Blogger Spotlight: Elizabeth Waind, Pocket Planet

Blogger spotlight with Elizabeth Waind, author of the travel blog Pocket Planet. Elizabeth spoke to us about her globetrotting adventures, how she measures success, and working with PRs.

Why should people read Pocket Planet? What makes it different? The idea of Pocket Planet is to provide travel inspiration, and advice for people who lack either the confidence to travel or simply an idea of where they want to go! Whatever is holding people back, I hope that I can provide the encouragement and advice needed to help my readers get on their way. The tag line for Pocket Planet is ‘The World, Made Easy’; travel really can be as easy as packing a bag and jumping on a plane (or a bus!), and I hope that my blog can successfully convey that. I try to keep my blog about the place and the reader, rather than about me.

How do you measure the success of your website? I can’t say that I don’t look at the numbers, of course I do, if a post has a lot of views then it means that something is making people read it, and surely that makes it a successful piece of writing. But I especially like receiving comments from people who have been inspired by my posts, after all, the idea of the blog is to provide travel advice and inspiration, so comments like these show that I’m succeeding in doing that!

What’s your favourite blog and why? I don’t know if I really have a ‘favourite’ blog, I like to discover new blogs all the time, rather than sticking to the same ones. But, one blog that I’ve revisited a few times recently is The Squeaky Robot (http://thesqueakyrobot.com/). The idea for the brand is fun and different, and the writing is brilliant. Rather than the advice route that I have taken, The Squeaky Robot is much more about creative travel writing. The author puts their travelling experiences into absorbing stories that really transport you to the place. Hats off to The Squeaky Robot!

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a travel blog? I think the main fear to get over when starting a blog is the fear that people won’t like your writing. What if, actually, you’re not as good a writer as you think? My advice is not to worry! Write about what you are truly interested in and what you know a bit about and that will show through and keep people reading. Don’t spend too long fretting over every choice of word when you’re writing, just let it flow!

How do you work with marketers and PRs within the travel industry? At the moment my blog is quite a newbie, but I hope that I can quickly build relationships with marketers and PRs as I think that such relationships can be really beneficial to all parties. I would love to work with brands that can genuinely enhance the travelling experience, and that my readers could really benefit from hearing about.

How do you use social media to promote/share content? What are the challenges? I use Twitter to promote my blog whenever I write a new post (making good use of hashtags!), and I intend to make a Facebook page too. Not everybody uses Twitter, or even reads blogs in general, but the majority of people use Facebook. I think that really makes it the best platform for getting content out there to a wider audience. But of course grabbing people’s attention is the real challenge. That makes coming up with good topics and headlines key!

What has been your blogging highlight? Whenever I receive a new comment, follower, or even a like, I get a little thrill! I love to know that people are actually reading what I have to say, and are hopefully taking something from it. I truly want to encourage others to have as much of a passion for the world as I do, and each new reader is an indication that I’m achieving this.

What will be big in your blogosphere in the coming months? At the moment, I have no travel plans for the coming months (unfortunately!), so the next few months I am likely to focus on general tips and advice for travel, as well as profiles on some of the places that I’ve already visited. As my blog is quite new, I plan to spend some time developing it to have more diverse menus and categories to help readers find exactly what they’re looking for.

What are you top travel tips? I think the two best ways to ensure a great travelling experience are, first, to find a travel buddy that you know you really get along with and have the same interests as (unless you’re travelling solo of course!); and second, to take it easy. Don’t rush through places, or try to fit too much in. There’s always going to be a lot to do and see, so if you don’t have time for everything then do a few things properly, rather than lots of things half-heartedly. You can always return in the future if you don’t get to do it all!

What have been your top places to travel so far? There are two places that stick in my mind from my travels so far; India and Guatemala. India, which I visited in 2012, is a favourite for lots of people, and for good reason. When I picture India, it’s an extremely colourful and vibrant place, and somewhere I yearn to return to! Guatemala, in Central America, which I visited last October, is less well-known, but tourism in the country is slowly on the rise. What I love most about Guatemala is the culture and the nature. I have never visited a country with such a diverse array of amazing natural sites – volcanoes, mountains, rivers…it makes for quite an adventurer’s paradise!