Each week we will be featuring an interview with a member of the Superstar Blogging community. These interviews will highlight the ups and downs faced on the road to success, illuminating helpful tips and tricks along the way. If you want to get inspired and succeed in the world of travel blogging, video, writing, or photography then consider these interviews must-read material! This week we are interviewing Stephen, a member of the Business of Blogging course.
Tell us about yourself!
My name is Stephen Schreck, and I’m a travel addict. I fell in love with traveling in my early twenties. I was a history major in university. I loved visiting monuments and ruins that I spent so much time studying in college.
My interest have grown since starting A Backpacker’s Tale. I am still completely in love with traveling but starting a website opened up a door to a lot of new passions for me. Now I also love designing sites, writing content, and taking pictures.
How did you get started traveling? What inspired your wanderlust?
My first time overseas was on a college trip to Ireland. At that point, I really had no interest in traveling full time. Ireland is where my family came from; I was curious about my heritage. As the plane started its descent into Shannon Airport, I looked out and saw the Irish countryside for the first time. That moment changed my entire life. Something inside of me clicked, and I knew that travel would be a massive part of my life. Two weeks later I came home and started planning my next trip, and the rest is history.
Every year I would explore the world for 3 to 5 months. I couldn’t get enough of life on the road, and I knew it was something I wanted to do full time. Using Matt’s course as a guide book, I started a blog and have been traveling around the world for the last four years having countless adventures.
What are some of your favorite places you’ve visited? Any particularly memorable experiences or highlights?
This is a question I get a lot, and it’s never easier to answer. I love different places for different reasons. I love the food and history of Italy, the culture and climate when traveling Thailand, and the vast landscapes and adventures in epic New Zealand.
Regarding highlights, a couple of my favorites are running with the bulls and the Mongol Rally. The latter is an epic two-month drive from England to Mongolia. The adventure covered 18 countries went through small villages, off the beaten path attractions, and untamed wilderness.
What countries/activities are on your Bucket List? Where do you plan on traveling in 2017?
2017 is looking crazy busy which is how I like it! I am starting out the year by spending Chinese New Year with a local family in China. After that heading to the Philippines, and then New Zealand for my first reader tour. After that will be Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal. Towards the end of the year, I am headed to South America but don’t know where yet.
How long have you been blogging? How did that come about?
I’ve been blogging for almost 4 years. I started as a way to make some extra cash on the road. I was lucky because right when I was toying with the idea of starting a website was at the same time that Matt first started offering his blogging course. I decided to sign up, religiously followed his advice, and turned my passion into a career.
What struggles have you had during your blogging career? How have you overcome them?
I’ve had lots of struggles along the way. Matt once told me that blogging is a marathon, not a sprint.
Writing was a big struggle in the beginning. I am not a natural writer and putting content out for the world to see was extremely nerve-racking. However, the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Soon I found myself growing as a writer. That is not to say my writing is perfect. It is something I work on improving every day.
Building an audience was another struggle. First, you have to learn who your readers are and what type of content they want. This course also helped me in learning how to build loyal readers and how to interact with them.
New struggles come up all the time, but luckily the travel blogging community is very open and helpful.
Is your blog your main source of income?
The blog is my primary source, though I do some freelance writing as well. The best freelance writing gigs I have gotten been because of other bloggers. I also give Matt Long from LandLopers a lot of credit. He has helped me a lot with freelance work. He has saved me a couple of times when my blog wasn’t making very much, and I had about $300 to my name.
Networking and being involved in the community is a great way to find additional work. That being said don’t go into situations trying to make friends to use them for connections, or asking them for a job. Just be a normal person making friends with other travel addicts.
What do you enjoy the most about blogging?
I enjoy the people I’ve met, the doors it has opened, and the freedom it gives me. My blog also allows me to express my thoughts and document my journey. However, the main perk is inspiring other people to travel.
What sort of people have you met on your travels? Where do you usually meet them?
When traveling you meet other cool people in hostels. You also meet quirky locals and helpful strangers. Sometimes it surprises me, although I feel like it shouldn’t.
Like this one time I was in a crazy car accident in Russia. We had a small car but somehow severely damaged this little semi truck we hit. The driver got out of the truck hollering and screaming in Russian. Once he realized we were travelers his attitude completely changed, he ran over and shook our hands, smiled, and started trying to joke with us. While we waited for the cops, he cut up a watermelon for us to share.
Two colorful cops came with AK 47’s slung over their shoulders. One cop, nicknamed Cheese, was short and hefty and had to weigh over 350 lbs. The other, nicknamed Cobra, tall and skinny. No one spoke English, so they pulled a teacher out of a local school. The teacher said they were demanding our car insurance. We just crossed the border a couple of hours before and didn’t have insurance yet.
Images of spending a few nights in a Russian jail flashed before my eyes.
They said, “You know we are supposed to take you to jail right?”
My whole body went numb at this point.
“But instead we take you to lunch.”
So they took us to lunch, they put us up in a hotel, and spent the rest of the day helping us figure out our next move.
Whether it is other travelers, or locals traveling leads you to meet some of the best people in the world.
Why do you keep blogging?
Blogging is a passion of mine now. I keep blogging because of all the reasons I mentioned above. I also love the blogging community. Other bloggers are welcoming and extremely friendly. I love being an active part of the community.
What apps do you use that make your blogging career easier when traveling?
Being constantly on the move means apps are a necessity to keep up with my daily workload.
I use Buffer for social media, WordPress for writing drafts, Dropbox for organizing photos, TripIt to keep track of my tickets and schedule and Photoshop for editing photos.
What camera gear do you travel with?
I carry a lot of gear. For cameras, I have a Canon Rebel, Go Pro Hero 4, I Phone 6 Plus, and soon the Ricoh Theta 360.
In 2017 I am going to start producing videos as well. For video, I use DJI Mavic drone and Osmo steady camera.
What are some of your favorite blogs to read?
My time to read blogs is much more limited nowadays. However, when I do get a chance, I read Nomadic Matt, of course. Other travel blogs I read religiously are Expert Vagabond, Legal Nomads, The Expeditioner, Globotreks, Backpacker Banter, Getting Stamped, The Pin the Map Project, The Points Guy and LandLopers.
Some of the non- travel-related blogs are Tony Robbins, Buzz Feed, Social Media Examiner, and Tim Ferris.
What is one thing you can’t travel without?
Coffee. I have a severe coffee addiction. Without coffee, I would only get a fraction of my to-do list done. The lack of caffeine to my system would cause me to miss any trains or flights that were before 2 p.m.
Do you have any blogging regrets?
For sure. Not rereading emails or blog posts have led to some missed opportunities, and messy content. Another mistake was not getting more involved in the blogging community right off the bat.
Trying to take shortcuts with drag and drop website plugins. These can lead to clunky code which did hurt some of my SEO. When I stopped using them, I had to spend dozens of hours fixing my website HTML.
What one piece of advice you’d give to a fellow blogger?
Invest in your future. If you want to run a travel blog as a career then start mastering your craft. Look at what other bloggers are doing, take courses, and never give up!
Tell us about your blog and where we can find you on social media.
Sure, I run the adventure backpacking blog A Backpacker’s Tale. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.