Kristin Luna's Advice on Blogging

10 Years of Blogging: The Best Of + Lessons I’ve Learned

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In 2007, I had no idea blogging would become a large part of my career. I was happily tapping away at guidebook work, writing copious amounts of content for magazines and online outlets like TravelChannel.com and Forbes Traveler, and ignoring every request for advertising because, really, who had the time?

Kristin Luna's Advice on Blogging

all imagery in this post by Joe Hendricks

In 2008, I won my first Bloggie for “Best Travel Blog.” In 2009, I won it again. In 2010, I won it a third time and was retired to “Hall of Fame” status. I continued focusing primarily on print work.

At the beginning of 2011, SVV took a leave from his contractor job that resulted in a full year of travel for us—first, around Northern California, then across the West, then around the world via Semester at Sea—and started answering the emails I’d been ignoring for years asking about advertising space on my website. That’s more or less when this blog became a team effort and something that proved to have legs.

All that to say, none of my blogging success came overnight. It was years until this became even a small part of my career.

We’ve never gone about advertising the traditional way; SVV and I both always wanted to keep this site devoid of banner ad eyesores, even though I’m sure we could make decent money incorporating that model. We turn down the majority of offers at free products and requests for reviews unless it’s something really cool or makes sense for me to cover. We don’t really mess with affiliate sales much, other than the occasional Amazon or rewardStyle link to something I’ve bought personally. We’ve always sought to have a smaller, curated stable of partners we adore who we wind up working with time and time again throughout the years, rather than team up with every marketing agency who approaches us with an offer of a one-off project.

Kristin Luna's Advice on Blogging

This is just our preferred style; it might not make sense for everyone, but it’s how we roll.

It’s funny going back and reading how this space has evolved in 10 years. I’ve started a much-needed site audit with an SEO professional out of Holland, and through it, I’ve been going back and deleting handfuls of old posts because they’re either a) wildly embarrassing or b) irrelevant to what I do now. Still, it’s also been a fun walk down memory lane, not to mention encouraging to see how my writing has improved.

If I had to give tips for new bloggers based on 10 years of being in this crazy world, it would be this:

  • Don’t do it for the money. It should be about the love of your chosen topic, the passion about content creation and the want to share your knowledge. Once you’ve built out a body of work and accumulated a following, then you can start to think about monetization. But I’ve seen far too many bloggers launch a site in search of making bank, which should be an after thought and is also much easier said than done.
  • Focus on quality, not quantity. So many people ask me what the ideal amount of posts per week is. That’s a tricky question; I know style and fitness blogger who post their daily musings, but for a food or travel blogger, putting together a piece of content can take hours (if not days). So it’s all variable; you don’t want to put out a rush job, so figure out what’s best for you that also allows you to maintain a high standard of work. I try to post two to three times a week, but often life gets in the way and that doesn’t happen.
  • Stay true to yourself; don’t be concerned with what others are doing. So many of my peers write for SEO, and sure, I could probably employ that tactic and double my traffic. But do I want to? No. Would it bore me to tears? Probably. Standing out as a unique and marketable product will always win out over being a clickbaity content farm (unless, of course, Google AdSense is your entire advertising strategy).

I’ve hit a few milestones this week that come at the perfect time: 100,000 unique monthly visitors + 20,000 Facebook fans. I’ve never been one who has based my brand’s value on numbers or traffic—for me, it’s all about the community—but as a former mathlete, I do love me some nice, even, round numbers, so this was synchronous timing.

Kristin Luna's Advice on Blogging

And in 10 years of blogging, I’ve accumulated a number of memories, which I thought would be fun to share here…

Most cringe-worthy moment: the fact that one of my very first blog posts in 2007 chronicled me getting my first Brazilian wax in New York (*face palm*).

Craziest moment: when Ella got recognized in Golden Gate Park as a wee pup back in 2010 by a blog reader’s daughter who was visiting San Francisco from Arizona. And then getting spotted by a reader at a temple in Kyoto in 2011 but not learning about it until she Tweeted me later that night was equally as wild!

Favorite blog posts: I’ve been writing more itinerary-style posts as resources for those of you who may be traveling to the same spots as me, but I’m not going to lie, my favorite type of writing is more essay, experience-driven or narrative style. Of all the posts I’ve written, numbering in the thousands, my posts “Friendship Without Borders” (about a chance meeting on a flight) and “Murder in Cambodia” (about the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge) are two of my favorites.

Coolest opportunity: too many to count! The iHeart Radio Pool Party in Miami was pretty awesome, but so were every one of the content campaigns I’ve been hired to do through this blog—from South Dakota to West Virginia, Grand Cayman to Britain. It’s crazy (and humbling) to think that I get hired to go to all these amazing spots and write about them.

Biggest LOL: the fact that I named (and even had a photo!) of my crazy former roommate, who we will refer to as The Evil, with no thought of privacy or her finding it (this is one of the many posts that has since been scrubbed). Blogging in 2007 really was the Wild, Wild West in comparison to the more PC age of Blogging in 2017.

Some cool media hits: though I’m a journalist and have written for more than 50 magazines, my blog has also been featured in several pubs. To name a few, Marie Claire, The Nest, Glamour, Huffington Post and a national newspaper in Greece.

Post that went viral: my recent musings on brain-picking. It even usurped my popular “What You’re Worth” post from 2011 as my all-time most read post. And it’s also a topic I plan to dig much deeper into in the future, so stay tuned if you’re into that kind of thing.

Best part of blogging: hands down, all the friends I’ve made. From Jade and Alex and Kent and Caanan, to Beth and Team Mayhem, some of my lifelong BFFs have been as a result of this blog. And blogging has enabled me to become even closer with other pals like Angie, who I originally met through a PR-journalist working relationship. Still, there have been so many others of you out there who don’t even have blogs (hi, Briel!) that I’ve gotten to be pals with because you’ve been so kind to stick with and support me all these years.

And that right there is the reason to get into blogging, in my opinion: not for the money, not for the fame, but for connecting with people around the world who you might not have crossed paths with otherwise. It’s been a most excellent 10 years, and I hope I’m still doing this a decade from now.

Kristin Luna's Advice on Blogging

Thanks, always, for reading!

Kristin


 

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Tips & Advice to Creating a Successful Blog
Tips & Advice to Creating a Successful Blog
Tips & Advice to Creating a Successful Blog
COMMENTS
  • August 4, 2017

    xoxox. I can’t wait for the 20 year reunion! 🙂

    • September 17, 2017

      I expect you to fly out for that one!

  • August 4, 2017

    What a great post! You are such an inspiration to be authentic and to work hard for the passion of travel, not the dollar. Thank you for sharing this!

    • September 17, 2017

      Thank you, friend! The best part of blogging, hands down, has been meeting people like you =)

  • August 4, 2017

    I think I have been following you for eight years. Congrats on reaching 10 faithful years of writing and keeping us well entertained and informed!

    • September 17, 2017

      That’s insane! I feel like you were one of my blogging friend OGs 😉

  • August 5, 2017

    Congratulations for your 10 journey in blogging…..

  • August 5, 2017

    Wow 10 years! I’m on 5 and I love it more now than I did when I started, my sites are a huge part of my life, my full time income ( they support a family of 4) and, well I just love them. We’ve taken very different paths, I have a lot of traffic, I hit 100K/month a couple of years ago, mostly through Pinterest, but it’s less now although income is up. I make a fair bit from ads and affiliates, but my sites are my only income, I didn’t transition from being a paid writer, I love my work. But what I really wanted to say is I’ve stared running again. Several 5K s this week, a 10 K next Sunday. I thought you’d like that 🙂

    • September 17, 2017

      I do like that! (And sorry I’m just now catching up on comments; was on the road for five straight weeks.) I’m really just doing 3-4 miles right now but have another half in December and one in May.

      Do you have any Pinterest tip posts on your site? I’ve really just been getting into it this year and it seems slooooow going. Like, I get 5K+ Repins a week, but that doesn’t seem to translate to higher traffic, ugh. I don’t actually sell anything based on traffic, so it doesn’t matter for my income, but I’d love to see my older stuff still read, you know?

      • September 17, 2017

        I wish I could help Kristin but since various updates at Pinterest my traffic is smashed. A couple of years ago I had 1000 clicks per day from Pinterest, this week, on 20,000 followers, 150 per day. A lot of us have been hit in the same way. I saw you in a sharing thread this week, they don’t help much. I really don’t have any answers, nobody does.

        • September 17, 2017

          Thanks for the insight! I have a VA doing sharing threads and Tribes for me, but again, doesn’t seem to do much for my traffic. Good to know it’s not just me that’s hurting from it. About 40% of my traffic comes from Pinterest, but that’s always been the case and prior to this year, I didn’t touch the platform. So the fact that I’ve put so much time into it this year and the needle hasn’t moved is disappointing. I guess it’s just like anything, right? Instagram is going through the same growing pains and dragging us all down with it!

  • August 6, 2017

    That’s the biggest nugget of wisdom I’ve taken and told other people: stay true to you. And I agree about what we used to write about vs. what we write about now! My blog used to be a lot about getting drunk in Charleston without any thought as to what future employers would think 😛

  • August 7, 2017

    Congrats, lady! It takes dedication and passion to go at something like this for a decade. Love your advice for newbies… spot on! Cheers to you!

    • September 17, 2017

      Thanks, Jess! Congrats on killing it yourself 😉

  • August 8, 2017

    Congrats madam

  • August 8, 2017

    Wow 10 years!! I’m just starting on my blogging journey and I’m excited to see where it takes me. Congrats and I hope you have many more wonderful years!

    • September 17, 2017

      Thank you, Courtney! Best of luck in your new gig as blogger =)

  • August 9, 2017

    10 years is a long time process. I know that is very this journey was very difficult. I also 3 years of blogging. I am facing lot’s of a problem but my aggressive life helps me to solve my all problem. This type of post also helps me to got success on blogging. this article is more motivated for me and also some people who face a different type problem to the blogging journey. Thanks for your article. Keep writing.

  • August 9, 2017

    A decade — what a milestone! Congrats, girl — I’ll be reading till the day we both get kicked off the internets 😉

  • August 11, 2017

    Love everything about this! Cheers to the next 10 years of Camels & Chocolate! I can’t wait to see where it takes you =)

  • August 12, 2017

    Congratulations on 10 years of blogging!
    Wow!

    You’re one of my favourite bloggers ‘cos you’re a professional, you know exactly what you’re doing, and you do it brilliantly.

    Even though we haven’t yet met in real life, it’s been an absolute pleasure to know you. Here’s to 10 more years.
    Cheers!

    • September 17, 2017

      Victoria, this is just the nicest comment! I can’t wait until the day I get to hug you in real life =)

  • August 15, 2017

    Good day kristin,
    So happy to know your recent achievement on visitor counts and facebook page follow.
    I am amazed to see how you have developed your own strategy to outrun others.

    Wishing you loads of luck for achieving further goals and milestones.

  • August 31, 2017

    Wow! 10 years! It’s hard to imagine how fast time flies by, right? 10 years ago I was 16 and just out of school. Feels like just yesterday. I only recently started to blog and found out a way to even monetize it. I agree with everything you have said in this blog, especially the part where you mentioned quality triumphs over quantity.

    So I try to make every post as informational and valuable as possible. Why don’t you come pay me a visit? Maybe you can give me some tips and helpful advice on how to become a successful blogger like you.

    So far, I’ve only vlogged because I never really considered myself as a writer.

  • October 11, 2017

    Great post, loved the look back at your highlights from the 10 years and your cringiest blog post!

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