18 Interesting things I have learnt in my 18 months of travel blogging

18 Interesting things I have learnt in my 18 months of travel blogging

Things learnt as a travel blogger: A lot I knew before but got to relearn/ be reminded of them.

1)God first, you can commit absolutely anything into His hands. Pray about it, seek His face, tell Him all about it, take Him along at every step of the journey.

2)Blogging is not synonymous to gossip: Sometimes, some particular passions/hobbies/careers tend to be associated with some negative nick names. For blogging, due to some news blog, spreading Information about people they might not necessarily want to be out in the public, we sometimes hear the notion:’bloggers are gossipers’. Just like we sometimes here:’lawyers are liars’. This is not true and we all can choose to change the narrative in our various fields and endeavors irrespective of the notions some people might have of them.

3)Brand deals/partnerships: Collaboration is super helpful and Important. You can leverage on these relationships by delivering value and getting paid gigs, discounts, promos, referrals and much more. It didn’t happen for me in the first week or first month, but as at today, I have landed a few brand deals and I am so grateful. Patience is another key factor here and not giving up. To view the brands I have worked with, click here

4)Patronize ,support other travel brands, promote other travel bloggers contents on their websites and  their social media contents: This is super Important and great. Yes, it is a principle that support and you will be supported. Also, there is this joy that sometimes comes from supporting others that can not really be explained in words. The Importance of supporting others cannot be overemphasized. I must acknowledge that I know the feeling, when you sometimes go all out to support some people in your network but they do not reciprocate when it is your turn,I have been there, but don’t let that discourage you. Gradually, we will continue to get our loyal fans and tribe members. It is also Important to say here that though it is good to make sacrifices, please be led and do not support to an extent that it will have a more negative come back to you in any way.

5)SEO: an Important tool for optimization. SEO is the tool that makes even people that have not heard of you before; discover you and your amazing contents

6)It is Important to attend events both virtually/physically: for networking, more knowledge, skills, collaborations, unwinding, relaxing,connecting etc.

7)Celebrate wins whether they seem small or big

8)Give back to your community: You don’t have to wait till you can afford to sponsor a loyal supporter on an all expense paid trip before you start giving back, you can start by promoting and patronizing their businesses, giving tickets to affordable tourist sites within your locality, gifting them merchandise, a travel book, a travel souvenir etc.

9)Writing does not have to be limited to just places you have visited: For Instance, I have written: how to start your website , a post like the one I am writing now, giveaway post, new service you are rendering post etc.

10)Guest post: This is also as a result of collaboration. For example, The Jumoke Smiley wrote a guest blog post on my website last year on Idere hills  and it is currently among the 3 blog post that have made it to the 1st page of google search engine has at the time of writing this article, the other two are: Ultimate Arena  and Jakeal house 

There is also another guest post: click here to read. I have also done a guest post on Erico’s blog, click here to read

11)It is possible to combine it with other passions, hustles, commitments etc. For Instance, In October, I did not release any blog post because most of my time was taken up by another program which I will hopefully share more about in my: 2021:Year In Review blog post. However, In September, I had up to 3 blog post because I got the opportunity too.

12)Be passionate about it so you can make it through in the long run, not give up, gradually monetize your passion if you want to etc. Being passionate about it will help you be consistent even when the monetary Investments made are not yet yielding monetary returns on Investment.

13)Promote your contents, on social media platforms, email lists,  you can also ask your network to share: An open mouth is an open destiny. This is one of the ways to get more people to know about the amazing contents you are creating, support you by reading and sharing and they also in turn get some value by getting some valuable free Information, opportunities etc.

14)You don’t have to compromise your values, faith etc. : Yes! and this is so valid. Travel and Tourism involves having fun, exploring, learning new things etc. However, there are some of the ‘fun’ and ‘enjoyment’ that  are not in accordance with my believe in Jesus Christ. I do not have to put myself under pressure to conform, feel among, get more fans, brand deals etc. There are many many ways of having fun, ticking items of my bucket list etc. without going against the doctrines I believe, abide in and practice. 

15)Overcome Imposter syndrome and take necessary steps: I remember dealing with Imposter syndrome and plenty what if’s before starting my blog/website. One beautiful day I just decided I was going to start anyway, now this is the 32nd article!!! So thankful.

16)Our journeys are different, your growth is Important, You aimed for  10k new IG followers and 10k cumulative blog post the 1^st 6 months and you didn’t get it, keep pushing do not give up, do not be discouraged.

17)It is hard work too, it is not just taking pretty pictures and putting some write ups above or below them(lol);You will draft,write, edit,analyse, use tools, promote, do accounts and much more. Some level of determination is required to be consistent. Also, consistency to you might be different from consistency to me. Furthermore, it counts and it’s important that if there are periods you can do more blog posts than usual you absolutely should and if there are some periods you can’t(as a result of other career(s),business(es), responsibilities,duties, other personal reasons etc), its absolutely fine.

18)Learn, relearn, unlearn: for instance, Initially I didn’t used to do much of picture editing, but   gradually I began to learn how to use some apps to do so, was told about some, discovered some. I learnt how to make some designs, use tools etc. Learn from those that have been doing it before you. It goes a long way, you can also avoid some mistakes they have made, leverage on knowledge they have learnt over time etc.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post?

Which of the point(s) did you love the most) Which of them resonate(s) with you? Which other tip(s) will you love to share? I will love to here from you in the comments section.

p.s: If you are seeing this blog post in November 2021, there is a giveaway I am currently doing, I already shared it with those subscribed to my newsletters. If you will like to know more about it, please send an email to: faithoooguntayo@gmail.com and I will forward the details to you.