How My Travel Blog Led to a Career I Love

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As a child, I was a complete bookworm. I’m talking head in a book 24/7. I loved reading and, more often than not, had a tower of books at the bottom of my bed.

Along with my love of reading came a passion for writing. English Language and Literature were two of my favourite subjects at school.

But while I’ve always enjoyed putting pen to paper, I never considered pursuing it as a career. Why? I guess I just viewed it as a hobby and not something I could make money from.

So, when I started my travel blog in July 2015, it was simply a creative outlet; a way to share my travels with my friends and family.

If I’m honest, I only ever expected three people to read my blog: my mum, my dad and my husband, because they had to! I never intended to make any money from blogging and certainly didn’t expect to turn blogging into a career.

Fast forward three years and I have a steady flow of traffic to my blog (not just my parents and hubby! yay!) and am now working as a content creator for a great company. The takeaway? My travel blog led to a career I love.

Basically, what began as a hobby snowballed into something else entirely. But I’m not writing this post to shout about how amazing my writing skills are. I’m writing it because I want to inspire you to get up and run with whatever ideas you have because you never know where they might take you.

Back in 2016, I was working a job I didn’t enjoy and I dreaded going to work every day. I was bored and needed a change. The only saving grace and the only reason I stayed in that role so long was the six weeks holiday allowance I got each year. But, after a while, even that wore thin and the negatives eventually outweighed the positives.

Then, in October 2016, as I was planning a month-long trip to Australia, my husband put me forward for a job as a copywriter at a web development and digital marketing agency. I’d never worked professionally as a writer so I was worried that I had nothing to show in the way of experience. But in the end, my travel blog acted as my portfolio and résumé and I got the job.

I’ve now been in this role for well over a year and still really enjoy it. For the first time in over six years, I actually enjoy going to work each day.

And although I don’t make any money from blogging (yet!), I’m so glad I decided to start writing because my travel blog led to a career I love.

So, ultimately, my message to you is this: whether you dream of writing a novel, starting a blog, taking up a sport, learning photography or something else entirely, just go for it. You never know where it could lead you.

Don’t let fear of failure or negative comments hold you back. When you put yourself out there and try something new, you’ll have your fair share of negativity from those who are too scared to try. But as long as you’re doing something you enjoy, that’s all that matters. And at the end of the day, who knows where it could lead you.

   

What about you? Has your travel blog led to a career? Or did you take up a hobby which led to a great job?