Bloggers Recognition Award

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4 Bloggers Recognition Award- The Nominees:

A “Thank You” Shoutout:

Suitcase Six was nominated by the awesome lifestyle blog Crush’n Life Together for the 2017 Blogger Recognition Award, and have to give them a HUGE thank you for taking the time to read my blog and include me in your nominations! I’m thrilled to accept and thankful for the honor.

If you’re looking for great suggestions on DIY home improvements, decor ideas, or super helpful tips on a variety of topics, check out the Crush’n Life Together blog and see what they’re about!

The Suitcase Six Story:

Suitcase Six was born out of my passions for travel, women, and loving my job! I have five adventurous friends and I felt that the six of us who are all working in different career fields but still exploring the world had a lot to share in terms of advice and inspiration for other working women. In addition to the stories of the Suitcase Six, I also interview women in my “Woman of the Week” series to learn from other woman around the world and see how they balance work and travel, and what that travel lifestyle means to them.

I work in juvenile justice and have a passion for a variety of causes so a focus of much of my writing is spreading information on issues like juvenile justice, sustainability, fair trade, and how they relate to our personal travels. Most women I know are hardworking, passionate people who care about making their world a better but they’re very busy. I want to make it a bit easier to find information on how to travel responsibly.

My Advice:

Tip One: Start with a plan. Some people may disagree with this, but my blogging experience has gotten easier and easier the more organized I’ve become. It can be extraordinarily overwhelming to try and create high-quality content, master the promotion of your posts, grow your social media following authentically, figure out how to have a visually appealing blog and navigate the technical elements of doing so…..All of these elements are important but clearly not all of them can be tackled at once. Writing out your long term blog goals, your mission statement and values, clarifying your brand – all this helps you decide which of the billion blogging tasks you need to focus on at the moment and what you can let go of that isn’t serving your end goal

I started out spending a lot of time writing itineraries, budgeting tips, and packing lists for every trip I’ve taken. These articles usually gain a lot of interest in the travel blogging world but I quickly realized that I was overwhelmed trying to create generic content for each of my trips I wasn’t as passionate about writing. I want my focus to be on how we can travel more considerately, encouraging and advising women who want to keep up with their kick-ass careers AND travel the world. I’ve decided that while I will still write some of these itinerary/budgeting articles when the mood strikes and it feels appropriate, I’ll refocus on articles about women at work, human rights, eco-friendly travel and women who are already balancing all of these things, and I’ll try to find an audience who wants to read about that.

Tip Two: Be gentle with yourself. Most of us are not experts in design, writing, PR, videography, photography, HTML or whatever other comprehensive skills blogging can require. Even if you are an expert in a field (or somehow all fields) it’s a lot to manage and can easily feel overwhelming. Set ambitious goals, but if you have a crazy week and don’t get as many posts up as you want, or you lose a few subscribers – don’t freak out! Give yourself some TLC, have a glass of wine, and remember that you are more than your blog. After you make sure you’ve fed, watered, and rested yourself, ask for help! There is an entire blogging community of people who are more than willing to offer their advice and have had lots of experience. You can’t and shouldn’t do it alone.