Nowadays as the Internet is overflowing and full of content creators, one of the most important and complicated things to do is to touch, impact and inspire people.
That’s why I approached some of my favorite travel bloggers and we sat down for a (virtual) conversation about their path, the successes & disappointments along the way, and how they were affected by the Corona times.
It was super interesting!
In the last post we got to know 3 of them and in this part I will share 3 new and exciting ones,
And they have some great tips to share with you as well!
have a fun read (:
@katerinandyinon
Name: Katerina and Yinon Horwitz
City of residence: Originally from Bulgaria and Israel but living in Miami
How and why did you start your blog? Tell me how it all started…
It all started with Katerina building her Instagram page from her travels. She worked at Marc Jacobs in NYC and after a few years she realized that the 9 to 5 job is not for her. So she decided to make blogging her full time job. It didn’t happen in one day, and Katerina did it as a side hustle for a year and a half until she quit her job to do it full time. At that point, Katerina started building our blog together with Instagram daily posts, and started selling our first digital product – our own custom filters (Lightroom Presets) that gives all of our followers our type of edits in their pictures. Six months later, Yinon quit his job in an Israeli tech startup that moved him to NYC, we left our apartment in Brooklyn and started our world tour.
What is your definition of a perfect trip? And what is the one thing you always pack and take with you?
Our idea of a perfect trip is one that we get to experience a lot, but also relax and take time for ourselves. The best locations for us are ones that include a little beach time and a little nature, plus an interesting local culture/cuisine to explore. We love reading, and taking pictures, eating local food and hanging out with other travelers.
Katerina always brings a lot of face masks and moisturizing products as it’s really important for her to take good care of her skin with all the travels. And Yinon always brings his elastic bands for exercising on the go. Other than that, we travel really light. We traveled for a whole year with a carry on and a suitcase including all of our equipment, and clothes in it.
What was the milestone that made you feel that your blog/Instagram is on the right way?
It’s when we felt like our vision was starting to translate into reality and our photos begen looking the way we wanted. When we switched our account to be the two of us, there was some adjustment period and we had such a big vision of what that would look like. It took us some time to be able to create exactly what we envisioned. When we started selling our own product, we also knew that our destiny is in our own hands and that if we both work on it full time, the success will come.
What was your biggest failure / disappointment regarding work?
Our day is full of ups and downs, it actually feels like a rollercoaster. It’s a bit hard to pinpoint one moment like that. We make mistakes often and also encourage our team to make them because we believe you can learn from them and grow to become a better human and more professional at what you do. When you are together all the time and work together as well, knowing how to bring each other up is very important because it’s a long journey and knowing that tomorrow is a new day to make things happen. “What you do is who you are”.
How did you pass Corona time? Did you manage to generate any value from it?
Wow, when the pandemic started we were still nomads after a year long trip around the world. We just settled down in Miami and were working on our new app Mosaic Stories when the lockdown started. Unlike most people, for us it was actually not the worst timing because after traveling without a base for a year, we were craving some time at home. We were really fortunate, but when other people were complaining about the lockdown, we actually felt happy to be at home and enjoy the small pleasures of domestic life.
We also had a lot of time to work on our app and release it. Seeing our app in the hands of thousands of people after a year of development feels incredible and we can’t wait to keep growing this and help other content creators in their journey of creation.
What will be your first destination when you’ll be able travel again?
We are actually going to Bulgaria for Katerina’s brother’s wedding at the end of June and from there we will travel to Greece.
Which massage would you like to share with new bloggers? Do you have any tips?
The best tip we can give to people who are just starting out is to be persistent. No one is good at it when they first start out, and the only way to improve is to keep trying and keep working. It will take years before you make it so you have to just keep going every single day and not give up.
Finding what content you like creating, the format you like creating in, would make it a lot easier in the long run. Building a community is not less important than the content, listening to your audience could be really useful in building your content and different products for them.
@danaberez
Name: Dana Berez
Age: 27
City of residence: NYC
How and why did you start your blog? Tell me how it all started…
I am originally from Wisconsin and had been living in New York City for a while. My family back home would ask questions about visiting New York so my blog started answering those questions about New York City. It started as a NYC blog, but then as I traveled more I added in new destinations all around the world.
What is your definition of a perfect trip? And what is the one thing you always pack and take with you?
My definition of a perfect trip combines beautiful scenery, and a mix of culture and cuisine. I really enjoy visiting small towns and villages because they are so untouched. A place like Positano Italy checks all those boxes.
Even if I am taking a personal trip, I always bring my camera! I love capturing the destinations I travel to.
What was the milestone that made you feel that your blog/Instagram is on the right way?
I would say my first official collaboration. Working with brands was one thing I worked so hard for when I first started my Instagram. Even if it was trade based, I feel so grateful for the experience. It made me more confident that I was headed in the right direction.
What was your biggest failure / disappointment regarding work?
I like to see any disappointments as learning curves, and trust me I am always learning. But would say that in the past I would base my success off of numbers. If your photo that you worked so hard on doesn’t get a lot of likes, you may think I you are not good enough. It’s hard to not think like that, but what is more important is your audience and connecting to them!
How did you pass Corona time? Did you manage to generate any value from it?
During Corona I did lots of new things around the house and did lots of cooking which I enjoyed. I gave my self some time to relax. I also started doing YouTube Quarantine Vlogs which help passed the time and put more focus on video.
What will be your first destination when you’ll be able travel again?
At this point I would love to go anywhere! For National travel I would love to do a road trip in the West to see the National Parks like Monument Valley.
Once the International boarders open up, you will find me by the sea in Greece.
Which massage would you like to share with new bloggers? Do you have any tips?
The best tip is that if you want to start a blog, it is never too late. If you really want this you can do it. It is a lot of work, but it is so rewarding in the end.
@maya_gur
Name: Maya & Leon
Age: 28, 32
City of residence: Rosh HaAyin, Israel
How and why did you start your blog? Tell me how it all started…
From the moment we met, it was clear to us that we want to explore the world as much as possible, that it was our time to do that. We started traveling, creating memories, moments and countless stories. After a while we starting running out of money.. and we tried to figure out how to keep pursuing our passion despite its major costs. Then Leon came up with an idea. He suggested that we’d take the love that we both share for traveling and try to make it our work by opening a traveling account on Instagram. The idea was to take advantage of the fact that Maya is a photographer and begin to share our world with others.
I have to admit that at first, I was very skeptical. I couldn’t fully understand the power of this industry, but Leon believed, studied and pushed forward and before I knew it, I started believing as well. From that point forward, things developed to what they are today (:
What is your definition of a perfect trip? And what is the one thing you always pack and take with you?
It’s very difficult to define. We love everything. It changes from time to time, sometimes we feel like exploring new cultures, it excites us to experience a completely different world from what we know. And sometimes all we need is a relaxing and peaceful place where we can rest without doing much, even though, if we’re being honest, it doesn’t work so well for us… we love being as busy and active as possible.
What will we always take in a suitcase? Our camera of course!
What was the milestone that made you feel that your blog/Instagram is on the right way?
The turning point was after our trip to India, about a year and a half ago, six months after we entered the Instagram world. Our connection with our audience increased intensively. We started getting many comments and questions about our content. And suddenly it hit us that this number that keeps growing is actually people that are exposed to our story and our experiences, and that it really touches them. It was very meaningful for us to understand that.
What was your biggest failure / disappointment regarding work?
I won’t call anything we went through a failure, because every disappointment along the way taught us a lot in the end and made us stronger.
I think the hardest thing for us is the “Nos” that we receive, that sometimes lowers our confidence, but it’s important to take everything in perspective, believe in your content & work and let it push you forward.
How did you pass Corona time? Did you manage to generate any value from it?
We started the Corona time in isolation after we came back from Lapland, during the trip we received the news that all the returning travelers must be in isolation. It wasn’t easy at first because we felt that everything stopped, that many plans got canceled, and that all the goals that we’ve set for ourselves this year were no longer realistic, it was frustrating. But we decided to take advantage of the fact that we couldn’t travel anywhere, and work on things that we usually don’t have time for, to work on a web page, blog, YouTube and many other projects. We simply took advantage of the situation and created a lot, which was satisfying. Very satisfying. And for that we thank Corona. That despite the difficulties, it gave us time to think and push forward stronger.
Oh, and since the quarantine was removed, we finally get to explore our country a little bit, which is usually something we don’t get to do so much. And we just enjoy getting to know places and exploring our home a little bit. ♥
What will be your first destination when you’ll be able travel again?
Probably Greece. Our love for Greece is huge. It has magic and energy that I don’t know how to put into words, we can’t get enough of it. We’re just waiting for the moment we could get there, say hello to the donkeys, travel the villages, and enjoy the beaches!
Which massage would you like to share with new bloggers? Do you have any tips?
What can we say? Never stop believing. In your way, your content, your partner if there is one, and your choices. The world is not easy and sometimes you just want to give up. People will always have something to say, and many will doubt, raise an eyebrow, and disbelieve in our way.
Sometimes it hurts, and shakes our confident a little.
Everything takes time, and the steps are tiny. But you are fulfilling your dream and not going to the safe and secure conventional way. It takes a lot of courage and this courage on its own is a good enough reason to believe in yourself and not give up. If you can imagine it, it will happen eventually. Even if it takes a while and the road will be bumpy sometimes.
That’s it for now,
Hope you liked it!!
Tell me in the comments what destination would you visit first once international borders will be reopen (:
And if you’re not following these AMAZING bloggers yet, now is the perfect time to start!
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