Day in the life of
Travel Blogger – Kristin Addis
The nice thing is the flexibility of this job. I set my own hours and each day looks different.
If I am out traveling, then I am having an adventure and making sure to document it in both video and photo form. How much effort this takes depends on the trip, but I tend to focus on adventure travel so that usually means hiking for at least several hours, but sometimes several days in order to reach a certain viewpoint or summit.
I also love astrophotography, which often means staying up late or getting up very early in order to take photos of the stars. Lately, I’ve been getting into time-lapse is, so that means even more involvement in keeping the camera going for several hours in order to get that dazzling night sky. It’s a passion of mine, but it’s also something that really sets me apart.
I also often do this completely alone. There are several backpacking trips and overnight hiking trips that I’ve done without anyone else there. Since I write about solo female travel, this fits my brand, but it’s also something that I love doing. If I can tie in a running theme here, it’s a lot of effort, but since I enjoy doing it, it doesn’t feel like work to me.
I work on over a dozen tourism boards and brand partnerships. This usually means going to a destination and spending around five days there to get as much content as I can. But since I do focus on outdoor photography, I am very much at the mercy of the weather. I remember one trip where I went out for the sunset, stayed up all night hiking in order to get the stars, and then continued in the early morning so that I could get the trail all to myself. This was all in grizzly bear country. Of course, I know what I’m doing, and I am prepared, but this is just to give you a taste of what the job sometimes entails. I would often have just a 12 hour period between international flights to do my laundry, pack my bags, and go to the next job. Last year, I slowed down a lot and it was really nice to get to know my own country, the USA, even better. This kind of slow travel has helped me appreciate my own country more, and now that I am relying mostly on blog ad income, it is great to be focusing on the US where the ads are worth so much more.
But it’s not just about the photography. I wrote the blog posts that go along with the photos as well. When I’m traveling I also take notes so that I can write about it later on the blog. Sometimes I will take out my phone and speak notes into it while I am on the ground. Since I think the writing is so much better when it is closer to the moment that it happened, sometimes I write the blog post directly after the experience. This means that traveling is not exactly laid-back for me. It’s a lot of work, and it definitely makes traveling different, but I love seeing the world through my camera lens.
If it’s an “office day”, Which can be from anywhere in the world although a Wi-Fi connection is usually important, I’m editing photos and videos, writing blog posts, and responding to emails.
I used to spend several hours per day on email, but five years ago I hired a full-time assistant and she has been a godsend. She mainly handles any opportunities and deals that come our way, helps me with editing videos for the YouTube channel (we split that work 50/50), and manages the content calendar.
I also run women’s adventure tours, so sometimes I spend time planning those out, collaborating with the tour partners with who I run trips with which includes a lot of brainstorming and dreaming, and then I need to market the trips and lead them. This is more work than anything else I do, but it is so rewarding to be able to spend time with the women who read the blog
I don’t want to make it sound easier than it is. This is a boatload of work and I definitely put in more hours than a typical 9 to 5, but I’m happy to do it because this is my baby! Prior to this, they came from the mergers and acquisitions industry where the hours were also long, but the difference was that I wasn’t working on something that was my own creation. Now, I get the freedom to do what I really love. Although all that said, in the last eight years, I probably haven’t taken one day off of the creative process.
Pros
The pros are that you can work from almost anywhere in the world and you get to set your own hours and be your own boss. Now that I have had the experience of working in a cubicle and working for myself, I am never going back to the cube.
Of course, the other pro is traveling the world and being able to share it. I get to meet people from all around the world, and at this point, I have made friends on almost every continent. I’ve also had several tour operators and guest house owners, particularly in developing countries, tell me that my visit and corresponding blog content was a game-changer for them. It meant a lot more business, and that feels amazing. It also feels amazing to be able to hire and provide jobs for women. It’s important to me that everyone feels like a big part of my team, and I love everyone’s ideas and contributions. Being a travel blogger is tons of fun and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Then there are the heartfelt messages and notes from people who have had amazing trips and experiences as a result of the things that I have shared and posted. For a lot of them, it was what empowered them to go on a trip by themselves for the first time. This means so much to me because I know that it is a life-changing experience to travel alone and to really learn what you’re capable of. I never expected to have a reach this wide and I am so happy that I’ve been able to make a positive impact.
Cons
But the cons are also numerous. You are completely dependent on yourself and do not have a steady paycheck. If you decide to do this for a job, remember that traveling costs money, and you will be self-funding. People like to make it sound like they make money right away with this, but I would be very wary of those who claim that, because for most of us this job takes at least 2 to 3 years to be cash positive.
I worked for four years in a cubicle to save up enough to start traveling and start this job. It was really all on the believe that it would work out, but I had many 11th hour moments when I was almost out of money, didn’t have enough coming in from the blog, and I even started hitchhiking in China in order to make ends meet. That ended up leading to some of my most wonderful stories and memories, so I don’t begrudge any of it. But I spent the entire first two years of my travels and shared dorm rooms and the cheapest transportation I could find in order to keep going. I also did a lot of freelancing in the early years in order to keep myself afloat. I budgeted like crazy, and now the blog generates well into the six figures each year, but it definitely wasn’t like that for the first four years. Sometimes I look back on it and wonder how I had so much faith in the plan, but I’m glad that I did, and I really believe that never giving up is one of the biggest reasons why people make it.
You’ve also got to have a thick skin, because the higher your star rises, the more people are going to have opinions about it, and that will be true no matter what you do. Sometimes it can be hard taking the criticism. People will really pick you apart, they will start to dissect everything you say, including things you said in the past that you might regret. Once you say something on a public platform and you are a known person, there’s nothing you can do about it. There are no take backsies. I’ve had Internet stockers, and I’ve had people say horrible things to me on social media, on my email inbox, and whatever way they can get a hold of me. But I just remember that it’s really not about me, and that they are in pain and don’t know how to deal with it properly. It’s an occupational hazard, but that doesn’t make it easy. All that said, it has made me more sure of myself and resilient overall.
I just remember that only a few peoples opinions really and truly matter to me, and it also makes me think twice before I criticize anyone. But all of that said, the pros definitely outweigh the cons for me, and even though it’s a lot of work, life has become one big adventure for me and I’m so grateful for the past eight years.
