Before you learn all about the mastery of audience building, be sure to check out the first instalment of my blog masterclass.

** Psst – I also run an online course which goes into all the gory bits of starting up a travel blog! **

BE PERSONAL

People in general are emotionally-driven, and if you can really market yourself towards the emotions of your audiences, they will be more likely to connect with the content you produce and stick around.

You should be open and honest – and even a little vulnerable – with your audience, and this will make them resonate with you. You can then use this to connect further, addressing your readers personally, and bearing them in mind of everything you do. You need to be able to answer the following questions for each post:

• How will this blog post solve the problems of my reader?
• How will this blog post impact their lives? Will it add any value to them or their knowledge?
• How will this blog post make my reader feel?
• What is the ideal outcome from the reader of this blog post?

FACEBOOK GROUPS

I’m just going to jump right into it. One of the best things that you can possibly do when trying to grow your online presence is to join all relevant Facebook groups. For example, I’m in several Facebook groups regarding female travel, solo travel, and travel blogging. I find that this is a great – and yet often under-appreciated – way to grow a blog, especially as these groups often work like little communities.

To find a group suited to you, simply head over to the Search section of Facebook and type in keywords relating to you, such as ‘Travel,’ ‘Blogging,’ ‘Female entrepreneurs,’ whatever it may be. You will then find that a lot of these groups operate by following a schedule. For example, one of the groups I am in has a schedule like this:

• Monday: Social media engagement. On this day, everyone leaves links to their social media under the post, specifying which type of engagement they would like. If it is Instagram, they often ask for followers, comments, and likes; if it is Pinterest, they often ask for scheduled pins; if it is Twitter, they often ask for likes and comments and retweets.
• Wednesday: Blog link swap. This is where two or three people get together and share organic, helpful links from another travel blog to their posts. This brings up your Domain Authority, and is great for SEO.
• Friday: Guest post. On Fridays, people wanting to write or include guest posts add a comment to the main post stating exactly what they’re looking for, and this form of posting is great for both blogs. One gets to build more organic links to their blog, and the other gets to feature great content! We talk a little more about guest posting and its importance later.
• Sunday: Blog share. This is, of course, where you share a link to your most recent post, and ask for people to comment on it, spend time on your site (again, good for Domain Authority), click through to other posts (great for showing Google people enjoy your content and find it useful), and share it on their social media.

Of course, Facebook group schedules vary – but at the heart of it all, joining these groups is invaluable, regardless of how far into your blogging journey you are.

PINTEREST

As I said earlier, Pinterest is my favourite type of social media to use, as it is so easy to grow!

For this, I highly recommend that you download a plugin relating to Pinterest, such as the WordPress Pin it! plugin, as this creates an easy way for readers to share your content on the site. On mine, you simply hover over an image and it comes up with a little Pin it! badge in the corner, where readers can click and save that image to their own Pinterest boards.

The trick with Pinterest is to be consistent, always uploading new images from your blog and engaging with other Pinterest boards, sharing images relating to your niche. On my Pinterest, 30% of it is my own content – guides and pretty pictures – and 70% of it is me sharing related content from others, such as beautiful photographs of Italy, road trip guides, food guides to my favourite cities, etc.

The key then is to post beautiful enough images that people want to share yours – and that’s when you can really start growing!

PROMOTE OFFLINE

Vastly underestimated, promoting your content offline as well as online is a sure way to bring in more readers. Be it via newspaper ads, partnerships, related fairs, business cards, speaking events, or simply just word-of-mouth, getting people talking about your work in the real world is one of the best forms of marketing.

Personally, I leave my business cards wherever I go – on friend’s fridges, in Airbnb fruit bowls, in books in libraries… 

It can cost as little as a tenner to buy 200 business cards, and you can find the best company suited to your needs online. It’s always good to carry a card on you – you never know who you’ll meet!

In addition to using business cards as a promotional tool, you can also design Enamel Pins Canada that reflect your personal style. You can feature your work’s logo, core IP image, or iconic lines.

Pins are more likely to stay with readers long-term, constantly stimulating their memories of your work. Customizing pins is quick and easy, and comes at a competitive price. Furthermore, they are suitable for a wider range of situations than business cards, allowing them to be given and used anywhere.

WHAT IS GUEST POSTING? WHY SHOULD I DO IT?

Guest posting is such an underestimated way of reaching new audiences, but along with widening your market reach, you’re also able to improve your Domain Authority by getting loads of healthy, organic links to your site. Especially as you progress and write for bigger and better blogs, these links are going to be invaluable for growing your own, truly getting into that SEO headset.

A guest post is basically where you hop on over to another blog that isn’t yours, and produce content for it. In return, expect links and mentions back to your own blog. To get involved in guest posting, simply reach out to other bloggers or post in Facebook groups, asking if they would be interested in a guest post from you. Sometimes, they may then ask to do a guest post on yours – and then everyone gets exactly the same thing, and it works out perfectly.

If you go down the lane of emailing or messaging other bloggers on social media, start it by stating exactly why you want to guest post on them. They need to know that you appreciate their content and that your values are the same – if you’re a travel blog aimed at mothers who travel the world with their kids, you’re probably not going to be the right fit for a young male travel blogger who only writes about bachelor-hood and all the ladies he gets with abroad. Make sure that your audience is their audience, and draw them in.

Along with that, you should send over a link to your current blog, along with any examples of past guest posts.

To find blogs that widely accept guest posts, you can easily do a Google search for the primary keyword, e.g. South Korea or Solo Travel, plus the words “write for us”, or “guest post guidelines.” Then you can work your way down the results, starting with the most popular blog with the best SEO and working your way down.

As mentioned earlier, some Facebook groups offer guest posts and link swaps, so be sure to take advantage of them when you can!

GET AUTHENTIC COMMENTS

Along with everything mentioned above, you should be constantly connecting with other blogs and bloggers. Find blogs similar to your own niche and comment on them, leaving genuine comments that they will appreciate receiving. If you think their photographs are beautiful, tell them! If you want to go to the restaurant they’ve mentioned because they serve what the blogger called ‘the best dumplings in the world’, then let them know!

Commenting on other blogs not only lets other bloggers out there know of your presence, but it means that you can get into the community. This will create a long-term relationship with other bloggers across the world – and that can only be a good thing!

Bear in mind that when you leave comments on other blogs, avoid leaving generic comments such as, ‘Great post, visit my blog!’ or ‘Nice pictures. Check out my latest post about the top ten reasons to take a road trip around Warsaw this Christmas.’ Because not only is it annoying for the person receiving these comments, but it also makes it more likely that those are the only types of comments you will receive, too.

GIVE AWAY FREE STUFF

Because who doesn’t love free stuff?! For example, hosting giveaways can be a brilliant way of reaching new audiences and expanding your current audience. By hosting giveaways where the applicants have to follow rules such as, ‘comment on two other posts, share to Twitter and Instagram, and follow me on Pinterest to enter’, your blog will be seen by many new eyes!

This can build brand awareness, drive traffic to your blog, increase engagement, improve sales of any items you may already be selling on your blog – and best of all, it can improve your readership!

Also on the topic of free stuff – one great way to build readership trust and let your readers know that you have created a blog to serve their needs rather than yours, is to have free things readily available on your blog. For example, I have a free guide to Wales and another comprehensive free guide to Victoria that you can access easily on my blog. I give away this content in exchange for things such as them joining my email subscription list – meaning that I get more subscribers, my work is being seen by more people, and my audience trusts me just that little bit more because they know I have their best interests at heart. It’s a win-win!

And so, I hope that you have enjoyed the second part of this Blog Masterclass series – believe me, there’s plenty more to come!

Stay tuned for the third part of this four-part series: How to Get Paid for Blogging. And then, whilst you’re waiting, why not read my previous post on how to build a better blog, or check out my interviews with successful travel bloggers?

WHILST YOU’RE AT IT, WHY NOT SHARE THE LOVE AND PIN THIS POST?

But luckily for you, you have me to tell you the answers. We will begin this blog masterclass with the first of this four-part series: How to actually start a travel blog. Because there’s no use in affiliate marketing or media packs if you don’t even own a domain!

** Psst – I’m also running an online course which goes into all the gory bits of starting up a travel blog! **

WHAT QUALITIES SHOULD A BLOGGER HAVE?

Let’s be honest – times have changed since 2012, and now the blogging industry is pretty saturated. It can be extremely difficult to start up a blog if you don’t have the right tools, and even harder if you have no idea where to even start. Audiences can be difficult to attract, social media can be finicky to use, and an incredible amount of time and effort has to be invested into a blog. 

As such, the two qualities that you will need to become a blogger are being motivated and passionate. Without them, this will not be an easy journey.

Along with these, you need to be good with setting tasks and deadlines and sticking to them, as your readers will want regular content – especially as you grow. There’s no point in getting them hooked if you only post once a year.

You need to be able to adapt and stay on top of trends, staying aware of your competitors and audience demand – and most of all, you need to be willing to learn. I have learnt so much over the past few years with my travel blog – more than I ever thought possible! – and it never would have happened had I closed myself off to the possibilities.

And if you’re starting, you’ll soon see that creating blogs isn’t just about writing. It’s about staying consistent, researching properly, and building a strong connection with your audience. When you focus on these skills, your blog will grow into a trusted space where readers keep coming back for fresh ideas and valuable insights.

Plus, it helps to have a trusty mentor such as yours truly to help you navigate the hurdles (;

GET A NOTEBOOK

Before you do absolutely anything, you should first grab yourself a notebook.

You’ll need a good notebook from the get-go, to write down your thoughts, keep track of blog post ideas, plan scheduling, scribble to-do lists, and overall help to organise what is inherently going to be a pretty chaotic journey.

Some (boring) people keep track of this with online documents, but personally, I like to write my notes by hand and have a physical copy of them by my side as I go about life. But of course, this is up to you. 

REFER TO A BLOG PLAN

Some of the first things that you will then be putting into this notebook will be your blog plans. You will need to answer the following questions:

– Why did you decide to create a blog?

– What audience are you looking to attract?

– What sort of content do you want to produce?

– What do you want to accomplish on a daily basis?

Once you’ve figured out exactly why you’ve decided to start up a blog and have a general idea of what you’ll be doing, you can then think about the specifics, such as:

– What is your niche, your USP?

– What will your readers benefit from reading your posts?

– How much time and resources are you willing to invest?

I know that it can be easier said than done to come up with a USP. I personally went about doing so by drawing a large spider diagram on the first page of my notebook, filling it with the things I was most passionate about. This included writing, food, and solo and female travel.

Then, I wrote about things that I knew a lot about, and within this I jotted down YA books, Crohn’s disease, and tea. I then thought about what sort of audience I want to attract, and decided to go for the target audience that I represented, resulting in a primary audience of female solo travellers aged between 18 and 26 and a secondary, more general audience, which loves tea and books, and had some sort of illness (especially those good ol’ autoimmune diseases!).

Then, you will want to research 5+ leading blogs similar to your niche and note what they do successfully, and then what you would change to improve them. You will want to cover the following points:

– Their niche

– The length of content

– What they are doing that you like

– What they are doing that you don’t like

– The quality and regularity of images used

– The frequency with which they produce content

– The amount of followers they have on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

– Their target audience (check their comments and social media engagement)

Finally, research 5+ blogs that are smaller and have a much slower growth and compare to the first few you looked at – why are these not as successful, and what does this tell you about what audiences enjoy? By answering the same questions again, you should be able to see how this impacts their popularity.

GAME PLAN

The final aspect of your blog plan should include objectives in regards to growth and income. A strong game plan for the first month may look like this:

• First week: purchase domain name, set up social media and email addresses under the same handle. Share the blog and social media with all friends and family, aiming to get 100 followers by Sunday. Order business cards and pay a designer to design a logo and header.
• Second week: Publish first post, share on all social media, get friends and family to do the same. Find similar blogs and engage with them, aiming to get 10 comments by Sunday. Sign up to affiliate sites to understand what a business looks for in a blog.
• Third week: Write second post, aiming to get 15 comments. Spend 20 hours taking photos in local area and creating strong blog photography. Sign up to Google Adsense and Amazon Affiliates. 
• Fourth week: Write third blog post, aiming to get 20 comments, two social shares, and first commission from Amazon Affiliates. Spend 40 hours learning how to edit photos and publish high-quality images across all social media, directing them to blog content.

Long term-plans such as “I would like my posts to feature in Forbes online” or “I want my brand to be recognisable” should also be noted. Start thinking about how you can achieve these, and always keep it in the back of your mind as you go ahead.

GET THE EQUIPMENT

To create killer content, you need the equipment. I take my photographs with a Nikon D5300, which is a pretty good start-up camera which only cost me about £300, and over the years I’ve kept the body and just updated the lenses. So long as your photos are clear and help to illustrate your content, you should be golden.

Alternatively, you could always source royalty-free photographs online, but this lack of personality will absolutely be felt by your audiences.

Along with a good camera, it’s likely you’ll also need some sort of editing equipment to really bring the photographs to life. I personally use Lightroom and Photoshop, although I did start by using the inbuilt Photos editor on my Macbook!

You will likely need a good computer/ laptop with extra RAM, space, and a good processing speed, and little costs will always crop up – such as a new site designer, extra security for the website, a tech person to help speed up your site. So be warned that whilst travel blogging is one of the most rewarding jobs you can do, it can come with both big upfront costs and loads of little costs that crop up as you go along.

CHOOSE A NAME

And now, with your trusty notebook beside you, you should start brainstorming name ideas for your blog.

You will need to choose something catchy, something you will stick to for years to come. Personally, I changed my blog name so many times that by the end of it, even I couldn’t remember what it was called. Because of this, there are still endless links across the web to my old blog addresses, confusing potential audiences that will now never read this here blog post. 

With that in mind, think about your blog name BEFORE you start a travel blog. This will ensure that your branding is consistent and that audiences will always know where to find you. I recommend putting aside a week or so for constant brainstorming, using online name generators, looking at other blogs for the sort of vibe they go for, flicking through books and dictionaries – anything that could potentially result in a name that you’d still see yourself with in years to come.

One thing to make sure is that your blog name isn’t limiting in any way. For example, had I named my blog ‘Amy Travels Wales,’ I would have potentially been subjecting myself to only write about Wales. As great as the country is, I would have gotten bored with it eventually.

Along with that, make sure that your chosen name is available across all social media platforms. Mine wasn’t available on Instagram, so I had to beg the old owner of the account to give it up for me… Oh, how I grovelled.

What is it that they always say in American movies? Ah, yes. CONSISTENCY IS KEY. 

PICK YOUR PLATFORM

Like the whole name game, this is another thing that you’re not going to want to chop and change. You need to pick one platform and stay with it.

To begin with, I used Blogger, which wasn’t bad at all (for 2012). It came with easy-to-use themes, gave me all of the tools to build a blog myself, and was a perfect way to start out. However, with Blogger, the domain ended in .blogspot rather than .com – and who’s going to trust awkwarddonkey.blogspot.co.uk to write travel guides for them? 

When I decided to go for a whole blog redesign in 2017, I made the switch to WordPress. I didn’t buy my blog directly from them, though – instead, I used a hosting provider. If you’re serious about building and growing a blog, then it’s imperative that you go through hosting to maintain full ownership and control of your site.

To make it simple, I went through a hosting provider called Bluehost. They set me up with a matching email address, a domain name, and 24 hour support, and are super helpful with everything blog-related (such as acquiring security certificates, protecting against malware, recommending designers, etc). If a hosting provider doesn’t offer all of this, then you should be a bit sus.

For me, I spent about £350 on hosting – which covered the following three years – and £200 on a blog designer. Plus, if we’re being honest about it, £25 on a kickass notebook.

BRAND IDENTITY

And then, congrats, you have a blog! Or at least, partly.

The key now is to work on your brand identity. I highly recommend that you get your own blog designer, which you can find by either scouring the net, looking at design marketplaces, using services such as Fiverr and Upwork to hire a freelancer, or even stalking your favourite blogs, as sometimes at the very bottom of the page, their blog designers would have signed off and may have added the copyright notice.

I found my blog designer on a design marketplace called Envato, and they were super helpful in sorting out everything design-related on my blog. Since then, however, they have actually dropped off of the face of the earth – but luckily, ya boi knows HTML.

You should work out which theme, colour structure, and logo you would like, and your designer will work closely with you on this. The brandmark – AKA the logo – is one of the most important parts of the whole process as it will define your brand. Once you have received your brandmark, be sure to use it in everything you do – it should be clear at the top of your blog header, should be used when guest posting, and should be utilised to the max if you ever create any tangible products. 

You should then refer back to your notebook where you wrote down your targets and blog plan, and make sure that it all aligns. If you’re creating a travel blog for people with disabilities, make it clear in the branding! You’re going to want your audience to recognise the blog and content instantly, so make it memorable.

ONCE IT IS UP AND RUNNING…

One great way to make sure that your blog link is already embedded on the internet – even before your first post – is to submit it to websites such as Yandex, Bing, and Google. You can do this by typing things such as ‘submit blog to Google/ Bing/ etc’ into the search engine. This will then bring up the related search console, where you simply add your blog link to be ‘recognised’ by the search engine. It’s actually pretty simple, and shouldn’t take much time.

LEARN SEO

Right from the start, you should learn how to use SEO – also known as Search Engine Optimisation – so that you can steadily work yourself to the top of Google’s search results. You will pick a lot of this up as you go along, but it is useful to understand the basics from the get-go.

SEO is important as it will draw traffic to your blog as people search for terms relating to your content – in my case, ‘solo and female travel’ and ‘Crohn’s travel’. Google looks for pages that are high-quality, relevant, have consistent readers that find your content interesting, and that have been around long enough to establish some sort of authority. But to start building on this, you need to make sure of several things.

First, we have mobile friendliness, which we spoke about a little earlier. By optimising your blog for mobile, you ensure that traffic is able to visit you from multiple devices.

Following this, you should make sure that you have a good loading speed. This can be checked on PageSpeed Insights by Google, which also happens to give you some information on how you can improve the speed of your specific page. One of the main causes is images that are too big – so make sure that you never upload RAW photography files to the blog!

Then, you should think about the keywords people will be using to find your blog. You need to first really think about your audience – what are they interested in? What sort of problems may they have that you could solve with a blog post? What sort of language do they use to describe the things they do?

If you’re targeting your blog towards travel foodies and you just happen to live in Cardiff, you will need to make sure that you’re the leading player in the Cardiff foodie scene by producing loads of good quality, helpful posts regarding cafes and restaurants in Cardiff, using keywords such as ‘foodie’, ‘Cardiff’, ‘Cardiff food’, ‘where to eat Cardiff’ and so on.

If you then head over to Google and search these exact keywords, it will then come up with suggestions, such as ‘Cardiff snack bars’ and ‘vegan Cardiff’. You can then make sure that these keywords are used in your title, in your meta description, and in your image tags. Be careful to not use the same keyword 5,000 times in the same post – instead, spice it up with synonyms, similar phrases, and other variations.

Another thing that you can do for SEO is to have loads of healthy, organic links all over the internet leading to your blog. One great way to do this is with guest posts – which we will delve into on the next masterclass.

STORYTELLING

One of the most important parts of blogging – and perhaps one of the most underrated – is the fact that so much of it is centred around storytelling! A good post has a solid story arc,  serves a purpose, answers a question, personifies the people mentioned, and (if the blog is  travel-related) talks about the dazzling beauty of the places involved.

A lot of my blog pieces tend to have full-blown story arcs, simply because I know how much an audience responds to a well-planned story that happens to hit all the right spots (plus, I have a writing degree, which is useless for quite literally everything else). They posts are interesting, they’re helpful, they touch upon my own emotions and experiences – and it also happens to answer every question my audience happens to have!

One of the easiest ways to make sure that your blog post is going to be interesting is simply by doing interesting stuff. If you’re constantly pushing yourself, trying new things, and opening yourself up to new experiences, you already have content that audiences would likely be interested in reading.

Following this, you need to be able to edit. I write my posts straight onto the blog, but sometimes I paste them into Google Docs, choose a different font, and use the in-built spell checker to make sure I don’t miss any typos or grammatical issues. Getting friends and family to check over your posts or getting Google to read your post back out to you can both be super helpful if you’re a rubbish editor.

USE CTAS

Learn and optimise behind-the-scenes marketing through the use of CTAs (Call-To-Actions) – primarily sidebar CTAs, bottom-of-the-post CTAs, and Connect on Social Media CTAs.

Sidebar CTAs are where you place images or links on the side of your blog that state things such as ‘Check Out My Most Recent Post’. Readers can then click on the link to be redirected to exactly that, both making your site easier to navigate, and offering readers more helpful things to look at in the sidebar of your blog. You will be able to add these easily under the Appearance and Customisation part of your blogger dashboard.

Adding social media related CTAs tells your reader that you are available on other platforms, where you also happen to regularly produce content. Adding buttons that state things such as ‘Let’s Connect on Instagram’ will draw readers into checking out your social media, where you can then connect and build a following.

And bottom-of-the-post CTAs, such as the words ‘Do you agree? Tell me what you think in the comments!’ will generate more engagement on your blog as you encourage your reader to offer their own thoughts. From this, you can engage with your readers – making sure to answer any questions they may have, and thanking them if they compliment your writing/ photography skills.

CTAs are so important for keeping the audience engaged and interacting with your site for longer. And you know what they say, the longer the site time, the longer the…

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Anyway! I hope that you have enjoyed the first part of this Blog Masterclass series – there’s plenty more good stuff to come!

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding anything I’ve talked about (or not talked about) – after all, there’s nothing like an audience interacting with a CTA (;

Stay tuned for the second part of this four-part series: How to Build an Audience. And then, whilst you’re waiting, why not read my previous post on how to build a better blog, or check out my interviews with successful travel bloggers?

WHILST YOU’RE AT IT, WHY NOT SHARE THE LOVE AND PIN THIS POST?

Accommodation – £0

To start off with, all of my accommodation was paid for by other people – for various reasons. When I first landed in Alicante, I was able to stay with my ex-boyfriend (funnily enough, not an ex at the time) in a gorgeous little house by La Marina. This meant that I was basically adopted by the family, and didn’t have to pay a single penny for keep. Pretty convenient, honestly.

From there, I met up with a family that were complete strangers at the time, but that I would grow to consider my own. As an au-pair, I was taken across Valencia all the way to Madrid, staying in cute little hotels with the family and finally settling down in their quaint home in a town called Móstoles. I met several friends along the way, each offering up their homes – resulting in a wonderful little journey around Spain with the base rate of £0. Just the way I like it.

Travel – £257

As expected, flights were the most expensive part of my whole journey – and only because I was an absolute knob and missed my first flight out. In total, I spent a (wildly unnecessary, tbh) £227 on flights.

When I had finally landed in Spain, I found myself spending a mere £30 on transport due to a rather magic metro card I found (called Renfe+) where you pay a set price and can explore more or less the whole of Northern Spain on it for free. Pretty handy. You also get free entry to galleries and rooftop cafes, which is neat.

HITCHHIKING AND USING RANDOM STRANGER’S CARS

I also tried my hand at hitchhiking. Having never done so before, the only factor convincing me to jump into a random stranger’s car was the fact that I was literally multi-tasking heat exhaustion with a severe lack of water and 40+ degrees in the shade, going up a hill which featured absolutely 0 said shade. When a random couple pulled up to me and suggested I get in their car, I was so dazed I just hopped right in. The journey back to the centre of civilisation took so long, and via a strange route I had never taken before, that I found myself nearly nodding off as the woman told me stories from her childhood. Honestly, I’m still not 100% convinced I made it out alive and am not just living in some weirdly lucid coma.

As I spent the majority of my time in Spain living with my aforementioned au-pair host family -with around 10 days also spent with the family of my dear ex-love-of-my-life – I was driven around from town to town, city to city, without a qualm. Honestly, I feel like they were all just pretty happy to have someone nag at them to be more adventurous, and I’m thankful they spent so much gas money on my expeditions.

Food – £35

In concept, all of my food was free (all six meals a day). However, I have a secret love affair with sweet things, and found a good chunk of my money going on snacks. From cakes to churros to ice-cream, I spent day after day meeting new-found friends and checking out all the local bakeries.

I was taken out for meals with my ex-boyfriend’s family, my temporary au-pair family, and then to soirees and birthday dinners with my temporary extended family. And there you have it – three month’s worth of food for what I would typically spend on a week’s shopping. Budget AF.

Excursions – £4

I visited over 50 castles, museums, galleries, and little day trip cities as I ventured around Spain – paying absolutely nothing for all except one. Here’s how.

STUDENT’S/ EU CARD

With a bit of research, I soon discovered that everything was free. Kind of. In order to visit such a sheer amount of awesome little places, I had to do a bunch of research before I rocked up anywhere. Here’s the gist – if you are a member of the EU, a student (or simply someone aged 0 – 26), unemployed (with evidence), or someone that knows the free entry times, you can pass security without dishing out a dollar. It’s all there, if only you look. The only time I had to pay (this is where the £4 comes in) was when I went to a castle during peak times, simply because I CBA to wait around for hours for free entry.

SPONGING OFF MY HOST FAMILY

The aforementioned au-pair family would also take me places, and when they did so, I would find them paying for everything. Whether it was an entry ticket to go wild swimming in the mountains, or a little fee to enter an olde historical building, they would always pay for me (they also bought me a gym membership and other pointless little things). They were so incredible dishing out so much, and all I had to do was watch TV with their kids for a few hours a week on the rare days both parents went to work. A pretty sweet deal, if you ask me.

Extras – £78

Spending £78 on little extras was completely unnecessary and could 100% have been avoided – and yet I couldn’t resist window shopping. I ended up buying exactly seven incoherent Spanish novels, two equally as incoherent Vinyls, and a bunch of tourist souvenirs for family members back home (along with a really fancy, really tiny pot of moisturiser). In all honesty though, I don’t think that’s too bad for three whole months, even if the 6kg bucket of ColaCao nearly sent me to Customs.

Income

Whilst I was away, I also managed to secure a steady stream of income. I’m not sure how applicable it is, but due to the fact that I have been blogging and writing for magazines for years, I was able to do about five hours of actual work to make triple back of what I had spent. I made £550 straight up from au-pairing, £130 for writing articles, and £460 from various other sources – such as product placement, affiliate links, and sponsored posts.

Not to be dramatic, but I 100% felt like a mortal God when I was dishing out advice to my friends and followers about how I managed to travel. I really hope that this helps some of you, or at least answers some rather demanding questions about how I could possibly be living a Snapchat highlife.

Has this post helped or inspired any of you guys to take your own budget tours? Or have you got any tips I could use next time? Let me know in the comments below!

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THEY MAKE YOU MORE BRAVE/ ADVENTUROUS

I’ve always considered myself relatively brave, traipsing cross-country solo and putting myself in deeply uncomfortable (and sometimes sliiiightly unsafe, oops) situations all for the sake of a little adventure. But faced with a plate of fish, un-filleted, I almost blanched at the idea of decapitating a floppy fish corpse myself. However, Frankie took one look at my reaction and stated “I can rip the head off for you if you can’t do it yourself.” I found myself not only prising off the head, but also peeling off the tail, scales, spine, and tiny bones myself, just because I am the adult and I should be able to fillet a fish myself. Frankie was proud, I was proud, and the waiter was glad that he didn’t have to de-bone a fish for the millionth time that day.

THEY GET YOU INTO SITUATIONS YOU WOULD RATHER AVOID

The reason I would have never found myself blackmailed into getting my fortune told by a rabbit by a rotten-toothed cad was because I believe myself to have an ounce of sense. However, kids seem to lack this quality, and dive head-first into mega awkward situations just so that they can pet the rabbit and wear the free bracelet. By the time the guy had attached rope around both of our wrists and egged his magic rabbits into telling us that we were both going to be exceedingly rich very soon, he tried blackmailing us into throwing our money at him. Luckily, Frankie is more adapt at being exceedingly rude, so we got out of that situation pretty easily. However, I personally don’t like having to yell at a guy to free us from a curse. Love being held captive against my will.

THEY PUT A SPIN ON YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS (FROM ABOUT FOUR FEET OFF THE GROUND)

On the third day of our sojourn to Turkey, we found ourself in the heart of an ancient market. It was insanely beautiful, so of course I wanted photographs of myself standing in front of the ruins. Doubting Frankie’s photographer skills – because she is literally ten years old – I double-tie the strap around her and leave her with my Nikon. I should never have been apprehensive, because she’s actually pretty darn good, and I’ve never had photos taken from such a refreshingly low angle before. I’d hire her in a flash. Downside – she wanted photographs in return, and is not camera shy at all (half an hour in front of one wall so she could pose? Alrighty then).

EASIER TO ASK RANDOM RUSSIAN BOXERS FOR A PHOTOGRAPH

When you’re travelling with a kid, you find yourself more enthusiastically confident when you find a massive Russian boxer and want pics to show your gym-addicted friends. There’s always the excuse of, “pardon me, but my niece here would love a photo of you” when you bump into someone interesting. Never again will you have to take the blame for being a fangirl again.

THEY MAKE YOU A MILLION TIMES MORE EXCITED

Especially to the seasoned traveller, I found myself slightly bored of the humdrum of travel prior to the trip. Boarding the plane, I had the attitude of “let’s get this part over with then.” Frankie, on the other hand, was inconsolable with excitement. “I’M SO EXCITED I COULD DIE,” she yelled as we passed the air stewards. Everything is regenerated and you see the world through their eyes, where everything is shiny and new and the world is full of possibilities. Whilst you may not get excited about pancakes for breakfast for the sixth day in a row, it’s impossible that a kid won’t still be insanely enthusiastic to arise to twenty pancakes day after day.

YOU CAN DO KID THINGS AND NOT LOOK LIKE A DERANGED ADULT

There’s a kids play zone, with incredible twisty slides? There’s a disco that looks cheesy and hilarious? Bam, now you’re travelling with a tiny human you’re suddenly allowed to fling yourself into a ball pool and not look like you’re off your anti-insanity meds. Somehow, travelling with a kid means that you are also capable of doing kid things, even if you will end up getting stuck on the waterslide. Also, people are a lot less judge-y if you’re holding three ice-creams whilst stood with a kid, even if they are all inevitably going to be consumed by you.

YOU NOTICE EVERYTHING

Obviously you have to be aware of your surroundings in pretty much all scenarios anyway, but when you’re travelling with a smaller, less wary human, you have to be extra vigilant. It keeps you on your toes, and doubles your independence – if something goes wrong, both you and the child are screwed. You notice things you wouldn’t, and with a kid at your heels, things you otherwise wouldn’t clock are pointed out. A boring old adult wouldn’t notice the insane candy store 80 feet away, but you can bet your ass that a ten year old will. Also, you suddenly know everything and are a bask of all wisdom – travelling with someone who believes you know everything in the universe is also both refreshing and likely to result in a god complex.

And so, I found myself regenerated and raring to go on new adventures again. My niece may have just saved my relationship with travel, and made me feverish with excitement for exploring every inch of the planet.

Could you guys ever see yourselves travelling with a family member that won’t understand at least half of your jokes, because you’re too boring and adult-y? Let me know in the comments below!

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BOOK AT THE RIGHT TIME

According to a study by the Airlines Reporting Corporation, the best time to book your airfare is around six weeks before departure. For international flights, consider 6 – 8 weeks, with peak flights best two months in advance.

FLY AT THE RIGHT TIME

Avoid peak times such as Christmas, Easter, and high-season in June, July, and August. Also, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are typically the cheapest days to fly out, and overnight flights offer the most affordable time of day. It’s always best to use a comparison site such as Skyscanner to have access to a monthly view of the cheapest dates for your destination.

GO CONNECT

Whilst non-stop flights may be more comfortable, you could save up to 50% by purchasing a flight that stops en-route. I booked a flight to Cyprus that would stop for an hour in Antalya, which whilst inconvenient also meant that I was offered a whole week-long holiday for less than £140. 

BOOK A LAYOVER

Related to the above point, some budget airlines may be unique to a destination, meaning that if you book with a layover sliced in between you could save a considerable amount. I use AirWander to compare the best prices for this. 

BOOK FOR ONE PERSON

If you are purchasing multiple flights, it is usually best to book them individually. This is because if you book for three people and the seats are each priced at £100, £200 and £300, the transaction would charge each flight at the premium price. Buying separately means that only one sucker pays the £300.

 USE COMPARISON SITES

Everyone knows about Skyscanner by now, but other good sites to use are Momondo and Kiwi. You’ve got to feel sorry for the guys that only use one mass search engine.

AVOID HIDDEN COSTS 

Airlines such as Ryanair often make up their money by charging you for things you didn’t think you could get charged for. For example, by not printing your boarding tickets prior to departure, Ryanair charges nearly £18 per ticket – and don’t forget those extra baggage fees.  

GOOGLE AIRLINES THAT ARE SO SMALL THEY WOULDN’T BE LISTED

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MISTAKE FARES

BOOK IN DIFFERENT CURRENCIES

 BUY TWO SINGLES

Related to the idea of booking several tickets via different transactions, buying two singles instead of one return can also work out cheaper.

CHECK THE PRICE AFTER 24 HOURS

USE REWARD SCHEMES AND FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMS

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REFER TO A BLOG PLAN

These first three points stand to help organise a game plan. To begin with, ask yourself the following questions: Why did you set about creating this blog? What do you want to accomplish on a daily basis? What do you owe your readers, and how do they benefit from reading? What’s your niche and USP? Once you’ve got solid answers, you’ll know exactly where you want to take your blog.

RESEARCH OTHER BLOGS

Following that, research 5+ leading blogs similar to your niche and note what they do successfully, and then what you would change to improve them. Then research 5+ blogs with a similar following to yours and compare to the first few you looked at – why are these not as successful, and what does this tell you about your own?

SET MILESTONES AND LONG-TERM PLANS

The final aspect of your game plan should include objectives in regards to growth and income, setting goals such as “I would like to earn £20 the first week, £200 the second, and then £2,000 by the end of a six month period” gives you a clearer vision. Long term-plans such as “I would like my posts to feature in Forbes online” or “I want my brand to be recognisable” should also be noted. Start thinking about how you can achieve these.

FOLLOW THE 80:20 RULE

Once you’ve got a solid game plan, then you should really focus on the posts themselves. A typical rule is that you spend 20% of your time creating a blog post (writing the text, taking the photographs), and the other 80% promoting it through social media and marketing.

LEARN SEO

I found a helpful guide by Google that covers the basics of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) that I found quite helpful to begin with. To make sure your posts score as highly as possible in internet rankings, learning and mastering SEO is a must.

CONSISTENT BRANDING

PLAN YOUR TIMINGS

Soft colours and different tones often result in some of the best photographs, and I find that if you want to add a small contrast to your photos then shooting either really early in the morning or in the evening can render some of the best lighting – also, there’s less likely to be tourists swarming about every corner in the twilight hours.

FRAMING

Yesterday, I flew back from Adeje, and looking back at my photographs some of my favourites have been ones where the mountains are framed with trees, or where door frames obstruct the focus. Mess around with the foreground and background and add depth to your images.

USE A TRIPOD

Especially during long exposure or dark shots, using a tripod is one of the most important things to make your photographs less shaky and more focused. You could take the best photo in the world, but if it’s blurred when you look back at it then you’ll be hella mad at yourself.

VR AND IS

Speaking of shaky images, if you have to take tricky photos handheld, it’s definitely useful to learn about VR (Vibration Reduction) and IS (Image Stabilisation), options that most good cameras should have on the body.

FOCUS ON A SUBJECT

A photo of, say, a beach, may be great, but adding diversity to an image to enhance the look of it can definitely work in your favour. If a surfer suddenly jumps to the ocean, or a kid’s clown is sat entertaining on the sand, getting them in the shot can both make it more interesting and have something to draw your eye to.

GET ON THE GROUND

Different angles can be used to shape up images. If you’re walking down an old street full of cobbles, getting down low to get in the whole scene would help enhance the image, along with if you were to get close to action such as ocean waves or lavender fields.

USE BAD WEATHER TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Don’t be put off by bad weather conditions, as you often find that they could add an atmosphere to a photo. I went to the Lake District and the stormy skies overhead looked so much better than if it were clear and blue, and are definitely more intriguing than a lot of the shots I shot there in the sun.

DON’T LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT YOUR CAMERA

You miss out on 100% of shots you don’t take – and it’s kinda hard to shoot when your camera is in the back of the car.

ASK THE LOCALS FOR GOOD SPOTS

After all, they have probably lived there for years and scoped out some pretty good locations. Whilst guide books and research can hint at some good locations, actually going out and getting lost will give you so much more variety than your average tourist.

EDITING IS YOUR FRIEND

Speaking of which, editing photographs can be useful in so many ways. Ever seen a photo of the Aurora Borealis, with the vibrant greens stretching across the sky? Yeah, they didn’t really look like that. Subtly enhancing colours and themes can really make a photo pop, and will work in your favour if you’re careful not to go overboard.

SHOOT IN RAW

One of my friend’s father’s is a photographer, and on a trip away with his family he taught me that shooting with JPEG and the like make it so much harder to edit at a later date, and will obstruct the quality of the overall image. Whilst it may take up more memory, shooting in RAW is a sacrifice you will be glad you made.

LEARN HOW TO USE A CAMERA

If only that photographer I mentioned at the start actually knew how to use his equipment, eh? Learning the ins and outs of your camera is one of the most important things you can do – don’t just shoot on automatic! I use a Nikon D5300 because it is simple to use whilst not compromising quality.

BE PATIENT

Here’s an example of me not following my own advice, but I really admire people who spends hours waiting to catch the perfect sunset or a bird taking flight, and I love photos like that. After all, patience is a virtue, right?

POV

I only mentioned this because I adore POV shots! I can’t remember the name of the couple that shoots all their shots with their hands holding in the shot, but they’re some of my favourites and I can always tell when a photo belongs to them. Add a voice to your photos and give the viewer something to relate to.

STALK THE INTERNET AND MAGAZINES FOR INSPIRATION

Think Pinterest, Wanderlust mag, National Geographic’s Instagram. I spend so many hours just scouring the pages of photographers I love, and I’ve easily learnt a thing or two from just that. At the very least, you’ll end up with a massive list of places you want to go to.

Do you guys plan on involving more of these tips into your own photos, or could suggest any others? Let me know in the comments below!

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BUT BEFORE YOU DO – WHY NOT SHARE THE LOVE AND PIN THIS POST?

For those of y’all who don’t know, I’m the worst when it comes to flying. Not because I still have a debilitating fear, but because my main coping mechanism is to ask questions and thoroughly understand everything that is going on around me. This sounds like a great anti-fear technique, but recently, I was sat in an airport departure lounge and was asking about what would happen if the plane got hijacked, and who takes over if the pilot got shot? A woman shaking out of her skin ended up approaching me and begging me to stop nattering about Final Destination-esque scenarios, because she has agonising aviophobia and what I was saying put her on the verge of throwing up. It turns out that there are actually a bunch of ways to deal with a fear of flying, and what may work for some may send others into full panic mode. Regardless, I’ve mentioned some of the best ways to deal with a fear of flying, and how I personally overcame mine.

Mine began with a dodgy trip to Cyprus, where at the last minute the tour operator changed the route for a refuelling stop in a deeply problematic area of the world with a rickety old plane company I’d never heard of before, and I felt so uneasy about the trip that I ended up at 3am in the deep dark part of the internet reading up on statistics and biased ideas that scared the living shit out of me. Then, of course, there was my trip to Poland where the plane actually dropped out of the sky during a world-class storm. Needless to say, my fear of flying escalated exponentially since then. Considering I want to travel for a living I knew that I had to overcome my phobia, and so I spent a long time working on it so that it would be manageable enough to fly with – and yesterday I booked a spontaneous four-hour flight to Adeje for a week. Now, I actually feel pretty excited about my flight – and here’s how I did it;

ESTABLISH EXACTLY WHAT IT IS THAT SCARES YOU

LEARN ABOUT TURBULENCE

AVOID COMMON MISBELIEFS ABOUT OVERCOMING YOUR FEAR

Some people suggest drinking, but that will dehydrate you more than you will already be with the change in pressure and make you feel worse when you land. It’s also not a good long-term solution. Others suggest taking sleeping pills or distracting yourself with whale song (or just conking out and laying back on some silk pillows), but neither really fix the problem. You’ve got to get to the route of your fear and work up from there, and by taking yourself mentally out of the situation you’re still going to face the same problem each time you think about flying. Don’t get caught up in your aviophobia – after all, it’s illogical, and would be much more productive if you were that meticulous about trying to stop your smoking habit or weaning down on red meats.

SAY HELLO TO THE PILOT!

One of the stewards may ask the pilot if you are able to see the cockpit and meet the pilot themselves before you take off if you ask them nicely. Meeting the person controlling the plane and seeing the controls themselves helps minimise the anxiety that comes with the unknown, and should put you more at ease. Also, in regards to the pilots, they go through such rigorous training and invest so much time and effort (and money – it costs like £160,000 just for the official training, not counting anything before or after that) into their careers that they’re deeply passionate and educated about the aircraft they fly and will always put your safety first. A lifetime of dedication and preparation means that they’re pretty trusted with your life in their hands – and, according to an aeroplane engineer I spoke to, the pilot and co-pilot have to have different meals on the plane should the food make them ill, which should help with minor food fears.

PUT YOURSELF IN THE FRONT SEAT

Whilst this isn’t how I personally overcame my aviophobia, some people suggest that you could take flying lessons or at least try out a simulator. This will demystify the idea of flying, and help you understand the sheer amount of preparation and planning that goes into making a plane fly.

CHANGE YOUR FLIGHT ACCORDINGLY

Whilst looking at flights, you can read up on the information about which plane you will be on, and can choose a flight with a bigger plane (less turbulence), get a seat at the front (less of a bumpy ride), and pick a more direct route (less take offs and landings). By going through some extra measures, you can make sure that you will feel more comfortable and secure on your trip. Also preplan by arriving at the airport early, booking an aisle seat so that you can’t see the 35,000 feet drop to the ground from the window, or get an upgrade by the emergency exit so that you feel less trapped.

FLY FIRST CLASS

Whilst I may still get a small amount of anxiety every now and then when I fly, I know for sure that if someone offered me a first class flight right now I would hop out of my dressing gown and jump straight on the plane. Believe me, it’s a lot harder to be frightened sipping champagne and lounging in some crisp white sheets watching a good film.

WORK ON RELAXING

If your shoulders feel tight, give them a rub. Spend time working moisteriser into the fatty part of your palms. Use a plastic fork to scratch that one spot on your back that you can never reach. Massage your scalp and play with your hair. You may look slightly unhinged, but at least it’s better than doing a Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids and standing in the middle of the aisle shouting “There is something they’re not telling us!”

LEARN HOW A PLANE WORKS

The dangers we once had years ago, such as crashing into an incoming plane (the vertical deviation of any plane is less than the height of the tail so that’s rendered moot) or an engine exploding, are now pretty much diminished.  I interviewed an aeroplane engineer at Heathrow who told me that both twin engined and aircraft with four engines can both run on just one engine without problem – and even then, aircraft can glide for around 100 miles if the engines fail at 30,000ft, landing safely on ground of floating on water. The very seat you sit in can withstand 16 times the force of gravity, along with being self-extinguishing and fire retardant. One of the biggest facts for me is that for every hour in the air, at least 11 hours had been spent on maintenance of that particular plane prior.  An eight hour flight? Nearly 90 hours of prep. As a fun fact though, every centimetre of slack you have in the seatbelt will propel you six times as far forward if the plane jolts, so make sure you use it properly and keep it tightened.

PREPARE YOURSELF, BUT DON’T BE IRRATIONAL

Learn everything you can about what to do in an emergency so that that aspect isn’t dauntingly scary and you feel more prepared – however, that can be taken a tad too far. For example, a couple of flights ago I was sat there counting and working out how far away the emergency exit was and how to get there with my eyes closed. It irritated the person next to me to no end, and it didn’t do me any favours either. I’ve found that it’s best to understand how to react to negative situations, but once you have that information, calm down and take it in your stride. Congrats, you’re prepared – but don’t obsess.

REALISE IT’S ALL IN YOUR MIND

Understand that if you’re nervous about flying whilst on the ground, then it’s not actually flying that you’re focusing on, but more the anxiety that the idea causes. Remind yourself that whilst flying, you are safe and well and going to a lovely country (unless it’s to England, in which case, consolations). And then, like the famous step in Alcoholics Anonymous, acceptance is one of the last stages of your recovery from fear. Accept that you can’t control the situation and that you’re in good hands, and you should start feeling a lot better.

AND FINALLY, FACE YOUR FEAR!

Just think, flying is actually the safest part of your journey, and the safest mode of transportation by far (cars, trains, boats – none have had as much time and monetary investment as that of the aviation industry to keep it’s passengers safe). You’re more likely to die on your walk into the plane, as your likeliness of dying in a plane crash is one in 20 million (over ten times better than in the 1960’s, as the stats get better every day). At the end of all this, if you’re still absolutely terrified – why not be mega dramatic like me and take a minimum of three flights a day until you’ve overcome it all? (If you think I’m joking – I’m really not, I actually did this)

DON’T DWELL ON THE FACT THAT YOU JUST SPENT 80 HOURS OF WAGES IN ONE GO

And you have nothing to show for it. Honestly, you’ll feel a lot better if you ignore that niggling feeling that you could have seen 16 Broadway shows, bought a decent car off Ebay, or taken your best friend on a two week trip around Poland, because if you think about how one beer there is worth five back home, you’ll end up being completely miserable.

MAKE SURE YOU’RE A MILLION PERCENT COMFORTABLE WITH THE PEOPLE YOU GO WITH

I’m pretty lucky that I’m relatively close with the main person I went with, as that meant we could complain about just how goddam much we needed to crap the whole time. Seriously, after the first day it’s all anyone cares about, and if you’re with someone who you feel awkward with then it’s just going to make it super difficult. Either way, if you’re not particularly close before you go, you’ll know everything about their bowel by the end of it.