Each week we feature an interview with a member of the Superstar Blogging community. These interviews 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 featuring Kristen from the Travel Vlogging course. She blogs at Bearfoot Theory.
Tell us about yourself!
Hey! I’m Kristen, the founder of the outdoor adventure travel website called Bearfoot Theory where my mission is to provide the information and the inspiration people need to plan their next epic adventure. I grew up in Idaho, I live in a Sprinter van, and love spending time outdoors!
How did you get started traveling?
After graduating college with a chemistry degree, I knew I didn’t want to get a job where I’d be holed up in a lab all day. So I got a job at a local bar with no real plan, except to save as much cash as I could so I could travel. One day I was browsing online about alternative career paths and came across an intensive Scuba Instructor course in Thailand. I started diving in high school and loved it, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity to merge my interests with a flexible job that would allow me to live all over the world.
I took the money I had saved at the bar, signed up for the course, bought a plane ticket, and off I went. I ended up spending 6 months in Thailand diving (and maybe partying a bit too much) before I ran out of money and had to come home.
Ultimately my career as a scuba instructor ended up being pretty short lived, as I experienced chronic ear problems the entire time I was in Thailand. But after my experience there, I knew I needed something that offered more adventure than a typical 9-5.
What are some of your favorite places you’ve been to?
In 2014, I hiked all 220 miles of the John Muir Trail with one of my best friends. We hiked and camped for 22 days, with no cell service or ties to civilization. Even though that was right here in the US, it was the best experience of my life.
The other stand out memory was this past October, I offered the first Bearfoot Theory Group Tour in Nepal. I was joined by 8 Bearfoot Theory readers, and we spent 11 days hiking to Everest Basecamp together. Not only did I get to experience the magic of the Himalayas, I got to do it with an awesome group of people.
You live in a converted van — how did that come about?
I started my blog in 2014 and by the time 2016 rolled around, I was pretty much on the road full time. My apartment in Salt Lake was a mess and served only as an expensive place to do laundry and catch up on work in between trips. All of the back and forth was leading me towards burn out, so I started to think about a mobile home base. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could have everything I needed to live and work with me at all times? I could wake up at the places I was photographing and blogging about without all of the headache of packing and unpacking. And that led me to a Sprinter van.
I decided to buy an empty 4×4 Sprinter van and hired someone to build it out for me. I ended up moving out of my apartment, and whatever I didn’t need (or couldn’t fit) in the van was sold or put in a small storage unit. Now I have the ultimate tiny home on wheels that can take me wherever I want to go. I don’t have a lease, I don’t have bills, and I have nothing to tie me down to any particular place. Instead, I’m traveling and visiting all kinds of new places that maybe one day, when I’m ready, I’ll want to settle down in.
What are your top 3 tips for someone thinking of getting a van to live in?
1) Keep your build simple, at least at first – I went all out with my van, and while the end result is beautiful, it is a lot of work to maintain. The plumbing in particular is a nightmare. If I could go back to the design phase of my van, I’d road trip in it for a bit first and see how I was using the van. Then in my build, I would keep things more simple. The more complicated, the less flexibility it provides, which is the whole point of van life.
2) If you don’t use it at least once a week, it’s not worth the space. Those mountain bikes, portable kayaks, and fancy clothes? All those things take up precious space in the van. Before you hit the road for good, take a 2 week trip and see what you use. When you come back, ditch anything that you didn’t use or bring you a whole lot of enjoyment. All that extra gear becomes clutter if not used on the regular.
3) Travel slow. If all you are doing is rushing from one place to the next – something I’ve been guilty of so far – you’re missing out on so many of the benefits of van life…like meeting other cool van life people and getting off the beaten path. The more flexible you are with your time, the deeper you’ll get to explore each place you visit.
Where are you heading in 2017?
I’ve got some really awesome adventures planned for 2017. One of the things I’m most excited for is that I’m offering two more group tours through my blog. The first is a hiking and camping trip in May that hits up my favorite places and trails in Southern Utah. The second is a 10-day backpacking trip in August through Lake Clark National Park, one of the most remote wilderness areas in Alaska. Both of these trips are open to my readers to join me on, and I’m excited to meet more of them in person in these incredible places.
And I’ve got to get myself to Alaska right? I’m using that as an opportunity to take a solo road trip in my Sprinter van all the way up to Anchorage on the Alaskan Highway. This is all new territory for me, so I’m excited to see what it’s all about.
Finally, I’m in the beginning stages of planning a bikepacking trip around Idaho in September. I grew up in Idaho, and this new bike route hits up a bunch of hot springs and travels through some of Idaho’s prettiest mountains.
How did your blog get started?
After my time in Thailand and realizing being a scuba instructor wasn’t an option due to my pesky eustachian tubes, I went back to school and got a Masters degree in Environmental Management. That landed me a gig in Washington, D.C. working in the US House of Representatives on some really cool issues — think fish conservation, water policy, and public lands — and I learned a ton in the process. After two years on the hill, I moved to the NGO sector and was working as a lobbyist. I was fighting the good fight, but I quickly learned that that line of work wasn’t for me. The suit, heels, and schmoozing. As hard as I tried, I just didn’t fit the part. I also felt like I was spending all of my vacation time to see family on the holidays and my weekends running errands. That left very little free time to explore my adventurous side that I discovered way back when in Thailand.
I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do, but being self-employed seemed like the only answer. At the same time I was spending a lot of time researching places to travel to if I quit my job, and I stumbled on some travel blogs like Nomadic Matt and The Blonde Abroad. I dug deeper and realized that a travel blog could be a viable career option. It didn’t take long before I left my 9-5, moved back west, and dove head first into Bearfoot Theory. That was almost 3 years ago, and I’ve never looked back.
What struggles have you had during your blogging/video career? How have you overcome them?
That first year had a lot of ups and downs, as there is no overnight success in the blogging world. I was living off of my savings and often questioned whether it was the right move. I ended up getting a job at my local REI and took on some freelance writing gigs, which I didn’t really enjoy, to help make my ends meet. At the same time, I went to conferences, practiced my photography and worked to expand quality content on my website. I focused on writing posts that helped my readers plan their adventures, rather than a journal of my own travels. This included a series of detailed posts about the John Muir Trail, a topic that didn’t have much Google competition at the time. I believe those posts were key to my success. To this day, those posts rank at the top of Google and bring in a ton of traffic.
As my blog started to grow, time management became my biggest issue. I’m an outdoor travel blogger, so I’m supposed to be hiking and taking pictures like everyday, right? Oh and I’m also supposed to be writing several blog posts per week, responding to every comment on social media, and pitching new brands all at the same time. Well, all that just isn’t possible for one person, as Nomadic Matt recently shared in a post talking about when to hire people. I recently decided to bring on a couple of freelancers to help me. I have one girl who uploads and edits content, another girl who helps me pitch and manage emails, and a third who I just brought on to help me with social media. It was a hard decision about how to allocate limited funds, but with these three awesome people who are helping me, I’m able to get more content up, which means more traffic, and eventually more income. But most importantly my head isn’t spinning in 100 different directions, and I’m able to focus my efforts on tasks that no one else can help me with.
The other thing that I still struggle with is comparing myself on social media. I work so hard at my blog, and I get frustrated when I see people who don’t have blogs, yet their Instagram followings are blowing through the roof. They are tagging brands and destinations in their captions that I’ve been ignored by, and I wonder how they are doing it. Then I start asking, do I need to dress more fashionably in my photos or maybe if my hair looked better, I’d have more followers? It’s way too easy to go down the wormhole. When I find myself doing that, I remember that being myself is what got me where I am. Then I just put my head down, keep working hard to grow my following with good content, and tell myself that the long term value of my blog is much greater than someone with 100k Instagram followers.
What do you enjoy the most about blogging/vlogging?
I love the community I’m a part of and the new friends I’ve made through blogging and vlogging. This goes for both my readers and the other bloggers I’ve met. I love that I’ve been able to build a sustainable career out of traveling and spending time outside, even though I had absolutely no experience with web development. I love getting emails from readers who said they’ve been inspired by something they read on my site.
As for the actual job, I’ve been really enjoying working on my YouTube channel. Video brings back memories for me like nothing else.
In addition to this course, what other resources do you rely on for help/information?
I love the Smart Passive Income Podcast. It gives me so many good ideas and keeps me inspired. When I was first starting out I listened to an episode about building your email list, and I followed a lot of the tips in that. Now I have 9,000 subscribers, who I consider to be my most loyal and engaged readers.
Why do you keep blogging?
Well, my biggest fear is having to go back and work for someone else in a 9-5…so there’s that.
But I really do love what I do. I love sharing places and inspiring people to get outside. It’s also a way for me to be an effective environmental advocate. People who spend time outside in nature are more likely to care about preserving it.
What apps do you use that make your blogging easier when traveling?
I use Feedly, which is an RSS reader, to help find content to share on my social channels. Other than that, I’m not a huge app person.
What are your blogging goals for 2017?
My biggest goal is income related. I want to make as much this year as I made in my last office job. To accomplish this, I’ll need to increase my traffic. I’m working to hit 250k monthly page views and 150k unique monthly visitors in 2017. So far I’m off to a good start. I also want to sell out both of my group tours. Fingers crossed.
What is one thing you can’t travel without?
Hiking boots & my GoPro!
What camera and video gear do you travel with?
For photography, I shoot with a Sony A7S, although I’m about ready to swap this out for a different Sony body. For photos of me when I’m traveling alone and for video, I use my GoPro on a gimbal. It’s quick and easy, and for the activities I like to shoot, it works out perfect.
What one piece of advice you’d give to a new blogger/vlogger?
Be patient, success doesn’t happen overnight. And find a niche that you can grow with.
Tell us about your blog and where we can find you on social media.
My blog is Bearfoot Theory, and you can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter.