💌 Want your newsletter to feel as easy as texting your bestie? Join my next workshop From Overthinking to Outbox 

Your newsletter does NOT need to be complicated. 

If you’re a travel content creator trying to grow your audience, get more eyes on your offers, or turn your followers into actual business leads, email marketing needs to be part of your strategy.

In this episode, I’m answering some of the questions I get asked ALL the time about newsletters — from how often you should send them to what actually belongs inside your emails.

We’re talking:

• ✈️ How often you should send your newsletter (and why consistency matters more than frequency)
• 💌 Why a simple email template can make newsletter growth SO much easier
• 👀 What your email open rate is actually telling you
• ✍️ How much educational content you should include
• 👋 How to weave your personal story into your emails without making every email about you
• 👀 Why I LOVE a good PS
• 📝 Why a TLDR can be especially useful for travel creators
• 💰 How to balance value and selling in your emails

Plus, I’m sharing my actual approach to email marketing for travel influencers so you can stop overthinking your newsletter and start sending emails people actually want to open.

And if you want to learn how to make sending an email feel as easy as sending a text message, I’m hosting a training where I’ll walk you through exactly how to create strong educational email content, choose a sustainable sending cadence, and actually get people opening your emails.

👉 Sign up for my next email marketing workshop here on how to send a newsletter as easy as sending a text. 

This is usually invite-only, but I’m opening it up to my podcast fam. 💌

Happy creating, happy emailing, and I’ll see you on the internet!

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

Today’s episode is a little different because I’m actually stealing an episode from my friend and podcast producer  Marie’s podcast, Your Girl, where we sat down with Andrea to talk through our biggest business lessons from July.

And honestly? There are A LOT.

We’re talking about delayed gratification, client rejection, self-trust, networking, burnout, CEO time, making more money by doing less, and why sometimes the best thing you can do for your business is… go outside.

In this episode, we’re talking about:

• Why the clients you sign today might have been watching you for months
• The reminder that business is basically one giant lesson in delayed gratification
• Why you should never celebrate until the money is in the bank
• How to stop taking client rejection personally
• The difference between someone rejecting your offer and rejecting you
• Why people can say yes on a sales call and change their mind afterward
• How setting boundaries can completely change the way you show up in business
• Why your network is probably much closer than you think
• How “one degree away” relationships can lead to clients, referrals, friendships, and opportunities
• Why you should stop forcing yourself into a productivity schedule that doesn't actually work for you
• The weird realization that sometimes the less I work, the more money I make
• Why successful business owners can become addicted to being busy
• The importance of creating actual CEO hours instead of spending every second doing client work
• Why you need to work on your business, not just in it
• Giving yourself permission to have hobbies, travel, go to the beach, and have a personality outside of your business
• What it looks like to let your business grow up a little so it doesn't need you 24/7
• Why self-trust becomes absolutely essential when you're making big life and business moves

Want to check out more from Marie?

🎧 Listen to her podcast about scaling your business: Your Girl 

👉 Follow her on Instagram: @yourgirlmedia 

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

If the word “website” makes you want to crawl under your desk and never come out, this episode is for you.

Because apparently, you do not need a giant, expensive, perfectly designed website to start building your business online. 

You just need somewhere on the internet that you actually own.

In this episode, I’m chatting with my friend Andrea, owner and lead designer of Merveille Creative Studios, about websites, SEO, branding, and what creators actually need when they’re building a business.

And honestly? We are making websites feel way less overwhelming.

If you’re a travel content creator, UGC creator, influencer, or creator who wants to work with brands, tourism boards, and businesses, this episode is packed with practical advice for building an online presence that makes you look legit — without spending your entire life trying to figure out your website.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why you should stop relying entirely on Instagram and social media to house your business
• Why a simple landing page is better than nothing
• Why you should have your own domain instead of relying on platforms like Linktree or hosted landing pages
• What your website actually needs if you're just getting started
• When it's time to graduate from a landing page to a full website
• The essential pages every creator website should have
• Why your UGC portfolio should NOT live on Canva
• How your website can help you get discovered through SEO
• Why having a website can help creators look more legitimate to brands and tourism boards
• Website platforms including Squarespace, Wix, Showit, and WordPress
• Why Andrea personally prefers WordPress for SEO and customization
• The difference between easy-to-use website platforms and platforms that give you more flexibility
• Why website speed matters for SEO
• How to check your website speed with Google PageSpeed Insights
• The biggest website mistake creators make in their hero section
• Why you need to tell people who you are and what you do immediately
• How to use analytics to understand who's actually visiting your website
• Why you should have an email opt-in on your website
• What platform you should use if you're selling digital products vs. physical products
• How your website can become a home base for your travel content creation business

🎧 Want to listen to my producer's podcast all about scaling your business to the next level? Check our her podcast, Your Girl 

Connect with Andrea:

• Follow her on Instagram: @merveillecs
• Check out her website
• Want a FREE website audit? Click HERE 
• Want to Book a VIP Day? Click HERE

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

 ✈️ Sign up HERE  for access to my FREE workshop: From Overthinking to Outbox

What would happen to your business if Instagram disappeared tomorrow?

For travel creators, social media can feel like the entire business — the content, the audience, the brand deals, the money. But there’s one major problem: you don’t actually own your Instagram audience.

In this episode, we’re talking about why email marketing might be one of the most overlooked tools in a travel creator’s business — and why building an email list can completely change the way you grow, connect with your audience, and make money.

Because being a successful travel creator isn’t just about creating beautiful content. It’s about building a business you actually own.

In this episode, we’re diving into:

• Why your Instagram followers aren’t actually your audience
• The difference between rented audiences and owned audiences
• Why travel content is especially well-suited for email marketing
• How your audience is already using your travel content to plan trips
• Why hotel recommendations, packing lists, visa tips, and destination guides can become the foundation of your newsletter
• Why email can be more valuable to brands than your Instagram following
• How a newsletter can support your brand deal strategy
• What makes a travel newsletter actually worth opening
• Why consistency matters more than sending emails every week
• How to create short, conversational emails that don’t take hours to write
• Why your newsletter needs a clear purpose beyond “here’s what I’ve been up to”
• How to stop overthinking your emails and actually hit send

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

👉 Sign up HERE  for access to my FREE workshop: From Overthinking to Outbox

A free 25-min workshop on building a newsletter that feels as easy as texting — structure, consistency, and how to turn readers into clients.

For creators who know they need a newsletter and just need it to feel doable.

Today I’m sharing the apps and tools I think you are absolutely sleeping on if you want to grow your business, save time, and stop doing everything manually.

I’m a big believer that the right tools can make running your business so much easier and there are a few that I use constantly that I think more travel creators need to know about.

In this episode, I’m breaking down my favorite creator tools, business systems, AI tools, and apps for everything from project management and pitching to email marketing, time tracking, content creation, and staying organized.

We’re talking about:

• Why Asana is one of my non-negotiable business systems and how I use the desktop app to quickly capture tasks
• Why I use Instagram on desktop instead of my phone to avoid the doom-scroll trap
• How I use LinkedIn as a more intentional engagement activity
• The dictation tool I’m OBSESSED with and why WhisperFlow is a game changer for writing emails and YouTube scripts. 

👉 USE MY WHISPERFLOW LINK TO GET STARTED

• How I use Airtable as a lead tracker for my more complicated pitching system
• The simple Google Chrome tab organization trick that makes my life way easier
• Why I’m moving from Fathom to Granola for meeting notes
• How I’m experimenting with Claude to clean up my desktop and take some of those annoying manual tasks off my plate
• Why the humble Notes app is one of my favorite business tools
• The new Kit MCP feature and why I’m excited about connecting AI directly to my email marketing
• How Subscriber Signals can help you identify potential collaborators and opportunities hiding inside your email list
• New design features, landing pages, and forms inside Kit
• Why I think you should be using Google Sheets and Google Forms instead of constantly adding another paid platform and another login to your life
• How I’m using Toggl to track exactly where my time is going
• Why I’m doing a time audit to figure out what I should be automating, delegating, or using AI to help with

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

What if your newsletter could do more than just sit in someone’s inbox every week?

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of two recent email marketing projects I’ve been working on and breaking down the exact strategies we’re using to turn subscribers into warm leads, create FOMO, and ultimately convert people into paying customers.

Because your email list should not be an afterthought.

I’m walking you through how I’m building a waitlist strategy for Cocktails & Clothes, including the welcome sequence, weekly newsletter, segmentation, speed networking events, early-access offers, and the systems that keep the waitlist warm.

I’m also sharing how I took a business strategist from basically zero to a fully automated newsletter system in just three weeks — including why I chose GoHighLevel over Substack, how we’re using different signup forms and welcome sequences based on where someone came from, and why having a content strategy behind your newsletter matters SO much.

And honestly? This is the unglamorous backend stuff that actually works.

In this episode, I’m breaking down:

• How to build an email marketing strategy that turns followers into paying customers
• The influencer strategies and creator tips you can use to create FOMO around your offer
• How to create a waitlist that actually stays warm and converts
• The email sequence I’m using to nurture people from waitlist signup to purchase
• Why segmentation from day one is non-negotiable
• How to use a weekly newsletter to consistently showcase wins, testimonials, events, and social proof
• Why your newsletter should have a goal beyond simply “sending content”
• How to create different welcome sequences based on where your subscribers came from
• Why you may need multiple signup forms for your email list
• How to build a newsletter content bank so you’re never starting from scratch
• Why I chose GoHighLevel instead of jumping on the Substack train
• How to build automated email marketing systems without adding another million tools to your business
• The importance of documenting your backend systems so you actually know how everything works
• How I took a newsletter system from kickoff to launch in just three weeks

Want to see behind the scenes of my client Marie's waitlist email strategy for Cocktails & Close? 

👉 Sign up HERE

Influencer strategies, creator tips, email marketing, newsletter strategy, email marketing strategy, newsletter automation, email list growth, creator business, content strategy, waitlist strategy, email sequence, lead nurturing, digital marketing for creators.

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

👉 Join the Travel Creator Business Plan Community and get the systems, support, and strategy to grow your creator business. Sign up here! ✈️

 creators spend years figuring out how to make more money... but almost nobody teaches us what to do once the money actually starts showing up.

In this episode, I'm sitting down with my friend Jillian Todd from The Money Confident Podcast to talk about the financial side of running a creator business that nobody prepared us for. If you've ever looked at your bank account, shrugged, and thought, "I think I'm doing okay?"—this episode is for you.

We're talking about the numbers every creator needs to know, how to stop running your business on vibes, why recurring revenue is one of the most underrated ways to reduce stress, and how to actually build wealth without giving up the things you love.

Because here's the truth...

Knowing how to create content and knowing how to run a profitable business are two completely different skills.

And it's time we started treating our creator businesses like actual businesses.

In This Episode We Cover:

• Why so many successful creators still feel anxious about money
• The four financial numbers every creator should know
• Revenue vs. expenses vs. profit (without the confusing finance jargon)
• How to stop running your business "on vibes"
• Creating a monthly income minimum that gives you peace of mind
• Financial systems that actually work (even if you hate spreadsheets)
• QuickBooks vs. Google Sheets vs. Monarch Money
• Why recurring revenue creates financial freedom
• Smart tax planning for creators and freelancers
• Investing your money instead of letting it sit
• How to build wealth while running a creative business
• Why pricing—not working more hours—is often the key to scaling
• Setting realistic income goals that your brain can actually believe
• How to reward yourself while still building wealth
• Becoming your own "sugar daddy" (yes... we went there.)

💸 Join Jillian's FREE live class on August 17:
$50K Goal in 12 Months: The 3 Steps to DONE
Learn the exact framework she teaches creatives to hit big financial goals without burning themselves out.
👉 https://jilliantoddcoaching.com/50k

📈 Grab Jillian's FREE Cash Flow Planning Worksheet
Finally get a clear picture of what's coming in, what's going out, and plan your income months ahead.
👉 https://getmoneyconfident.myflodesk.com/supercreative

🎙️ Binge The Money Confident Podcast
If you loved this conversation, you'll love Jillian's podcast packed with practical money advice for creative entrepreneurs.
👉 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-breadwinner-success-stories-retirement-cash-flow/id1518160629?i=1000776168731

✨ Want hands-on support?
Check out Breadwinner, Jillian's signature group coaching program designed to help creative entrepreneurs build wealth, hit big financial goals, and create a business that actually supports the life they want.
👉 https://jilliantoddcoaching.com/breadwinner

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

 👉 Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5

You don't need another content strategy.

You don't need another trending Reel.

And you definitely don't need 47 open tabs, six Notes app lists, and random ideas living in your Instagram DMs.

If you're a travel content creator who feels busy all the time but still wonders why your business isn't growing, this episode is your wake-up call.

Because chances are... you don't have a content problem.

You have a business systems problem.

In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly how to build an Operations Hub—the boring backend system that actually helps you make more money, stay organized, and finally start running your creator business like a CEO instead of constantly putting out fires.

Yes, it's boring.

Yes, it works.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why most travel influencers don't actually have a content problem—they have an infrastructure problem.
• What an Operations Hub is (and why every creator needs one).
• How to organize your business using Asana, Notion, Google Sheets, or whatever works best for your brain.
• The three things every Operations Hub should track.
• How to stop recreating content from scratch every week.
• The simple weekly operating rhythm that actually moves revenue.
• How to organize leads so you stop letting opportunities go cold.
• Why building boring business systems is one of the biggest business hacks successful creators use.
• The mindset shift from creator to CEO that changes everything.

Resources Mentioned

• Asana ( myfavorite free project management tool)
• Notion (great alternative if it fits your workflow better)
• Google Sheets
• Notes App
• Airtable

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

👉 Join the Travel Creator Business Plan Community and get the systems, support, and strategy to grow your creator business. Sign up here! ✈️

Some days you're the smartest, most beautiful person to ever grace the earth. Other days you want to crawl into the back of a dumpster and hope somebody sets it on fire. This is an episode for the second kind of day.

Okay so. Real talk: running your own travel creator business does not come with a "smartest and most beautiful person alive" setting every single day. Sometimes it comes with a "maybe I should just go polish up my resume and see if I could even get hired as a barista" setting. And if you've never had a barista day, congratulations, I don't believe you.

In this episode I'm walking you through exactly what I do when I hit one of those days — when the highs are high, the lows are LOW, and I genuinely consider giving it all up for a full-fledged coffee bar situation instead. This is not a "hustle harder" pep talk. This is the actual toolkit I use to get myself off the floor and back to running my travel influencer business like the boss I am 80% of the time.

We're talking:

• Why baristas get up at 4 AM and what that has to do with anything (spoiler: it's about structure, not caffeine)
• Letting yourself actually feel the barista feelings instead of toxic-positivity-ing your way past them
• Why your best ideas never happen while you're sitting at your computer — get the fuck out
• The Parkinson's Law trick I use to get killer work done before 3 PM so I can have my whole evening back
• My feel-good folder — the one piece of proof that you've won before and you'll win again
• Scheduling movement, changing your environment, and giving yourself something (anything) to look forward to
• Why phoning a friend in the business-building world might be the most underrated business hack nobody's talking about
• Letting yourself do the "unnecessary" fun work — yes, even the mean-girl-style carousels — because it gets you excited to come back

This episode is basically permission to have a bad day, followed by an actual plan to get out of it. Because knowing how to create good content and knowing how to run a content creation business are two completely different skills — and nobody's talking about the second one. Except me.

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

👉 Join the Travel Creator Business Plan Community and get the systems, support, and strategy to grow your creator business. Sign up here! ✈️

 I had to build my creator business all over again, I'd make way fewer things... and a whole lot more money.

Seriously.

There are so many things I spent time worrying about that didn't actually grow my business. Looking back, there are only a handful of things that truly moved the needle, and if I were starting from zero today, I'd ignore almost everything else.

In this episode, I'm sharing the six things I'd do differently so you can skip some of the mistakes, avoid productive procrastination, and build a creator business that actually pays you.

Whether you're building a UGC business, growing a travel content business, or working toward becoming a full-time creator, these are the lessons I wish someone had told me years ago.

In this episode, we talk about:

•  Why following too many business experts slows your progress 
•  How to choose one content platform and stay consistent 
•  The backend systems every creator should set up from day one 
•  The handful of tasks that actually generate revenue 
•  Why networking creates more opportunities than posting more content 
•  How to stop wasting hours creating content that doesn't lead to monetization 
•  The biggest mindset shift that helped simplify my business 

If I could give you one piece of advice...

Figure out how you've made money before.

Then keep doing those things.

It's honestly that simple.

Not easy—but simple.

Too many creators assume they need more content, another strategy, or another course when what they actually need is to repeat the activities that already produce results.

Resources Mentioned

•  Toggle (time tracking) 
•  Claude AI 
•  Google Sheets 
•  Canva 

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass, the weekly newsletter for travel creators who are already landing brand deals and are ready to build the business behind their content.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
  You’ll get:
  ✔ monthly business systems
  ✔ coworking + Q&A calls
  ✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
  ✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE