When Hannah Spelt and Nick Noordijk determined to journey to Southeast Asia, they didn’t know that their journey would change their lives perpetually. They determined to doc their travels on Instagram to maintain their households and mates abreast of their travels, they usually began to develop a following.
One factor led to a different, they usually determined to create their travel blog Salt in Our Hair. There have been a number of ups and downs alongside the way in which, together with the worldwide pandemic, however, via trial and error, Nick and Hannah discovered their method and grew their enterprise past their wildest goals.
Now, their web site will get 600k guests they usually earn $30k per thirty days.
Maintain studying to seek out out:
- Why they went on their backpacking journey
- What they received that made all of the distinction
- Why they determined to create their web site
- Why they stop their day jobs
- How they assist native companies
- How they grew their crew
- The place their revenue comes from
- Their high advertising methods
- Their ideas on search engine marketing
- Their strategy to key phrase analysis and hyperlink constructing
- How they create content material
- Their go-to sources and instruments
- Their largest problem
- Their primary accomplishment
- Their primary mistake
- Their recommendation for different entrepreneurs
Meet Hannah and Nick
Hello! Our names are Hannah Spelt and Nick Noordijk, each born (and largely dwelling) within the Netherlands. We’ve been in love since early 2014 and nonetheless are very a lot so. Hannah has a background as a graphic designer and I had a task as a senior net developer.
How They Started
It began with our Instagram web page.
In November of 2015, Hannah and I had been in a position to take a short lived depart from our jobs and we went on an unforgettable backpacking journey for 4 months in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and The Philippines).
Our authentic plan was to journey to Australia, however we saved up simply sufficient cash to have the ability to journey to extra reasonably priced international locations.
We bought the thought to share our journey on Instagram to maintain family and friends up to date, however we had no cash for a digicam, so we participated in a raffle and we occurred to win a GoPro digicam simply 1 week earlier than we left! We paid simply 11 euros for it!
That was the second we began our Salt in Our Hair Instagram page.
We didn’t publish something skilled, simply GoPro selfies with a selfie stick, on a motorcycle, on boats, between rice fields, and many others. virtually day by day.
Our following began rising, but it surely was nothing main. Till, in the future on the finish of our backpacking journey, one IG publish went viral and we immediately had a number of thousand followers after we returned house to the Netherlands.
We bought again to our jobs, however individuals stored asking questions beneath our older Instagram posts in regards to the areas within the pictures.
Keep in mind, this was February 2016, so there was no Instagram Direct Message or Tales, so it was a trouble to get again to everybody. This gave us the thought to start out our web site Salt in Our Hair, and easily let individuals go there to learn all the pieces about our travels.
Their Web site Goes Dwell
So, in Could 2016, we launched the primary model of the web site.
I began studying to make use of a mirrorless digicam via YouTube tutorials, first on computerized, and in a while guide.
We began to do small journeys on the weekends and take holidays from work to create new content material (pictures and textual content) for our Instagram and weblog.
Little or no by little, we gained extra visitors to the purpose the place we had been working 40 hours at our jobs and 40 hours on Salt in Our Hair as a aspect hustle with out making any cash from it. We did not have any advertisements or any correct affiliate hyperlinks on our web site for the primary two years.
In late 2018, about 1.5 years after beginning, we earned simply sufficient to stay from our website in Thailand and check out the digital nomad way of life. We had about 50 to 60k month-to-month guests at this level. So we took a leap of religion and took on Salt in Our Hair as our full-time job.
I had some fundamental search engine marketing data on the time via my work as a former net developer, however I had spent numerous hours studying via trial and error. We additionally discovered the fundamentals of pictures. The primary method we made cash was via some affiliate packages for accommodations.
We had huge doubts, as we had been leaving good careers as a designer and a developer.
Trying again now, successful that GoPro was a key second within the creation of Salt in Our Hair.
Their Earlier Enterprise Expertise
We had zero enterprise expertise and we haven’t began every other companies since. We needed to study actually each single factor from working with shoppers, negotiating costs, speaking to the media, doing the accounting (throughout totally different borders), studying learn how to work with a digicam, and many others.
The expertise we had was our net design and growth abilities.
The method of beginning this enterprise went with ups and in addition a number of downs, however we at all times tried to remember why this all began: due to our love for touring (versus creating wealth)!
The issue was, we had nobody round us to ask how issues labored as a result of that may’ve sped up a number of issues and saved us a number of errors. We’re truly engaged on a large course about all the pieces we’ve discovered since 2016, and folks can signal as much as present their curiosity.
Now in 2023, right here’s the place we stand:
- We’re getting 600,000 distinctive guests per thirty days proper now
- We’ve linked small, native enterprise operators in Morocco, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Colombia to our readers.
If we have now an important expertise on a visit with an area firm, we attempt to clarify our enterprise to him/her and see if they’re open to us sharing their telephone quantity or e-mail in our guides.
For instance, in Bali, we have now been sharing our contact for five years, and the particular person now has 15 to 20 drivers every day driving for him, and that’s simply shoppers from our journey guides.
We love buildings like this, as we join a small enterprise on to the reader.
We’ve expanded: we’re a crew of 6 individuals all engaged on Salt in Our Hair. They’re freelancers from across the globe! Aside from Hannah and I, we have now:
- A photograph editor supporting Hannah
- A author and supervisor serving to with all the pieces from journey planning to emails
- A author and translator
- And a brand new enterprise supervisor
How A lot Cash They’re Making
We’re at present making $30k on common per thirty days from Salt in Our Hair. Clearly, this modifications month to month, relying on the journey seasons and shopper jobs.
A common breakdown can be:
- Affiliates: 43%
- Ads: 38%
- Jobs: 11%
- Webshop: 8%
When it comes to jobs, we have now numerous income streams which might be irregular: work for tourism boards, licensing pictures, web site commercials, and many others.
It’s exhausting to say how lengthy it took to succeed in this degree, as a result of pandemic, however since December 2022 we’ve been sustaining this common income. So it most likely took us about 5 years to get to this income degree.
It’s a very long time, probably too lengthy for people who find themselves on the market to easily earn cash. However for us, it has been value each single day to this point. What an unbelievable journey we’ve been on, what unbelievable individuals we’ve been in a position to meet, and locations we’ve visited.
Pre-covid we made about $15k to $17k per thirty days.
If we had been to arrange a brand new web site with our present expertise, we can minimize this all the way down to 1, max 2 years. That’s the explanation why we’re placing collectively a course.
We most likely every work round 40 to 50 hours per week, but it surely modifications per day and per week as we’re by no means working 8 hours a day from Monday to Friday.
When touring, getting stable hours of labor is a little more troublesome. We additionally work loads for shoppers like tourism boards.
Their High Advertising and marketing Technique
Our primary technique has been connecting our social media following with our web site. What we do in another way from many massive blogs is that we have now an viewers on social media who follows our journey for aesthetics, to first get inspiration.
As soon as “impressed,” we offer a helpful journey information on our web site. Our thought is to make written content material much more fascinating with a number of pictures and video content material.
It’s exhausting to provide recommendation for this technique, as social media corporations resolve what’s trending. However we nonetheless consider that it is best to publish what you want to see, and you’ll ultimately create a choose viewers for it.
You need to positively go together with developments, however experience that wave in your method. Pinterest can also be nonetheless tremendous fascinating to deal with because it drives numerous high quality visitors.
The Significance of search engine marketing
We recover from 80% of our viewers from Google, so search engine marketing is a very powerful consider our enterprise.
Once we began out, I did have some fundamental data about search engine marketing, and the remainder was from studying and optimizing our articles.
We did a number of testing. Not the way in which I’d do it now, however that was simply the stream I used to be feeling good with. Proper now, I would most likely take a small course on search engine marketing or dive into some latest articles about it.
A course, nevertheless, can take you by the hand and advise the place wanted. search engine marketing additionally modifications on a regular basis so it’s good to remain updated.
Key phrase Analysis
We give you article concepts first and see how we will form that into an article, ensuring there’s sufficient search visitors for it. We analysis the keywords on tools like Mangools and Ahrefs.
Hyperlink Constructing
We’ve by no means centered on hyperlink constructing.
We all know it may be an vital consider your search engine marketing technique, however we’ve solely accomplished a handful of hyperlink constructing collaborations.
Our web site has grown and has a stable DA/DR with out it. Presently, we solely collaborate with equally-rated web sites that present us with stable hyperlinks.
That is actually solely two or thrice a 12 months, despite the fact that we obtain 100s of emails per thirty days requesting collaborations.
Their Content material Creation Course of
Our course of is fairly streamlined, which I’m proud to say!
About 99.9% of the articles on Salt in Our Hair begin from notes (and voice notes) from our travels.
A part of our travels is noting down all the pieces, the smallest little particulars, so we don’t overlook them after we begin writing the guides.
Each two weeks we have now crew calls to set out the work for the upcoming weeks. Often, we base articles on the season. If excessive season is arising, we push these articles out first.
Then we resolve what articles are up subsequent and who does what. For instance, the primary draft is written based mostly on our notes and search engine marketing key phrases, then it’s checked and finalized, pictures are added, it’s revealed, promoted, linked to on the web site, and at last translated to Dutch.
We publish about 6 to eight articles per thirty days.
We’ve at all times had a barely massive Dutch viewers since we’re from the Netherlands ourselves, however this transfer positively elevated our Dutch viewers fairly a bit!
We do nothing particular to advertise our Dutch web site, but it surely was to additionally hook within the individuals looking on Google in Dutch. Our Dutch web site is certainly not a ten but, but it surely’s a piece in progress.
Their E-mail Listing
We do a monthly newsletter that we’ve named “Journey Letter,” with about 25,000 subscribers.
We aren’t any followers of e-newsletter popups, so we’ve merely grown it via the shape within the footer of our web site.
We share much more behind-the-scenes stuff, like thrilling issues we’re engaged on, humorous issues that occurred whereas touring, our touring agenda, and unique reductions, and it’s also possible to get a glance into the Salt in Our Hair enterprise.
We truly simply gave it a large overhaul, so be happy to enroll!
Their Favourite Sources
YouTube is the way in which to go to start out out, once you’re studying learn how to arrange your web site, and many others.
Nevertheless, in the event you go down into the trial and error course of with written content material, it might be good to have an knowledgeable giving some tips about it.
Upon getting that beneath management, optimize your web site to ship the very best expertise to your readers. Google values this very a lot and can put you greater within the outcomes in case your web site is sweet.
We don’t have one particular YouTube channel to advocate; simply seek for what you’re making an attempt to perform.
When you have a selected weblog or influencer you belief, we advocate trying out if they’ve some data on their web site or channel.
Their Go-To Instruments
With solely freelancers engaged on Salt in Our Hair, on-line collaboration is essential. We use the next instruments:
Trello, for our planning (from notes to publication), enterprise concepts, and net growth concepts.
Google Workspace, for all the pieces from Docs, Mail, Jamboards, and Meet to Drive. Our complete crew can simply collaborate right here.
Adobe software program, particularly Lightroom, for enhancing pictures for the articles.
Their Fundamental Problem
I’d point out two challenges right here.
One: Surviving a pandemic with a journey enterprise if no person is ready to journey. This was the toughest, as the longer term was not sure.
We noticed an enormous decline throughout that interval, and afterwards, our web site income went again to about 10-15% of what it was.
And we had been simply on a rising streak with our website after a number of years of exhausting work! Fortunately, this picked again up after Covid.
We redesigned the web site fully and continued setting out our concepts for the longer term. As soon as we had some belief, we employed our second freelancer to assist with the Dutch web site. That’s what we did throughout Covid.
Two: Desirous to do all the pieces ourselves (and ending up burned out).
Outsourcing to freelancers was our greatest choice up to now. We nonetheless ensure the freelancers really feel like they’re a part of a crew and that we’re all engaged on one thing superior!
We discovered our freelancers via our group on Instagram! We’ve put out a narrative that we had been searching for somebody to assist us out. A follower notified her pal (who she thought was a great match for us), we chatted (she didn’t know something about Salt in Our Hair), and it was the right match.
We made a number of errors originally, determining learn how to work collectively. However the three of us did it, and two years later we began including different freelancers. She’s now managing most of our enterprise and is one in every of our greatest mates.
Their Most Essential Accomplishment
That will be inspiring 600,000 individuals per thirty days, via our web site, with our travels.
It’s unbelievable to learn and listen to the belief our viewers has in our journey guides. Typically individuals attain out to us on the streets, telling their journey story, or they ship a message thanking us. This feels surreal to us and we’re tremendous pleased with that.
What They Want They Knew When They Began
I want we had somebody to ask or verify issues with, so we didn’t should determine all the pieces out by ourselves and we might have simply centered on the work.
Understanding search engine marketing has been an enormous recreation changer within the development of Salt in Our Hair, and with that, our income has grown.
Different issues like studying learn how to {photograph}, edit, learn how to arrange a social media platform, and many others. had been possibly simpler to know from the start, however we truly like that there was such an enormous studying curve. It made us a lot stronger.
Their Fundamental Mistake
Our largest mistake is just not charging sufficient for the quantity of labor we had been offering. There was no technique to discover the charges for this because it was not one thing that was spoken about as a lot as now.
Whenever you turn out to be a plumber, you possibly can take a look round and see what different plumbers are asking as a fee. This wasn’t (and nonetheless actually isn’t) there within the social media and running a blog world, so you actually have to determine what you’re value.
Determining our charges for the tourism board is one thing it took a few years to get proper.
Their Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs
I’d say at all times be open to innovation and expertise. Adjustments come, so it’s greatest to experience the wave as a substitute of swimming towards it.
For instance, when TikTik and Instagram reels began, it was stated that folks had been going to cease searching for journey content material through Google.
However, fairly than sitting round and ready, it is best to at all times look into methods to make use of this to your benefit.
For instance, we now actively promote locations we journey to on our social media and hyperlink to our web site for added data. This additionally drives visitors and helps you market your model.
