I heart travel blogging...most of the time
I love you, I hate you…the story of my life. I always seem to live on the extremes; always in search of some sort of balance. In the name of balance, I decided to take a look at my relationship with blogging and my lifestyle – why I love it and what I equally hate about it.
Table of Contents
Hearing from People
I love hearing from people. Nothing makes me happier than getting a comment on my site (from a real person and not some stupid spammer simply trying to pimp their link or business… I hate those people). I enjoy it when people send me personal emails with questions or simply words of encouragement; it keeps me going, it’s my fuel – my paycheck. Most of all, I love hearing from my dad when he comments on my blog. He shares insight into his thoughts and life that’s I’ve never been privy to in my 41 years. I feel like it opens a window to his thoughts, feelings, and soul that we never ever talk about in person. Yes – I know this is completely dysfunctional…but I take what I can get.
Then again, I hate hearing from people…yes – that’s right…you heard me. I get numerous emails a day from people ‘demanding’ that I share links with them, or trying to get me to advertise for free or very discounted prices. I hear from people who simply send out form letters to every blogger out there (I know this because I have two websites and I get the same message…duh). I get countless PR companies sending me emails about their products and announcements. I get people asking me to do sponsored posts or guest posts (yet if they look at my site they should know that I don’t do sponsored posts or guest posts). Why do I hate this…because it wastes my time. I have to open and delete every one of those emails…and that makes me cranky. Those are minutes I’ll never get back in my life…they add up.
Constantly Moving
Disorganized Storage
I love being on the move, not having a homebase, and being completely flexible. I love not spending my time shopping for housing things and paying bills. I love being ‘fenced in’ by the size of my backpack. I love seeing new countries and cultures. I love seeing my own country and culture in action. I love the fact that because of this lifestyle…my ability to chat with people at social gatherings has really improved…I have a story to tell and people generally enjoy hearing that story.
I hate being on the move constantly, blowing up air mattresses, never really knowing where you will sleep from week to week. Lugging a heavy backpack around and an equally heavy daypack – I look like a dork…and my 41 year old body isn’t too thrilled about this either. I hate always being a guest and never being able to unpack my toiletries. I HATE going to my storage unit in New York City – it’s a complete mess of boxes which are falling apart and the items in the boxes aren’t much better after 4 years. The worst part is that it reminds me of how incredibly screwed up my ‘life of stuff’ is.
Control Freak
I love having control over my life and my work; I’m my own boss. I set my hours and can work from anywhere. I don’t have to ask permission or get ‘sign off’ to try out a new idea or do something a different way. I don’t have to conduct employee reviews or be reviewed myself! I can take a long lunch…in Thailand if I want!
All of this control comes with a price though. Because I work for myself I tend to work much harder and put in more hours (yet it is doing stuff I love!). However, when I get behind, there’s no one to pick up the slack except myself. But the biggest issue about working for yourself is that when you screw up – you have no one to blame but yourself. Plus, to top it off, when you screw up, you really do care that you’ve screwed up – after all, it’s your business. When a project goes wrong, it upsets me to my core and I have to work my ass off to get it corrected – at all hours.
Noise
Noise that's hard to ignore
I love the fact the travel blogging has risen out of nothingness when I started in 2006 and has become this vibrant, supportive online community. The blogging world is expanding so fast that it’s impossible to keep up. But the nice thing is that I’m not alone anymore. I do love reading about other people’s adventures. I have a group of peers that I chat with daily, bounce ideas off of, and partner with. I have people who understand my.
However with this influx of travel bloggers and the increased presence in social media – it creates a massive amount of noise in my head. I learned last weekend at the World Domination Summit that 50,000 new blogs are started every day. Shit. Do we really need 50,000 of anything? Granted – these aren’t all travel blogs…but they are blogs. Not only is it noise in my day with twitter feeds, keyword streams, facebook likes, and emails that no live person can really keep up with. But specifically it’s negative noise in my head. It’s the voice that tells me, “Everyone is more successful and doing cooler things than you.” “They seem to have it all together, while I’m more unbalanced and broke then ever!”…it’s the self doubting voice which I hate. It’s the ‘grass is always greener’ plague. It makes me want to run and hide more than ever. I just want to disappear and not pay attention to everyone else. I feel like I’m in high school all over again and desparately wanting to be in the cool clique. Yes – here’s the problem – I hated high school. I just want to do my own thing and at my age one would think that I would have figured that out by now. Um…no, I’m human…and we are hard to change. I’ve started to not want to read about anyone else and what they are doing as I know that I’m too hard on myself. But then I go through guilt of not ‘participating in the industry dialog’. This is probably the hardest area for me. I desperately want and need camaraderie and the industry to grow – but I quite honestly preferred it when there were only a few of us doing this. It’s a strange feeling.
Money
I actually love the fact that my attitude about money has completely changed. Thanks to this lifestyle I’m no longer wishing I were rich. I simply want to have enough to exist and be happy. I don’t need excess.
I’ve been meeting a lot of new travel bloggers lately and they come up to me with eager wide eyes and want to know tips on how to be successful or how to make money blogging or get free trips. Inside my head I wonder if people actually think it’s easy…cuz it’s not! I begin by telling them that I’ve been doing this now in some shape or form for 5 years and I’m going on my first press trip next month. I barely get by financially. I feel like I want to shake them and say it’s not as glamorous as they somehow think. People are not knocking down my door sending me on free trips. I have to ‘hustle’ for everything I get. Generally – I have to go put out proposals to people as to why they should host me and what I can do for them in exchange. I rarely get emails that invite me places for free out of the blue.
Relationships
My Indie Travel Podcast buddies - Linda and Craig
I love making new relationships in this blogging and social media world. My network has expanded by leaps and bounds; and it’s global. I can practically go to any country in Europe or Asia and always have a friend I can stay with. The potential networking you can do via the internet is endless. If I have a blogging question – I simply write one of my many blogging techie gurus and they will help. The travel blogging community is really amazing. Plus, I’ve made some incredible friendships with people who simply read my blog (yup…I’m talking about you Amy!); who says you can’t build relationships through leaving comments?!
However even with 10,000 unique visitors, and 4200 twitter followers – it’s a very lonely existence at times. Generally, it’s me and the laptop; which is slightly dysfunctional. In addition, this nomadic travel blogging lifestyle does take its toll on finding and building any romantic relationships. There are times when I worry if I’ve chosen a lifestyle that is guaranteeing me a single existence forever. Then again – I had years of being single in big cities and I didn’t have any better luck in a ‘traditional’ lifestyle!
Love it and hate it…everything has good and bad. The good news is that I have more love than hate…and that’s what keeps me going!
Are you a travel blogger? What do you love and hate about blogging?
By jill- Jack and Jill Travel The World June 14, 2011 - 6:32 am
Good insight into the world of travel blogging. We haven’t had our blog for nearly as long as you but are already feeling that inkling of love-hate attitude towards it. But like you said, the fun of sharing and meeting new people so far has outweighed all of the work.
By Kerri June 14, 2011 - 6:41 am
I can totally agree with some of your words! Especially on the side of having all these followers and yet still feeling lost amongst the crowd.
I’m still very new to the blogging world and I’m struggling to keep up. A fee months back, I felt the need to write constantly and ended up half heartedly blogging for the sake of blogging. Now I only write when I have that urge and I know it’s a good piece (half the time!).
Major love/hate relationship with blogging.. Agreed!
By Sarah Lavender Smith June 14, 2011 - 7:46 am
Sherry, bravo — I love this post! I hope you add to your reasons for loving your blogging the fact that you write with a voice and share experiences that many can relate to, and that gives your readers insights we truly appreciate.
You expressed here a lot of the ambivalence I feel as I struggle to make time for blogging (which currently is a non-paying hobby on top of my “real” work) and I wonder, “is it worth the time and effort?”
What I hate about blogging is the nagging sense of guilt I have when I don’t have the time I need and want to develop the blog. It’s like looking at a wilted plant–or, worse, looking at the files on my computer where my longer writing project lies dormant, collecting virtual dust, and I think “oh shit, I don’t want my blog to be one more half-baked thing I abandon.” I try to reassure myself, “it’s there like an old friend, waiting to pick up where you left off.” I also tell myself that nobody really actually cares if a week goes by w/o me posting new content–but I can’t decide if that makes me feel better or worse!
Bottom line: although you may hate some aspects of your blogging and extended travel, I hope the fact that your audience appreciates it helps tip the scales to make it ultimately satisfying and worthwhile for you.
By Sherry June 15, 2011 - 12:19 am
It absolutely tips the scale for me. And so does meeting and working with people like yourself. It makes it worth it! It’s hard to be a goal oriented perfectionists…half-baked efforts are difficult for me…but sometimes in life they are necessary to keep your sanity. So don’t be too hard on yourself – you have accomplished so much – and you can kick anyone’s ass running!
By Lauren June 14, 2011 - 7:46 am
Boy am I glad to hear I’m not the only one worrying that everyone else is more successful! I am a blogger and a freelance writer of various topics, and I definitely relate to the “noise in your head” part. I love that I chose this life, but it certainly keeps you on your toes in more ways than one.
By Barbara Weibel June 14, 2011 - 8:10 am
I can SO relate. Absolutely everything you’ve said resonates so strongly with me. I backed off of so much social media activity because it was starting to hurt my writing and I’m now making a concerted effort to choose carefully what I do with my time. I just find it so hard to say NO sometimes, especially when it comes to helping someone, which I love to do. But I may only have a few years left; my backpack is really getting heavy at 59, so I’m guarding every moment!
By jpayne June 14, 2011 - 8:52 am
Very new to this world, but being incredibly cynical, my eyes are not too wide. My first 2 twitter follows were people advertising sex so I guess that also helped set the tone. I too love and hate this blogging thing already. I hate when I see so many people pushing their blogs when they really have nothing to say or say it so badly I can’t read another line. I love when I happen, by accident , upon a blog like yours so full of information and inspiration. Thanks.
By Andrew June 14, 2011 - 12:54 pm
A great post (as usual) from you Sherry. While we have very different travel lifestyles (I’m in an office and travel often via press trips), I can relate to some of your comments here.
I do love meeting so many diverse people from different parts of the world. I have made so many amazing friends in the last two years and coming off TBEX weekend, it was a reminder that we are indeed a community and should be working together to make this industry take notice of us.
The whole “how do I make some cash” in the blogging world bugs me. Yes, we all want to get paid for what we love doing. But if you’re simply in this to get rich or just are doing it for some extra pennies in your paypal account at the end of the week, then you will tire of blogging quickly.
Less than 10% of travel blogs make money as of this comment. That will hopefully clear up this notion that you start a blog and start rolling in the dough a few weeks later.
Great seeing you again, even if it was for only 37 seconds, at TBEX.
Cheers
Andrew
By Sherry June 15, 2011 - 12:17 am
Yes – how was our time together so short?! I’m in NYC this weekend – but only for 4 days. If you are around Sunday night – I have some friends getting together on the UWS before I head out for the Mongol Rally! Join!!
By Andrew June 15, 2011 - 2:02 pm
Unfortunately I cannot this weekend as I am celebrating Father’s Day with this 25lbs munchkin. We will definitely see each other before TBEX12 I hope. Safe travels!
By Evi @evitravels June 14, 2011 - 12:54 pm
Great post. I’m constantly on the verge of deleting my facebook page, and abandoning my blog. But then my dad will “like” one of my tumblr posts, or I’ll read a great travel blogger, and get re-inspired. Course now that I’ve decided to stay in Phnom Penh for a while, I may need to rework my blog into an expat blog!
By Spencer Spellman June 14, 2011 - 1:12 pm
I couldn’t agree more and love the honesty Sherry! I’ve come face to face with a lot of these things. Some of the things I came against with always moving and not being able to develop strong relationships in places is why I could probably not do the long-term travel thing again solo. It was great for a few months, but just isn’t for me and I can still travel and have a home somewhere.
By Sherry June 15, 2011 - 12:15 am
The relationship thing is really hard. In some ways I have more friends than ever…yet no one that I really connect to and certainly no one to date! 🙂
I hope you enjoy SF – it was one of my favorite places I ever lived!
By Erik June 14, 2011 - 2:39 pm
You are on a roll, Sherry. This is another in a recent streak of amazingly spot on posts. Your blog had always been great, but you are elevating your game. Anyone who has ever typed a single word trying to be a writer knows how hard it is to keep turning out the quality of work you do with consistency.
This post hit close to home with me. I booked my ticket to TBEX ’12 next year. I felt like a naive fool doing that for a couple of reasons. First, honestly, and I’m not being hard on myself, I’m not a very good writer. I want to be and I want to keep working at it, but right now, words come very hard. Second, I started blogging a couple of years ago, failed to do it enough, and my blog just petered out. My biggest New Years’ resolution this year was to start a new blog and at least post a picture on it everyday, and write at least one article per week for it. I’ve done that so far, and it’s been hard work. Third, I have no illusions about my blog and it’s future. I don’t ever expect it to make a living for me. I don’t ever expect to make any money off of it at all. So why do it? I like talking about travel, and there are very few people in the area I live in (Detroit) that I can talk about travel with. I like sharing my passion with people. I have a pretty good job, and am happily married to a woman who does not travel at all. It’s not like I’m ever going to be a digital nomad like you and so many of the bloggers I admire. I am lucky that I can take a month or a month and a half to travel each year, since both my boss and wife are cool with having me gone and know who I am. I’m worried about being seen as an imposter, but that’s my own insecurity.
Ugh… now this comment is another one of those you talked about in this article… Anyway, I hope you understand my admiration for you and your work. I hope you are aware of the enjoyment all your hard work brings to your readers who would love to travel more but can’t.
By Sherry June 15, 2011 - 12:14 am
Passion is powerful Erik – keep following it and don’t look back!
Regarding writing ability…ummm – I’m scared to tell you this – but just go back to my archives in my footer and choose anything from Nov. 2006 or Feb. 2007….my writing has changed a lot! That should make you feel better!
By Mike Lenzen | Traveled Earth June 14, 2011 - 3:07 pm
Hey Sherry, I’m one of those travel blogger want-to-be’s. Not that I’m trying to make a living off of my blog, but that I’ve started a blog but haven’t gone anywhere yet.
So far, I’ve had nothing but love for the travel blog community. I’ve learned so much from other bloggers both passively by reading their posts, and interactively by sending them pestering email and asking questions. The community is very supportive and friendly.
I’m also happy to receive comments in person from friends and family who have started following me online. It always makes my day.
As for the hate relationship, it hasn’t come up yet. I’m probably just too new at it.
By Sherry June 15, 2011 - 12:12 am
Keep enjoying it and just have fun. Once I started looking at it as a business and I started watching everyone around me – that’s when I started going a tiny bit crazy. The crazy certainly pushes me – but sometimes a bit too far! Best of luck Mike!!
By Debbie Beardsley June 14, 2011 - 3:14 pm
Yes, I’m normal!!!! Thanks for this great post. It was definitely needed.
By Sherry June 15, 2011 - 12:11 am
Ha! If that means that I’m normal…then I’m a bit worried for both of us!
By Craig June 14, 2011 - 8:39 pm
Who are those beautiful women in the photo with me? My memory is shot!
Yes – hard and lonely at times, wonderfully rewarding at others. Life is complex when you’re not trading time for money until your brain falls out.
Kia kaha! (Forever strong.)
By Keith June 14, 2011 - 9:41 pm
Well said. A good dose of honesty is healthy. Thanks for the medicine. 🙂 Glad to meet you this past weekend! Hope to see you again soon.
By Gray June 14, 2011 - 9:51 pm
Sing it, sister. You’ve pretty much capture the highlights and lowlights of blogging pretty well here. I love being able to write about my travels and post my photos, knowing others will read and enjoy them; but at the same time, I sometimes get sick of knowing that I have this crying baby that needs to be fed (otherwise known as my blog). Sometimes, I just want to take a long vacation from my blog.
By Sherry June 15, 2011 - 12:10 am
Crying baby…absolutely. Maybe that’s why I don’t want any real kids…I already have a digital one!
By Richard Escobar June 14, 2011 - 11:56 pm
Excellent post, Sherry! One of my favorites so far. I especially like what you wrote about the ‘noise’. So true. Keep up the good work. I always look forward to your posts. 🙂
By Sherry June 15, 2011 - 12:09 am
I’m always happy to hear that other people hear the voices inside their head! Thanks Richard!
By Richard Escobar June 15, 2011 - 4:10 am
“I’m always happy to hear that other people hear the voices inside their head”LOL! Awesome. 😉
By Sherry June 15, 2011 - 12:08 am
Thanks everyone for the encouraging comments! I actually had this post in draft in WordPress for a year…yes – a year. I finally decided to release it and add a few things to it. I certainly appreciate all of your support and I absolutely wouldn’t be doing this if the love didn’t outweigh the hate.
By Caz Makepeace June 15, 2011 - 2:56 am
I so hear you on this. I feel bi polar every day because I go through these love hate relationships. I especially agree about the noise. It really gets me down as I put high pressure on myself and I feel so lost amongst the awesomeness of eberyone else. Good to see everyone goes th hrough this and it is normal
By Matt June 15, 2011 - 2:59 am
Fantastic post; what I love most about blogging is simply being a part of the community of such open, giving and like-minded people. I hate that I don’t have more time to commit to writing, tweaking or building my website. It’s a passion that often gets set by the wayside while I focus on .. well, paying the rent!
This post and your message reminds me of a quote from my father – quite fitting I believe for anyone of us dedicated travel bloggers:
“If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
By Kurt W June 15, 2011 - 3:11 am
Sherry,
Great post, I agree with many of your thoughts but I still love the unknown factor of traveling the most…anything goes on the road.
By Vira June 15, 2011 - 3:14 am
great post!
I’m new in travel blogging world compared to you. I love it because I love sharing my experiences, I love writing, and I love ‘hearing’ others’ ordinary to inspirational experiences in traveling. And yup, people have been asking “what do you do for living?”, thinking that I’m so rich to be able to travel a lot more than they do. It’s funny because on the contrary, I fell broke most of the time, saving money for my travels :)) But I find contentment way more than when I hadn’t started traveling 😀
By Prime June 15, 2011 - 4:01 am
Hi Sherry, this post just sums up what I feel about the whole travel blogging thing that I just had to clip this in my delicious acct. (I hate high school too, teen agers are cruel to fat, unpopular geeks who just want to do their thing).
but like you, there are more things that i love about travel blogging *(“The good news is that I have more love than hate…and that’s what keeps me going!_”_)
This is why i continue doing it, and insisted on finding a time for it, despite my v busy daily sched).
because in the end, blogging allowed me to regain my own writing voice and fulfill my dream of being a travel writer. i may not be making money out of it (im a business journalist by trade), but this is my art, the product of my creativity, something that allows me to have a life 🙂
By Alison June 15, 2011 - 7:03 am
Oh wow Sherry, you said this so well! I identify with it all (well except living out of a backpack) 🙂 What really spoke to me was the high school clique aspect of blogging. I hated high school too and there are definitely days that I feel like I’m on the bottom of the blogging heap. You should know though there are so many of us, (yes especially me), who have been inspired by your writing and honesty and you are definitely an A list blogger to us 🙂
By Jannell June 15, 2011 - 3:57 pm
Amazing post, Sherry! I love that blogging keeps my momentum going, that I keep researching/learning about my trip. On the flip side, I hate the constant work and worrying that I am writing something worthwhile. As an added bonus, I hate the technical issues of having a blog and get frustrated that I don’t have the knowledge to tweak stuff on my own. In the end, it’s all worth the angst because I continue to meet awesome people in the travel blogosphere who, in turn, expose me to all sorts of cool stuff. I also like who I’m becoming (awww).
By Alisa June 16, 2011 - 2:44 am
I’m not a travel blogger, but have been blogging about leaving American and moving to rural sw France for almost 4 years. Sometimes I slack off and don’t post because I don’t think people are interested in my daily life here in France. But then I get an email from a follower saying “are you ok, why haven’t you posted”. I have also met people through my blog that are now really good friends. I do enjoy it, but sometimes feel I have to write something. It’s a great way for me to keep a journal, but love it that others are interested in what we are doing.
By Lisa | LLWorldTour June 17, 2011 - 4:28 am
Oh yep. As usual…I am right there with you. You and I started around the same time and continue to have these parallel lives. Even so much as in i have a similar post that’s been half written for probably 6 mos now. Sigh. It’s a hard balance, but totally with you in the fact that we DO help our audience or even the passerby that sends us a ‘wow, you’re amazing’ note or simply asks ‘how’d you do it??’ That continues to fuel me. Like everything in life, keep doing it as long as it makes you happy. When it doesn’t…do something else!
Lisa
By Emília June 17, 2011 - 2:20 pm
Hi, Sherry!
It’s been a while I don’t comment, but I couldn’t help in this post: one of the things that keeps me coming every new post here is that you put your heart out in everything you write. Whether it’s climbing a mountain, giving hotel advices or meditating on travel, we can always feel that there’s an author that have an honest expression (I think I can say for myself and many others who come here).
I admire you for you courage to show your personal characteristics and view and for having changed your life so that you could still be what you are and not accomodate for others.
Always following your adventures and rooting for you. I can’t wait for the rally to begin!
A big kiss,
Emília
By Mark H June 20, 2011 - 7:46 pm
I register with so many of your remarks after also being exhausted from an unsatisfying IT career. I am envious that you put so much of you into every article and write and illustrate so beautifully. Keep up the good work. The Mongol Rally should provide some wonderful experiences for you to share.
By eric July 3, 2011 - 8:12 pm
Thank you Sherry and everyone else! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who agonizes(ed) over this. I wrote my first travel ‘guest’ blog a few months ago for my friend Gillian while she was moving and getting settled into her new digs in Alberta. After that, I had great visions of writing once a week about the anxiety, angst, and excitement I was experiencing leading up to and during my trip through Africa. Somehow that hasn’t happened. Perhaps I felt compelled to write/ blog because everyone else was doing it and I thought I should too…as a way to get “noticed.” Although…I cannot remember if I ever thought of it as a way to make money while traveling as much as it was a way for me to document my trip and allow my friends and family to know what I was doing.
I’ve now been traveling for almost six weeks and I’ve yet to write anything since my first piece. Not sure why but perhaps it’s because I’m too busy packing my bag every few days and moving to a new location, some for as little as a few hours to others as long as a week. Trying to familiarize myself with my new surroundings and continually trying to adjust to this “foreign” culture. It’s been a challenge and I’m riding the wave. What I do know is that I no longer feel guilty about not doing it. If the mood strikes me, I may get to it eventually. I’ll do it for my love of photography and my desire to capture simplicity out of the chaos!
You’ve been a great inspiration and help to many people time and again. Keep up the great work and have an awesome rally!
By Denise July 9, 2011 - 10:27 am
I love everything about travel blogging because it is, and will always be, just a hobby. I don’t have to publish if I don’t feel like, or spend hours networking to get more people to read my blog. I don’t have to worry that I’m not making any money with it. If someone offers me money for advertising without me having to do any hussling then it’s great, otherwise who cares! Most of all, by having this attitude I don’t ruin travelling for myself, because every trip doesn’t necessarily have to become a blog post – I don’t have to take pictures of all the food I eat or remember the names of the restaurants I eat it in…
By Sagar Sahay October 20, 2020 - 3:19 am
I have been blogging for the past year and I learned everything on my own just by reading articles and watching videos. It was very tough to start but gradually after a year I am feeling good about it and I think I can scale it to the next level. The feeling is just amazing and the best thing is I am my own Boss.