Life as a travel influencer
Instagram @GoneSunWhere
Life as a Travel influencer
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| Enjoying two months in Jamaica during the end of 2020 |
I really love being a travel influencer. Travel is my passion. Even if it's just going an hour away from my front door. Which is all most of us can do these days anyway! I love discovering a street or restaurant that I never knew existed. My home town London is such a busy. Diverse city. With different people from all walks of life. One borough to the next.
I also love to travel further afield via different modes of transport. I've always had a passion for writing and feel really good about helping others to plan their future travels. I like to give honest reviews and travel tips.
I also really enjoy fashion and photography. A picture can tell a thousand words. Photographing exceptional landscapes. Unique looking food and candid moments of fun is what I live for. It's nice to know that I can inspire others to get excited about dressing up or going out.
Travel journalists and influencers have definitely helped me to get excited about life and making future plans. When I've most needed some encouragement to see the glass as half full. Rather than half empty. We all have our dark days. Where just getting out of bed seems pointless. Even an influencer can need inspiration.
A lot of people knock influencers. They don't see it as a job. Or hard work. The problem is that there are two. Maybe more types of travel influencer. Those that have to work hard to become credible and those born into money and/or fame.
Much like anything in life. There is no one size fits all. So it's unfair to generalise.
I'm confident in my abilities as an influencer. Even though there are a ton of travel influencers. With a new travel influencer on the scene seemingly each day.
My main area lies with my blog. To blog. Plan. Shoot and edit photos is real work. Some travel influencers are hobbyists. Some travel influencers are narcissists. Showing off wealth and privilege. Some travel influencers don't do much but pose for their pics. Their online presence may look impressive. Yet there is no hard work involved for some travel influencers. As they may be fortunate to have a boyfriend that's a professional photographer. Passionately planning. Editing and uploading all of the influencer content.
This is not the reality for every travel influencer. It's certainly not the reality for me. I'm not complaining. As I enjoy hard work and seeing my hard work pay off over time. Having to believe in myself and materialise my dream from humble beginnings. I actually want to inspire others as a travel influencer. Not make people jealous.
I won't ever be as successful as some online personalities for a number of reasons. And I'm okay with that. The industry isn't fair but most industries are corrupt. So what's new?
I don't respect a travel influencer that is willing to put their life at risk to take the most extreme photos. Or those who flaunt cosmetic surgery and sexually suggestive imagery. Some of the things influencers do to go viral are irresponsible.
For us travel influencers. FOMO is real! We can suffer from the feeling of missing out even more than the average person. Because it's our job to constantly keep up with what's happening and our budget. Or even our monthly calendar can get overwhelmed. No. We don't get everything for free.
Being in the right frame of mind to go somewhere and do something doesn't always happen. So I can end up scrolling through content from others and feel like I'm failing at the influencer thing.
Over time I've learned to go at my own pace to avoid burnout. And not to indulge social media when I'm in an unhealthy frame of mind.
What are your favourite travel influencer websites and social media accounts? Let me know in the comments section below.