What’s next for The Blond Travels?

The Blond Travels is almost 10 years old. I started to write this blog when I first went to Thailand. I wanted to live off of travels, create and be an influencer. Today these dreams seem to be far away. A lot has changed and with those changes came some decisions, which I needed to take.

I started 2020 with a trip to Thailand and then…w know what happened, right? Then the pandemic came, then the lockdown and all travel plans got cancelled. For some this period was devastating. For me it was difficult as well. The first week I laid on my sofa and couldn’t stop worrying. I imagined the worst scenarios. However, I quickly got up and started acting. I started my diet, I started exercising, I started working. The time was shitty, but I didn’t want to let it influence me. The life went on.

Did the pandemic made me make the decisions? Maybe…But maybe it was just time for them? Maybe it was just me and the fact that I started growing up (better late than never, right?). Whatever the reason, this post and the things I write about below will have an influence on The Blond Travels and how you, my Dreamer, will keep in touch with me.

A few information about The Blond Travels

If you’re reading this, then you know me quite well. You know a thing or two about The Blond Travels. Those that follow me on Facebook get more updates than those that are with me on Instagram, which actually made me think of what I want to do further with this blog.

The Blond Travels was supposed to be a travel blog and it was one for a couple of years. Then, my life changed and the blog started changing, too. At the moment I write about travels, working remotely and living abroad.

The blog is a creation that lives its own life. Before the pandemic it brought over 1000 people per day. At the moment it’s half that.

The readers come from Google and they are interested in Thailand, Lisbon and some come here to read about online teaching. There are also a lot of those that look for information about insurance.

The blog doesn’t bring a lot of money. I can’t live only on the earnings from The Blond Travels, but it is a nice bonus to what I already earn. Some months bring from 500 to 700 Euros, which is great. It is a passive income that comes mostly from affiliate links. From time to time I get a sponsored post or a cooperation with a company, which I don’t do that often. I just don’t feel like it’s something I have time for, or I want to do.

What’s interesting – The Blond Travels works without social media. For example, Google generated 11,000 views in October 2020, Facebook only 43 and Instagram nearly nothing.

Life and blogging

My life decisions have a great impact on what I write about and how this blog develops.

You might know that except this blog I run an English school – OK English.

In February 2020 my sister – Magda Horanin – offered me sessions that were meant to work out what I wanted to do with the school and how I wanted to conduct my business. We spent hours discussing it. Thanks to that I realised that I would like to develop OK English into something strong and that the business has a lot of potential. I have been working on it since then.

In the next few months that followed the sessions with Magda, I changed my strategy, I employed teachers and started working on webinars, challenges and other things that help with promotion.
That was the moment when I understood that this is my calling.
The lessons I do with my students seem so much better and I look forward to them.

Because I work on OK English so much, The Blond Travels has been neglected. It’s the first time in the last few years when I don’t write every week.

As I mentioned before, I wanted to earn on my blog. Today this is only a memory and not because of the pandemic, which is limiting travelling, but also because I don’t see blogging as something I want to do long term. I don’t see it as a stable income in the future.

I also noticed that when I travel, I don’t want to think about what to write about and how to write about it. I just want to relax and enjoy my holiday.

And while we’re at it – I’m working on having more free time at the moment. I am reducing social media. I want to read more and be present when I’m with my loved ones. My goal is to stop looking at my phone all the time. Life is too short for living in a virtual world.

So, what’s next for The Blond Travels?

Yes, I know that you have read the article up to this point and you’re expecting some sort of revelation. You won’t find it, sorry. I just wanted to let you know that I have made some changes and that there will be other ones in the future. This article is also an opportunity for me to think things through.

Don’t be afraid, this is not a good bye, at least not yet.

The Blond Travels is my baby and my hobby. I don’t want to quit writing.
But, I need to look after my business and I need to change certain things to make space for something else.

That’s why I have changed the Instagram name from The Blond Travels to Joanna Horanin. The content will be the same for now – I’ll write a bit about living in Lisbon, about travelling, but you will see information about OK English more. Instagram stories are written only in Polish. Posts are written in both languages.

The name of my Facebook page will not change for the time being because it turns out that changing it is not so easy.
If you follow me on Facebook, you will see some links to various articles on the blog and the same posts that will appear on Instagram. I will not post anything extra.

In the future, this blog will also change its format and its name. I will still write in my free time, but the posts will reflect my life and what I do.

OK English has its own blog and its own Facebook page. I am not planning to open another Instagram account for it.

These changes are important to me. To you they might seem trivial, but this blog and blogging is a big part of my life. That’s why I decided to write this post. I am introducing the changes gradually with a hope that everything will go in a good direction and you will still stay with me.