus on what feels right in your gut, ignore your head and what others are doing. Keep moving forward. You are not silly for believing in your dream The questions are there to help guide you to know what you need to do next and what you are working towards.
Good luck with it all!! There is good community of people willing to help and share. It rocks!
Hi Caz,
I am a silent reader but this post really compelled me to comment! You are absolutely right about the critical need to define what you want to achieve from a blog. I’m travel blogging for over four years now but it’s my hobby and I can only devote certain amount of time to it. I know it’s very different for folks who want their websites to do more than that, but that’s not my objective so thankfully I never felt intimidated or overwhelmed. I have tremendous faith in blogging, because unlike organisations and their corporate missions, bloggers are real people, with real stuff, who can give you honest advise. Thanks for posting this!
cheers,
Priyank
Hi Priyank! Thank you for being a silent reader and for jumping out to comment. We so appreciate you. I love what you say about bloggers, it is so so true. That is why I love it as well. Putting the humaneness back into the world that has been run by corporations for too long
Wow. Thank you so much for writing this! While I love blogging and spend a lot of my time doing it, I sometimes find it disheartening. Frustrating. And, at times, silly. Sometimes I catch myself thinking What am I doing here? Am I just wasting my time? But then I remember that if something makes me happy it’s not a waste of time. No matter of few or many people read my blog. And stats? ARGH! The stress!!
It’s the self promotion stuff that I have the hardest time with. I don’t want to seem fake or even worse, spam-y. But you are right, what other people think about me isn’t my problem! I love the honesty that comes with blogging and your post just reminded of the fact.
Thank you very much.
Brianna
http://cobblestonestreets.wordpress.com/
Don’t worry I still have those days, even today was a bit of a one. I think it just comes with the territory. As long as you believe in what you do you’ll work through the down days and as long as you love it. If you don’t love it then it is pretty difficult and you will probably soon quit.
You have a story that is worth promoting. Other people need to hear your voice, you never know just how you might change their life.
A while ago I came across this and thought how perfect, it gave me permission to just be me, and your post reminded me of these words. Thank you so much for caring and giving so freely. I do dream big, and play big and my blog will one day be a way to inspire others to take life on. ciao for now lisa
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 10.24.11 | 7:09 AM ET
The travel writer and long-time editor of the AAA magazine for Northern California died recently at 73. Over at Gadling, Don George has a lovely tribute to his friend and colleague, and to the power of great travel writing:
[Lynn] infused her pieces with the wonder that was at the core of her life’s journey, with the big-heartedness, big-mindedness and sense of limitlessness that graced her days—and that graced all of us who knew her. She brought these gifts to her writing, she dared to reach far and dream big in her stories—she dared to write about the meaning of life. And because she did so, she touched all of us in big, and deep, ways.
This is what we all need to do as travel writers, I think now. We need to dream big, think big, fling out filaments that tie our travels to a wider perspective. Our work matters only as much as we make it matter, and we need to write pieces that matter. We need to honor ourselves and our readers in this way. We need to honor the act of writing and the act of connecting—connecting with the world when we travel, and connecting with our readers when we write. In the same way that we look for the interlocking pieces of the whole, we also need to be those pieces—we need to interlock, article to article, reader to reader, becoming a part of the vast puzzle we seek to understand and replicate.
It’s a high and daunting calling—and thank god for that. Why waste our days aiming low and taking no chances?
i love this Lisa! Thank you so much for sharing this. Gives us all something bigger to believe in and aspire to. We all have amazing jobs as travel bloggers/writers
Great post! I’m inspired by your blog and your lifestyle. What impresses me most about the successful travel bloggers is how much time they put into their blogs, particularly by writing real, authentic posts on a regular basis. For me, the hardest thing is work preventing me from putting the time I want into my blog. Hopefully soon I can devote more than summer vacation to travel.
blogging takes up a lot of time, and we publish pretty much daily so its’ manic. I know what its like to have a job get in the way, It sucks! All you have to focus on is doing the best you can from where you are.
Caz, thank you – for the time you took to think deeply about how encouraging your text would be, for the time you took to write out this positive and supportive post, and for the encouragement I’m sure people will get from reading your post.
My pleasure Henry. I know what it’s like so anything I can do to encourage and support. sometimes you just need others to give you that boost.
Hear, hear! I agree whole-heartedly Caz! Well said. cheers, Lash
Our pleasure Lash and thank you for always being a positive and encouraging person
I really appreciate this post. With just over a year under my belt, I still consider myself quite the newbie. Still trying to figure out what exactly I want from my site and how to get it there. Great to hear some advice and get your support!
Always our support Stephanie. And your blog is doing really really well. I always enjoy reading your posts and your photos are outstanding. Keep on going
Inspirational words of wisdom Caz. You guys have really set forth and conquered and I think the best is yet to come. You two are exactly what we love about travel blogging. You have developed a sense of community around yourselves and something that we aspire to replicate. Well done with your success and we wish you both even more riches in the future.
Thanks Ant! You and Elise are doing an amazing job as well- always so positive and encouraging. It is so awesome to see so many people being that way. It’s what life should be about.It’s too short not to be
Thank you Caz – such a great post – as a newcomer to blogging this has been invaluable – a great site with great insight. Looking forward to reading it all – better than a book. Happy travelling.
Thank you Francesca! such a positive thing to say. I have a post coming out soon about a travel book I have been writing for 2 years. I am umming and ahhing over whether it is something I really want to do so your comment right now has been quite helpful and in alignment with some of my thoughts.
Inspiring post, as always! I never understood the bloggers that have an inferiority complex. Even though we are extremely busy, we still answer every email and link exchange request from other bloggers. I say, “treat others how you want to be treated” and you can never go wrong.
I totally agree Christy. I think sometimes if I don’t reply to someone it’s usually because it has gotten lost and I’ve forgotten. That is why I love it when someone sends me a reminder if this happens.
Oh Caz, I’m so glad you wrote this. It’s such a shame reading all the negative articles that are currently swirling around. Your advice is spot on: work out what you want to do and try to do it. I also agree that very often, people are not being arrogant or unhelpful, they’re just swamped. Like you, I’d love to comment more and promote other people’s work but (even without two children!) there’s simply not the time to do it all.
Thanks Abi. It is really hard to find the time to do everything. I’m so swamped every day just with emails. But we really want to do as much as we can so we choose to lose a couple of hours sleep so we can reply to our emails and comments left on blogs. I think that most people are pretty good at that. Except for Oprah!
Great read, Caz, as always. Thank you for the encouragements!
Our pleasure Adrian!
Your post is very inspirational to me. I recently felt the love for blogging and discovered it is actually harder than I thought. Nevertheless, i have a firm belief that if a person has the passion and desire to share about a particular subject, it only comes natural to write about it!
Agree 100% Galia
Hey Caz!
I have to say that this post is so wonderful! Now that I’ve been blogging for about a year and have gone through some of the motions of it, I’ve learned a lot about it in terms of how to be successful, but also how to be REAL and how to tell the difference between bloggers that are REAL and those seem to have that missing.
I’m excited for all new travel bloggers to read this post b/c its sure to inspire some REAL people to get into the niche, share their amazing stories, land their BIG goals, and a whole lot more.
Cheers to being a driving force in people’s lives you guys!
– Lauren 🙂
Aw thank you Lauren. What a lovely comment. I was listening to a podcast the other day which spoke about how you have to be in this because you have a greater mission to make a difference. If it is just for the money- forget it, you won’t last. We just want to have a supportive and encouraging community
What a journey you’ve had! I love blogging as it allows me to travel all over the world even when I can’t hop on a plane. I get very excited when I hear people are starting to blog as it’s brought me so much unexpected joy and benefits. I want everyone to experience that!
The main message I want to give people about blogging is just get started and stick with it:)
I think that is the key! Don’t give up and you can’t fail. There’ll be tough times, but the light is at the end of them
Nice advice for people diving into the game =)
😀 Thank you for sharing positively, beautifully, and authentically. Your perspective and passion are changing the world and you are creating a legacy that you can be very proud of 🙂
And this is post is getting bookmarked to return to repeatedly 😉
Thank you so much Jordan! That means a lot to hear that
Thank you, Caz, for an inspiring post. I just quit my job and am moving to Bali next week to pursue my goal of bringing American teachers to Indonesia for a mutually educational and cultural experience. Having done this myself last summer, I can say it was a true mind-blower that I really want to share with others. Now the trick is using my blog to drive SOME sort of business that can help me realize this dream.
Your post addresses the great big questions I need to keep asking myself as I travel down this new path.
Thanks again, and safe travels to you and your family!
Congrats Heather on your big move. That is really exciting and I love how you are going for your dream. It is so scary when you do it, but if you believe in it and are passionate about it, you will make it work.
All the best with it and let us know how it all goes
Wow .. i almost laughed out when i read the post. Not because it was particularly funny but because Pawel and I had just spent the last 2 hours discussing and asking ourselves where exactly do we want our blog to go! and what should it be.. cos it seems like we’re heading nowhere right in spite of all the effort. And then I read your post. It’s almost like you were writing specifically to us 🙂
I know sometimes all you need is some perspective and just stepping back to remember why you started all this in the first place. But sometimes when all you’ve been doing is trying to get somewhere and it only gets further and further away from you, it gets disappointing! But thats why we love blogging about travel right? Cos no matter how you feel about the work involved in blogging, you’re never gonna hate the “travel” part of it!
Thanks again Caz!
That’s right! The travel part to it makes it very enjoyable and attractive. At least you have the travel side when the blogging gets a little overwhelming. That is why you have to take a step back from it sometimes to regroup and refocus.
Wow, thank you Caz for writing such an inspiring post! I’ve only had my blog up and running for 6 months so I’m definitely a newbie to travel blogging but the line that really spoke to me was “Even if you are crawling you are still moving forward.”
Sometimes I feel like things are happening sooooo slowly and I find myself worrying about what other people are doing and what I should be doing when really I just worry about what I WANT to do.
You’re right about being yourself also; I’m only now starting to come to terms with being myself on my blog and not getting too bogged down with how people will perceive me. People follow people at the end of the day.
You guys are so inspiring, thank you!!
Our pleasure Beverly! We are all here to help each other. We were crawling this week but that was okay, it’s all part of it. Sometimes you sprint, sometimes you crawl and all with good reason. Just be yourself, that is all people really want!
Caz, you are so inspiring. We are fairly new to the travel blogging world, and are still working to find our specific niche and finding different and unique ways to use our strengths through words. Whenever I need encouragement or inspiration, I can count on your blog to do that for me. Keep doing what you do!
Thank you so much Dayna! We are so happy that we can help keep you focused on what you want to achieve. Keep working hard, you are on the right track, it is all about finding your strengths and what is unique about you
I love your blog, and I LOVE this post. I just started blogging, and though it does feel a bit overwhelming at times, I am really excited for the future. Because no matter what, I am doing what I love and having fun! This post was so positive and encouraging, and it really does mean a lot coming from a “big” blog like yours. Thanks a lot!!
That is the main thing. You have to love what you do. you send so much positive energy out in the world when you do which just comes back to yuo in so many ways. We are always happy to help others out. We know what it is like to be starting out.
Caz, you are so inspiring! thanks for sharing those words. My fiance and I are a young full-time sailing couple and travelers, we started blogging a number of months ago and our traffic has steadily increased. Regardless of our little success, it is so great to read your words, which in a way give me a feeling of keeping it real. We travel because we love people, so why ever change that! Thank you so much! And I will work on our self-promotion, which still makes me feel weird every time we mention our blog.
Thanks
Sorry it has taken me so long to reply Cayetana! Your reply got lost in there.
The self promotion thing takes a lot of time to get used to it, but as long as you have value to share then why hide yourself away.
Enjoyed this Caz, even as a not-so newbie blogger. You could even take away the word “Blogger” and replace it with just about anything and the message would still apply.
Happy Holidays to you and your family!
This is the post I enjoyed the most the last couple of months, I think! Thanks a lot for this.
As a newbie travel blogger – my blog is just 8 weeks old – I found this post extremely helpful. I love how open and giving you are with your blog, you really are an inspiration 🙂
Thanks so much Hannah! I hope you enjoy the ride. It is a lot of fun
Just stumbled across this and wanted to say thank you! I’m still trying to find my voice and purpose as a blogger, and this is a truly inspiring piece!
Our pleasure Taryn! Thank you for stumbling upon it. Keep working on your blog you will soon discover your voice and purpose. Listen to your heart and gut- not your mind
Great post again Caz! I think persistence is really important here. I’ve been blogging for more than a year now and believe me my stats is the same exactly like 9 months ago! Hilarious right? But at the end of the day, I’ve realised that stats do not count. I keep on writing and sharing my travel experiences – that’s what I enjoy doing most!
I so agree! You have to learn to forget checking the stats and focus on what you really love doing
Hey Caz
I’m new to travel blogging and I am really grateful for your insight. It’s amazing how far you and Craig have come in 18 months… congratulations! I can only hope that Steve and I are even half as successful as you guys in a year!
I’ve been apprehensive and unsure about my blogging up until recently but I find that with each post I gain confidence and come closer to finding my “voice”. I think it’s difficult to find direction in an industry where the future is unpredictable… I guess it’s about trusting in what you are doing, and, rather than waiting to see what happens… helping to SHAPE what happens!
Great blog. Steve and I (fellow Aussies) would love to have a beer with you and Craig someday!
Cheers, Madeline
“helping to SHAPE what happens!”
I love that! I think that is really the key. Sorry for my delayed response, I have only just seen this come through!!
The more you write the more confident you will get with finding and using your voice.
We are always up for beers Madeline!
What an amazing blog!!!! Thank you for being an inspiration! My boyfriend and I will be starting our adventure in New Zealand in 4 days and are starting a travel blog for the first time. I believe in you and what you are doing. Keep on dreaming AND living your dream (which you are doing already)!!! Happy Travels,
Jessica Goto
So exciting Jessica!! New Zealand is amazing. Here’s a link to all our posts we’ve written about it in case you need some inspiration or advice
https://www.ytravelblog.com/category/destinations/oceania/new-zealand/
You will have such an amazing time! Enjoy it and sharing about it in your blog
THANK YOU. Those words and advice and especially the reassurance that there are others out there thinking and feeling the same thing is so comforting!
We’ve been blogging for almost a year now and have at many times felt discouraged because as you said – the stats can be discouraging, getting ignored can be disheartening, being asked by corporations who just want some linkback from our site for free can be maddening.
However, when we think about the root of why we are doing this, we feel better. We want to share and inspire through our stories. If that means we inspired just ONE person to take that step to travel or to take that extra step to seek an adventure on their trip, I consider us successful in our goal. Then we work towards bigger and bigger goals but I understand that’ll take time and patience. Your words and advice here is just what those of us who are hitting this “wall” needs to keep going.
So, THANK YOU, for giving a guiding light to this sometimes dark path to achieving our goals!
Pleasure Shirlene! It is so not easy, but stay focused on those things that matter- making a difference in the lives of others. Always make it about your JOY. It’s hard not to get swept up in the stats and the making of money, but try to let that go as much as you can
Hi Caz
As a newbie blogger who has been following you guys for a long time, thanks for still keeping it real and being so open. Cant thank you enough for all the advice you give in this awesome post. You guys are legends!!
Always our pleasure Anna and thanks for letting us know. Enjoy the wild and make sure you are enjoying your travels and sharing what you love about them. You can’t lose that way.
Caz, I may be a person of few words (at times), but please believe me when I simply say that this post is very inspirational to me. I will be following your blog for a long, long time to come. SUCH GOOD ADVICE.
Thank you Nate! I so appreciate you.
The more I read on your site the more I like it. It is very good to hear encouraging words from such successful bloggers. I guess it is true that people who put others down (in many ways) can be found in any walk in life. I have been discouraged before, but I am still here and happy to be a travel blogger, especially when there are supportive fellow bloggers like yourselves out there. Thanks for the encouraging blog.
Thank you Jan. You have to learn to not listen to the naysayers and just believe in what you are doing.
Couldn’t have read this at a better time. I just realized this is what I want to do and just launched my blog… and reading such an inspiring piece makes me think I’m taking the right path. Thanks and cheers, Caz!!
Awesome Luis! Good luck on your journey and enjoy the path- it is a wild ride!
Just wanted to leave you a little note of..awesome. Good on you both and thanks very much for sharing the wisdom, along with the stories.
Happy trails!
You are welcome Denea and thank you
I just read this today (way too late I know). But hey, there’s no such thing as too late to learn or read good stuff, isn’t it? As a travel blogging newbie, I can say that I can relate to many things that you mentioned above. How I felt when I first started my travel blog, how I compared it to others, how I worked so hard to become better than others. But then at the end of the day I was so fatigue and consumed with it. Then I know that it’s not how it is supposed to be. When I first started my blog all I wanted to do was sharing my experience, stories and pictures of great places that I’ve been to. I want to tell my readers “hey, there’s this cool place. Pack your bag and go see yourself!”. So now after finding out my inner peace and the true reason why I blog, I have started to enjoy it again.
About some people who told us that we won’t succeed in what we’re doing, I happen to remember one article in Paulo Coelho’s blog about people with ‘crab mentality’. They are the ones who always drag us down by saying you can’t do that just because they couldn’t do that. Oh boy, I feel sorry for them actually.
At last, I hope more and more bloggers read this post of yours. So inspiring and eye-opening! Thanks for sharing.
Crab mentality sucks! You can never say what someone else can do based upon your own experiences. You never know a person’s motivation, who they know, where they come from, what their skills are etc. That is why I love to offer advice and help, but also encourage and support. It’s not about why you can’t do something, its about why you can!
Enjoy the ride Bama
Thanks so much fro all these great tips Caz and Craig – you’re so inspiring and encouraging, love you guys!
Thank you Lucy! Appreciate it
Keep coming back to your site and truly enjoying reading it and in this particular case, this may be an older post, but considering that I’m in the process of developing my travel website & blog, it was helpful and inspirational to keep me focused on the basics again. I am doing the website because I am passionate about exploring the world and would like to share it with others and encourage them to do the same.
Thanks so much Dave! We really appreciate it. I thik you have a powerful motivation there!
Just want to thanks caz for sharing his experience because i am new to this business and your blog teaches me a lot.
Hei. Great tips and advice and thx for the motivation..
Wow!! This is about so much more then just traveling. I love your view of life, your passion and your drive. I wish you the best. Your really special, and most of all, your makeing a change in the world.
Wish you the best!
Thank you Boggie! I hope so
Hi Caz,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write this post and keeping things positive. I’ve just started a blog myself and feel like there’s a bit of resentment from the bigger bloggers towards newbies. I feel like screaming “Just because you’ve been doing it longer than me doesn’t make my blog any less valid or interesting than yours!” I’m glad some people, like yourself, are welcoming of new bloggers into the community.
Thanks again,
Bethaney
I will never forget what it was like starting out and what it is like now. It’s hard work and you need support from those who are where you want to be. Someone to help you keep moving forward.
I want nothing but the best for everyone and I belivee there is plenty of room for everyone. We just have to find our own little space and we can help each other to do that.
We want our community to be just like we experienced travelling. Friendly, fun and accepting.
Don’t worry about those who make you feel bad. Use them as motivation to do a kick ass job and have the last laugh!
Great words Caz! I knew it would be hard work starting our blog months ago and I know I still have a long way to go – but I have big dreams and big goals of location independence with my husband. I know I will get where I want to be, but the occasional inspiration helps!
Everyone needs the inspiration. I had to grab hold of it from somewhere yesterday. The challenges will come all the time, it helps if you have big goals, a belief and support people. Sounds like you are on the right track CAroline. And with a name like that of course you would!
Great post Caz. I felt like you were speaking straight to me. Thank you so much for support us newbies in this way. We are very lucky indeed.
Always my pleasure. I know what its like and this is the best way I know how to support at the moment.
Sometimes, the perspective of a total stranger who knows nothing about you but has powered up their dreams in the way you aim to, refills the sails and makes it seem do-able. Timely. Thanks.
My pleasure and thank you. I appreciate that a lot.
I’m way late to this… just found your blog and have learned about you guys with the new Business of Blogging Facebook group but wow, such good-hearted, good-spirited advice and covers aspects I’ve never read about travel blogging in any post online… about how to stay true to yourself while hopefully of course connecting with readers on your ‘blogging couch’ – love that term. Made my day, may have to come back and read when I need a lift. Thanks much.
Thanks so much Molly. Awesome to meet you through the group. You are being really active which is awesome. Networking is a huge huge part of blogging.
This was a great post and one that I found very inspiring. Having built and sold one blog (thedividendguyblog.com) and now working on another passion with my new travel site I liked your thoughts on goals. My first blog started simply out of a passion and grew into something very viable. I think it was because it was about me. But I think it could have been much bigger if I set clear goals for it from the outset. So be it.
I hope to grow my new site into something that people value, while staying true to who we are as a family. Thanks for the words of encouragement (even though you were not speaking directly to me – it just felt like you were!).
Jeremy
My pleasure Jeremy. Your new blog sounds great and if your passion is behind it I am sure you will do really well. Plus you have a head start in knowing what you are doing 🙂
Hi Caz – Appreciate the doze of inspiration you just injected into our daily blogging routine. Love it. And in the end, it’s about authenticity. You comment above re: “Who do you think you are to hide yourself away?” reminded me of another quote from Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frighten us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be?”
I think about this often. And I hope this helps others as well.
I love that quote! It’s one of my favourites that I live by and am doing my best to teach my children- sorry not teach my children- not let them forget it! Babies are born with that light and carry it for many years before society stamps it out. We’re trying not to let that happen
How awesome are you guys? Thanks for a great post. I love your karmic sense and no doubt this has been a key to your success.
I can’t wait to read your blog inside and out and can’t believe it’s taken me all this time to discover it!
I’m also planning on sending you a guest post – I have a few to share from experiences in South America, Egypt, and Italy, particularly Sicily. I’ll be in touch!
Ciao!
Thank you Dianne. I am a big believer in Karma. You get back what you give out. Thanks for finding us and we’d love a guest post from you
What I love most about this is how genuinely lovely you sound and I really can feel how strongly you believe in being yourself and respecting others! 🙂 You are right, gratitude is key!
We don’t plan on monetizing our blog (for now, but never say never!), really it is just for family and friends to share in our adventures but having some other people read it is really an amazing bonus that we are always grateful for! We have other plans to fund our location independent lifestyle but we will hopefully use our blog to drive traffic to those other causes and projects 🙂
Thanks for this great uplifting post!
I found your blog through Travel Junkette and then this blog post title grabbed me right away. Thank you for so kindly sharing your experience, encouragement, and wisdom.
My pleasure Juliann! Thank you for finding us!
Hey Caz, wow. Not just at the post, but the conversations it has triggered. This page is a virtual mine for newbie bloggers like my husband and I. And I love how you’ve stressed on the whole point of all of this – keeping it personal and real, and therefore relevant. As a reader, I’m always looking for real stories, real experiences. Those impersonal top 20 places kind of posts just don’t compare. And that’s what my husband and I have been struggling with on our blog. About how to keep the balance, and not go too personal into our experiences at the cost of being irrelevant to readers. So then we try to infuse the lessons we’ve learnt into our destination guides for other travelers. And there’s so much we’re learning everyday, we make mistakes, but then we dust ourselves off and get up again! Thank you, for furthering our belief that there is still hope for non-commercial content and that we don’t need to sell out and turn into brands to get our message out there.
Thanks Revati. It is hard to keep the balance but the more you do it the better you’ll be able to find your own groove an dthe balance. I think your readers watn the inspiration and information but they also want a little of your story and personality as well. That’s the glue that keeps them coming back
Thank you so much for the post! I feel like YOU are speaking words straight out of MY heart! I’m not a newbie blogger , but I am a newbie “trying to make something out of the blog that I’ve worked on for a year and a half.” It’s true that your blog can be whatever you WANT it to be! My blog was just for me, my friends and family while I was traveling. Now, I want it to be my resume of writing, storytelling and hopefully a little inspiration. It seems daunting sometimes when you see just how many blogs are out there, but I think you’re right in that if you love it and keep at it, something good will come of it.
You guys seem like such awesome down to earth people. Keep it up!
Thank you Andrea! We try to stay down to earth because it’s the funnest place to be!! It’s awesome you want to take your blog to a different place now. It is a really good space for a resume and the options are endless as to where it can take you. You just have to have eyes wide open. Enjoy the ride!
This is pretty inspirational. A very nice read. I am also very new to all of this so am trying to figure it out. Made me think that it can be done with enough determination and focus!
Thanks
Simon
Thanks Simon. Two years ago we started only with that and it hasn’t left us. That is 95% of the battle one. With it anything is possible. Good luck!!
Thats like a complete guide book for anyone! What a cool post, even though I have been blogging for close to 3 years now, still felt so good on reading this.
Will direct anyone who is new to blogging to this post for sure!
Thanks so much Arti!
I love you guys you are such an amazing inspiration. Thank you thank you thank you!
Ahh guys, I love this post! Everything you’ve said here is so true. I’ve been blogging since late 2010 but that was only sporadic, and I’ve only been regularly posting (i.e. with a schedule) since the new year. It IS a lot of hard work and things don’t happen overnight. Patience is needed. I’ve seen so many people quit, so many neglected blogs, because success wasn’t instant. I’m keeping at it because it’s my dream and it better damn well work out! If it doesn’t….well, at least I’m doing something I love.
You guys are the best when it comes to motivation and I know your sincerity is admired so much by me and others in the travel blogging world. Big names with big hearts. Keep on inspiring! 🙂
Thank you Tom! We know what it feels like to start with nothing and to grow so we always want to support and encourage others. Life is so much better when you do that anyway!! I think if you love it, it is easier and you feel like you are having success anyway. IT’s all about how you feel
Travel is the best thing you can ever wish for 🙂 and I love everything about travel 🙂 what other blogs you can recommend for me?? I just came a cross one – Tour America Blog – http://www.irishtravelclinic.ie/ read it and tell me what do you think 🙂
Hey Caz,
I really enjoyed reading this. It was very moving because it is so true. it’s so hard not to compare yourself with others. I need to just stick with my own niche and trust in my voice. Thanks for this, best, Leif
Hey Caz,
Just read this post.
It’s almost a year after you posted it, in the same month that I said to myself to start and keep blogging 🙂
It’s almost a year, and I think that I still relate in what you wrote.
My reason to blog in the beginning to NOT to let go what I’ve experienced in my life (especially travelling), but to put it in a blog.
Sometimes I lost my focus, like worried to much about my stats, I worried to much about what people will think about my post, and everything …
But at the end, this is my blog, and I can do whatever I want with my blog, and then of course enjoy the process 🙂
Thanks for reminding me 🙂
My pleasure Timothy! I’m so glad that this post is still helping people so long after I wrote it. Sometimes I need to pay attention to the words myself!!
Gosh Caz, what a lovely post! I’ve been working my butt off fr the last week making the transition from my.wordpress to my .com site. It is a HUGE amount of work, like you I have two small children, I’ve been waking at 1am, so excited about my new website that I just had to get up and get stuck into it, 6 hours later, when the boys wake up, I’m still sitting at the computer. But you know what, I’m loving every second of it, it feels good, not like work at all. After being a full time Mum for 5 years it’s actually great to be using my brain. Next year we are out of here, travelling indefinitely. I KNOW I can generate some sort of income by then, no matter how small, every little helps. I guess I should aim high!
Thanks Caz, Alyson, Queensland (for now!)
That’s awesome Alyson. I think the secret to it all is KNOWING. Once you understand that the rest comes so much easier- although still requiring a lot of work. I think it’s awesome that you are up at 1am to work on your passion. Very inspiring to me as I have been struggling to get up at 5am lately and hitting snooze too many times!! Thank you for the swift kick up the butt.
Where are you off to on your travels?
As many places as possible Caz, we will probably start in SE Asia, somewhere we can get a very cheap flight to from Darwin, Bali maybe, and just keep going. My husband and I did a 12 month RTW before we had kids so we’re not too uptight about planning, we’ll just go wherever feels right, Asia has always been my favourite, particularly India and Nepal,I’d love to do a bit of Himalayan trekking with the kids. My 2 big want-to-sees are Burma and Bhutan, never been to either, I’ve not fully checked out your site, so I don’t know if you’ve been, too busy worrying about e books and affiliate links right now, but I will!..I slept in, it’s 3am today!
I tried to comment once already , but I had a laptop meltdown! I loved reading every word of your post though, so I thought I’d try again!
These are really inspirational words that really made me feel good about finally finding the courage to put my writing out there. My blog is less than a week old, so I’ve a long way to go. Thanks for helping me believe I can do it.
HolidayAddict
I’m so glad it helped you!! IT takes a lot of courage to put your writing out in the world for everyone to read and critique. It gets easier with each new publication. You can do it and enjoy the ride!!
btw Hate those lap top melt downs
I just started my blog so thank you for all of this advice! I totally know what you mean with looking up to certain people (other travel bloggers) who are so much bigger than you that they don’t give you the time of day. It hurts!
My pleasure Ashley!! Unfortunately there will always be people who think that they are a little too good to reach out a hand of help or friendship to those up and coming. Sometimes they might be strapped for time, but I think it is pretty easy to often just even say hi! Don’t you worry about them though. Don’t let them impact upon your life, just decide to hang around those who uplift, inspire and encourage. And let the ones who aren’t so nice motivate you to kick arse!!
I started my travel blog not too long ago and I’m loving the support I’ve been given by the community. everyone i’ve experienceed so far has been super supportive and tries to help each other as much as they can. I’m glaad that you’re part of this great community and are supporting us in ways you can’t even imagine. Thanks
Thank you for this inspiring post! I too have just started blogging, I had been thinking of doing it for a long time but never knew how to start, so taking the first step of actually starting up was already a lot for me. I love doing it, even though I don’t know where it’s going yet. It’s so easy to feel intimidated from time to time, with all those well-established blogs already out there but that shouldn’t keep me from moving forward. Reading this was exactly the kind of encouragement I needed! If I ever start to doubt myself again, I’ll make sure to re-read this post 🙂
Cheers from Holland!
As long as you love it Michelle then you’ll stick with it. You’ll handle the hard work and lack of money to begin with because its your passion. Please do come back and reread this post if you get stuck again- it is bound to happen. Trust me, I’m re-reading that post myself all the time 🙂
Dear Caz,
I am not a blog commentor, and I’m also a natural cynic, but I do want to say thank you for this post. A great thing that have in the back of mind and read and reread when things seem completely ridiculous. I have recently decided to do a lengthy trip, after an epiphany that why not now, it will only help me, both in my development and my ticking ta big thing off “the list”. I am setting up a blog (the attached is more of an experiment!) and feel that somehow this will lead me to the place i’m supposed to be in life! I want it enough for it to work. And on those dark days, I can have a read of this for a little boost! Maybe we’ll meet on the road?! Em x
That would be great to meet Me. I love hos you say you have a feeling that this will lead you to the place you are meant to be. Never ignore that feeling. I hope this post can continue to boost you and keep you on that path x
Some very encouraging and inspiring words there Caz. Thank you. I’ve only come across your site today but I can clearly see that you are living out your passion. Afterall isn’t that what life is about?
You make a very good point about the people who inspire you and who put you down. There is the old saying of not to hang around with negative people. It is too true and guidance for us all.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, I look forward to further updates.
It sure is. We make a huge effort to hang around only positive people. You often can’t avoid negative people as they could be family members or old friends but you have to try to build a wall up that filters out the negativity.
Thank you for this Caz, I just cried reading this. What an inspiring story. So many times I wanted to give up blogging because of everything you had described. At the moment, I am just expressing myself and not caring anymore about stats or followers or the brush offs and the rejections.
I am so glad I stumbled on your blog. Thank you.
Yeah, sometimes you have to let go of the blog stats, it can do your head in. I probably want to give up maybe once a week still, so it is very normal. It’s easy for me to not though as I think of the alternative, which is teaching. I despised waking up every morning to do that. One slight opening of that memory door and I’m back on the computer loving it again!
It must be a sign that I should keep up with my travel blog. The chances of me stumbling upon your blog and reading this post is relatively small (I say small, because today was the first time I decided to actually search for other travel blogs for inspiration).
Thank you for writing this post! It makes me feel so much better about having my blog and having fun with it even though I don’t have that many readers. I really appreciated the enthusiasm that you put into this post and the honesty. We always know that there is good and bad out there, but it makes me feel better to know that everyone goes through the same emotions when writing a blog, whether for business or just because.
I’m hoping to turn my blog into a business and am working on setting up my own site (I’m using blogspot at the moment) to help push me into expanding what I am doing now. My ultimate goal is to inspire others to travel when they can or for those who really can’t, give them the feeling like they are on vacation just by visiting for a moment.
So, what I wanted to say was….Thank you Caz and you now have a new follower!
V
Thank you V! I’m so glad you stumbled upon us. Blogging is an emotional roller coaster ride. But I wouldn’t ever want to be doing anything else. It is really worth it. Keep going with your blog. It takes time but you’ll get there
Hi Caz! I loved this post – not just for the inspiration but also for its honesty and straight-from-the-heart feel. I am a newbie – just two months into the world of blogging but, had already fallen into the ‘stats’ trap. I guess you just want to know if somebody really reads what you put out with so much thought and care.
As you said, it is a lot of hard work so, it feels good to see appreciative comments when you log in. That said, I think it requires a kind of crazy persistence to be at it. I feel the urge to write at 2 am even when I have a daughter to send off to school in a few hours from then. I was wondering how long this could go on and then I chance upon your post – you following your dream with hubby and two daughters. It just gives me the boost I needed. If you have the time, do visit my blog http://www.pixelvoyages.wordpress.com – would appreciate it.
So great to meet you Vibha. Blogging is all the more difficult when you have kids. KEep at it though, it’s so worth it
i have recently started visiting ytravelblog, and i can’t avoid coming back again and again. All the articles are superb 🙂
Great post. I love the part about gratitude, I think its so important to be grateful for all the good things that happen to you in life. The one thing I find hard to do is the self promotion bit, but hopefully in time I’ll feel a bit more comfortable.
You will start to feel more comfortable with it. I think if you look at it from the perspective that you have something valuable to offer your readers and they want to hear it, you will be okay about it.
My blog is less than a month old so this was a great read for me. I am very guilty of comparing myself against other people. I have to work really hard at not doing it – it comes all too naturally! Thanks again for the post 🙂
It is so easy to compare ourselves to others. I think that is all we have really been taught. School is great at it!! But we can retrain our minds so catch yourself when you do and force yourself to compare to how you were doing yesterday. Makes a huge difference
Wow, this post is incredible Caz! I absolutely love it and completely agree with everything that you are saying here. I’ve been starting to put more thought into my own personal travel/lifestyle blog and this is exactly the type of advice that I want to be reading. You have a kind soul and your words or encouragement are appreciated by me as well as anyone else fortune enough to come across this post 🙂 I hope to meet you one day!
Caz, this is an awesome post. I also agree that most people in this world are good!
I just launched my blog so it seemed appropriate to read this post when looking through your archives. It was following you and Wandering Earl on Twitter that first started the thoughts of me having my own travel blog so I am happy to finally be in that position.
You prove that if you fight for what you want you can get it.
That’s so awesome to hear Forest! Thanks for letting me know. I agree- the fight proves so much and brings it to you. I am sure your blog will bring you all loads of success!
Thanks Caz.
Hi Caz,
I’ve been reading ytravel for a while now, but this is the first time I’ve read this particular post. I just wanted to say that you come across as one of the nicest travel bloggers I’ve come across, and this post gives a total travel newbie like me something to smile about.
Hope you had a great new year and looking forward to seeing what you get up to this year.
Georgia
Thanks so much for the inspirational post Caz ! I love travelling and writing, and figured it’s about time I did something about it. I was looking for tips on travel blogging when I came across your site, and it really spoke to me. I’m sure I’ll be coming back for more.
Thank you so much for your honesty and your kindness to new bloggers.
My hubby and I have been travelling for 12 months and recently decided to turn my journal entries into a travel blog.
Before we left our ‘conventional’ life for a nomadic life, we turned to blogs like yours for our inspiration.
And now, we want to pay it forward and inspire others.
I’ve read a couple of negative posts lately about there being “too many travel bloggers” and “you cant make money from blogging so don’t bother” type posts. And while we are not ready to make money from blogging its nice to know that maybe down the track we can continue our nomadic life by earning a small income online.
This post has renewed my faith in the blogging community and in blogging in general.
We are fellow Aussies, which is why we were drawn to your blog 2 years ago.
Thank you for this inspiring post and for being so nice to newbies like us ☺
Nicole & Michael
Hi Caz,
Thanks for this great post. I wanted to ask if you knew of any newbie travel blogger groups? We are VERY new to this community and not sure where or how to start in ‘getting in’. So I thought maybe a group or two might be the key.
I feel like Ive been part of the community for years because Ive been following blogs (including yours) for so long. But its always been on the outside. Now that I am a ‘blogger’ Im not sure how to get in to this amazing community. Its like we are the new kids in school trying to make friends with the ‘cool kids’ lol
Any suggestions on newbie groups or how to make friends in this community would be so greatly appreciated 🙂
Thanks Caz!
Hi Nicole!
I don’t know of any newbie travel blogger groups actually. There’s a few travel blogger groups https://www.facebook.com/groups/travelbloggers/?ref=ts&fref=ts and https://www.facebook.com/groups/466415466709216/?ref=ts&fref=ts
You can join those and maybe ask if anyone knows of other groups. Just be warned in those groups they can bicker a lot. It’s not always a supportive community, but it can be helpful.
I’d say just keep interacting as best you can with other bloggers- twitter is really good for it. And if you can make any conferences or networking events go there to meet new people.
Thanks so much for your help Caz, greatly appreciated!
Awesome post, awesome insights, awesome motivation — you are so inspiring, Caz, and your have such a positive and warm spirit. Thank you!
I especially appreciate the part about self-promotion and viewing it as a celebration.
Sometimes I feel guilty when I post pics on our FB page of all the awesome things we see in our travels… but it’s just such an amazing lifestyle, I want others to know they can get out there and live this way too…
Mostly people respond really positively, but once in a while a person will respond (joking but not joking) that they’re jealous. And that makes me feel funny, because my intent is to inspire, not make people jealous.
Thinking of our sharing and blogging as a celebration will really help, because that’s exactly what it is…
Those incredible things are there for all to see….
I hope I can consistently motivate our followers the way you’ve motivated me…
It is such a hard one to work around Emily. I too don’t like it when people say jealous or I’m lucky, as I want them to know they can do the same thing and it is my reason for sharing in the first place. But, I do notice I sometimes say jealous when I see photos or hear stories from others, but it is more of an offhanded comment which says “I’d love to do that now, but I know I can’t for whatever reason, but at the same time I am really happy for you.” So I think if you focus on those who say jealous as coming from that angle.
Keep on posting the photos and inspiring because you will help more than those who will feel small (which is their issue)
I love these words from Marianne Williamson “It is by shining our own light that we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.” I have this as the motivation behind every thing I do. It is not our right to play small in order to make others feel better. That is not what we were born to do.
Keep shining your light Emily, the world needs it.
Another great post that literally took words and feelings from my own soul and put out there for the world to hear! I cried as I read because it is so ……….(can’t really find the right word) refreshing? encouraging? blessing? to hear someone say what I believe and have said for as long as I can remember. I am a new blogger but have basically been living a travel writer/photographer “life” my whole life. I just decided that since I turn 50 this year, it was time to turn my life into my dream job and make it a reality. People like you in the HUGE world of Travel Bloggers mean so much more than word can ever express. Self promotion is something that I have had to learn and attempt to do in getting my business going. I am not comfortable doing it but I am a quick study and good student! My goal is not to make any money, but to INSPIRE as many people as possible to travel and open their eyes to this incredible world around us. I know that building an audience is key in reaching and touching people and social media is a tool I am quickly learning to use. I am a Mother/Nurturer and positive promoter of everyone else, not me. I have to revert to my childhood and one of my favorite Sunday School Songs “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine” and take it literally! I want to shine from the inside out so others that see me will want what I have! To have you as a mentor and someone that understands me, my soul, and my spirit, is priceless! I cannot wait to meet you in person at TBEX next week. Don’t be alarmed when the blonde haired Grandma comes up to hug you and probably breaks down crying at the impact! The tears will be happy ones 🙂 http://www.TTsTrippin.com THANK YOU for living your dream passionately OUT LOUD for us!
Thanks for this encouraging post. I love the fact that you are willing to help out newbie travel bloggers as much as your time allows it. Not all of the more established bloggers would do that. I always put so much pressure on myself when I see how many followers other bloggers have or when I read tips from other bloggers how things should be done, and I am noticing that I am clearly not doing them. I started blogging because I love writing and because I love telling fun or compelling travel stories. I am not making any money with my blog-although it would be nice of course if I could eventually. 🙂 Your post hs shown me that I should listen more to my gut instinct and less to what other people are saying. Thanks! 🙂
Thanks Tammy! I truly believe we are all here to help one another. I know what it’s like to start out and we had so many people helping us. Always listen to your gut and follow your heart!
Be yourself on and offline… simple and valuable advice. After all, we’re humans behind the gravitar.
Yes and it is amazing how many people fail at this very simple thing. It’s far too much effort to try and be someone you are not.
You are a LEGEND! On behalf of everyone who needs that little motivational kick in the but, Thank you. You are an inspiration and a awesome role model. I also love that you are you and success has not swelled your head, cheers for that and keep killing it!
Our pleasure Jaryd. Thank you! We love being able to encourage and help others
Fantastic post!
I was directed here by Adam Costa of Travel Blogger Academy.
I stayed glued to your post from the beginning till the end and I am not disappointed.
Learnt a great lessons here. Keep it up please.
Thank you for coming on over Adelwale. So lovely to meet you.
Wow, really! You gave me the last push in the right direction!
Caz, thank-you so much for this post. As a newbie to the blogosphere and social media in general, advice like this is incredibly valuable. I am constantly obsessing over not only the new relationship I’ve developed with the computer but also like-minded folk. Have I done this right? Is this useful to others? What if people don’t like this? Seriously, my brain is on a roller-coaster as I try to remind myself that ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ and that I can’t expect to have everything working/looking/growing the I would like right this instant! At the end of the day, it’s traveling I love, and this is a means to share stories. It is so much fun even when I want to bang my head on the table from inexperience! Reading such a wonderful guide like this, reiterates why I love your writing. It’s honest and from the heart. You care about others and are willing to provide useful tips to help us along the way. I’m grateful to have found your blog, initially via twitter. Inspiring. Safe travels.
Thanks for the tips! I still call myself a new travel blogger eventhough I have started my blog about 4 years ago. Haven’t been working hard enough on it, and can’t seem to be able to spend enough time too!
“NEVER ever let anyone else determine the results you can have in your life. Only you know what you can do. Dream big. You deserve it.”
Thank you, Caz.
Pleasure! I truly believe that. I’d be still on the couch miserable if I followed others expectations of me.
I know mine is one of the thousands of comments but I want to tell u how inspiring and touching this is.
Besides the tips for the travel blog it can be applied in everyday life:
be yourself, follow your dream, don t care what others say, be useful. <3
Thaaaaannnnkkksss from a new blogger who is approching this amazing dream world and hopes one day to write tips herself =D I wish all a bright day!!
What a beautiful soul you have. I used to think positive attitude and thinking was just something people said to sell books. I finally realized that life is 90% mental. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect to succeed? If you can’t motivate yourself, how can you take action? Your blog and you and your family’s life is an inspiration to all of us. Thank you for sharing your story.
Great post and site! I for sure am struggling at the moment trying to figure out how to make my travel blog work and make money at it! I am not a creative writer and don’t really “love” writing like most, but I do love to travel and want to find a independent lifestyle to support it! Thanks again and I will continue to follow along!
Such great tips and thank you. Whilst it is tough in the super saturated market of travel blogging I find the hardest hurdle we have to make is to finding out our ‘why’ without self judging our opinions by the success of what other travel bloggers are doing. This can be related to anything in life. Cheers for the heads up
Hi Caz,
I only started with my travelblog and it’s very inspiring to get help, guideline and positive energy from you.
Are you planning to come to Mauritius? We partly live there – let’s meet!
great insight! thanks for all of the insight. just started a blog recently myself.
This is wonderful! I was a TA for 14 years, so I know travel inside out and backwards. I thought this would help me when starting my blog, and is has, because I do have such a passion for traveling, yet blogging is a whole different creature. I am still finding my footing, but your words are inspiration to keep being true to myself and my readers and it will all come together. Thank you!
I know this post is several years old now, but I just stumbled upon it, and I wanted to say thank you. It’s so encouraging to read these words. I have bookmarked this page and I’ll bring it out every time I feel a little down or frustrated. Thank you for being such a positive person.
Hi Caz,
Thankyou so much for this post. I am just in the very beginning stages of setting up my travel blog, and these are just the words I needed to hear. It is so easy to feel like this dream is impossible, especially when I’m really only still trying to figure out where I will fit into the travel blogging community. Im still trying to work out what kind of travel blogger I will be… I guess maybe the best is to stop thinking so much and just do what comes naturally.
Anyway, your positive words have lifted my spirits and inspired me. Thanks!
Thanks again! I will definitely be revisiting this article while setting up my blog 🙂
Thank you for this. It’s funny how you can be so encouraged and inspired by the words of a stranger, when people close to you just want to call you crazy and irresponsible. I’m going to be going through your blog looking for mentions of your kids. We have two of early school age and would love to “roadschool” them, but it’s amazing how some people are so ready to tell you that’s not fair on the kids, that they need the stability of a house that doesn’t move 🙂
Hi!
You are so positive and motivating. I opened my blogger account 3 days back and I am fortunate to read this post.
http://www.osomeoutingsfromboringbangalore.blogspot.com
You have convinced me to live my dream.
I Can And I Will.
Thank you a lot.
I love the idea of a travel blogging community of helping people and sharing bits and pieces of our lives. This is exactly what made us want to start our own blogging website, JadeandTom.com We decided to leave our lives in the U.S. and live abroad in Indonesia for as long as we can! It is the biggest and scariest leap of faith either of us have made in our whole lives! But despite the obvious concerns and fears about having little money and leaving what is safe and known behind, it feels so right. It is so great to read about other people’s travel experiences and attitudes towards life.
A passing traveler told me today that she doesn’t meet too many people who want to be a writer. That made me feel so great, because I know I am not like many people, but also a bit isolated and overwhelmed. But reading posts like yours helps me realize that we are not alone in wanting to explore the world and not to settle for anything less then our full potential of our dreams! Thanks:)
Hi Caz,
I know this is an older post but I just wanted to take the time to thank you for writing it. I’m starting a travel blog right now and I find it scary and difficult to put myself out there for the world to judge. I am so thankful I came across this post. Thank you for helping me remain positive and keep perspective. This is such an uplifting post, thank you dearly for sharing it.
Hi, I really did enjoy reading this and feel I have learnt a thing or two. Me and my partner have recently started blogging our travel’s (mainly for our family’s sake). But recently wondered if there was any chance we could take what we have been enjoying doing a little bit further. This is a great eye opener for me, thanks a lot!
Wow, such a great source for indie bloggers, many tips to keep in mind. Loved it.
SUCH an excellent post. and yes self promotion does feel super icky…. but to make a living and especially in the blogosphere, it’s completely necessary! So amazing to see everything you guys have achieved! Congrats! xx
THANK YOU for writing this! This is what I need right now.
Though I’ve been blogging for over a year, it is only this year that I decided to take it seriously. When I tell people of what I want to achieve with my site, some of them will tell me that it won’t work or that only people from 1st world countries can do it because of X factor which we don’t have. It’s discouraging but it reminds me that every great blogger starts out as a newbie, no matter where they are in the globe. Thanks again for this. Your hardwork definitely paid off! 😀
I think that (P.S.) is the most relevant thing and the reminder that got me through. It is your dream and your passion. It should be fun.
Thanks for a great post!
Very inspiring post, thank you Caz.
Thanks,
Daniel
Just discovered this blog and I think It’s awesome.. Keep up the good work. 🙂
Glad you found us. Happy travels!!
I can’t believe I am just now discovering your blog, but I guess as the saying goes, better late than never. I started a Pinterest board about my dream job as a travel blogger, a girl can dream. Oh what I would give to be able to do this full time. What you and your husband are doing and especially with the children in tow, is amazing and inspiring. In the past few months and I lost the urge to write. I love my personal blog that I have created, but I am finding myself in slump these days, not be inspired to add new content, until I read some of your blog. Keep up the great work; I look forward to reading more.
I’m so happy we could inspire you more Louise! Keep with it. It is a journey filled with highs and lows! I’m going to be running a webinar on the 6 steps from moving your blog to business in about two weeks, so stay connected. You can sign up to our Digital Lifestyle email community here so you don’t miss it. https://www.ytravelblog.com/digital-nomad-toolkit/
It’s amazing to see the inspiration you are for the huge new batch of travel bloggers out there in which I’m included. Definitely being ourselves is the key to everything.
This was a great read, thanks so much!
I’m just starting out with my blog and I’ve already read so much about the topic. All the do’s and dont’s are a bit overwhelming, but I am so thankful for it. Thank you for this post and for the one about wby you think the world needs more travel bloggers. Very inspirational and comforting for newbies like me. I just realised that I’ve spent the last 3hrs reading your blog alone and it’s way past my bedtime, but I can’t seem to get enough of the topic. I’ll be visting your site often. Thank you.
Hi Lindsy,
Haha, glad you found us and are starting the travel blogging journey. If you haven’t already, you can read about all our best tips and resources here: https://www.ytravelblog.com/blogging-tips-resources/
Ughhhh! YESS A MILLION TIMES! Thank you guys for being so real and authentic! I’m so so so proud of you guys for achieving your goal, for staying focused, and for believing in yourselves. Seeing your success makes my heart feel so warm, and I wish you the absolute best in everything you do.
ps. You shared one of my Pinterest pins on Tailwind a while ago, and that made me fangirl so hard haha!
Oh thank you so much Jamela!! We appreciate your support and enthusiasm for what we do! We hope you enjoy the journey and have just as much success.