This is an interview with Amy Aed of Wandering Everywhere.
Hey, Amy. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.
Hi! I’m Amy Aed, the editor of Wandering Everywhere, a travel blog dedicated to solo female travel and unique destinations. This blog is for the travel-hungry, those who are on the constant search of the most beautiful places in the world. In essence, this blog is all about Wandering Everywhere and Wondering Everything.
Along with that, I run Eisa Tea Co., an ethics-based tea business which sources directly from small family farms across Asia. My goal is 100% transparency, ensuring only the highest quality tea from the most sustainable sources.
What was your life like before becoming a travel blogger?
As I started my blog when I was 12 years old, I didn’t do a lot before then! It is because of this that Wandering Everywhere has grown and developed alongside me, and changed from a book blog to a fashion blog to, eventually, a travel blog.
When and why did you start Wandering Everywhere?
I started Wandering Everywhere to share my love for exploring new places and to inspire others to travel.
My job as editor is to bring the best travel content you’ve ever seen, with comprehensive guides that aim to show you the never-before-seen bits of places. I love travel, and I love talking about travel, so it all makes sense.
How did you decide on the name and pick a niche?
I actually decided on a travel blog name a whole year before launching my blog, and chose it due to the fact that it represented the two things I love most in the world.
The niche was easy – solo female travel and off-the-beaten-path destinations – as these are the two key things that I wanted to write about.
How have the topics you cover changed over the years?
Initially, I focused on pieces about nice hotels and general guides, but I have since narrowed it down to talk primarily about food tours, personal stories, and bookshops that I love from around the world.
How long did it take you to make your first money blogging?
I started earning money within the first year of professional writing (e.g. when I was 18, rather than 12, and began to take it seriously) from sponsored posts and affiliate marketing, and since then have pretty much maintained the same income source.
How did your first years as a blogger go in terms of traffic, income, and site growth?
The first years were slow but steady in terms of traffic, and growth only came as I improved my content and began to learn the tiniest bit about SEO.
Since then, it’s been containing to grow at a rate that is super manageable considering my other work within the tea industry.
How much traffic does your blog get now? What are your top traffic sources?
Currently, my blog gets thousands of monthly visitors, with the majority coming from organic search and social media.
What’s your current content strategy like?
I focus on creating detailed solo female travel guides and inspirational posts.
I aim to post regularly and frequently update old content for optimisation, although as I am constantly on the road this can sometimes be a little difficult to maintain.
When did you get into SEO? And do you optimize every blog post?
I started focusing on SEO a few years into blogging and now optimize every post that I can for search engines, although I still only do so on a basic level.
Keyword research and on-page SEO have been crucial. I consistently try to use on these strategies to drive traffic, although not as much as I should.
What social media channel drives the most traffic to your blog?
Pinterest is my top traffic source. I grew my following by regularly pinning high-quality images and engaging with the community.
From there, Instagram has been a good source for both growing the community and learning more about the people that read my articles.
What blog metrics do you track? And how often do you track them?
I track metrics like page views, session duration, and conversion rates weekly to gauge performance and make adjustments.
What are your different income streams?
I earn a sufficient amount per month, with income streams including sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, and digital products. Each stream contributes differently, with affiliate marketing being the largest percentage.
What do you do if you notice a significant drop in your blog’s traffic?
If traffic drops, I analyze my SEO, check for technical issues, and review content relevance to address the problem. Easy peasy.
How have the recent Google core updates affected you as a blogger?
Google updates have had mixed effects. I stay informed about changes and try to adjust my SEO strategies accordingly, but sometimes it really is a case of hit-or-miss.
Do you use AI tools as a blogger in any way?
Yes, I use AI tools for keyword research, but find that using it for actual writing is more tiresome than useful. The only few times I tried it, I ended up re-writing the whole thing anyway, making it a pointless exercise for me, personally.
What’s specific about running a solo female travel blog?
Running a solo female travel blog involves addressing safety concerns and providing specific tips for female travellers.
I feel as though it has a higher level of urgency to get my information correct, and at times, there is added pressure with this. I don’t want to give the wrong advice at any moment, as the outcomes could be unmentionable.
Also read: How Katie Grew Her Travel Blog to 100K Page Views per Month in 1 Year
How do you sustain your travel life?
I sustain my travel life through careful budgeting, partnerships, and income from my blog.
Plus, Eisa Tea Co., and various other side hustles.
How do you balance traveling and working on your blog?
Balancing travel and work requires good time management. I often work from the road and schedule content in advance, planning months worth of content when I’m back home for any period of time.
Plus, there’s cafes just about everywhere, so it’s easy enough to post from anywhere in the world!
What’s next for you and Wandering Everywhere?
To be completely honest, who knows? Whatever the answer is, I’m excited to see where this blogging journey takes me.
