What’s happening at HappytimeBlog
As you’ve probably noticed there’s been a lot of changes here at HappytimeBlog – what I wanted to achieve with the re design was a sit that focused on our pictures, our videos and presented them in a beautiful way. While I do much prefer the new look… I’m still not happy, unfortunately unless we go down the road of a fully customised theme, its functionality OR style… And after trying this out for a while… I think I need to concentrate on functionality unfortunately. So the next time you come back it might look radically different… Again!
Come October we’re going to be leaving the UK once again, this time everything is a bit more permanent. We came home in July last year to start our wedding preparations… Now we’re all tied up and married our thoughts are back on the road… We’re going to be heading back to Cambodia, we have jobs lined up so we’re intending to use that as a base. HappytimeBlog now makes a steady income and team that with the jobs we have lined up… We should be set. Which brings me to my final announcement, HappytimeBlog taught me what blogging was, how to code a website, how to use social media and a million other things… But in doing that – every time I learned something new I had to go back to the beginning and apply it to every post, page and whatever else… This has always held me back a little and so I decided to start again in the form of:
Backpack around the world with BeforeYOUBackpack.com
I’ll be posting all my backpacking tips, advice and info there from now on and keep this site for my personal travels, there will of course be some cross over but how much yet I’m unsure.
BeforeYOUBackpack is still in it’s infancy but the initial reactions and interactions have amazed me a little. I completely underestimated the amazingly warm travel blogging community, how involved they would be and how supportive. Having HappytimeBlog behind me has given me some leverage but the can do attitude of some of the biggest players in the online and offline travel community has made it all worth the effort. It’s out of the starting blocks like a champion and if it continues to do as well as it is already… There will be no stopping it. QSMQEB4ZYY2P
What I hoped for BeforeYOUBackpack was that it could become a cash cow, to help support our travels, to be full of keyword stuffed articles bloated for SEO purposes and whored out for ads…. But what has happened has changed my mind completely!!! It’s quickly growing into a great site and with the continued support of the readers, bloggers and travelers it will be a crime to ruin it and send it down the same road that I see many new travel blogs going down.
I urge you to come and say hello, get involved in the discussions and just have a look around… You will be glad you did!
Back to HappytimeBlog – I’ve always been torn between optimising things for SEO and creating revenue which can in turn give me more freedom for travel which will of course mean more content AND keeping it how it was when I started – warts an all – not being afraid to say fuck incase google stops looking… As yet I’m still not sure, there is probably a perfect balance between the two and I hope to explore that more.
One thing hasn’t changed… Me… I’m still a traveler and NOT a blogger… Like I’ve said before the day blogging stands in the way of traveling, I’ll stop. My heart lies with getting lost in a strange and beautiful country and if I’m always worrying about where the next WiFi signal is coming from then it will time to re-evaluate…
Thanks for sticking by me/us/HappytimeBlog I couldn’t be more sincere when I say… Thank you, it’s you – the readers of my little blog that give me a stage to share my travels, hopes and fears and for that (if I ever meet you) I’ll buy you a beer!
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Aaron, you might as well have been in my head when you wrote this. I’ve been on the same path and am about to launch a completely redesigned site – for the third time. This time I actually hired a designer, who was remarkably affordable and did a wonderful job. The new site should be rolled out sometime this week. Up to now, I’ve done all my own design and coding, but frankly, with managing my own SEO and advertising, traveling full time, writing, ack! – something just had to give this time around. As you say, when blogging gets in the way of travel, well, the travel is much more important.
I look at writing in the same way. When I started my travel blog nearly 4 years ago, I made a decision NOT to pimp it out for Google/SEO purposes. I was determined to stay true to the writing and provide readers with the very best content. That commitment has served me well and I never want to lose my focus on the writing. SEO is a necessary evil for traffic, but when it comes to a choice between good writing and getting a higher rank in Google, the writing always takes precedence. That’s why you’ll NEVER see a “Top 10″ or “Best Of” post on my blog. They’re written for SEO, and most of the time the author hasn’t even been to the places in the list. Keep up the good work – I really enjoy your writing – and best of luck with the new blog.
Yeah thanks Barbara! I’ve been having the very same conversations with people all over the web… I know a lot of people hope to fund their travels with a blog – whatever… and in there eyes it’s just a business.. I get that I really do… I’ve had a go myself but that’s not why I started blogging – and it’s not how I want to go on!
The frank truth is YES I do put ads out here and there and YES I do get an income… but does that drive my opinions and content… NO
So often lately I’ve been seeing new blogs popping up that I’ve never heard of – overnight – packaged up as the perfect business model… Now I’m pretty much all over the web every moment I get a chance (all too often) and I’m easily distracted – the way it seems to be going now is “Get them keywords” shove out an eBook on stuff that’s freely available on much better written and interesting blogs anyway… I sound like an old man but I miss the good old days! Like what we had going on over at the Blogsherpas FB group – that was awesome, everyone in together desperately wanting to help each other listen and be part of what is essentially a global network of self publishing travel writers… It wasn’t about business, it wasn’t about Page Rank, it wasn’t even about LP – It was about the people behind the stories.
Everyone wants to have a blog that keeps them while they’re off hopping the world but at what cost and in another 2 years time when google changes its search I wonder how many of these blogs will still be pumping it out??? Maybe I’m wrong and stubborn and missing a trick but whatever – there needs to be a balance! At least that’s my feelings…
Interesting!
I know what you mean about Google changing it’s mind and suddenly the site doesn’t’ perform anymore, but I think you’re established enough now to not worry too much about that. Keep travelling and doing your thang! Steve
Look forward to continue to follow you on your trip!
Congrats on your wedding too!
Good luck with the new site!