Twin Perspectives

In this episode of the Twin Perspectives Podcast Series, we attempt to de-mystify the commonly asked question of, 'How do I earn money from my blog?' Perhaps the most commonly asked question we find sliding into our DMs - and a question we had ourselves when starting our blogging journey - the answer isn't a simple one. In fact, now five years into running Twins That Travel, we've come to realise that there's almost limitless ways in which to earn money from your blog and/or social media.

From passive income available through advertising on your blog, active income working with brands, through to landing your own products into the blogging universe, how you choose to make your money as a blogger is entirely your choice.

A conversation with fellow blogger The Travel Hack, however, helped us to identify key business models that bloggers generally tend to adopt when earning their buck. These models, we came to realise, tend to fall between two key camps: passive and active. The model you choose to adopt, furthermore, is entirely dependent on both your aims as a blogger and your lifestyle.

During this hour long episode, we work our way through the passive and active blogging models, in the hope of shedding some light on how bloggers earn their money. Far from the Daily Mail headlines, however, of Instagrammers charging six-figure fees for an Instagram post, we hope to convey a realistic and sustainable approach to blogging.

Business models that require time, effort and a healthy dose of perseverance.

At the heart of any blog is its written content: something we often seem to forget. Whilst striving to grow our blogs, we tend to focus entirely on secondary factors. Things such as growing our social media following, SEO optimisation and sustained brand work seem to take centre stage: the apparent elixir to blog success.  But what if we simply put more effort into driving up the value of our blog’s very content: its written word? Could this help grow a blog?

In our experience, this was certainly the case and has led to some fantastic opportunities. In turn, it has also enabled us to grow our audience, retain this audience, sustain sessions and increase our blog traffic. So, where did we begin? How did we turn our previously sloppy, brief blog posts into stories that were regularly read, shared and paid for? How did the written word become our magic wand for blog success?

The answer was our simple decision to focus on storytelling.

Listen as we discuss how focusing on storytelling transformed our blog, increasing both its recognition and exposure. With tips on how to inject creativity into your blog writing, how to rethink the structure of your narratives, and how to set yourself out from the crowd, this podcast is dedicated to the humble written word, and its power to reimagine your blogging career.

This week, we discuss our contrasting experiences of two very different Sandals Resorts in the Caribbean. Last month, whilst Laura jetted off to Jamaica with her boyfriend, Claire set off to Antigua with her husband to experience the all-inclusive, couples only resorts of Sandals. Arriving as somewhat sceptics to the luxury, all-inclusive experience, we both left converts to the luxury escape offered by Sandals.

Whilst travel should be about discovery and adventure, we think everyone should experience a Sandals holiday once in their lives.

Listen on to find out why.

Welcome back to Season Two of the Twin Perspectives Podcast Series! After three months of intense travel, we return to the podcasting world with a brand new series. In our first episode of season two, we reflect on our recent week-long Florida road trip in a giant purple jeep.

From swimming with manatee, near-death experiences on a speed boat to fulfilling our childhood dream of meeting Mickey Mouse, our week exploring the sunshine state was one of our best trips yet.

Last summer, Laura and I were delighted to join the Visit England Ambassador team. A year-long ambassadorship, our task was to embark on four seasonal trips to very different corners of our country. These trips were to showcase what this small but diverse country has to offer. Our ambassadorship began with a summer trip to Margate on the Kent coast, and will end next week with a four-day exploration through Devon.

With English Tourism Week (17 - 25 March 2018) nearly upon us, therefore, we thought it fitting to dedicate this week's podcast to our year of microadventures and to reflect on how we've found the year exploring our home country. Now armed with a revived enthusiasm for travels throughout England, the last year has left us passionate about the diversity this country has to offer.

Instagram, IG, the 'gram, the grid: whatever you like to call it, this social media platform is now an inherent part of most of our lives.

It's that small cluster of squares  that we go to in order to share and observe the length and breadth of life: from photographs of avocado on toast and fluffy puppies, to images of new lives and recent deaths. It's a place where politicians, actors, activists, CEOs and the average Joe, rub alongside one another: a place where I can leave Justin Timberlake a complimentary message, before giving my Mum a 'like' for her recent photo of the cat.

It's a place where the world is now small enough to fit inside a neatly symmetrical grid: a global community that is now only a 'double tap' away from each other. Thanks to Instagram, the world shares an intimacy that it didn't before. It's this convening power of the platform that still blows me away, even four years after starting our account.

Yet as this social media platform has grown wildly more popular, so it's also risen in importance - socially and financially. As people seek to grow their accounts, questions, speculation and myths have grown around Instagram. It's social media's version of bitcoin.

We too had questions of our own, and at the start of this year we decided to see if we could get them answered. The result? Remarkably, we were welcomed into Instagram to record this podcast: the incredibly articulate and smart Whitney Rosenthal, Instagram's Head of Emerging Talent, waiting with free doughnuts and a cup of coffee.

There is so much we want to say about our visit - it was a  highlight of our career as bloggers. But for now, we simply want to share with you the finished product: our podcast with Whitney and her answers that we hope, you'll find as inspiring as we did.

From telling us where Instagram is headed, what we should be doing more of, how to grow your Instagram account, how the platform perceives its purpose and of course, addressing the Instagram algorithm. Whitney is honest, inspiring and at all times -  genuinely helpful.

So, and without further ado, here goes. Over an hour of advice from Instagram: straight from the horse's mouth. We're not going to pretend to be Instagram gurus, so instead we'll just let you listen to the guru herself.

Instagram, IG, the 'gram, the grid: whatever you like to call it, this social media platform is now an inherent part of most of our lives.

It's that small cluster of squares  that we go to in order to share and observe the length and breadth of life: from photographs of avocado on toast and fluffy puppies, to images of new lives and recent deaths. It's a place where politicians, actors, activists, CEOs and the average Joe, rub alongside one another: a place where I can leave Justin Timberlake a complimentary message, before giving my Mum a 'like' for her recent photo of the cat.

It's a place where the world is now small enough to fit inside a neatly symmetrical grid: a global community that is now only a 'double tap' away from each other. Thanks to Instagram, the world shares an intimacy that it didn't before. It's this convening power of the platform that still blows me away, even four years after starting the Twins That Travel account.

Yet as this social media platform has grown wildly more popular, so it's also risen in importance - socially and financially. As people seek to grow their accounts, questions, speculation and myths have grown around Instagram. It's social media's version of bitcoin.

We too had questions of our own, and at the start of this year we decided to see if we could get them answered. The result? Remarkably, we were welcomed into Instagram to record this podcast: the incredibly articulate and smart Whitney Rosenthal, Instagram's Head of Emerging Talent, waiting with free doughnuts and a cup of coffee.

There is so much we want to say about our visit - it was a (the?) highlight of our career as bloggers. But for now, we simply want to share with you the finished product: our podcast with Whitney and her answers that we hope, you'll find as inspiring as we did.

From telling us where Instagram is headed, what we should be doing more of, how to grow your Instagram account, how the platform perceives its purpose and of course, addressing the Instagram algorithm - Whitney is honest, inspiring and at all times -  genuinely helpful.

So, and without further ado, here goes. Over an hour of advice from Instagram: straight from the horse's mouth. We're not going to pretend to be Instagram gurus, so instead we'll just let you listen to the guru herself.

In this podcast, we sit down with Hannah Mulvey and Ela Ayhan from Gosh PR, to get their take on what it is like working with bloggers. Why do they work with digital 'influencers'? Do they think it's worthwhile? What can bloggers do to stand out from the crowd and work on large campaigns? How should bloggers contact PRs?

We found this interview not only helpful, but a sheer relief - Hannah and Ela (and Gosh PR more widely), clear champions of the work that bloggers do and optimistic for the future of influencer marketing.

So, make a cup of tea, settle down and get ready for some myth busting!

In episode eleven of the Twin Perspectives podcast series, we venture beyond the safety of Claire's office to London! With our trusty microphone and laptop in tow, we set off to conduct our first ever podcast interview with our favourite fellow travel bloggers - Hand Luggage Only.

Run by Lloyd and Yaya, Hand Luggage Only was born just three months before TTT in April 2014. Quickly gaining traction, it wasn't long before HLO became a self-sustaining business, and Yaya and Lloyd have now been travelling and running the blog full-time for two and a half years.

Having recently won Best Travel Blog 2017 at the Vuelio Blog awards, their blog continues to grow at a staggering (and slightly sickening) rate. With average page views of 1,200,000 a month, and over 700,000 followers, it's obvious they're doing something right; and Laura and I wanted in on their secret to such a successful partnership.

This week, we focus on destroying any romantic dreams that you may hold of what it's like to be self-employed. From loneliness through to the pressure running a business together has put on our relationship, we discuss the negatives (and positives) of what it means to be your own boss.