All week this week, we’ll be talking blogging!  I know it’s a break from regular travel posts but with a lot of questions swirling around the internet about blogging and after having been asked some of these questions regularly, I thought it worth while to commit a week to discuss this crazy world of blogging.  And hopefully, you’ll walk away with some answers to your own questions too!

If you’re just getting into blogging or you’ve been doing it for a while, there is an incredible amount of resources out there these days to help you learn about all things blogging.  There are also a lot of posts floating around out there telling you to do this or that, that this is the only way to do it or that if you’re not doing this, you’re not blogging correctly.  I’m here to tell you today, take all of that with a very large grain of salt.  If I’ve learned anything in my 3+ years of blogging seriously, it’s that doing your own thing and not worrying about what we all “should” be doing has been the most liberating and most successful thing I’ve done.  Not to say you can’t take advice, because I totally recommend that, but realizing that you might do things differently and realizing that that is totally fine and even better, it’s probably better for you as a blogger in the long run.  So if you’re wondering which advice to take, here’s what I suggest to do your own thing.

1.  Don’t follow every rule you hear.

There are a million posts out there telling you how to gain followers, how to post, how to do your graphics and on and on.  My one piece of advice would be: don’t listen to all of them.  Pick the ones you find relevant to you or the ones that you think might fit with your blog, but ignore the rest.  The way that my blog operates or gains followers is completely different than someone else’s, so know what works for you and ignore the rest of the rules floating around out there.

2.  Don’t let negative comments get you down, know who you are and don’t listen to anything else.

I’ve had my fair share of haters along the way through blogging and in the beginning I would read all the negative comments and really let them bother me.  I once had a forum thread tearing me apart piece by piece, saying things like I wasn’t even really born in the Middle East (which I was, you can see my birth certificate) and I had made it up, to tearing apart posts I had written.  It was awful, but one thing I walked away from that with, I don’t even read those comments anymore.  I know who I am and what I stand for and how I want to live and I don’t need that negativity in my life, nor does anyone else.  It’s ok to delete the comments that bother you and to ignore the people that are so unhappy in their own lives that they have to tear everyone else around them down.  Just ignore it and move forward.

3.  Do things your own way.  

I hear all the time, do this to promote your posts.  Do this to gain more followers.  Do this to increase your SEO.  And guess what?  While some of the advice might be worthwhile, I’m a true believer in doing things your own way.  I know I could be gaining way more followers on Instagram if all I did was post travel photos from a DSLR all the time, but instead, I actually like my followers to see my every day life, travel and my normal routine at home, all shot on my iPhone.  I know I could be reaching out to new audiences and gaining more views and followers through increasing my SEO, but the most I do on that is use the SEO plug in on WordPress because it’s all I really have the time or inclination to do right now.  Don’t worry about doing things the way everyone else is doing them or going with everything everyone tells you to do… do it your own way and it will work out just fine.

4.  Passion vs. Making Money.

Land of Marvels for me has always been about the passion for writing and travel instead of the money.  I hardly make any money from my blog but what I do gain from it is the exposure to work with travel brands, the incredible community in the blogging world and a fulfillment in my passion for travel and sharing that with the world.  I genuinely love writing each post and sharing travel secrets and amazing places with my followers, so much that I am still writing 5 posts per week years after starting in the blogging world.  Land of Marvels still is and I hope always will be, a place for my passion of travel.

5.  Do what feels comfortable.

There is a lot of information floating out there telling bloggers to do this and that.  The key at the end of the day is doing what feels comfortable to you.  If you’re not comfortable using Instagram, then don’t.  If you’re not comfortable sharing personal information, then don’t.  Do what feels natural and comfortable to you and your followers will support you.

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All week this week, we’ll be talking blogging!  I know it’s a break from regular travel posts but with a lot of questions swirling around the internet about blogging and after having been asked some of these questions regularly, I thought it worth while to commit a week to discuss this crazy world of blogging.  And hopefully, you’ll walk away with some answers to your own questions too!

If I notice one thing in the blogging community, for myself and other bloggers I follow, is the pursuit to constantly find new inspiration.  Inspiration not only on topics to write about or share, but inspiration to keep going, to keep pushing, to keep interacting with the blog community.  I get it, I’ve been there numerous times myself, when I wonder if it’s all worth it, wondering if anyone is even out there reading what I write, wondering if I can even come up with another week’s worth of posts.  So today, I’m going to share where I go to find inspiration and when you’re at one of those moments when you’re not sure of where to go next, here’s what you can do and where to find inspiration for your own blog.

1. Other Blogs

This first and foremost doesn’t mean ripping off ideas from other blogs, but often times I’ll see a post on someone else’s blog and immediately think of something related or similar I’d love to write a post on.  Other times taking an idea and building on it is great too.  Other blogs can be a great source of inspiration so when you find something you like or an idea you’d like to build on, write it down.  (I keep a running list of post ideas so that when I’m stuck, I can go back to that list and grab an idea from there.)

2. Pinterest

I find that often times when I’m in need of inspiration, I’ll head to Pinterest and browse for a bit.  I’ll go through the main feed and see if anything looks interesting, if there is an idea I can grab and work on it my own way and style.  If nothing pops out there, I head to my personal boards, particularly my travel and quote boards, which usually will grab me with some sort of inspiration, whether travel related or more inspiration from world issues or famous quotes.  (I also like to save screenshots of graphics I really like on Pinterest to help me when I’m blocked on that front.)

3. Life Moments

I actually find that most of my inspiration comes from life moments each and every day.  Whether it be while I’m traveling and something inspires me to write a post or I’m at home and an idea suddenly pops into my head, the key here is to write it down.  I keep a few different lists depending on where I’m at and then combine them all later.  One of my favorite ways to make a note for myself if I’m on the go is to email myself, that way later I can consolidate that idea into my other main list.

4. Magazines

I love using magazines as inspiration.  Whether it’s from a lifestyle magazine or a travel one, I will often take an idea I see in magazines and run with it.  This is also a great place to get inspiration for graphics.

5. Experiences

Finally I also take a lot of inspiration from experiences I’ve had.  For example, many of my blog posts like this series (and previous ones like these) are from moments when I was trying to answer questions for myself about blogging or when I felt like I wished there were more posts out there on a certain topic.  So draw from what you see out there in the internet world and also what you don’t see.

Looking for more posts on Blogging?

See our archives here for Blogging posts.

All week this week, we’ll be talking blogging!  I know it’s a break from regular travel posts but with a lot of questions swirling around the internet about blogging and after having been asked some of these questions regularly, I thought it worth while to commit a week to discuss this crazy world of blogging.  And hopefully, you’ll walk away with some answers to your own questions too!

Yesterday we talked about how to reap the rewards of your blog, today we’re going a step further and explaining exactly how to reach out and introduce yourself to brands you want to work with.  I have come to really value the partnerships I’ve made with hotels and travel brands and often when we travel, half or more of the hotel nights end up being free or for discounted media rates or I’m working with travel brands while we’re gone to experience things wherever we’re traveling.  Working with brands can be a really rewarding experience for both the blogger and the company, so get out there and here’s how to introduce yourself to brands!

1.  Contact the brand you want to work with through email.

Most of the brands I work with are hotels throughout the world.  When I know we’re headed somewhere, I create a short list of the hotels I would like to stay at based on our criteria.  Then I go through each of their websites, find their contact pages and their email addresses (9 out of 10 hotels will have an email address on their websites these days).  I have a standard email I send to hotels, which I title “Travel Blog Collaboration Proposal.”  I then go in and update the details for this particular brand or city.

2.  Specify dates or other details necessary.

In your email message, specify the dates you’re looking at.  If you only have a time frame and not specific dates, mention that.  But most of the time, brands will want to know exactly where and when so they can look up rates and offers.  I always specify for hotel brands which dates as well as how many nights, just so they see it both ways.

3.  Leave your message somewhat open ended as to what you want. 

I like to leave my emails somewhat open ended as to what I’m asking for, leaving it up to them to either offer me a free stay or a discounted media rate.  I use the phrase “I was wondering if you’d be interested in offering me a stay at the hotel in exchange for reviews and publicity on my travel site and social media.”  That way, it’s up to them to decide which options they can offer.

4.  Promote why the partnership would be beneficial.

I then follow up the previous sentence in #3, with a sentence about my blog following and why my blog is worth working with.  Promote yourself and your blog and why the partnership with this brand would be beneficial for both of you.  I don’t offer specific numbers as those are always changing and growing, but I do say that I have “thousands of followers” to give them an idea of your following before they even look at your site.

5.  Be clear about what you’ll offer in exchange.

It’s really important to be clear up front what you’re willing to offer in exchange for whatever deal you’re getting.  I always offer a review post for hotels, travel activities or restaurant reviews as well as social media while we’re there, tagging the brand or the hotel or company.  Being clear up front will help clear up any confusion later and the brand will know better of what they can offer.

Looking for more posts on Blogging?

See our archives here for Blogging posts.

All week this week, we’ll be talking blogging!  I know it’s a break from regular travel posts but with a lot of questions swirling around the internet about blogging and after having been asked some of these questions regularly, I thought it worth while to commit a week to discuss this crazy world of blogging.  And hopefully, you’ll walk away with some answers to your own questions too!

I get asked a lot how I use my blog to get travel rewards while we’re venturing off around the globe.  The simple answer is: I reach out to places I want to stay or travel to.  The long answer… well we’ll get to that below.  But the truth is, blogs are a great way to reap rewards with whatever niche you subscribe to.  We spend a lot of time on our blogs, growing a following, posting great content, making graphics, and so on and so forth.  So why shouldn’t we reap some rewards and work with companies in exchange for publicity on our sites and social media followings?  The thing is, often times, it takes you being willing to reach out on your own to ask for something, so if you want to know how to reap the rewards of your blog, here’s how!

1.  Reach out.

While travel bloggers with several thousand followers might be getting emails offering free hotels and free trips often, the rest of us have to reach out on our own.  Even though brands might not be finding you among the other hundreds and thousands of bloggers, there is no harm in reaching out.  I work with brands often, both hotel brands as well as tours or travel guides and almost all of them have come out of me reaching out.  And the brands are often very glad I did and often tell me so.  The key is approaching brands with something they can look at and see the benefit for them to partner up with you.

(I’ll be getting further in depth with this tomorrow, how to reach out and the best ways to do it!)

2.  Follow Up.

I often will spend an entire morning making a list of brands I want to work with and just sending out a bunch of emails.  If you don’t hear back in a week or so, follow up.  Send another message, just to make sure they got the first one.  More times than not, either they didn’t receive it or they forgot to reply.  So make an effort and follow up.  They will acknowledge your effort 90% of the time.

3.  Defend your site and following.

Whenever brands offer a noncommittal response back to my initial email (when they don’t say yes or no), I’ll respond and defend why my site and my social media following can help them.  Offer ways that you’ll work with them to promote their product and stand up for yourself and your blog.  Bloggers have tremendous power on the internet, explain to them why and how your blog can help them.

4.  Don’t take less than you know you’re worth.

I often get emails about sponsored posts that want to pay me either nothing or some dismal amount like $20.  I used to jump at any offer that I made a bit of money, but nowadays, I say no to anything under $100.  And even then, I’m super picky about which ones I will work with, which lately has been none.  Know you’re worth and know what you think is worth your time to format the post, create graphics and post it to your site.  Don’t take less than what you know you’re worth.

5.  Get yourself out there.

Another great way to work with brands and reap the rewards of your blog is to get yourself and your blog out there.  Comment on other blogs, guest post on other sites and make a name for yourself in the blogging community.  It’s a great way for people to find you and to push your blog forward.

Looking for more posts on Blogging?

See our archives here for Blogging posts.

All week this week, we’ll be talking blogging!  I know it’s a break from regular travel posts but with a lot of questions swirling around the internet about blogging and after having been asked some of these questions regularly, I thought it worth while to commit a week to discuss this crazy world of blogging.  And hopefully, you’ll walk away with some answers to your own questions too!

Many readers of Land of Marvels might not realize that travel and this blog are not my only job or my every day way of life.  While yes, I travel quite often (both for work and for pleasure), I actually have quite a few day jobs going on.  By trade, I’m an interior designer and I work both for an architecture firm in Honolulu as well as owning my own side design business called Reverie Design Studio.  I also teach design part time at the Art Institute of Portland, so with 3 day jobs plus Land of Marvels I keep quite busy.  But in all those jobs, owning my own business is perhaps the most rewarding and has offered me the most lessons learned.  Many of the lessons I’ve learned over the 4 years I’ve had Reverie up and running, have also come in quite handy with blogging.  So if you’re interested in branching into your own business or moving your blog more into a business, here are the best business lessons that are great for bloggers that I’ve learned along the way!

1.  You’re constantly learning.

I know some people in my daily life that feel like they know more than everyone else.  I feel the complete opposite.  The world is big and you can never stop learning, there is always something else to learn and see and explore.  Owning a business is a huge learning curve and I’ve found that everyday I learn something new.  Blogging is the same, you think you are comfortable and have it figured out and then you find you have so much left to learn!

2.  You’re going to make mistakes.  The important thing is to learn from them.

Everyone makes mistakes.  Whether they are big or small, I’ve made my fair share too.  What I’ve learned though is that there is always a solution if you take the time to figure it out.  When you’ve created a solution, then learn from that experience.  Don’t make the same mistake twice, the important thing is to learn from it and move forward with a new source of knowledge.

3.  It’s not about the money.

Whether you’re making a ton of money or none at all, do what you love above all else.  I don’t do any of my jobs or this blog for the money.  It’s never been about how much I can make, it’s about loving what I do and having a passion for both design and travel.  Find a way to make your daily life full of doing what you love and it won’t feel like work.  The same goes for blogging: I don’t make very much money from Land of Marvels, but I love it and I love the community and I love sharing my travels so I keep doing it, even though I put in way more time and effort than I get back.

4.  Know when to sign off.

One thing with any business that you pour your heart and soul into, is knowing when to break from that and get back to living your normal life.  I’m a firm believer in working hard, but also knowing where the line is.  You need to live your life too.  So figure out how you’ll create that line and know when you need to sign off and really just live.

5.  Take breaks, both daily and yearly to keep the creativity flowing.

I work from home on my business and my blog, so knowing when to stop and take a break and come back is essential.  Especially in creative fields, knowing when you need to reenergize yourself is really important.  For blogging, I find I sometimes run out of creative ideas, so I’ll schedule posts ahead for whatever I have and then come back later when I’ve regained inspiration and fill in the holes.  I also firmly believe in taking vacations from work and daily life.  Whether that’s staying someplace close to home or flying around the world on an epic adventure, you need to take breaks from ordinary life routines in order to refresh yourself and to add more experiences to your life resume.  I love the quote “go somewhere new every year” because that’s such a great way to explore and experience and come home refreshed and ready to go again.

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