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Thrilling information: right now’s the 16-year anniversary of the A Girl in London weblog! I can’t consider 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 good distance since then, and I’m excited to have a good time this milestone as a lot as every other.
16-Yr Weblog Anniversary
I’m significantly comfortable the anniversary falls so quickly after A Girl in London was as soon as once more named one of many high journey blogs within the UK by a trusted trade supply. It’s at all times rewarding to see the laborious work I’ve put into the weblog paying off.
On high of that, I just lately reached 100,000 followers on Fb and 195,000 on Instagram.
It’s been nice to see so many individuals getting excited concerning the images and movies I’ve shared, and so many new weblog subscribers (if you happen to haven’t subscribed already, you are able to do so through e mail right here).
Greater than that, I’m grateful for all of the assist you’ve given me during the last 16 years. After I created this weblog in 2007 I believed it might 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 executed 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 massive milestones to small victories and private highlights, they’ve been a few of the most memorable issues which have occurred alongside the best way.
1. Beginning the Weblog
Staring the weblog was a giant 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 after I sat down to start out the weblog I used to be overwhelmed with pleasure at having the ability to craft one thing significant and make it what I needed 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 had been syndicated on the related metropolis and nation pages of their web site.
Being seen in reference to such a robust journey model was what actually garnered consideration to the weblog and bought me a variety 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 Companies as a method to assist folks and assist my new enterprise.
Getting my first consumer was thrilling, and planning their journey was the beginning of what has ended up being a giant a part of the weblog. I’ve deliberate journeys for purchasers everywhere in the world, and I like having the ability to assist folks have the perfect 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 bought to spend a couple of days exploring town.
The second was to Paris, the place I stayed in a 5-star luxurious resort, took a personal 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 consider I used to be getting invited to do one thing I beloved for work.
5. Getting Concerned with the Journey Running a blog Group
The journey running a blog neighborhood was small again after I began. However a couple of of us in London discovered one another on-line and started assembly in individual.
At this time the neighborhood is massive and well-established, and I’m grateful to have such a tremendous group of buddies and friends to spend time with, bounce concepts off, commiserate with, have a good time with, and relate to.
6. Visiting 90 Nations 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 venture right here on the weblog, and I had a enjoyable time visiting every kind of latest 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 buddies.
7. Getting My First Public Talking Gig
As a lot of you recognize, I do a variety of public talking by way of my weblog. It began after 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 executed 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 educating 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 a giant a part of my running a blog journey.
8. Visiting My a centesimal Nation
One other massive milestone was the day I visited my a centesimal nation. I landed within the Seychelles and needed to pinch myself.
I by no means thought I’d be capable to journey the world and name it my job, and I couldn’t consider 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 an entire weblog publish about it. You’ll be able to 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 person paid bloggers to do our jobs (sadly, most manufacturers nonetheless count on us to work totally free or for little or no).
However round 2014 a couple of journey firms realized the worth of influencer advertising and marketing and began working with bloggers on campaigns. I’ll always remember my first one, or how good it felt that the worth I provided was lastly being acknowledged.
10. Being Featured in Main Magazines and Newspapers
As soon as the weblog had a critical following, I began getting featured and interviewed in main media retailers.
From my first characteristic in Esquire to subsequent ones in Harper’s Bazaar, the Mail On-line, Stylist, Conde Nast Traveller, Elle, the Night Normal, and others, I couldn’t consider 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 images.
I nonetheless generally take a look at the About web page of my weblog and surprise if it’s truly about me. It’s laborious to consider my little interest became one thing a lot larger than I ever dreamed of.
11. Being Featured on Instagram’s Advised Customers Record
I awakened 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. Every time somebody crated a brand new account, I used to be one of many folks Instagram beneficial they comply with.
It was nice to see all of the laborious 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 truly 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 images on their Instagram and Twitter accounts every week.
I used to be honored that such a giant model needed to work with me, and I loved sharing my images with their viewers in the course of the partnership.
13. Getting My First Resort Reserving
No matter tales you’ll have heard about bloggers and influencers incomes thousands and thousands, the fact is that making a dwelling from a journey weblog is tough at the perfect of instances.
Which is why it was so thrilling the primary time somebody booked a resort keep by way of my weblog and earned me a fee (for gratis to them, in fact).
At this time the weblog is supported by resort bookings, Amazon gross sales, tour bookings, and different income streams, and it nonetheless means loads to me each time you assist the weblog by reserving or shopping for one thing by way of it.
14. Publishing My First Self-Guided London Stroll
In 2016 I used to be approached by a big international writer to put in writing a guide about London. They requested me to satisfy with them and informed me all about how they thought I’d be the right individual to do a guide concerning the metropolis.
I went dwelling and spent ages engaged on the guide concept we’d mentioned. My proposal included neighborhood guides, images, and self-guided walks. I despatched it to them and held my breath.
For some purpose I’ll by no means perceive, the writer modified their tune and informed me there have been method 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 method round.
Devastated that they’d wasted a lot of my time and price me the revenue I might have earned if I’d labored on one thing else as a substitute, I attempted to salvage a few of the proposal by turning it into weblog posts.
I had no concept 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 top-of-the-line issues I’ve ever executed. My London strolling excursions at the moment are a few of the hottest posts on my weblog, and folks from everywhere in the world have come to town and executed a number of.
It means loads to me that my concept has been validated, my time has been salvaged, and my walks have allowed so many individuals to see the components of London that make me love town a lot.
15. Launching My First Tote Bag
In 2019 I used to be approached by an organization about making an A Girl 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 Girl in London assortment. One of many mugs is even on the market in World Responsibility 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 transient. 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 concept if I might nonetheless have a enterprise on the finish of all of it.
However I used to be shocked how resilient each my weblog and I had 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 will survive 2020, we will survive something.
BONUS: Launching the California Wayfaring Weblog
After 15 years of working the A Girl in London weblog, I launched the California Wayfaring weblog a 12 months in the past right now. I’d at all times needed to share extra about my dwelling state, and it’s been a tremendous problem to start out one thing new in any case this time.
I’ve labored myself to the bone and landed myself in a variety of physician’s workplaces 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), nevertheless it’s laborious to cease after I’m doing one thing I like.
Way forward for the A Girl in London Weblog
Talking of which, I’ve beloved taking a visit down reminiscence lane to put in writing this Candy 16 weblog publish. I hope you’ve loved coming alongside for the experience, whether or not you’ve been studying the weblog from the start otherwise you simply discovered it right now.
The previous 16 years have been a terrific journey, and I’m wanting ahead to what the upcoming one brings. I’m certain there will probably be tons extra to have a good time on the subsequent A Girl in London weblog anniversary!
I’ve you to thank for serving to me get to the place I’m right now, and I’m grateful. Right here’s to a different thrilling 16 years!
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