I am so honored to have this wonderful travel couple, Sam and Kez from, So Today We Found, as our Featured Travel Writer Tuesday!
We are Sam and Kez, a pair of super curious, incredibly nosy travelers. Started originally as a way for us to keep in touch with our families and friends back in the UK as we embarked on our world travels, So Today We Found travel blog has grown into a worldwide community of travelers and explorers alike through the power of social media. We are all about supporting the fellow nomad and we love to hear about your adventures as well as sharing the expertise of our own. If we had to describe ourselves, we’d say that we are a budget travel couple who love navigating the world without breaking the bank. That said, we do occasionally treat ourselves to a bit of luxury, in a way that we like to call ‘Occasional Flashpacking’. The blog features perfect travel itineraries, secret places to visit, and insider tips to make the most of your travels, wherever they may take you.
How long have you been a travel blogger?
We actually started our blog on our honeymoon! It began with an Instagram account, so our travel blog has been up and running since November 2017.
Are you a full-time travel blogger or do you also have another job/career?
We both worked full time at home before quitting to travel the world on an extended honeymoon in April 2018. Sam worked as a Project Manager for a property developer, and Kez worked in Human Resources.
What got you started in travel blogging?
Kez has always written and reads an awful lot. Her job in HR wasn’t creative enough and she was looking for an outlet for that. Blogging just seemed to be the best way for us to spend time together doing what we love whilst also allowing us to get something more from it. After our honeymoon to Iceland, we were asked questions by a lot of friends and family who wanted to go there themselves, and we thought ‘if these people are asking these questions, there are bound to be heaps of others out there who we can help too!’ and it’s evolved from there.
Where was the most exciting place you have traveled to write a blog post? Were you hired to write the post?
We spent three months at the start of our round the world travels in Western Australia, predominantly the Margaret River Region. During this time, we were asked to visit an adventure ropes course near Busselton, Forest Adventures SW, in exchange for an Instagram post and a story. It was our first time doing something like that, and we absolutely loved it! We’re both pretty outdoorsy and love trying new things, and in no time at all, we were whizzing through the treetops like naturals!
If you have traveled to write a sponsored travel post, tell us how you came upon the contract…did you pitch it to them? did they contact you? Share as much about your experience as you can.
We were posting every day to Instagram and tagging the Margaret River Region tourism board in pretty much every post. Before long, they featured a post of ours and we said thank you by adding the post to our story. Then a conversation was struck up between us on DM, and subsequently, they asked us to visit one of their attractions in exchange for a photo and a story. It was our first collaboration and we were so excited to be given that chance! Since then, we have pitched to a few hotel chains for sponsored stays with success, and can’t wait to see what the future holds.
What is working well for you and your travel blog? Why?
Our posts about itineraries and budgets – these go down so well, especially on Pinterest. When writing blog posts, we try to think about what we Googled before our trip and therefore what others will be searching for too.
What is not working out well for your travel blog? Why?
Subscribers! Even though we get decent traffic, we find it hard to convert visitors to engaged subscribers. We are very aware of this though, and are working on a new website theme which will launch shortly, as well as a range of opt-ins and freebies we hope our audience will love!
What tools, programs, apps do you use to create your travel blog/website that you would recommend to all travel bloggers. You are allowed to add a link to your favorite programs, plugins, tools, or apps.
We use Canva ALL. THE. TIME. We also use Trello, Evernote, Google Calendar, Adobe Lightroom, Yoast SEO, Pinterest PinIt Plugin, EWWW Image Optimizer Plugin… we use a lot!
What piece of advice would you give to someone who is interested in starting a travel blog?
Do it! Find your niche, get a basic knowledge of SEO, Pinterest, Instagram and photo editing software, and network! We were so frightened when we first started out that people would think ‘who the hell are these people?’ when we commented on their posts, but the more you give out the more you get back for sure.
What do you have planned for the future of your travel blog?
A lot. We want to turn it into an established business, or at least earn enough so that we can live off of it. We both don’t want to go back to office life/politics and would love the opportunity to be our own bosses and establish our own empire. We love talking all things travel and love to see people’s photos and posts from experiences we have given our advice on, so who knows? The sky’s the limit!
Our webpage and social media
Blog/Website URL www.sotodaywefound.com
Twitter URL www.twitter.com/sotodaywefound
Business Facebook URL www.facebook.com/sotodaywefound
Instagram URL www.instagram.com/sotodaywefound
Are you interested in being part of the Featured Travel Writer Tuesday series? If so, check out the featured travel writer Tuesday guidelines. It is a fun and easy way to collaborate.
Please leave a comment and let us know what you think about the Featured Travel Writer Tuesday series! If you would rather, you can contact me at linda@wittesworld.com I read and answer every email!
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