40 Comments

This is fantastic! I don't want to be a "travel writer" but I definitely write about travel. Are you looking for some collaboration? I have a camping memoir coming out this summer 😊

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I love this so much!! And I tend to travel to the same fave places .. But I’m still a little confused how it would make me money 🫣🫠

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Nicole, all of the making money and free travel stuff will be rolling out in future posts. I have literally just decided to start sharing content about how I did it for so many years. My first post on this topic came out as the new year came in.

It's a bit of an in-order process so one post at a time will really start to make it all more clear. Please feel free to subscribe and stay tuned if it's something you think you'd be interested in pursuing for yourself. I promise...it all works!

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Will do, thank you for sharing ❤️🫶🏼

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You've just given me huge inspiration to write about my home-region: the western mtns of Maine! I am growing an ecological reserve here called the Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm, which also offers a farmstayBnB. I'm already serving as ambassador to the area, but with these suggestions I can really expand upon that. Thank you so much for sharing!!!

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Samantha, you're so welcome!! What you're doing sounds amazing!

As a western Canadian who's SO far away from Maine, I have to tell you that your destination is on my bucket list. I would love to follow a Maine specialist.

Also, I have so much more to come on this topic so if you feel like you'd like more advice in the future feel free to subscribe if you haven't already.

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Definitely subscribed. Can't wait to see what else you have to share! I'm so glad I found you!!!

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I can feel the excitement simply by reading this article. It offers hope and possiblity and, from someone who won't be writing about travel, it makes me want to read ALL the blogs about travel.

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Thanks Donna! I'm kind of addicted to travel tales. Even if I'm not doing it at the moment I'm always up for a journey through words and pictures!

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I have an online friend that lives in Trinidad. She struggles with interior design there but I forwarded your post to her. I always tell her, if I lived on a tropical island I would never let people forget it!!!! I would be so nauseatingly obnoxious about it!! The beauty, the inspiration!! Gahhhhh😂😂😂😂

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Yessss that's how I was as well lol. Literally everything I did was a story...even when I visited a pharmacy for cold medication and found out you could actually buy ONE pill 😂

I loved how different the island lifestyle was and felt a need to share it with the outside world every day.

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This is a very cool idea Kristi! Your enthusiasm is contagious. I love the thought of it all, but I have not been anywhere enough to be an expert. Just the other day I was readign about how these exclusive Google Docs are the 'it' travel tools for certain destinations curated and culled for many places around the world. It all sounded so exclusive and fascinating to get an invite to one. lol :) Goofd luck, I'm cheering you on!!!

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Thanks Elle. I'd like to point out that you don't have to BE an expert at all. You just have to be a couple steps ahead of someone else. I never wrote expert tips, I wrote relatable tips such as how to drink more rum for less money 😁 Or how to shop at street vendors, etc.

For me it was always about being relatable rather than tour-guide-ish. I was never into being exclusive because excluding others is no fun! 😂

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Inspiring and packed full of value!

I just shared this with the travellers I know and one guy who I know is an avid traveler but I haven’t texted since 2019

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Amazing! Thank you so much Miche. I'm glad you found this inspiring!

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Great addition to your stack. I will forward to my daughter who would be an excellent candidate having been to Italy at least 15 times and is marrying an Italian in Sept. Oh and she speaks Italian fluently. Congrats!

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I remember you telling me about her a couple weeks ago. Thanks for the forward, never know what could come out of it!

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She's not a writer but ya nevah know.

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This is such a kick ass idea!!! It seems perfect for me, since I not only lived in Italy for three years, but can’t stop going back, and kept an extremely detailed journal the entire time I lived there and during each trip, including what everything cost, for each trip. I’m an extremely detailed person. I used to send daily photos and rundowns to friends of where we went and what we did that my friends and relatives looked forward to. I’ve had so many people come to me asking for advice about Italy, since we became experts on the country and can create an itinerary for anyone. I never thought about putting it all into a blog, but it makes perfect sense!!! I’ve been to a lot of places (just returned from Prague yesterday), but I always compare everything to my beloved Italy!

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Joy, I LOVE THIS for you!!! It would be perfect because as you already stated, you're basically doing the work already by helping others with their inquiries.

I've got so much more rolling out on this topic and I'd be thrilled to see you turn it into something amazing.

I 100% relate to the "I can't stop comparing everything to this ONE place." 🤣 It took over my life for so many years lol. And it definitely changed my life in ways I never dreamed.

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I look forward to reading more about how you got started and became so successful. Your articles about your free resort stays are exciting and inspiring. Everything you write about your travel adventures are fascinating, usually funny, and sometimes cringey. You make them so relatable for everyone!

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Thank you for saying that. I appreciate that you're following along 😊

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Love this, Kristi! Your enthusiasm and down right serious knowledge of turning your travel passion into an income source are awesome!

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Thanks Heather! You know, when I read your post today about the little Mexican hole in the wall restaurant I immediately thought, "That's exactly the type of place I'd visit and write about." I loved shining my spotlight on local businesses just because they were friendly little spots.

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And that's always where you meet the most wonderful, down to earth people. If you want to experience a real slice of life, those are the places to visit.

It'll be fun to read of your experiences!

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I'm not a big traveler and I am certainly not a repeat pilgrim to any particular destination, nor do I imagine becoming one at this stage of my life -- but, Kristi, your motivational mojo is such that you have me dreaming about it! You could well launch a lot of travel writers' careers with this.

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Thanks Jan! I really hope that's what I end up doing for others. I lived the dream life for so many years and I'd be thrilled to be able to pass the torch to others who'd love to do the same. It's such a cool existence!

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That's a great goal -- I wish you enormous success!

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I guess I better take a lot of pictures and make some notes of this Air B&B in Huatulco Mexico- apparently I’m going to need them!

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100%!!!! I'm going to cover this in a future post about how to never pay for accommodations. But yes, start now with the ones you've already paid for because it'll help you get more in the future.

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Ok, good. It sounds like the first step is to become an expert. I'm not an expert on one specific destination, but on a niche type of travel (backpacking with heavy ass camera gear). Could that work as well? Should I be writing more about how-to or gear reviews?

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You're right, you do cover a very specific niche. Probably one that not many people cover but plenty would like to know about. To answer your question, I think you should cover BOTH. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

Interesting fact: It was a photographer who got me the gig writing for the JHTA (Jamaica Hotel & Tourism Association) magazine. I met him while reviewing a gorgeous seaside villa. He and I were the only two guests on the property at the time so by default we started dining together and that's when he gave me the contact information for the magazine he was shooting for. He was doing their photos on assignment and I ended up getting contracted to write several segments each year.

If travel is on your radar and you have a photography/travel blog I guarantee you'd be able to score the same kinds of gigs he worked. You'll probably learn about this in your course that you mentioned!

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Nice! I definitely do some gear type posts at some point. Getting sent somewhere on assignment would be excellent, so I just have to figure out who would send me! 😆

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Erik, you could start by looking for destination tourism magazines and find out who the publisher is. The publisher that does the Jamaica one is an American company based in Florida. Never hurts to do some research in your spare time.

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I have a very dim light bulb on :-D Kind of like Erik, I don't have a specific destination I'm repeatedly visiting (though that's one goal for this year - to find a place I MUST share with my clients! But I love wellness travel and staying fit on the go. Maybe I could do specific posts on each destination I've been to myself and/or with a client and how we rocked wellness & fitness at each location in the meantime? Thanks for tickling my brain today!!! Thank you Kristi!

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Anne, I think that niche is excellent and probably would be super popular considering everyone seems to be trying to get a better life these days 😁 Wellness is a huge desire nowadays. Start writing notes like you just mentioned. And yes, publish some stories that you've already experienced. All of it adds to a portfolio that you can control build and use down the road when you're at the point where you can present your work to paying gigs and all the freeness.

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Those types of posts sound really interesting!!

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Jan 25
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That's a great idea. It's hard to think of myself as an expert at anything, but I can focus on the process of discovery.

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Lively and convincing. I won’t be doing this myself but I predict you’ll have lots of takers.

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I feel like eventually there will be many light bulbs turning on because I've had SO many people over the years ask me, "How do you do all this stuff?" or "How the hell do you get to travel so much?"

Thanks for reading Rona! I'm glad you're here 😊

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