When we started this whole blogging thing back in 2011, we never thought that we would have come this far in such a short amount of time.
We’ve spent countless (enjoyable) hours online, plugging away at Goats On The Road, and today we’re proud to say that we’ve accomplished a lot of the goals that we had first set out for ourselves.
Here are a few of our blogging accomplishments that we’re extremely proud of.
1. Sustaining Travel By Blogging
On our first trip, we blogged for fun. On our second trip, we started a website with our own domain (goatsontheroad.com), and by the time we were embarking on our 3rd trip, we were starting to make some money from the site.
Although we’ve had a couple of months where our blog earnings have completely covered our travel expenses, for the most part it has just been a buffer that helps us to stay on the road. We may not quite be at a point where we’re financially sustainable from blogging, but we’re getting closer and closer every day.
2. 30,000 Readers a Month
This is one that we’re extremely proud of.
When we first started blogging, we reached out to top bloggers who are still at the top of the game today. I remember asking Dave & Deb how long it took them to get healthy traffic on their site ThePlanetD and they told me that it took them 2 years to reach “the magic number of 30,000 unique visitors”.
Today we’re proud to say that we’ve reached and surpassed that marker and it was one of the major goals we set from day 1 on the site. We love writing articles, taking pictures and making videos and it feels amazing to know that people actually enjoy what we do. Thank-you readers.
3. Having Press Trips & Accommodation Offered For Our Work
This is a very rewarding aspect of travel blogging and one that we weren’t entirely sure how to approach. Luckily, we have lots of support from numerous bloggers who have graciously helped us to understand the logistics of this aspect of travel blogging.
We were unable to find companies willing to work with us in Central Asia because, well… there isn’t a whole lot of tourism marketing going on there.
But now that we’re in Mexico we’ve been offered hotel stays, tours and entrances to sites in exchange for articles and videos written by us. It’s very gratifying to know that companies are willing to offer us services in exchange for our hard work.
Enjoying The Pool Area At Casa Hamaca, Mexico.
4. A Social Media Presence
This one has been Dariece’s domain since day one and I have to say, she’s done a hell of a job.
We’ve recently reached over 5,000 twitter followers and over 3,500 Facebook fans.
These numbers are nothing compared to the amazing clout of bloggers like Vagabondish, Nomadic Samuel and Uncornered Market, but we’re still working on it and we really enjoy communicating with our readers through these channels.
We are also the chiefs of a social tribe with a reach of over 1 million followers! By the end of the year we expect to triple these figures and we’re really looking forward to connecting with new people.
5. Having Our Work Published In Print
In 2012 we were contacted by Southeast Asia Backpacker Magazine and they offered to feature one of our articles (10 Off The Beaten Path Places In Southeast Asia).
We sent them our pictures and within 2 months we had a crisp copy of their magazine in the mail. Our article was a 4-page spread and we love the way they put it together.
Being that we’re both aspiring writers and photographers, it felt great to see our work in print, especially in a funky magazine like Southeast Asia Backpacker. In 2013 we were also interviewed and published in a UK Economics Magazine.
Our Article In Southeast Asia Backpacker Magazine Issue #22
We’re Happy Where We Are, But We’re Always Trying To Improve
Goats On The Road has been by no means an overnight success.
We’ve seen some bloggers skyrocket to the top and we’re really happy for them to be able to do so. Our journey has been a long one, with plenty of mistakes made along the way, but we’re ecstatic to say that we’re reaching a place in our blogging careers that we’re happy with (wow, we can call it a career).
We’ve both spent the past 5 years of our time with absolute freedom, doing exactly what we want, when we want. Our lives have been a perpetual honeymoon, filled with excitement and adventure.
We thank each and every one of our readers for helping us to get where we are. One of our favorite aspects of travel blogging is the ability to connect with people and help them to live a freer life.
We’ve replied to thousands of emails and hopefully, we’ve made some positive changes for our readers. For us, travel, culture and adventure have defined our lifestyle, but the idea was always to inspire others to live a more fulfilling life, doing whatever makes them happy. Lately, we feel that we have been able to do so.
Travel blogging has taken us around the world and back again, and we see no end in sight.
Thank-you for reading!
*Update: We just accomplished another one of our website goals by making Nomadic Samuel’s Top 100 Travel Blogs list! It’s amazing to see our name up there with so many awesome bloggers!
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