When Kris Caluwaerts felt so burned out at work he couldn’t take it anymore, he discovered himself at a crossroads together with Sylvia Van Overvelt.
On a whim, they determined to take an opportunity and observe their ardour for journey. Beforehand, they solely actually traveled severely yearly. However, at that second in 2017, they determined to dive headfirst into their journey they usually created their weblog Wapiti Travel.
Quite than being a normal journey weblog, they give attention to three most important locations: Japan, South Korea, and Portugal. Their weblog has allowed them to journey the world and earn passive earnings.
The truth is, they’ve been incomes 6 figures a yr from show advertisements alone.
Maintain studying to search out out:
- What led them to create their web site
- What their unique concept was
- The place their earnings comes from
- Their most important advertising methods
- Their ideas on web optimization
- Their method to key phrase analysis
- How they create content material
- How they develop their electronic mail listing
- Their go-to assets and instruments
- Their biggest problem
- Their most important accomplishment
- Their greatest mistake
- Their plans to pivot
- Their recommendation for different entrepreneurs
Meet Sylvia Van Overvelt and Kris Caluwaerts
Kris: Journey buddies since date primary—that is us!
We spent half that night geeking out over journey tales. Seems, exploring the world is our shared obsession. Sylvia even dreamt of being an explorer as a child!
Sylvia: Life took a detour although.
We each had regular jobs, and for years our adventures had been restricted to annual epic journeys and metropolis breaks.
However then, Kris hit the brakes with a burnout. It wasn’t best, nevertheless it grew to become the push Kris wanted to show his journey ardour into one thing actual.
We do not have youngsters, however we have got a furry little adventurer named Pepper!
Sadly, he cannot be a part of our globetrotting expeditions, however fortunately, he is received superior cat-sitters on the prepared (aka our household) who spoil him rotten whereas we’re gone.
Why They Created Their Web site
Sylvia: Kris’s burnout was really a bizarre form of fortunate break. If that hadn’t occurred, we’d nonetheless be within the rat race.
Nevertheless it compelled Kris to do one thing together with his journey ardour, and hey, guess what? Seems we’re each loopy about exploring the world!
Fact be informed, a weblog wasn’t our unique grasp plan. We had been really going to construct this entire fancy journey platform for planning epic journeys. The weblog was meant to be only one piece of it.
The thought was to create a web-based platform the place individuals might independently plan their journeys primarily based on waypoints.
Kris labored on it for a few yr after his burnout. Nevertheless, it by no means went reside.
Step by step, we realized that this could be too large of a undertaking requiring vital funding and collaboration with many individuals, which was not one thing we needed to pursue.
As that plan grew a bit too bold, we pivoted and targeted totally on the weblog as an alternative.
Again then, we had no clue you could possibly really make cash simply from running a blog. Who knew?!
We found that entire facet of issues as soon as we began digging into the running a blog world.
We began our weblog in October 2017. At first, we didn’t know what we had been doing. After our first journey to Japan in March 2018, we began to take it extra severely.
How A lot They’re Incomes
Our running a blog journey began sluggish and regular.
We initially wrote about no matter got here to thoughts, however after a number of months, we determined to get strategic and began researching web optimization and key phrase analysis.
The primary yr was powerful. We had barely any guests and it took months to earn our first fee of about 1 euro. We had been so excited, we did a bit dance!
We stored going, even when issues had been powerful. It took loads of perseverance, however ultimately, we began seeing some traction.
We had been incomes about €2500 monthly when Covid hit. It was a troublesome time, however we stored creating content material and selling our weblog.
We believed that journey would ultimately bounce again, and we had been proper. Now, we’re each in a position to make a full-time dwelling from our weblog.
Our most important supply of earnings is internet affiliate marketing. We earn commissions from selling accommodations, automotive leases, and different travel-related merchandise.
We’re additionally members of Mediavine Professional, which implies we earned over $100,000 in promoting income final yr.
Here is a breakdown of our earnings:
We’re grateful for the chance to share our love of journey with the world. We’re excited to see what the long run holds for Wapiti Journey!
Our workload for the weblog can fluctuate quite a bit.
Within the early years, we had been each engaged on it full-time. Now, there are some weeks the place we’re full-time on the weblog, however there are additionally weeks the place we take it a bit simpler.
We’re taking issues a bit slower proper now as a result of it is not completely clear how Google goes to evolve.
We do not need to pour a ton of time into the positioning if we’re undecided what the very best plan of action is in the meanwhile.
Their Prime Advertising Technique
The Fastlane course was a game-changer for us. It taught us quite a bit about web optimization, specializing in our strengths, and electronic mail advertising.
We realized methods to optimize our weblog posts. We additionally realized methods to determine the subjects that had been bringing us essentially the most visitors.
The course additionally lined methods to construct an electronic mail listing. We managed to develop ours to over 18,000 subscribers.
We’re so glad we took the Fastlane course. It is helped us take our weblog to the subsequent degree.
Their Ideas on web optimization
web optimization is our bread and butter. We have by no means paid for promoting, and we depend on web optimization to drive visitors to our weblog.
We solely write about locations we have been to and that we expect we are able to rank for. This can be a large distinction from our early days after we would write about something and all the things.
This additionally signifies that we don’t cowl all of the locations that we journey to.
We’re undecided if web optimization is useless or not. Google has been making some unusual modifications these days, and we had been hit by the HCU replace in September 2023.
We have been specializing in web optimization for the previous few years, however we’re questioning if we must always diversify. Nevertheless, we’re not fairly certain how we’d do this.
Key phrase Analysis
As I discussed earlier than, we do not write about each vacation spot we have visited.
We additionally write in clusters, which implies we create loads of content material across the identical subject. We give attention to Japan, South Korea and Portugal.
These are locations we go to frequently.
Key phrase analysis is tremendous necessary for this, and it is one thing we spend loads of time on. I attempt to give attention to long-tail key phrases that the competitors hasn’t written about intimately but, and that complement current content material that is already doing nicely.
This takes loads of work. Typically I spend half a day in search of the correct key phrase.
I hold these key phrases in an inventory and search for associated key phrases.
Hyperlink Constructing
Hyperlink constructing isn’t one thing we actually give attention to. A minimum of not on exterior hyperlinks.
We will place inner hyperlinks in a lot of the content material we write, however we do not actively hunt down exterior hyperlinks.
Now that our weblog is a bit older, we’re seeing some exterior hyperlinks coming in mechanically. Not quite a bit, however a number of right here and there.
Their Content material Creation Course of
Earlier than we write an article, we verify to see if it suits with our current content material and if it is one thing we are able to rank for.
Provided that that is the case can we begin writing the article.
Due to the element we put into our articles, it typically takes 3 to 4 days to write down one.
So we actually need to guarantee that individuals will really discover these articles earlier than we spend 4 days writing one thing that may simply accumulate mud.
We at present have about 400 articles reside on our web site.
Their E mail Checklist
Guests can join emails concerning the vacation spot they’re studying about.
When individuals go to a few of our pages, they’ll obtain a journey guidelines in change for his or her electronic mail deal with. As soon as they’ve crammed this in, they’re added to our mailing listing, and we ship out an automatic electronic mail sequence. In these emails, we share helpful data and primarily direct them to our affiliate pages.
After all, we do not have these emails for all locations, however we get good suggestions on those we do.
We at present have 18,000 individuals on this listing.
We even have quite a few Fb teams the place individuals can depart their particulars after they be a part of, in the event that they need to. We get fairly a number of electronic mail addresses from there too.
Now we have round 4 Fb teams targeted on particular locations the place individuals can ask questions. In these teams, we additionally share helpful data. We additionally extract helpful concepts for brand spanking new posts from the teams.
Their Favourite Assets
Kris: We’d advocate the Fastlane course. We realized quite a bit from this course within the early years.
Sylvia personally follows the Revenue College YouTube channel and we additionally realized quite a bit from blogger teams on Fb.
She follows the DNW group by Sharon Gourlay and the Mediavine group every day.
Their Prime Instruments
Kris: WordPress is our running a blog platform of selection.
Certain, it has its flaws and is continually below hearth from potential hackers, nevertheless it’s nonetheless an actual blessing to work with.
It gives so many prospects, and for the reason that introduction of the block editor, it is also change into a lot simpler to use a good looking format to your web site.
Asana is our go-to instrument for protecting monitor of duties and priorities. We use it to divide up the work amongst ourselves and our VA.
In the intervening time, our group is simply the two of us and a VA. Earlier than, we had about 5 freelance writers whom I discovered by way of Fiverr.
Sadly, Sylvia was very ailing final yr, which resulted in us virtually not working for 9 months and never writing any new posts.
Additionally, as a result of present Google updates, it would not appear opportune for us to speculate a lot time in new articles. As an alternative, we’re focusing extra on advertising our current posts.
KeySearch is our weapon of selection for key phrase analysis. This helpful instrument helps us discover the correct key phrases to focus on in our weblog posts in order that we are able to entice extra guests to our web site.
Their Greatest Problem
Beginning a weblog is a comparatively low-cost funding in comparison with many conventional companies. Certain, you may want a laptop computer and a few internet hosting, however that is about it.
The actual value comes within the type of effort and time. It takes years to construct a profitable weblog, and through that point you may probably be incomes little or no.
We had been lucky sufficient to produce other sources of earnings after we began our weblog. However in case you do not, it may be powerful to make ends meet within the early years.
It takes loads of grit and dedication to keep it up, particularly whenever you’re not seeing any outcomes.
However in case you’re captivated with your subject and also you’re keen to place within the work, it may be extremely rewarding. We have been in a position to journey the world and do what we love, all due to our weblog.
Sadly, we had been hit by the HCU replace in September 2023… as a result of nothing within the on-line world stays the identical for lengthy! Change is the secret.
As a result of we have realized the necessity to differentiate, we have additionally launched a brand new Japan web site known as Japan Here We Come. Nevertheless, this web site remains to be in its infancy.
Their Best Accomplishment
We’re tremendous proud that we have been in a position to develop this weblog from nothing right into a enterprise that helps each of us. And the very best half? We’re not slaves to it!
We normally journey for about 3 months annually (in 6-week blocks).
Once we’re on the highway, we barely do any work for the weblog, nevertheless it all the time stored on chugging alongside simply positive. We’ll see what the long run brings…
What They Want They Knew When They Began
Kris: We knew we had been taking a threat after we put all our eggs within the Google basket.
However we by no means anticipated {that a} single Google replace might have such a devastating influence on our search outcomes. We misplaced greater than 80% of our visitors.
Up till the September HCU replace, we had been bettering with each replace. If we had identified this was coming, we’d have diversified our visitors sources.
Lesson realized. Do not put all of your eggs in a single basket!
We’d additionally select a reputation that resonates extra with a weblog.
We selected this title after we began with the opposite enterprise and stored it after we remodeled right into a weblog however Sylvia doesn’t prefer it in any respect.
Their Foremost Mistake
Little question about it, we put all our eggs within the web optimization basket and uncared for different visitors sources. In hindsight that has for certain been our greatest mistake!
We incessantly obtain inquiries about whether or not we are able to arrange full excursions. We’re at present exploring this feature.
Previously, we aimed to make our earnings as passive as doable; nevertheless, given the present Google updates, we understand that relying solely on that’s now not viable.
Establishing a journey company specializing in Japan and South Korea will be the subsequent step. Moreover, it could enable us to proceed studying, which we additionally discover extremely fulfilling.
Their Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs
Sylvia: On the subject of running a blog, I discover it very troublesome to present recommendation proper now. web optimization has been the identical for years, and in case you discovered course and adopted the recommendation fastidiously, you could possibly make your web site successful.
However now the principles have modified. The sport has utterly modified, and I do not assume anybody is aware of what to do proper now.
Perhaps issues will likely be totally different in a number of months, however the uncertainty might additionally final for years.
So would I like to recommend beginning a weblog proper now? I do not know.
However one factor we each agree on is that we’re each very joyful that we began doing one thing with our ardour after Kris’ burnout. That has modified our lives utterly.
Discovering work intently aligned along with your passions is recommendation I might give to anybody with out hesitation.
