Gabriella Knowledge, a journey influencer, conjures up wanderlust and sustainability via Postcards from Hawaii.
It was a chilly October night, and Gabriella Knowledge was feeling uninspired as she and her now-fiancé, Michael, tossed round potential names for her new journey weblog. Bodily, she was at house, searching over the damp streets of Norfolk, England. However mentally, she was on a seashore in Hawaii throughout an around-the-world journey the couple took in 2016.
“Have you ever ever been someplace, and it simply looks like part of you?” Knowledge requested. “Each time I am going, I simply get all-over-body tingles. It’s like I’m rooted there in some weird and inexplicable method.”
The feeling returned as she reminisced about her time on the islands. That feeling, coupled with recollections of affection letters Michael has penned to her on postcards since they had been youngsters, served because the inspiration for what finally turned Gabriella’s ardour undertaking, Postcards from Hawaii.
Gabriella Knowledge’s subsequent steps to journey running a blog
Though the journey in 2016 turned the turning level for Gabriella and her determination to pursue a profession as a content material creator and journey blogger, Gabriella defined that she has been lucky sufficient to journey her whole life. From her first memorable journey to South Africa at 10 years outdated to a yr spent in Paris throughout her early 20s, Gabriella has all the time been smitten with faraway locations and immersing herself in a totally new tradition.
Even earlier than formally launching her weblog, Gabriella collected suggestions to assist nurture the same wanderlust in others. However the extra she traveled and the extra she shared, she started to comprehend that sustainable journey and way of life habits would develop into important for future generations to benefit from the world’s wonders the identical method she did.
As her content material developed, Postcards from Hawaii grew into greater than only a journey weblog and have become a useful resource for individuals who wish to “do extra on and for the planet.”
“The extra I traveled, the extra I spotted that I used to be simply sort of banking a little bit of helpful data that I needed to share,” Gabriella stated. “And that’s what began Postcards from Hawaii—the will to assist others take pleasure in their journeys as a lot as I used to be.”
For way of life bloggers, the right partnership is well worth the wait.
Gabriella’s ardour didn’t instantly translate right into a dependable profession as a content material creator. In actual fact, it took about two years to realize any important traction on her journey weblog.
“I undoubtedly bought discouraged—fairly a number of instances, truly,” Gabriella admitted. “I used to be considering, ‘Oh my gosh, am I ever going to become profitable from this?’”
However as an alternative of ready for somebody to strategy her with a possibility, she determined to manifest her personal.
She began by trying on the manufacturers she already used and liked. And the one which instantly caught out to her was TouchNote—a UK-based card-making app used to ship personalised greeting playing cards.
“I’ve been utilizing them to ship my very own quirky Christmas playing cards for years,” Gabriella stated. “So, I believed, ‘Hmm, possibly I can do one thing else with this.’”
Gabriella’s pitch to TouchNote got here on the good time. The model had lately launched a line of journey stickers and agreed to a paid partnership that concerned Gabriella utilizing the app to assist doc her travels. The collaboration got here with three sponsored weblog posts, a few interviews for the model’s YouTube channel, and one enormous break for a proficient creator who, till that time, hadn’t discovered a solution to generate income via her content material.
These days, Gabriella doesn’t have a lot hassle discovering model companions. However one factor stays the identical: She solely works with manufacturers whose merchandise she truly makes use of.
“I believe it’s actually vital to be real in our house,” she stated. “I imply, how are you going to count on different folks to expertise one thing you aren’t keen to do your self?”
Constructing a neighborhood: When followers develop into buddies
Gabriella’s real nature isn’t misplaced on her viewers. By frequently partaking along with her followers and taking a vested curiosity of their lives, a lot of her followers have develop into buddies.
She had an opportunity to satisfy a number of of them in particular person for the primary time in February throughout a visit to Maui. And when a COVID analysis compelled her and Michael to cancel Valentine’s Day dinner plans, her new buddies pitched in to deliver the couple takeout from the restaurant and delivered it to their resort.
“I’ve made so many buddies on social media—simply great, attractive folks,” Gabriella stated. “And these friendships simply got here out of Instagram.”
These robust relationships don’t occur by chance. Gabriella pays shut consideration to who likes, feedback, and shares her content material and does her finest to return the favor.
“If I see somebody who’s coming again repeatedly and once more, then I’m going to place within the effort to get to know them, as nicely,” she stated. “I’m not on this to be placed on a pedestal. Like, I wish to get to know my viewers. They’re placing their time into me, and I wish to put my time again into them.”
Gabriella displays the respect she has for her followers within the merchandise and firms she promotes. Moderately than pushing a product and showing “salesy,” Gabriella recommends manufacturers the identical method she would to some other buddy.
“I’d say one of the simplest ways to construct belief is to not bombard your viewers with countless advertisements or merchandise,” she stated. “Watching different content material creators, I’m very postpone by those that simply consistently share manufacturers that I’ve by no means seen them use earlier than, after which by no means see them use once more.”
As a substitute, Gabriella particulars her favourite manufacturers and explains what she loves about them. The purpose, she stated, is to share that model’s story and discuss concerning the good work they do for folks and the planet—not simply the services they supply.
“[Your audience] ought to be impressed by you and really feel such as you’re their buddy,” she stated. “I wish to be somebody folks look as much as. That method, they are saying, ‘Oh, she’s real, and she or he trusts them, so I’m going to provide them my religion, too.’”
Mutual respect forges robust model partnerships.
Gabriella appears to be like for a similar genuine spirit within the manufacturers that attain out to her for partnerships. And one thing so simple as personalised outreach can go a good distance in nurturing a robust working relationship from the beginning.
“I swear, it’s the best factor and the very first thing we’re ever taught at school or making use of for a job or something; a reputation,” she defined. “If it doesn’t have my identify, I’m instantly postpone. It’s not like I received’t give them an opportunity, however that doesn’t really feel like they’re placing within the effort.”
From there, Gabriella must really feel like they’re excited about her work, not simply fishing for somebody to promote merch. For manufacturers trying to stand out, an ideal first step is highlighting a particular piece of that creator’s content material and explaining why they assume it could translate nicely to a selected marketing campaign.
For instance, if a shoe model reaches out, Gabriella needs to know which content material caught their eye and made them wish to contact her. Not solely does that make it clear the model has achieved its analysis, however it additionally provides her an thought of the sort of content material they’re searching for.
“It might simply be one thing like, ‘We see you sporting this model on a regular basis, and we love the best way you shot [this particular shoe]. And we’d like to be the shoe that you just love sporting on a regular basis, too,’” she stated.
And whereas it’s vital for manufacturers to offer a blueprint for what they want, they need to all the time bear in mind the explanation they rent creators within the first place: to create. And whereas it hasn’t occurred typically, Gabriella has had experiences the place manufacturers attempt to micromanage her content material.
“It occurred with a weblog submit the place they had been pushing what they needed [me to say] somewhat than why I used their app,” she recalled. “However I used to be very very like, ‘No, I do know why I exploit this, and I do know what I wish to say. I can say much less of it, however I’m nonetheless going to say what I wish to say.’”
However Gabriella considers herself fortunate to have principally partnered with manufacturers who give her the liberty to create the content material she is aware of will resonate along with her viewers, or on the very least, be keen to compromise, so the ultimate product advantages each events equally.
“If that’s what [the brand] needs, then we’re going to discover a method that we will do that, and each of us profit,” she stated. “That method, I’m not being disingenuous, and also you get what you want.”
Block out the noise, be your self.
Whether or not via promotions on her weblog or serving to manufacturers {photograph} their merchandise, Gabriella’s journey as a content material creator has offered loads of alternatives to develop her private model.
However that doesn’t imply she hasn’t encountered her fair proportion of naysayers. Regardless of a loyal readership on Postcards from Hawaii, Gabriella has been advised that her modest Instagram following merely isn’t sufficient to compete with bigger creators in her area of interest.
“I hit 4,000 followers lately, and lots of people assume, and have advised me, that that’s not sufficient,” she stated. “However I’m attempting to indicate that you just don’t have to have all these followers to have success in content material creation.”
What actually issues is offering authenticity on your model companions and viewers—a useful asset that solely arrives while you keep true to your self.
“That’s one thing I’m actually centered on proper now,” she stated. “I wish to empower others to comprehend that if you happen to focus in your abilities and place confidence in your self, different folks will acknowledge that, too.”
