Here’s an interview with Olly Gaspar of We Look Fling.
Good day, Olly. Explain us a miniature about yourself and what you produce.
Good day, my name is Olly Gaspar and I’m a budge photographer and budge budge blogger. I’ve been touring elephantine-time now since 2018, dwelling out of my bags whereas chasing budge world huge and writing about it on my budge budge weblog We Look Fling.
What got right here first, the photography or the blogging?
I picked up a camera for the predominant time all the diagram thru my first long backpacking day out right thru Europe in 2015. For the day out, I sold a Canon 550D and a low-cost kit lens which became as soon as one in all basically the most cost-efficient entry-level DSLRs on hand on the time.
I started playing around with it, taking photos on hikes, waterfalls, viewpoints and other conventional vacationer footage right thru the European cities I became as soon as touring to. Whereas about a of my first photos had been terrible, I no doubt loved the course of and the steep studying curve.
I didn’t initiate budge blogging till 2018, which became as soon as about a years after I started touring rather a miniature. By this point, photography became as soon as rather a most necessary curiosity for me nonetheless became as soon as by no methodology earning me any money.
Since when have you ever been touring elephantine-time and how did you preserve your budge lifestyles in the starting?
I’ve been dwelling as a “Digital Nomad” now since 2018. Within the starting, I felt no doubt misplaced concerning the chance of pursuing a current 9-5 occupation. I knew all I wished to produce became as soon as to budge and rob photos and would produce anything to develop that occur. To initiate with I secured some low-paying on-line english teaching and website positioning weblog writing jobs.
This didn’t pay loads nonetheless at the moment gave me the place independence I became as soon as craving. I mostly caught to low-cost, shoestring budge and most neatly-liked free budge actions like hiking and trekking, so I became as soon as ready to have that everyday life off appropriate $50 per day for rather an awfully long time.
This place day whereas my industry has grown loads, my everyday life has remained an identical and I level-headed desire low-cost, backpacker-vogue budge.
When and why did you initiate your weblog?
I before the entirety began my budge budge weblog We Look Fling in 2018 as a technique to derive my photography accessible and to part about a of the irregular adventures myself and my companion Haylea had been on over the previous years.
I believed it’d be a legit platform to optimistically land some tourism purchasers in the budge enviornment of interest.
Whereas I knew it became as soon as that that you simply can maybe maybe maybe factor in to develop money from budge blogging, I didn’t discover it because the mammoth industry opportunity it can maybe maybe maybe change into.
Initially, I believed that starting a budge weblog may maybe lend a hand me derive some free excursions or accommodations in change for portray work so I may maybe well maybe maybe have working in the direction of and rising my portfolio.
Taking a establish a query to lend a hand, what I no doubt wanted became as soon as to stop teaching English and writing for other producers. I had a dream lend a hand then to develop $50 a day from my ardour of budge and photography and I didn’t care what got right here after that.
What made you’re thinking that the budge budge enviornment of interest and what’s various about it when compared to other budge categories?
I write budge budge blogs because that’s essentially what I’ve been doing for the previous 5 years. I’m a firm believer that budge blogs and itinerary guides may maybe well maybe maybe level-headed be written by vacationers who have in actuality visited the destination and can part some irregular insights and tips to lend a hand folks.
Sadly for the time being I discover hundreds of other budge bloggers publishing rehashed listicles and sharing AI mutter material that doesn’t add any new or irregular cost to readers who are actively planning their day out.
Since I produce hundreds of hiking and budge actions whereas touring, I naturally write about that and my aim is to encourage vacationers to discover extra at every destination they discuss over with.
Moreover learn: What is a Blog Class and Be taught how to Decide The Appropriate Blog Categories
How long did it rob your weblog to derive some traction?
It took me rather a whereas to derive traction. After a twelve months of blogging nearly elephantine-time, I became as soon as greatest seeing about 30,000 sessions coming in. I beget this behind development is ensuing from the indisputable fact that I became as soon as essentially writing about off-beat budge experiences and locations that many folks weren’t actively browsing on Google.
My aim is and always has been to part irregular budge experiences.
Naturally, there wasn’t great natural search quantity for the keywords that I became as soon as concentrating on nonetheless loved writing about them and wanted to part the experiences, so I did it anyway. This resulted in development that became as soon as rather behind. However, it became as soon as attracting consideration from some media stores who had been attracted to my reviews, which I beget helped cling links early on.
Maintain you ever been into website positioning and optimizing your mutter material from day 1?
I became as soon as fortunate to learn the basics of on-page website positioning from one in all my first far away jobs so I had a overall concept from the initiate.
I became as soon as optimizing for the keywords I became as soon as concentrating on. On the other hand, my keyword research became as soon as rather imperfect and I ended up spending hundreds of time writing budge weblog posts that didn’t have great search quantity.
Within the slay, I saw the success that other budge bloggers had been having with writing mammoth pillar posts linked to all of their smaller budge guides and adopted a an identical plot. These pillar posts had been extensive, in overall 10,000+ note budge guides that covered nearly every element of a destination that I’ve been writing about.
After doing this, I saw consistent development in web site visitors and easiest of all, it became as soon as ready to notify readers into the extra “off-beat” and “hidden gem” form budge attractions that I became as soon as most taking into account sharing.
How long after that did you discover valid ends up in relation to web site visitors?
After implementing this plot I saw consistent development month on month for the following twelve months till the pandemic hit in early 2020. It became as soon as appropriate about a weeks after I’d lastly hit my aim of earning $50 per day from my budge budge weblog and I lastly became as soon as ready to stop teaching and point of curiosity purely on my passions.
Sadly, web site visitors dropped to almost zero because the enviornment went into lockdown. However, I doubled down and recovered 10x the web site visitors now since sooner than the pandemic.
Read additionally: Be taught how to Bring collectively Paid to Fling and Establish a Fat-Time Earnings as a Fling Blogger
What are your high web site visitors sources?
Google is by far the largest supply of web site visitors for my weblog. I’ve overlooked electronic mail marketing and social media nonetheless I’m working on that in 2024.
On the other hand, I beget that around 10% of my web site visitors comes from notify sources, which is rather excessive for an budge budge weblog. I’m shimmering proud of this since it methodology that many vacationers must like my guides and rely on it without extend to devise their journeys and salvage irregular attractions, accommodations, accommodations, and budge inspiration.
What contributed basically the most to reaching 250K monthly page views?
I beget in relation to blogging, or building any passive income, consistency is mandatory. Whereas I am going off-grid most continuously for long treks and climbs in the Himalayas, I always tend to my weblog and on occasion put up new mutter material.
Moreover, I beget the success I’ve considered with Google specifically comes the entire vogue down to the indisputable fact that I’m writing about irregular budge experiences.
I’ve seen trends, especially lately whereby Google tends to substandard new, attention-grabbing opinions and tips rather effectively. I beget right here is enormous for the budge enviornment of interest because this may maybe diversify the budge experiences that folks have when visiting relate locations in notify that no longer everybody follows the an identical generic itinerary and “things to produce” lists.
Stop you make express of any website positioning tools?
I express Keysearch and have been the express of RankIQ for rather a whereas to lend a hand me write my pillar posts. RankIQ has been no doubt purposeful for finding subject matters to quilt nonetheless I most continuously don’t express it as a job framework for my mutter material.
What has helped you derive a technique links from authentic sites?
The methodology that I take into story it is if I point of curiosity on creating attention-grabbing mutter material, folks will desire to part it.
I’ve by no methodology done any shady or questionable link building and all my a technique links arrive from natural sources or from interviews like this one. Whereas I’ve written 2 or 3 guest posts early on, I don’t test them out.
My aim is to part attention-grabbing and irregular budge mutter material and since I write many weblog posts that don’t have any existing competition (since no person no doubt appears to be to search or discuss over with these attractions). I in overall derive links to those articles from other budge bloggers and publications taking a establish a query to to link to irregular tips.
How produce you’re thinking that what new mutter material to make?
The entirety I write about comes from my very non-public budge experiences. I in overall thought my travels around the things that I desire to test and produce and don’t budge purely for mutter material. I’ve fallen into this trap in the previous and I salvage that I mercurial lose motivation.
Sooner than and when I attain a destination, I in overall attain out to locals, tour operators, hostel owners, and other vacationers to salvage budge tips, hidden gems, and a few must-discover attractions.
I then learn other budge blogs to salvage other tips and initiate building lists of adventures and attractions I desire to express over with all the diagram thru my time there. These in overall encompass excursions like hiking, adrenaline actions, or boat journeys. Infrequently, I’ll attain out to those corporations to test if I will have the ability to work with them.
I’ve gotten shimmering perfect at planning irregular journeys now after doing this elephantine-time for the previous 5 years.
From there, I in overall write a budge recordsdata to every relate attraction which entails all of my photos from my day out. After I spend beyond regular time writing a share of pillar mutter material, which in overall ends up being listicle-form articles rounding up hikes, waterfalls, viewpoints, attractions, accommodations, and things to produce.
What are your high performing articles?
My high performing articles are in overall the larger pillar posts because they’re no doubt entire and are internally linked from all posts inside that category. Here’s new and dilapidated mutter material.
How long does it rob you to make a brand new weblog submit, from idea to publication?
That relies, I will have the ability to in overall write a weblog submit about a hike or a particular waterfall in around an hour or so for the reason that recordsdata is in overall no doubt unusual. The longer posts can rob about a days to write, especially if there are hundreds of photos that I’m editing.
How produce you promote a weblog submit after publishing it?
Continuously, I appropriate let it work its methodology up in the SERPs. I figure the folks that desire to test it most are the folks which may maybe well maybe maybe be actively browsing for it. If it’s a terribly irregular budge or something I’m specifically proud of, I’ll part it on my Instagram.
Haylea additionally helps me by sharing every submit on Pinterest which is candy for further web site visitors.
How have you ever grown your Pinterest story over time?
Haylea has helped me cling a Pinterest profile over the previous 5 years. It’s doing shimmering great with appropriate over 1,000,000 monthly impressions for the time being.
In what ways are you monetizing your budge budge weblog?
I express Mediavine for uncover advertizing and I no doubt have some affiliate partnerships with producers like GetYourGuide, Stay22, and Viator. These are a terribly perfect supply of income and I’m proud to companion with them because I express them for my fragment loads and are purposeful for reserving experiences and accommodations.
Since the complete photos on my weblog are mine, I additionally derive some income when producers and publications desire to license my photos. It additionally acts as an natural funnel for sourcing tourism vogue work, photography jobs, and marketing campaigns with tourism boards, tour corporations, and budge producers.
What’s your accepted weblog income circulate and why?
My accepted income circulate is affiliate marketing since it performs critically better than uncover advertizing in the budge enviornment of interest. I additionally like this extra than uncover advertizing as I no doubt have full alter over the budge ideas folks are finding on We Look Fling.
I rob hundreds of pleasure in my ideas and authority as a budge educated. Having the chance to lend a hand vacationers by providing valid, purposeful, and purposeful tour, accommodation, and budge equipment ideas whereas making a dwelling out of it is something that I cherish.
How has the budge blogging industry changed because you’ve been in it?
The pandemic no doubt shook things up and I spotted some gigantic blogs closing down. Recently, with AI mutter material, things are getting attention-grabbing as effectively.
Whereas I’m beginning to test extra and extra generic AI budge blogs initiate rating for search terms that the creator has clearly no first-hand abilities on, I beget Google will win on. If Google needs to prioritize “purposeful” mutter material, then what can also additionally be extra purposeful than advice, opinions, and ideas from vacationers who have in actuality been there?
That’s my glance and I’ll proceed to express this plot because I beget it’s easiest for my readers.
Read additionally: Be taught how to Turn Your Fling Blogging Passion into a Alternate
How produce you promote yourself as an budge budge photographer? And what role does your weblog play on this?
My weblog is a legit supply of natural promotion. I additionally express social media channels like Instagram to part about a of my budge photos.
Hundreds of my budge photography work comes from working without extend with budge tour corporations, accommodations, and tourism boards. Hundreds of the time these corporations contact me because they’ve considered my weblog. Most continuously I additionally attain out to the corporations sooner than I arrive at a destination to give my products and companies.
In creating countries, especially in South East Asia, I’ll in overall work as a photographer with out cost because I love being ready to lend a hand limited tourism suppliers, especially after they’re hooked in to what they produce.
This additionally helps me because I will have the ability to meet gigantic folks, grow my network, derive irregular insights and tips from locals to part on my weblog. On all over again and all over again where I no doubt join with a tour operator, I cease up building affiliate partnerships with them to advertise their experiences.
I’m no doubt proud of the indisputable fact that I’ve helped many limited tour operators world huge from trekking corporations in Nepal to boat operators in Indonesia grow their industry and help their communities thru my weblog.
What are your budge plans for the brand new twelve months?
I’m heading lend a hand to Lombok in January to derive my partnership with a native tour company there. I started working with them this twelve months to role up boat journeys between Lombok and Komodo and this has been rather a hit for the both of us.
Any tubby dreams to your industry or modifications you’d desire to develop to your everyday life?
I’m no doubt chuffed with the nomadic everyday life I’ve been ready to amass over the previous few years. This budge became as soon as always about securing space independence in notify that I may maybe well maybe maybe proceed in search of new experiences and work on my passions.
Taking a establish a query to forward my greatest aim is to proceed rising We Look Fling in an authentic methodology and proceed serving to folks develop basically the most out of on each day basis out.
Where can folks salvage you?
My budge budge weblog: We Look Fling, on Instagram as @ollygaspar, and on YouTube as WeSeekTravel.
