How I Decided To Start a Blog
Hey! There is a time-sensitive announcement you may want to know about how to starting or growing a blog at the end of this post - scroll to the end to see it!
I have a question for you:
Have you ever done something interesting, fun, or cool and a bunch of people were asking you about it?
Maybe they wanted to do it too, or get your advice to see if it was right for them?
That's what happened when I was working as a tour guide + social media manager in Europe a few years ago. I was living in Italy and traveling to countries all over Europe on my weekends for work.
It wasn’t long after that I decided to start a blog, which has changed my life, eventually started making money, and leveraged my career in many ways.
Read on for my story and decide if this is something you may want to consider as well!
After I posted a few photo albums on Facebook in the Amalfi Coast, Croatia, Oktoberfest in Germany...the questions started rolling in
Comments like, "Wow, you're so lucky! I wish I could travel this much. How do you afford this? This is for your job...?"
Messages like, "Hey Ally, it's been a while since our high school days, but I am curious to know what company you work for that allows you to travel so much? I was excited to land this job after college but I hate it and just want to travel but don't know how. Any tips?"
I would fill as MUCH helpful advice as I could in my answers to these questions.
If you've ever emailed or messaged me a question, you know that I could write for days...for real though. Ha!
It's not that I'm just a naturally chatty person, it's that I care about helping people and it is effortless for me to give advice about something I'm passionate about, like traveling.
Not everyone who messaged me in those early days ended up traveling, but honestly, quite a few did.
Friends from high school and college, or even random people like my dad's co-worker's niece were finding unique ways to fund their travel because of my advice.
When I returned from Europe and re-adjusted to life back home, something in me couldn't shake the travel bug.
I craved travel.
I craved adventure.
And honestly, I wanted to share those feelings of inspiration with others around me and inspire them to have the exciting, energy-boosting experiences that I did while traveling.
How It All Started
I wrote a post called "10 Reasons Why You Should Travel Now" on my personal blog at the time and shared it on Facebook.
After dozens of likes, comments, and a few shares, I couldn't help it.
I had to start a travel blog.
A few weeks later, on May 13, 2014, I registered GoSeekExplore.com and set it up through WordPress. :)
Fueled by this passion and knowing real people could take real action and make their travel goals a reality, I worked tirelessly at crafting blog posts with any advice and tips I could think of based on my experiences.
Money didn't matter. I was job searching for full-time roles at universities at the time.
However, the more I wrote about travel, the more I knew I had to travel.
An interview request came in to work + travel at a leadership conference in Central Europe...
We did the interview and I mentioned my new blog with the girl interviewing me.
I got the job, which was a 2-week role, and it was awesome...and the travel expenses were completely paid for by the company.
How a Blog Can Leverage Your Career
Literally 18 hours after my flight landed back the US, I moved to Arizona, and then ended up landing a full-time role at a university.
When I was there doing my HR paperwork, the guy was like, "You're Ally, right? The one with a travel blog? I looked it up when I saw it on your resume, your website is sick. I love travel too. Can I get your advice on Europe?"
Hmm, did this blog help me land this job? It definitely didn't hurt...
I happily used that day's lunch break giving the guy tips on Europe and directing him to helpful links on my blog.
How a Blog Can Earn You Money Online, Both Directly and Indirectly
A couple years later, still blogging and traveling as much as my restricted vacation time allowed, I had the opportunity to move to Southern California. My DREAM place in the US.
Whenever I pulled up a job search website my stomach would sink. My intuition was saying, "Don't apply for that job. Don't apply for any job in California. You'll be fine."
My job burnout was REAL so I booked a trip to Southeast Asia. And upon talking with someone about my plans,they asked to see my travel blog, and immediately offered me a freelance opportunity to manage their company's social media.
I took that as a sign and decided to roll with it. After that, my blog and referrals fueled my freelance client work, and I was able to work online and live in California. Or wherever I wanted.
The fact that blogging has allowed me to fuel my passion of giving advice to others, helping them travel, and provide the best creative outlet...AND support me in landing unique travel jobs, high-paying freelance opportunities, and earn money on its own...is AMAZING
I never expected a passion project like this to be the catalyst that allowed me to inspire countless others to also pursue a work + travel lifestyle.
Seriously, the fact that you're still reading this right now means more to me than anything.
I could get all gushy and express my absolute love for the stadium-sized audience of people that get these emails weekly (seriously - wow), but I only share any stories or tips or information with you if I feel it can help YOU.
And I know a huge chunk of you crave the freedom of working online so you can travel and challenge yourself in the best way possible.
Let me ask you this question again
Have you ever done something interesting, fun, or cool and a bunch of people were asking you about it?
If the answer is yes - travel-related or not - and you enjoy helping people by simply giving advice...
Then you, my friend, would make a great blogger ;)
Yup. You.
Yes, you.
If you're like me - you care about helping people and it is effortless for you to give advice about something you're passionate about...
...then you can absolutely use blogging to earn an online income and/or leverage your career.
That's why I want to share these FREE online trainings I came across about starting and growing a blog
Free is my favorite price
Some of the biggest names in blogging are hosting these, including - ahem - Darren Rowse from ProBlogger.
LIKE, WHAT?! I'm fan-girling SO hard right now.
If you've ever Google searched anything even remotely related to blogging, I can non-scientifically guarantee that at least 99.9% of you stumbled upon at least one ProBlogger article.
Here's the link to join!
Did I mention it's free?
Check it out:
Let me know which one(s) you signed up for! I'm definitely attending - these can apply to any level of bloggers - so maybe I'll "see" you there!