Thrilling information: in the present day’s the 16-year anniversary of the A Woman in London weblog! I can’t imagine it’s been so a few years since I began the weblog again in San Francisco earlier than I moved to the UK. It’s come a great distance since then, and I’m excited to rejoice this milestone as a lot as every other.
16-Yr Weblog Anniversary
I’m notably joyful the anniversary falls so quickly after A Woman in London was as soon as once more named one of many prime journey blogs within the UK by a trusted trade supply. It’s all the time rewarding to see the onerous work I’ve put into the weblog paying off.
On prime of that, I not too long ago reached 100,000 followers on Fb and 195,000 on Instagram.
It’s been nice to see so many individuals getting excited in regards to the photographs and movies I’ve shared, and so many new weblog subscribers (for those who haven’t subscribed already, you are able to do so by way of e-mail right here).
Greater than that, I’m grateful for all of the help you’ve given me during the last 16 years. After I created this weblog in 2007 I believed it will simply be an informal interest.
It nonetheless amazes me I’ve been running a blog full-time for over 13 years now. I couldn’t have completed it with out you.
In honor of the weblog celebrating its Candy 16, I wish to share 16 highlights from my running a blog journey. From large milestones to small victories and private highlights, they’ve been among the most memorable issues which have occurred alongside the best way.
1. Beginning the Weblog
Staring the weblog was an enormous deal for me. I’d been working as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and a hedge fund for 3 years, and I didn’t know if I had a inventive bone left in my physique.
I missed having an outlet for my proper mind, and once I sat down to start out the weblog I used to be overwhelmed with pleasure at with the ability to craft one thing significant and make it what I wished it to be.
2. Being Syndicated on Lonely Planet
A pair years after I began the weblog, I utilized for the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa program. I used to be accepted, and all my weblog posts have been syndicated on the related metropolis and nation pages of their web site.
Being seen in reference to such a powerful journey model was what actually garnered consideration to the weblog and acquired me quite a lot of my early followers and subscribers.
3. Getting My First Journey Planning Consumer
I began engaged on the weblog full-time at first of 2010, and I launched my Journey Planning Providers as a means to assist folks and help my new enterprise.
Getting my first consumer was thrilling, and planning their journey was the beginning of what has ended up being an enormous a part of the weblog. I’ve deliberate journeys for shoppers everywhere in the world, and I really like with the ability to assist folks have one of the best experiences doable.
4. Occurring My First Press Journeys
Shortly after I began running a blog full-time, I used to be invited on a pair press journeys. The primary one was to Avignon, the place I acquired to spend a couple of days exploring the town.
The second was to Paris, the place I stayed in a 5-star luxurious lodge, took a non-public after-hours tour of the Louvre, went across the metropolis with a private shopper, and dined at a 3-Michelin starred restaurant.
I couldn’t imagine I used to be getting invited to do one thing I liked for work.
5. Getting Concerned with the Journey Running a blog Neighborhood
The journey running a blog neighborhood was small again once I began. However a couple of of us in London discovered one another on-line and commenced assembly in particular person.
At this time the neighborhood is massive and well-established, and I’m grateful to have such an incredible group of mates and friends to spend time with, bounce concepts off, commiserate with, rejoice with, and relate to.
6. Visiting 90 International locations Earlier than My thirtieth Birthday
I wasn’t precisely wanting ahead to turning 30, so I made a decision to distract myself by making an attempt to get my nation depend as much as 90 earlier than my birthday.
I documented the undertaking right here on the weblog, and I had a enjoyable time visiting every kind of recent locations within the run-up to the large day. After I reached San Marino proper earlier than the deadline, I had a multi-day celebration with mates.
7. Getting My First Public Talking Gig
As a lot of you understand, I do quite a lot of public talking via my weblog. It began once I was requested to provide a chat on “social media in journey” at Social Media Week in London in 2012. I’d by no means completed any public talking earlier than, however I made a decision to take an opportunity.
It paid off, and shortly after that I used to be instructing lessons and giving talks at conferences and occasions everywhere in the world. I by no means imagined I’d love public talking, however I’m grateful it’s been such an enormous a part of my running a blog journey.
8. Visiting My a hundredth Nation
One other large milestone was the day I visited my a hundredth nation. I landed within the Seychelles and needed to pinch myself.
I by no means thought I’d have the ability to journey the world and name it my job, and I couldn’t imagine my work had taken me to so many locations across the globe.
I used to be so excited to have traveled to 100 sovereign states that I wrote a complete weblog publish about it. You possibly can learn it right here if you wish to see the listing.
9. Touchdown My First Paid Marketing campaign
Again within the early days of running a blog no one paid bloggers to do our jobs (sadly, most manufacturers nonetheless count on us to work without cost or for little or no).
However round 2014 a couple of journey corporations realized the worth of influencer advertising and began working with bloggers on campaigns. I’ll always remember my first one, or how good it felt that the worth I supplied was lastly being acknowledged.
10. Being Featured in Main Magazines and Newspapers
As soon as the weblog had a severe following, I began getting featured and interviewed in main media retailers.
From my first function in Esquire to subsequent ones in Harper’s Bazaar, the Mail On-line, Stylist, Conde Nast Traveller, Elle, the Night Commonplace, and others, I couldn’t imagine it.
Interviews within the Metro and The New York Occasions adopted, and publications just like the Monetary Occasions, Conde Nast Traveler, and Eater commissioned or licensed my photographs.
I nonetheless generally take a look at the About web page of my weblog and surprise if it’s really about me. It’s onerous to imagine my little interest was one thing a lot greater than I ever dreamed of.
11. Being Featured on Instagram’s Advised Customers Checklist
I wakened one morning in 2015 to seek out that I’d gotten 50,000 new Instagram followers in a single day.
At first I believed it was an error, however then I checked my e-mail and noticed that Instagram had added me to its Advised Customers listing. Each time somebody crated a brand new account, I used to be one of many folks Instagram really useful they observe.
It was nice to see all of the onerous work I’d put into my account paying off, and wonderful to have the ability to share my love of London and journey with so many extra folks.
Two years later, I used to be featured in a guide referred to as Learn This if You Need to Be Instagram Well-known. It was surreal to see myself featured, not least as a result of I didn’t really feel like I used to be really well-known.
12. Doing a Partnership with BBC Journey
Not lengthy after the Instagram Advised Customers listing, I used to be approached by BBC Journey to do a partnership the place they paid me to share my photographs on their Instagram and Twitter accounts every week.
I used to be honored that such an enormous model wished to work with me, and I loved sharing my pictures with their viewers at some stage in the partnership.
13. Getting My First Lodge Reserving
No matter tales you might have heard about bloggers and influencers incomes tens of millions, the truth is that making a dwelling from a journey weblog is tough at one of the best of occasions.
Which is why it was so thrilling the primary time somebody booked a lodge keep via my weblog and earned me a fee (for free of charge to them, after all).
At this time the weblog is supported by lodge bookings, Amazon gross sales, tour bookings, and different income streams, and it nonetheless means loads to me each time you help the weblog by reserving or shopping for one thing via it.
14. Publishing My First Self-Guided London Stroll
In 2016 I used to be approached by a big international writer to write down a guide about London. They requested me to satisfy with them and informed me all about how they thought I’d be the right particular person to do a guide in regards to the metropolis.
I went house and spent ages engaged on the guide thought we’d mentioned. My proposal included neighborhood guides, photographs, and self-guided walks. I despatched it to them and held my breath.
For some cause I’ll by no means perceive, the writer modified their tune and informed me there have been means too many London books available on the market and so they weren’t . It was as in the event that they’d forgotten they’d approached me and never the opposite means round.
Devastated that they’d wasted a lot of my time and price me the revenue I may have earned if I’d labored on one thing else as a substitute, I attempted to salvage among the proposal by turning it into weblog posts.
I had no thought if anybody would have an interest within the self-guided walks I’d written, however I believed I’d publish them on the weblog simply in case.
It ended up being among the best issues I’ve ever completed. My London strolling excursions at the moment are among the hottest posts on my weblog, and folks from everywhere in the world have come to the town and completed a number of.
It means loads to me that my thought has been validated, my time has been salvaged, and my walks have allowed so many individuals to see the elements of London that make me love the town a lot.
15. Launching My First Tote Bag
In 2019 I used to be approached by an organization about making an A Woman in London tote bag. At first I believed it was too good to be true. However after assembly with the founder at her workplace in Camden Market, we designed and launched it.
Since then we’ve created a whole A Woman in London assortment. One of many mugs is even on the market in World Obligation Free retailers in and across the metropolis, together with Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Windsor, and St Pancras Worldwide.
It nonetheless places a smile on my face to see my luggage, mugs, tea towels, coasters, and artwork prints on the market in retailers and on-line.
16. Surviving 2020. And 2021. And A Lot of 2022.
I do know, I do know. No one needs to consider 2020, not to mention speak about it, so I’ll be temporary. Making a dwelling from a journey weblog throughout that point was terrifying. I misplaced 90% of my revenue in a single day, and I had no thought if I might nonetheless have a enterprise on the finish of all of it.
However I used to be stunned how resilient each my weblog and I have been, and we got here out of it okay. Since then development has rebounded and my enterprise is doing higher than ever. Now I do know that if we are able to survive 2020, we are able to survive something.
BONUS: Launching the California Wayfaring Weblog
After 15 years of working the A Woman in London weblog, I launched the California Wayfaring weblog a yr in the past in the present day. I’d all the time wished to share extra about my house state, and it’s been an incredible problem to start out one thing new in any case this time.
I’ve labored myself to the bone and landed myself in quite a lot of physician’s places of work and bodily remedy rooms from an excessive amount of time in entrance of screens (I now know the within of an MRI machine higher than the within of my flat), but it surely’s onerous to cease once I’m doing one thing I really like.
Way forward for the A Woman in London Weblog
Talking of which, I’ve liked taking a visit down reminiscence lane to write down this Candy 16 weblog publish. I hope you’ve loved coming alongside for the trip, whether or not you’ve been studying the weblog from the start otherwise you simply discovered it in the present day.
The previous 16 years have been an incredible journey, and I’m wanting ahead to what the upcoming one brings. I’m certain there will probably be tons extra to rejoice on the subsequent A Woman in London weblog anniversary!
I’ve you to thank for serving to me get to the place I’m in the present day, and I’m grateful. Right here’s to a different thrilling 16 years!
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