I Love my Job

Before people go into the comments section to write”if you don’t like being a travel blogger, you can quit”, I will preface by saying that I love what I do. I’ve had the opportunity to meet amazing people and see parts of the world that I only dreamed of as a child. What began as an expat blog almost ten years ago has evolved into a community in which we (my kick-ass contributors and I) strive to give our audience travel and food tips they can use in order to make their travels better. But it is hard work. Becoming a travel blogger was organic to me. Back in the day there were no courses, no Instagram, barely any Facebook Groups to share your content. Although I spent thousands on an MBA, I feel that I have learned more from my experience running The Dining Traveler than my 18 months of graduate school.

Constant Learning

Professional careers require constant learning. Blogging is not exempt from that principle. One of most important things I’ve learned in the Marine Corps 20 years ago was the leadership trait “know yourself and seek self improvement”.  In this ever evolving digital media world, one has to be on their toes at all times. Whether it’s trying to crack the code on Instagram algorithms or mastering SEO, there’s always something new to learn in the blogging and digital content creation business. Becoming a travel blogger has taught me not to put my eggs in one basket, such as putting all my efforts into one social media channel (look at what happened to Vine).

The Business of Blogging

I was recently approached by a headhunter of a luxury jewelry shop looking for an in-house marketing manager. She found my profile on LinkedIn and was interested in talking to me about the position. She started asking me about what I did as The Dining Traveler. She said “We’re looking for someone who has managed a $1M marketing budget”. I explained to her that although I didn’t have that particular experience I did have other budgeting experience from my military assignments. What struck me from the conversation was that she said “oh, The Dining Traveler seems like a nice hobby”. The tone was very condescending.  No, lady, The Dining Traveler is my job. Not only do I monetize from my blog, but I use it as a platform for writing, consulting, and photography. Perhaps I may have not fit the profile she was looking for but no need to demean someone’s job.

The Behind the Scenes

If you’re becoming a travel blogger for the sheer luxury of traveling for free, you’re in the wrong business. When people say “you travel for free”, I disagree. The closest I’ve come to traveling for free is going on vacation to Thailand in which I spent all my miles and points on flights and hotels and I did not owe anyone anything!  By anything I mean blog posts, social media shares, photographs, whatever. Media trips are business trips. I traveled all over the world as a Marine Corps Officer. On the job, I’ve traveled to exotic places like Thailand, Japan, Australia, among others. Regardless of the objective, I owed the boss something at the end of the trip. Same analogy for media trips. A destination or hotel invites travel bloggers to experience their destination, they expect coverage in return. They are not going to spend thousands of dollars on your trip just so you can chill on the beach.

The Time

Every now and then you run into a blogger who became an overnight success, which is awesome for that person. However, for the majority of us it takes time to develop a brand, make connections, write stories, and most importantly develop an audience. Like every good salesperson, you have to attend the conferences, meet the influencers, and I cannot stress it enough, be in a state of constant learning. While on the road, the end of the day is reserved for writing stories, editing photos, connecting with your audience on social media. You always have to be “on”.

The Hustle

Last year, I became pregnant with my piccola. I was shocked that many people thought I was going to stop producing The Dining Traveler just because I was having a baby. Some PR firms stopped inviting me to their events. How is this different from any other profession? I have friends that range from engineers to lawyers who have kids and get back in the grind. Kids have to eat. Parents need to work. As a business owner, the most challenging part was trying to figure out how to take time off as your momentum as a brand is growing. I am grateful, with my good health, that I was able to travel up to my 36th week. I am also thankful for smartphones! Behind the scenes as I was waiting to give birth, I was still sending pitches. If you got an email from me earlier this year at 3am, I was probably nursing my baby as I did that. Now that she’s six months, she’s been to 3 continents and 8 states. The fact that I can provide her with experiences I never had as a kid, make it all worth it.

Spending Money

Like any business, running a travel blog has an operating budget. In my case, I hired a developer to design the current website and migrate all my content from Blogger to self hosted via Bluehost. It requires paying hosting costs and also a marketing budget. I’ve also hired outside contractors for support. More about my Blogger platform migration experience here.  It takes a village and time to create good content. A village that sometimes I cannot afford. Travel costs money. Even when you go on trips that most things are comped, there are always expenses incurred. I self-fund many of the trips featured on the blog. My audience not only wants to know about the destinations, but also how to get there. Looking for a hotel, planning an itinerary, looking for local tips is one of my favorite things about traveling.

Making Money

One of the most difficult parts of this business is dealing with people who want you to work for free and/or try to devalue your work. Whether it is working on a campaign, writing/photographing for a client, or monetizing on the blog, it takes time and preparation. You don’t go to a TV station and ask for free ad space, don’t expect the same from a blog. What’s more disappointing is to see bigger brands trying to take advantage of bloggers versus startups who even if it’s a nominal fee, acknowledge that it takes money to survive.

Becoming a Travel Blogger

I just wanted to share a bit of the behind the scenes of becoming a travel blogger, at least from my perspective. I quit my full time job at The Pentagon almost two years ago to pursue The Dining Traveler full time. As any job, it has its ups and downs. As any small business you have your good and bad months. Becoming a travel blogger has been one of the most challenging and time consuming things I’ve taken on, but I am grateful to make a living by seeing the world. Being your own boss, publicist, salesperson, etcetera is not the most glamorous but it’s sure an awesome learning experience. Whether I continue to do this for a year or twenty more, I can say that what I have learned from this journey is priceless.

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Check-in: Although I had been to the hotel before for drinks and food, I had never seen the rooms. I loved the suite style rooms, a rare luxury in NYC. I definitely had to make this photo my intro photo to introduce myself to their followers. The mix of light blues and neutral tones puts you in a zen feel despite the madness of the city.

What to do: New York City is such a big city that I always manage to see something new during my visits. However, there is a sight that new gets old: Times Square. There, you can see the many street performers, the shinning lights, and the mesmerized tourists. The hotel asked me to capture things to do nearby and felt this was perfect to shoot, especially a night.

Décor: I love staying at design focused hotels because of the unique décor. I always come back home with inspiration for my own place.  I love the little details in a hotel which makes it unique such as fresh flowers, the furniture upholstery, and the silk map of New York in the lobby. I wanted to capture those details in my Instagram Takeover. I am a big fan of lighting and I am still dreaming of having an chandelier like this in my home. Simply stunning.

Food: No trip would be complete with sharing the food! Probably my favorite part of the Instagram Takeover.  The London Bar at the Maze Restaurant by Gordon Ramsay where they make perfectly crafted cocktails. I had a chance to preview the new spring bar menu and the highlight was the lobster filled deviled eggs topped with caviar. The most luxurious bar snack I’ve ever had.  Hotel restaurants get a bad reputation but lately there have been so many properties upgrading their dining choices, even locals want to sample the goods.

An Instagram Takeover for a brand is fun but it is a lot of responsibility as you are representing a brand, no just your own views.  Tip: ask the management specifics of what they want you to cover and how they want you to interact with their followers. It was great to capture the hotel experience through my eyes and also engage with their followers. Would love to do it again!
* Disclaimer: The London NYC comped my stay in return for my photography services. 

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