4 years agone nosotros had just quit our jobs (again) in addition to were getting ready to striking the route for a long stint of travelling the globe (again).
We had already experienced nearly vi years of on-again, off-again travel, but this fourth dimension nosotros would hold upwardly trying something new. We had decided to start a go weblog for friends, solid unit of measurement in addition to generally fun.
That was almost it for the hereafter plans of the newly purchased ‘NOMADasaurus’ domain, in addition to nosotros lay piffling thought into what it could become. It was just a blog, after all.
We striking the road, took some photos, wrote some articles in addition to permit the website in addition to social media grow organically.
Fast forrad to today. I’m sitting on a plane, flight dorsum from a line concern coming together inwards Sydney amongst the biggest customer of our career, hence far.
Alesha is dorsum inwards Perth, managing some novel staff in addition to organising the construction in addition to plans of the novel fellowship nosotros conduct hold just registered.
Things are definitely dissimilar now. Our piffling go weblog for friends in addition to solid unit of measurement has immediately developed into a proper business. The whole thought of it is withal crazy to us, in addition to it has gotten us thinking almost how nosotros got here.
While I was inwards Sydney, after explaining to my solid unit of measurement the nature of our adjacent line concern bargain in addition to the plans for our fellowship inwards 2018 (and beyond) my piffling sis asked me, “So, tell me, how did all this really come upwardly about?”
This post is for her, for us, in addition to for everybody that has followed our journey, given us back upwardly in addition to joined inwards on the gamble over the final four years, in addition to earlier.
This article is long, but it chronicles the development of NOMADasaurus. If you’re curious, or you’re just looking for some inspiration to follow your dreams, nosotros hope yous bask it.
The Beginning…
“You guys should start a go blog!”
That’s what our friend Claire told us dorsum inwards 2011, when nosotros had just finished hitchhiking through Vancouver Island inwards search of a famous tattoo artist.
“What’s a go blog?” nosotros asked, completely clueless to anything almost the meshing other than it’s a proficient way to hold inwards behave upon amongst friends on Facebook.
“It’s just similar a diary that anyone tin terminate read, but yours would hold upwardly super interesting because yous are ever doing cool things.”
We dismissed the idea, thinking that no i would want to read the diary of a dyad of inexpensive backpackers wandering aimlessly around the world. After all, cool things tumble out to anyone that goes travelling.
We left Canada, our abode for the final four years, in addition to jumped on a one-way ticket to Central America.
With no laptops, no phones in addition to just i crappy indicate in addition to shoot camera, nosotros lived the carefree life that all travellers imagine – drinking beers inwards hammocks past times the beach, trekking to lost cities, learning a novel language, staying amongst local families; it was bliss.
Along the way nosotros started to encounter people who were into making videos in addition to photography. They ranged from backpackers making a YouTube serial (who are withal our proficient friends), correct through to an ex-Hollywood producer.
We fifty-fifty joined inwards on a few fun video projects, in addition to really enjoyed ourselves.
At some indicate inwards Mexico, Alesha looked at me in addition to said she wanted to accept our travels upwardly a notch. She was getting bored amongst the same former carefree routine. Perhaps hitchhiking the length of Africa, or exploring the Middle East. That’s where our ‘Thailand to South Africa without flying’ concept came about.
Having late spent some fourth dimension amongst filmmakers, nosotros talked almost making our ain go documentary. We figured it would hold upwardly dainty to conduct hold a projection to piece of work on spell nosotros travelled every bit well.
After that trip nosotros returned to Australia, amongst the goal of paying off our debts in addition to saving some coin for the adjacent adventure.
While nosotros were researching destinations similar Turkmenistan in addition to Republic of Malaŵi on the internet, nosotros came across our start ever go blogs – Goats On The Road in addition to OneStep4Ward.
We would read these blogs, excited to acquire start manus data almost what precisely it was similar to go inwards these countries, amongst proficient tips to go amongst it.
These weren’t polished, professional person go websites (at the fourth dimension at least). They were raw, genuine anecdotes that were providing valuable tips. All of a abrupt the operate of a go weblog made feel to us.
A few months before our divergence to Thailand, nosotros remembered what our friend dorsum inwards Canada had told us. Why non start a go blog?
We had moved away from our documentary idea, in addition to the thought almost making a website amongst our ain stories to aid other travellers seemed similar a fun projection to piece of work on, amongst the added exercise goodness of keeping our parents upwardly to appointment spell nosotros were inwards these remote destinations.
Alesha ever had a want to larn photography, in addition to writing was something I enjoyed, fifty-fifty if I neglected it. Perhaps a go weblog would give us a argue to choice these skills up.
We Googled how to start a go blog, in addition to presently plenty nosotros started to realise that some of these blogs were really making plenty coin to sustain their travels. We had no thought how, but it was inspiring.
In Oct of 2013, iii months before nosotros were due to leave of absence Australia, nosotros came upwardly amongst the yell ‘NOMADasaurus’. We bought the domain, laid upwardly a website, in addition to all of a abrupt nosotros had our really ain go blog.
At the fourth dimension nosotros didn’t await much of it. Our goal was to just go until nosotros burned through our savings, hence discovery a task somewhere to create total upwardly the banking concern line concern human relationship i time to a greater extent than – the same matter nosotros had ever done.
January 23rd, 2014, nosotros flew to Singapore in addition to began our journey, consummate amongst 200 followers on Facebook, all friends in addition to family, in addition to a few periodical entries from Canada in addition to Central America on the site.
Every solar daytime Alesha would snap photos, in addition to I would write almost our experiences. How nosotros got a visa for Myanmar, what nosotros did inwards Pai, how nosotros rode the Mae Hong Son Loop, in addition to nosotros watched our followers on social media slow go up.
We met Duncan inwards Myanmar, a professional person lensman from the UK, who selflessly shared his best photography secrets amongst us in addition to motivated us to improve our ain skills.
We jokingly told other backpackers nosotros met to follow our blog. We hadn’t made a cent from the website, in addition to didn’t fifty-fifty know how or what terms similar ‘affiliate marketing’ or ‘SEO’ meant, but nosotros got a boot out of sharing our travels amongst other people.
Twice a calendar week nosotros would convey out weblog posts, in addition to we’d update our social media almost daily. We knew if nosotros slacked off we’d just surrender on it, in addition to nosotros were really enjoying writing articles for the site.
Then something happened that of a abrupt changed everything.
The Big Break
A traveller nosotros had met on the route sent me a link for a writing competition, run past times the go insurance fellowship World Nomads. While laying inwards a hammock inwards Northern Thailand I typed out an entry in addition to sent it off amongst an lx minutes before the deadline.
6 weeks after nosotros were inwards Laos, riding ii dodgy Chinese motorbikes around the country, when I got an electronic mail from World Nomads. “Hi Jarryd, nosotros are delighted to inform yous that yous conduct hold been chosen every bit the recipient of the World Nomads Travel Writing Scholarship.”
I was dumbfounded. I had won the competition, in addition to was selected to wing off to Europe that August to larn from i of the best go writers inwards the industry, Alex Leviton.
A whole novel globe opened up.
Our weblog was slow growing, in addition to a few days before I flew off to Berlin our Facebook page cracked 1000 followers. People had been tuning inwards to sentry us ride our motorbikes around Southeast Asia. It was a pocket-sized number, but nosotros started to acquire a loyal following, amongst random people commenting on our posts every day.
What I learnt inwards Europe was amazing. I discovered that the globe of go writing wasn’t entirely reserved for qualified journalists, in addition to that at that topographic point were publications out at that topographic point that were willing to really pay coin for stories from freelancers.
Alex also told me almost the ascent of bloggers inwards the go industry, in addition to how to capitalise on having an online presence.
After Europe I returned amongst novel skills in addition to drive to dive headfirst into the go writing world. I started pitching newspapers, magazines in addition to media publications, in addition to nosotros started to acquire paid for a few of our stories. This was the start fourth dimension nosotros made whatsoever coin from our travels. (Alex if yous read this, give thank yous you for everything!)
By the fourth dimension our trip had striking 12 months our audience had grown substantially. We were writing constantly, Alesha’s photography was improving, in addition to to a greater extent than in addition to to a greater extent than people started to discovery NOMADasaurus through social media in addition to search engines.
We studied to a greater extent than almost all the skills in addition to intricacies that come upwardly amongst running websites, in addition to learnt a peachy bargain almost what it took to run a professional person go blog.
I used the pitching skills Alex taught me to attain out to large media, in addition to nosotros were interviewed past times websites similar Forbes, News.com.au in addition to The Daily Mail. Each fourth dimension an interview or story was released, our website traffic in addition to social next would grow.
It was the start of something big.
NOMADasaurus’s First Dollar
By the fourth dimension 2015 was inwards total swing nosotros had started to accept our piffling weblog seriously, in addition to had experienced a few ‘comped’ hostel stays in addition to activities. But all the coin nosotros had ever made had ever come upwardly from freelancing.
One solar daytime nosotros got an electronic mail from a fellowship yell for us what nosotros would accuse to identify a sponsored post on our site. We had no thought what this meant, permit lone what to charge, hence nosotros asked some of our blogging friends what to do.
We flora out it was basically us writing an article to promote some other website or product, in addition to nosotros negotiated a cost of USD$250. The coin was deposited into our account, in addition to nearly sixteen months after nosotros started NOMADasaurus, the website had made its start dollar.
2015 was a whirlwind of a year, in addition to our social media presence in addition to website traffic continued to grow. We had reached a topographic point of ‘influence’ where nosotros started to have high-priced tours, in addition to occasionally hotels, inwards central for weblog posts in addition to social media promotion.
We received some costless wearable from Craghoppers, a photographic television camera from GoPro, camping ground gear from Cascade Designs, all inwards central for online coverage.
Our workload increased substantially, in addition to fifty-fifty though nosotros weren’t making much coin nosotros started pouring all of our spare fourth dimension in addition to liberate energy into growing the blog.
All the spell though nosotros withal travelled inwards our typical way – hitchhiking across Mongolia, taking 15-hour journeys inwards difficult seats on Chinese trains because nosotros didn’t want to pass 50% to a greater extent than for a bed, overlanding all the way to Istanbul.
Alesha’s photography got meliorate in addition to better, in addition to my writing portfolio kept growing. We made some coin copywriting for other company’s websites, in addition to past times the goal of the twelvemonth nosotros were nearly making plenty cash to encompass our travels.
Going Viral
Of course of didactics it wasn’t all smooth sailing, in addition to at the goal of 2015 nosotros wrote an article called ‘Behind The Scenes: It’s Time To Fix Ourselves’.
Travelling through Asia spell working on our website in addition to freelance career had taken its toll on our wellness in addition to relationship, in addition to Alesha flew abode for a few weeks to give ourselves a break.
Alesha in addition to I had talked almost whether nosotros should yell anything on our website, in addition to inwards the goal nosotros decided to write the post. We figured nosotros owed it to our followers to explicate the reality behind all the beautiful photos in addition to stories nosotros were putting upwardly every day.
On the 19th of December, 2015 nosotros published the post, spell Alesha was amongst her solid unit of measurement inwards Commonwealth of Australia in addition to I was sitting inwards a hostel inwards Bulgaria.
The adjacent forenoon nosotros woke upwardly to literally hundreds of emails in addition to comments from people wishing us all the best, in addition to sharing their ain stories of human relationship struggles spell travelling. It appeared nosotros weren’t alone, in addition to the back upwardly nosotros received was overwhelming.
Our editor at BuzzFeed privately messaged us in addition to asked if she could re-share the story on their website. We felt it was also personal to hold upwardly lay inwards forepart of millions of strangers in addition to thought no i would care, but inwards the goal nosotros agreed.
The story went viral, in addition to had been picked upwardly past times websites similar CNN, MSN, The Daily Mail, Yahoo in addition to dozens of others. We did radio interviews in addition to fifty-fifty featured inwards a segment on Australian breakfast TV.
It wasn’t our intention, but past times publishing something other than the typical ‘living the dream’ lifestyle that gets thrown around a lot inwards the social media globe our weblog grew into something else.
Our fifteen minutes of fame was of course of didactics curt lived, much to Alesha’s happiness at beingness out of the populace spotlight for such a personal topic (she hated all the attention). But nosotros had gained a lot of novel followers from the exposure, in addition to of a abrupt NOMADasaurus was on a novel grade inwards the globe of go bloggers.
A Year Of Progression
Alesha in addition to I met upwardly i time to a greater extent than inwards Jan 2016 in addition to nosotros vowed to modify our go manner for the sake of our human relationship in addition to health. We lay our ‘Thailand to South Africa without flying’ challenge on hold, in addition to luckily our audience understood why.
We withal moved around a fair fleck that year, attending our start influencer conference (side note: nosotros conduct hold ever hated the term ‘influencers’ in addition to almost never refer to ourselves every bit that, but that’s the buzzword these days) in Istanbul, heading dorsum to Commonwealth of Australia due to a solid unit of measurement emergency, trying to acquire good for yous inwards Thailand before eventually ending upwardly inwards Europe for a modify of pace.
The growth of our website resulted inwards us taking to a greater extent than of a business-focused mental attitude towards it.
With the income nosotros were immediately making through diverse streams similar freelancing, content creation, sponsored posts in addition to affiliate sales nosotros spent coin on a novel design, hired an assistant, lay to a greater extent than liberate energy into creating usable content (rather than diary entries) for novel readers in addition to kept our social presence every bit active every bit possible spell exploring Europe.
The editor who had published our ‘Behind The Scenes’ story at CNN asked if I would similar to start writing for them, in addition to before I knew it I had to a greater extent than than a handful of bylines amongst them. That inwards itself opened upwardly novel doors.
Later that twelvemonth nosotros secured what many novel go bloggers consider the holy grail – a paid press trip.
A national tourism board really paid us coin to come upwardly to their province in addition to write almost it. Up until that instant nosotros had received a lot of ‘comps’ (note: nil is really ‘free’ inwards this industry, every bit at that topographic point is ever piece of work involved), but nosotros had never been paid for that sort of matter before.
This was it. The instant all bloggers aspire for, in addition to nosotros were over the moon.
As presently every bit that task finished nosotros were invited for some other paid press trip, in addition to for the start fourth dimension since nosotros left Commonwealth of Australia inwards 2014, nosotros started to reckon our savings line concern human relationship go upwardly rather than down.
It wasn’t easy, in addition to to a greater extent than of our fourth dimension was immediately spent sitting on our laptops inwards cafes in addition to hotel rooms than really out exploring the places nosotros were in, but it started to aspect similar piffling former NOMADasaurus could go a full-time job.
Fully Committed
We flew abode i time to a greater extent than in addition to on Oct 22nd, 2016 Alesha in addition to I got married inwards Western Australia, surrounded past times 45 of our closest friends in addition to family. As cliche every bit it sounds, it honestly was the happiest solar daytime of our lives, in addition to nosotros were excited to reckon where life would accept us.
At the same fourth dimension nosotros had made a determination to fully commit to NOMADasaurus in addition to plough it into something big. We had seen the potential of running a professional person go blog, in addition to neither of us wanted to go dorsum to the days of working for someone else.
In Dec 2016 nosotros moved to Chiang Mai inwards Thailand for 2.5 months. At this indicate it would hold upwardly the longest nosotros had stayed inwards i identify for iii years, in addition to the whole operate was to grow the weblog every bit strongly every bit possible in addition to generate novel income streams.
We created to a greater extent than content, hired novel writers to assist on our website, outsourced every bit much mundane piece of work every bit possible, in addition to fifty-fifty bought ourselves a whiteboard amongst a listing of weekly goals – that’s how committed nosotros were.
We purchased some other website, secured some of our writers dissimilar piece of work amongst other websites, which brought both them in addition to us to a greater extent than money.
No longer would nosotros just write stories, accept photos, update social media in addition to reckon what would happen. It was fourth dimension to hustle. It was fourth dimension to accept NOMADasaurus to the adjacent level.
A New Direction
In Feb nosotros headed to Argentina, in addition to joined the gamble tour operator One Ocean Expeditions for a promotional crusade to Antarctica – at the fourth dimension the biggest partnership of our careers, in addition to past times far the best destination nosotros had ever visited.
We were at an interesting indicate inwards the NOMADasaurus create where companies were immediately reaching out to us almost daily, amongst offers of tours, hotels, experiences in addition to products for us to promote on our channels.
What many readers mightiness non know is that for every i create nosotros are paid to write almost on our social media in addition to blog, nosotros plough downward at to the lowest degree fifty. The create affiliations nosotros go amongst don’t come upwardly without a lot of serious consideration on our end.
Occasionally nosotros would hold upwardly invited to destinations that conflicted amongst our electrical flow schedules, hence nosotros were able to send a few of our writers to them on our behalf.
Alesha’s photography had reached a grade that, every bit her hubby I am extremely proud of, but to a greater extent than hence than that thousands of other people also loved, in addition to to a greater extent than companies than ever were paying for her images.
The income kept growing, in addition to the opportunities kept coming. More paid press trips landed inwards our inbox, in addition to inwards 2017 nosotros stopped running sponsored posts on our blog.
We had been doing some promotional piece of work amongst a New Zealand gamble gear fellowship amongst an enormous presence inwards Commonwealth of Australia called Kathmandu, in addition to nosotros eventually signed on every bit create ambassadors amongst them.
Seeing every bit nosotros had honestly been using their equipment already for over a decade, this sort of partnership was something nosotros could 100% acquire behind in addition to are immensely proud of. Even if nosotros weren’t constituent of their family, nosotros would withal purchase their products.
We travelled to plenty to a greater extent than incredible destinations, similar Easter Island, the Galapagos Islands in addition to Brazil.
I was invited every bit a speaker to the world’s largest go blogging conference, in addition to our social media in addition to website traffic kept on growing. We had our start 5-figure income month, followed past times another, followed past times another. It’s a tendency that has continued.
After 3.5 weeks exploring Islamic Republic of Iran nosotros returned to Commonwealth of Australia to pass fourth dimension amongst our solid unit of measurement in addition to go on to grow our line concern plans.
Earlier inwards the twelvemonth Alesha had expressed a want to run photography in addition to gamble tours to i of our favourite countries ever, Kyrgyzstan, in addition to deciding that nosotros had nil to lose nosotros started to create that a reality.
On Dec 6th, 2017 nosotros officially opened registrations for our start ever ‘NOMADasaurus Tour’. All xiv positions sold out inwards just over 24 hours. Perhaps the thought was fifty-fifty meliorate than nosotros had imagined, in addition to nosotros were humbled that it took off hence quickly.
Which brings us to today. To me sitting on a plane, returning from a line concern coming together inwards Sydney amongst i of the world’s biggest companies, getting ready to start a crusade that is both challenging in addition to rewarding at the same time. To Alesha drawing upwardly 5-year line concern plans from a makeshift constituent inwards Western Australia.
What nosotros are almost to embark on is genuinely remarkable. Not necessarily inwards terms of go or adventure, but inwards terms of where NOMADasaurus is headed inwards 2018. All the belatedly nights staring at our computers inwards inexpensive hotel rooms has paid off.
It really has been an insane twelvemonth for what started out every bit a go weblog for friends in addition to family.
The Future
A few years agone I was working on a mine site inwards the Australian outback, slogging out 12 lx minutes shifts for 28 days straight, trying to relieve coin for our adjacent trip, spell Alesha was working iii jobs inwards Margaret River doing the same.
One of my workmates casually said to me i day, ‘If yous don’t construct your ain dreams, someone volition hire yous to construct theirs.”
That maxim struck a chord amongst me. We had already been living a peachy life, built around our honey of travel, but that quote immediately gave us to a greater extent than ambition.
We didn’t come upwardly from the sort of background some professional person go bloggers came from. We never owned a solid to sell, or conduct hold high paying marketing jobs to quit inwards monastic enjoin to start travelling. We didn’t start our go weblog before nosotros had fifty-fifty left home, purely to acquire costless hotels in addition to hold upwardly ‘Insta Famous’.
Travel was our passion, in addition to nosotros had been doing everything nosotros could to acquire inwards a reality. The listing of jobs nosotros did to remain on the route is every bit varied every bit i could imagine: packing parachutes at a skydiving centre, cleaning hotel rooms, door-to-door sales, running pub crawls, elevator operators at ski resorts, crewing on a canvas boat, working inwards a strip society (me, non Alesha, just to clarify), in addition to it goes on in addition to on.
We were never getting rich amongst money, but nosotros were ever getting rich amongst experiences. That’s all nosotros ever wanted out of life.
Now nosotros realise nosotros tin terminate conduct hold both.
Some of our longtime readers conduct hold emailed us inwards recent months, maxim they fearfulness nosotros are ‘selling out’, or getting also commercial. We empathize their point, but nosotros also disagree.
This lifestyle nosotros have, this website yous are on in addition to all the photographic television camera gear nosotros ship around unfortunately isn’t cheap, in addition to nosotros exercise pass lots of hours working to maintain it all. We demand to create coin somehow, just similar everyone else does. We didn’t win the lottery or have a large inheritance to hold us going for the residue of our lives.
For those that think past times us having ads on our site, or beingness paid coin to have on a for certain company’s wearable agency nosotros conduct hold sold out hence nosotros are genuinely sorry, but nosotros hope yous empathize why. Those pay cheques hateful nosotros tin terminate go to places similar Islamic Republic of Iran or Republic of Chile in addition to hopefully inspire yous to exercise the same i day. (We hope that nosotros never promote anything that nosotros don’t fully recommend though.)
We’ve worked difficult to acquire to this point, spell doing our best to maintain a grade of authenticity in addition to keeping truthful to ourselves at the same time. We’re also both inwards our 30s immediately (even if nosotros don’t human activity it), in addition to after a decade on the route our manner is naturally going to change.
It’s impossible to predict what precisely is inwards shop for us going into the adjacent few years, but it’s prophylactic to state it won’t hold upwardly mundane.
We conduct hold just registered our novel digital media in addition to marketing business, nosotros are bringing to a greater extent than people onto our team, we’re expanding into novel fields, novel contracts are coming inwards weekly. It’s an exciting time!
More importantly than all of that, nosotros volition go on to travel. We’ll hold taking pictures, visiting novel destinations, sharing our experiences amongst all of yous in addition to hopefully motivate yous to explore this globe amongst us.
But immediately nosotros conduct hold a newfound motivation to endeavour something new.
The entrepreneurship spark is growing, in addition to if yous think this article is long yous should reckon the listing of ideas, both for line concern in addition to travel, Alesha in addition to I conduct hold inwards heed for the future.
We don’t want this story to come upwardly across every bit though nosotros are showing off, because honestly nosotros are just every bit surprised every bit anyone else almost how life has panned out, in addition to at that topographic point is a huge chemical factor of luck inwards our success every bit well.
That was the story of how NOMADasaurus, the piffling weblog nosotros built for our friends in addition to family, has evolved.
And fifty-fifty if it all goes belly upwardly tomorrow, fifty-fifty if the create completely collapses in addition to nosotros goal upwardly pouring beers inwards hostel bars i time to a greater extent than to acquire by, at to the lowest degree nosotros worked towards edifice our ain dreams instead of wondering ‘what if’.
From the bottom of our hearts give thank yous you to each in addition to every i of yous for supporting us along the way. We would non hold upwardly where nosotros are today without you, in addition to nosotros hope yous stick around for the adjacent exciting chapters.
You only acquire i life inwards this world. Make it an adventure.
Thank yous hence much for reading our story. If yous loved it, or hated it, delight leave of absence a comment below 🙂
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