2 years ago I was in a hotel room in San Marino, it was Easter and our first trip of the year. I had a full time internship with PR and I came up with the idea of starting my own blog. The category? I didn’t need to think twice, a travel blog. My first post was written that day in San Marino, I couldn’t hide my excitement. I was about to start a project, which I would combine two passions: writing and traveling.
A few months later, Packing my Suitcase became my full time job, and it has been one of the best things I have done in my life: what I love. But it became much more than that. It became a way of helping many people to plan their trips and those who like me are expats in Germany or anywhere in this planet. It became my daily life, my work and personal accomplishment.
I’ve met people from everywhere, bloggers and readers. I learned about social media, photography, writing, editing. I learned how to work with Photoshop, WordPress, and have been learning InDesign. I’ve made mistakes and great discoveries, I’ve made partnerships, was invited to events and press trips. Had some crazy stressful days, but also had unforgettable days that reminded how much all this mean to me.
Life is full of surprises, and I like to be surprised. Life is full of challenges, and I like challenges. Blogging is a lot of work, and I like working with what I love, and I hope to continue doing so with the support of all of you who like reading my posts, liking my photos and leaving your comments. It means the world to me.
Now, in these past 2 years I have been asked many questions, most of them I reply at least once a week. So I decided to list 6 of the most frequently asked questions and enjoy this birthday celebration to reply them here:
1. Where did the idea of starting a blog came from?
After working with bloggers while doing an internship with PR, I had the idea of starting my own blog and see what happens. The result is what you see 🙂
2. Is it your full time job?
Yes! Finding a job in communications in Germany when your German isn’t native it’s complicated, so things led me to become a full time travel blogger.
3. Can you really make money with blogging?
Yes, you can. I’m not going into details, but imagine that a successful blog is like a magazine. Sometimes a blog has more readers than a famous magazine, the reach with the help of social media and the fact that your content stays online play an important role on that. So, of course, there are many people willing to work with you and pay for your services. However, it takes time and dedication.
4. What do you do on a normal day of work?
I start my day early, my head is more fresh with ideas in the morning. When I’m not traveling, I write and translate posts, I read and comment on other blogs, I reply and send emails, I post on social media, I think of my next posts, I plan my trips, I get out and about around the city to take photos, I edit pictures and posts, I reply my comments and messages, and I’m always researching how I can improve in every way.
5. Do you manually translate your blog to Portuguese?
Yes. I don’t use any special program, plug-in or translator. Everything I write in English, I write in Portuguese. It’s double work!
6. Why you never post pictures of your face, or of W?
I like to keep me and my family as much private as I can. Of course, it’s not always possible, but I don’t really want to post pictures of my face or wearing a bikini to attract followers. I want people to follow me because of what I write and do.
Do you have any questions you would like to ask? Let me know on the comments at the end of the post. I will be happy to reply your questions. But before…
Giveaways
Even though it’s the blog birthday, you are the ones who will receive gifts. This year I have two books to giveaway. You can enter both giveaway or just one, whatever you prefer.
Giveaway #1: At the beginning of the year I read a pretty cool book called German Men Sit Down To Pee & Other Insights Into German Culture, by Niklas Frank and James Cave. If you like reading my posts about German culture, you’re going to love this book. It’s basically a mini guide to all the expats in Germany, I loved it!
So Niklas and James teamed up with Packing my Suitcase and are offering a copy of their book, in Pdf/Kindle/Ebook.
Giveaway #2: it’s a lovely novel written by Marissa Tejada, who is also a travel blogger, and like me, she is an expat, but lives in Greece. Her book, Chasing Athens, certainly inspired me to my upcoming trip to Greece next week.
Marissa kindly agreed to give away a copy of her book in Ebook format.
To enter one or both giveaways, see below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*The result will be here on this same post in one week from now, on April 28th*
My special thank you to each one of you who contribute to this project that grows a little more each day. I couldn’t have done it alone.