I haven’t explained in detail why I took a year off of blogging/social media/promotion, but it comes down to the fact that life took me other ways. I was also incredibly burnt out by constantly checking stats, making sure I posted my Instagram during the 'right' hours, and staying on top of promoting myself everywhere. Blogging is time consuming and overall extremely tiring especially if you’re doing it day in and day out. I got sick of comparing and constantly researching ways to be better. The fact is, there are too many talented humans out there that completely knock the socks off the rest of us, so honestly I didn’t even know how to compete with it all. Was it writing one blog post a week or five? Was it making sure I shared three ... Read More
The Best Time of Day to Post on Instagram
Instagram. One of the coolest yet most frustrating social media networks ever. It can be such a finicky child to figure out, but once you get it, you can actually do quite well when it comes to exposure, followers, and engagement. One of the things I've noticed since moving to Europe is that my typical Instagram posting times (10am and 8pm) has not done me any favors over here. Unfortunately when I post at 10am in the morning it's 4am back in New York — meaning all my US followers are dead asleep and probably won't even see my post at all as it'll be far buried by the time they wake up. Alternatively, if I post at 8pm, it's 2pm back in the U.S. and most people are right smack dab in the middle of their work day — also no bueno for ... Read More
5 ways to encourage travel bloggers
Being a travel writer/blogger can be seem like one of the best jobs ever. I mean, what's not to like? We get to travel [sometimes] for free, stay at amazing places, take sweet pictures, and then share it all with everyone else. Although it seems like we're on a never-ending vacation, there is actually quite a bit of hard work behind being a travel blogger. What you don't see are the hours and hours spent behind the computer while visiting that "ultimate vacation spot" due to deadlines and obligations. Or the hours spent pitching stories and jobs, plotting future travels, taking pictures to share, and researching the latest in blogging/social media/computer-everything to stay up to date with the latest trends. I absolutely hated the fact ... Read More
15 Blog Post Ideas for Travel Bloggers
Hey fellow travel/expat bloggers! Today I'm here to share a little inspiration to help get you out of a serious case of writer's block. Trust me, you're not the only blogger to fall into the 'I don't know what to write about' rut. It happens to every single one of us and it sucks! First of all, I highly recommend not writing anything if you don't have anything to say instead of forcing yourself to write a 'meh' post just to get your weekly credential in. However, sometimes we really want to write, we just have no friggin' clue what to write about. A friend of mine just asked me the other day how I figure out topics for my blog, and 9 times out of 10 it's you, my readers, who inspire me. I read every single comment and TRY to answer every ... Read More
How to Grow Your Travel Blog
As a new travel blogger, you can often feel like you're a tiny anthill sitting amongst a bunch of mountains, unseen and barely noticed. It might seem to you that there is absolutely no hope when it comes to growing your travel blog or gaining interest from readers, companies, and other blogs. You shouldn't fret though, we've all been there. Every single blogger has started from the very bottom with zero readers and influence, and somehow has managed to work their way up to where they are today. Growing a blog takes dedication, commitment, research, and time. Every once in a blue moon, a blog will pop out of nowhere and grow from 100 to 100,000 readers overnight and it leaves us wondering how the heck they did it. Going viral ... Read More
What 1,095 Days of Travel Has Taught Me
On February 16, 2012 we hopped aboard a plane bound for South Korea with two carry on bags, two personal items, and four checked bags. Little did we know our short year in Korea would turn out to be three years abroad, but here we are. We've since downgraded all we own from those four checked bags to two due to international regulations and hard core fees (problems with living outside the US), but it's been for the better I think. Our expat anniversary also aligns with the blogiversary of LIAL. I started this blog back in February of 2012 as a way for my family to keep in touch with us. Look at it now?! I would have never dreamed I would be sitting here, writing for thousands of loving followers. From the bottom of my heart, thank you ... Read More
The Story Behind The Name
I'm seeing lots of awesome new people pop around these parts, and I thought it was about time to take a look back on the three years of Living in Another Language, and give you a brief history of this blog, why it's named LIAL, and where I'm going with it. Our expat anniversary is only a couple days away, and my blogiversary coincides with it! First of all, I know what you're thinking: "Amanda, your blog's name is Living in Another Language, yet…you're an American living in New Zealand. That's definitely NOT living in another language." Yep. I get it. I've spent months debating over if I should make the big change over to something more world-travel friendly (whether we're actually living in another language or not), or if I should ... Read More
Travel Blogging + Marriage
It's a rainy cold Friday afternoon, and I'm sitting here covered in blankets drinking spiked coffee; just your normal afternoon if you asked me. Some readers may get tricked into thinking I'm living back in the Northern Hemisphere where it is, indeed, almost winter. But nope, I'm sitting here in Spring/Summer New Zealand (which does not at all feel like Christmas) watching the rain change from water to ice…to back to water again. Apparently we had this weather in for us after making the choice to live so far down south, but honestly we weren't even thinking about the weather when we chose this location. My only hope is that it's just the rainy season here and that sunshine and rainbows soon take over this cold mess of a month. We've had ... Read More
The 5 Types of Travel Bloggers
Travel blogging is a tricky industry. I'm realizing there's no cut-and-dry way to travel blog, except for the fact that it's important you get pretty pictures and information out there for readers to wanderlust at. There are solo travelers, couple travelers, and family travelers. There are those that do it for fun and some that do it as a living. But one of my favorite things to figure out while discovering new travel bloggers, is learning what their travel blogging lifestyle is. This can be tricky, especially since the internet allows us to paint pictures of ourselves in basically whatever way we want. Here are the 5 types of travel bloggers I have discovered in my ventures with blogging. In no way, shape, or form are these true ... Read More
