Aspiring Travel Writer of the Week: Tanya Shelburne
Tanya’s website is Traveling Tanya and was launched on September 1, 2018.
Bio: Like most women, I wear many hats. I’m a mom, wife, daughter, sister, full-time employee, volunteer, friend, and neighbor. While most of these roles take up a lot of my time…and money…I still manage to squeeze in plenty of travel. I love everything about traveling: planning, packing, learning about different cultures, visiting new places, trying new foods, checking out every gift shop, and yes, even coming home. I love going on romantic getaways with my husband, bonding with my teenage daughters on family vacations, and spending time at the beach, in the mountains, in busy cities, in quaint towns, and across the pond in Europe. And I love sharing my adventures with others. I am a travel blogger I’m on a mission to inspire busy people to make travel a priority.
Here is Tanya’s Q&A About her Life as a Travel Blogger
Tanya Shelburne is a Part-time blogger and full-time Public Health Professional currently doing contract work for a tobacco control grant.
How long have you been a blogger? I have been blogging for almost a year and a half.
Where do you call home? I live in Indiana, close to Indianapolis.
How many countries have you been to? 9.
How many continents have you been to? 2.
Top 5 destinations on your travel to-do list: Greece, Prague, Amsterdam, Hawaii, and Costa Rica.
Earliest travel memory: Every year on the day after Christmas my grandparents would take my brother and me to their second home on a lake in Northern Wisconsin for a week. It was a 12-hour car ride and I remember fighting with my brother in the backseat! But we had so much fun in Wisconsin and made cherished memories with my grandparents.
Favorite Travel Writer: I’m a huge Rick Steves fan! Not only do I love his guidebooks, but I enjoy watching his PBS show and listening to his podcasts on the Rick Steves Audio Europe app.
Favorite Travel Blogger: I can’t pick a favorite! I’ve connected with so many awesome travel bloggers over the last year and a half, and I love that they each have their own unique style. There is room for all of us in cyberspace!
Favorite Travel Photographer: My husband! He may not be a world-famous photographer, but I love how he enthusiastically snaps tons of photos on our trips so we can remember every little detail.
Favorite Travel Blog/s or Website/s: There are so many great ones! A few that have recently piqued my interest are www.travoodie.com, www.pintspoundsandpate.com, www.twodrifters.us, and www.allisongygitravels.com.
The trip that turned Tanya from a vacationer to a traveler: I caught the travel bug in 2016 when my husband and I went on a “once-in-a-lifetime” trip to England, France, and Italy. We loved every minute of that vacation and decided traveling was something we wanted to do a lot more of. We have since taken 4 more trips to Europe!
The trip that turned Tanya into a travel blogger: It was just after returning from our summer vacation in Sarasota, Florida that I realized my passion for sharing my travel adventures. Soon afterward Traveling Tanya was born!
Tanya’s first steps to become a travel blogger: The idea of writing a blog had been on my mind for a while and after our summer vacation to the beach I realized that travel was the right niche for me. I enrolled in the free 5-day email course on how to start a money-making blog through www.itsalovelylife.com. That course gave me the skills and confidence to launch my blog, although it took me a month, not just 5 days! From there I devoured videos and podcasts and immersed myself in all things blogging.
Are you an independent traveler or do you participate in organized media trips? I am focused on organized media trips. (do you plan your own travel or look for media trips?) At this point, I mostly plan my own travel and seek out comped travel where I can. I’d love to start participating in organized media trips as my blog grows and my schedule allows.
The social media platform driving the most traffic to her site is: Facebook is my biggest social media traffic generator.
Top tip to use Facebook for traffic: With Facebook, I think it is important to tag appropriate travel partners in your own posts and also engage on their Facebook pages. I love using the Canva app on my phone for creating Pins. Even when I’m short on time or sitting at my children’s sporting events, I can quickly create Pins with Canva.
Favorite WordPress plugin (and why): Yoast is my favorite plugin as it provides a guide and tips for improving my SEO. I don’t let it dictate how I write my content, but at times it helps me make small tweaks to increase that post’s SEO.
Favorite Travel Blogger Facebook Group: Midwest Travel Bloggers Support! I love the down to earth bloggers in this group who provide encouragement as well as opportunities for collaborations.
If only I had the time, I’d do/finish…… I need to learn and develop a good Pinterest strategy. I’m sure I’ll be diving into Tailwind soon but want to make sure I have a good plan in place before I invest in this service.
My top tip for aspiring travel writers and bloggers!
Just get started! Being brave enough to start your blog and put yourself out there is the hardest part. Your early writing won’t be perfect, and that’s OK. You will learn and improve along the way, but if you never launch your blog you will never have the chance to grow as a content creator.
Best travel tip for travelers: Take that trip! It’s easy to make excuses and postpone travel plans, but I firmly believe that you are much more likely to regret the trips you don’t take than the ones you do. Travel while you are young enough and healthy enough to enjoy the adventure…and chances are the travel bug will take hold and you will continue to find ways to make travel a part of your lifestyle.
Connect with Tanya
Website: www.travelingtanya.com
Social: Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube
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More Travel Blogger of the Week Features!
Aspiring Travel Writer of the Week: Maggie McKneely with Pink Caddy Travelogue
Aspiring Travel Writer of the Week: Jorge and Claudia with Travel Drafts
Nominate a friend (or yourself!) as our next Aspiring Travel Writer of the Week!
I invite you to be a featured ATW (Aspiring Travel Writer) of the week. As ATW of the week, you will be featured on my travel website, 52Perfectdays.com and the BreakintoTravelWriting.com website! Here are all the details! breakintotravelwriting.com/aspiring-travel-writer-of-the-week-guidelines/
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