I am super ecstatic to be sharing an insightful chat with one of the first and the best travel bloggers – Matthew Kepnes a.k.a Nomadic Matt. In this interview, the expert budget traveler shares his journey from the time he decided to embrace the digital life, how he dealt with the highs and the lows, impact of failures, his inspirations and much more. Hopefully his advice, experience and suggestions help all the aspiring travel bloggers to take the leap of faith!
Here you go!!!
What was your biggest challenge as an aspiring travel blogger? And what is your biggest challenge as an accomplished travel blogger?
I think my biggest challenge when I was first starting out was that I had no idea what I was doing! Travel blogging was brand new, so there was a lot of trial and error. I didn’t have the right tech skills so I had to learn as I went and constantly crashed my website. My design was pretty ugly and my travel writing needed work. In short, pretty much everything was a challenge back then!
These days, if you want to start a travel blog it’s much easier. Not that the work is easy, but you have a lot of resources out there as well as courses that can teach you the skills you need. I think all of that means we have a much more accessible, nuanced industry since anyone can dive in and get started!
As an accomplished travel blogger, my main challenge is juggling all of the projects that I have on the go: my website and the team that helps me manage it, my social media channels, the charity I started (FLYTE), and the conference I run (TravelCon). There’s a lot to do! Plus, I still want to make time for traveling so it can be tricky to balance everything without getting burnt out. But it’s been an amazing and rewarding journey so I definitely am not complaining!
What’s your advice for people with full time jobs aspiring to be travel bloggers?
Stop waiting!
If you want to start a travel blog, then get started today! It takes a while to design and create a website and learn the right travel blogging skills, so the sooner you start the better. That doesn’t mean you should quit your job, but rather you should start working on the side to get your blog in order. You can definitely start blogging even if you have a full-time job, and since it takes time to actually make an income with a blog you’ll want to get that started as soon as you can.
Too often I see people waiting, whether it’s regarding starting a travel blogging or just wanting to travel more. Life’s too short to waste. Don’t keep your travel plans on the backburner for too long or you’ll end up missing out!
How did you deal with stress in your journey of travel blogging?
Stress is an inevitable part of starting a travel business. There will always be challenges and struggles so you need to learn how to deal with them. You’ll want to make sure you have healthy habits that get you away from the computer. These can be anything from going to the gym to joining a club (dancing, martial arts, rock climbing, etc.) to something more laid back like reading or meditation. Having hobbies that keep you mentally and physically engaged away from the laptop will go a long way when you start to get stressed out about your travel blog. Finding that work-life balance is hard, but it’s also necessary as you want to be in this for the long haul!
What excites you about this nomadic journey?
No day is the same! Being an avid traveler means I get to experience so many different cultures while meeting people around the world. It doesn’t matter if I’m backpacking Southeast Asia for fun or on a work trip writing about what to see in Paris, every day is an adventure. Sure, working as a travel blogger involves a lot of work and I do spend a lot of time at my laptop, but the rewards make it all worthwhile. Travel is such an amazing tool for personal growth; it teaches you a lot about yourself and the world. Those are important lessons, so I’m just happy that I have the privilege to travel and work in such a great industry.
Did you have a mentor? How did you find “the” Mentor and how did you approach them?
I’ve been lucky in that I’ve had the opportunity to meet tons of helpful entrepreneurs over the years. I’ve found that going to conferences and networking there is a great way to meet potential mentors and people who can help you learn new skills and grow as you progress on your own journey. If you really want to improve your travel blogging skills, conferences are the best place to start.
Who is your inspiration?
While it’s hard to narrow this down, I would say that two big inspirations to me are Bill Bryson and the late Anthony Bourdain. Both men are incredible travel writers and contributed so much to the travel industry. They just have such skill with words and can really bring their destinations to life. Their travel writing is just so captivating and insightful, you can’t help but read their work and want to travel. I had always wanted to be something of a mix between the two, and without their influence I might not even be here today!
Who is your favorite travel blogger and why?
There are tons of amazing bloggers out there whose content I enjoy reading. And there a new, amazing creators joining the industry every day!
Some of my favorite travel blogs are Legal Nomads, The Blonde Abroad, Expert Vagabond, and Roads and Kingdoms. But that’s just a tip of the iceberg because there are too many amazing travel blogs to list!
Which destination would you recommend for first time solo travelers and why?
If I had to suggest one place, it would be Thailand. Backpacking Thailand is a great way to get into solo travel as it’s a destination with a well-trodden backpacker scene. It’s safe, cheap, there is a lot to do, the food is delicious, and it’s easy to travel around. Backpacking Southeast Asia in general is a great region to start in, but Thailand would be my top choice. It’s just such a fun country to travel and these days you can find tons of Thailand travel tips online, making it a great place for newbies. But there is also a lot there for veteran travelers, too, which is why I keep going back!
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do?
This is usually a good time to step back and relax. I usually like to use this as an opportunity to travel and disconnect. That will give me a chance to relax, refresh, and get some new perspective. I’ll get out of my routine and into something new. The fresh perspective is a great way to give yourself a break so you can return to your project with a new, refreshed focus. If you can’t travel somewhere far, try just traveling to a nearby city or country. Even a quick 3-day trip can do wonders to refresh you and get you back on track.
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favorite failure of yours?
Failure is the best teacher. While it definitely sucks to deal with, there are always important lessons to be learned from the experience. I’ve certainly had my fair share of failures over the years, and they were great (but painful) teachers. For example, when I first launched my How to Travel the World on $50 a Day e-book it didn’t sell well, which was depressing. But it taught me a lot about marketing and I used that experience to make the launch of my paperback a huge success.
Additionally, I once tried to sell t-shirts but they bombed because my audience wasn’t interested. That was another huge lesson: don’t assume what works for others will work for you!
Just like making travel mistakes on the road, as a blogger you’ll also make plenty of mistakes. Don’t let them get to you. Just learn the lessons and do your best to move on and keep at it!
What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
There’s a lot, but one thing I think people will find funny is that I used to be huge into Magic: The Gathering and actually played competitively. I was — and still am — a huge nerd!
What’s an important lesson you’ve learnt from traveling?
There have been so many important, eye-opening travel lessons that I’ve learned. If I had to pick one, it would be this: that there are more good people out there than bad and that the world isn’t as scary as the media makes it out to be. In my experience, most people are willing to help you if you need it. At the end of the day, everyone is just looking to live a good life. They want to be happy, spend time with friends and family, and live in peace. No matter the language barrier or cultural differences, deep down we’re all the same. I think experiencing that — seeing it with your own eyes — will change how you view the world and the people in it. Because when you recognize that we’re all the same you bring the world closer together. And I think, these days, we could all use a bit more of that.
Are you ready to start blogging now?
PS: I would suggest taking the Super Star Blogging course by Nomadic Matt which is a perfect guide to start from the scratch.
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