Nina Ragusa All the time dreamed of seeing the world. She was keen to start out exploring however was hesitant since she did not have anybody to go together with.
Nina took a leap of religion and traveled to Thailand on her personal. Initially, she was going to spend a yr overseas, however she bought so hooked on touring that she stayed on the highway for over a decade.
She created her first website, Where in the World is Nina, to doc her travels. She did so effectively that she determined to copy her technique, occurring to create three extra profitable journey websites.
Immediately she’s dwelling her dream and seeing the world whereas incomes six figures a yr from her portfolio of web sites.
Preserve studying to seek out out:
- How she began out dwelling overseas
- Why she determined to create different area of interest websites
- What niches she selected and why
- The place her revenue comes from
- How her websites carried out through the pandemic
- How a lot visitors her websites get
- Her foremost advertising methods
- How she feels about web optimization
- How she approaches key phrase analysis and hyperlink constructing
- Her content material creation technique
- How she grows her e-mail lists
- Her favourite sources and instruments
- Her greatest problem
- Her best accomplishment
- Her foremost mistake
- Her recommendation for different entrepreneurs
Meet Nina Ragusa
Hello, I’m Nina, from Florida, USA!
Ever since I used to be little, I’ve cherished the thought of touring around the globe. I used to be tremendous into geography class and cherished enjoying “The place within the World is Carmen Sandiego?”
I used to be fascinated with the whole lot I couldn’t get in my yard (which is rather a lot when your yard is a flat swamp land!)
I used to suppose you wanted some huge cash to see the world, however I did not need to wait till I used to be outdated and retired to start out exploring. So, I began trying into how I may journey with out ready perpetually, and possibly even work whereas I used to be at it to maintain my pockets topped up.
For the longest time, I did not need to journey on my own as a result of, that’s scary and loopy, proper? I stored hoping to discover a buddy who was as excited to journey as I used to be, however after ready for greater than two years and nobody exhibiting up, I made a decision I had sufficient of ready.
So, on Might 5, 2011, I simply went for it and flew to Thailand all alone. I didn’t actually have a lodge reserved for my first evening! And what was purported to be only a yr overseas became over a decade!
I lived in Southeast Asia for 4 years on my own, met my associate Garrett in Thailand, and we have been touring collectively ever since. I’ve labored and lived on six continents!
After I first moved overseas, I began educating English in Thailand. I positively wasn’t wealthy, however educating English confirmed me that I did not want to return house to make a dwelling. There have been loads of jobs on the market for me that might preserve me on the highway.
And similar to that, what began as a one-year journey became an entire new lifetime of me dwelling around the globe.
I’ve now labored 11 travel jobs (it’s sort of my factor that I like to speak about and assist folks obtain), and I used to be running a blog the entire method, however didn’t notice it may very well be an actual job till about 5 years into doing it! Now, running a blog is my full-time job.
Pinch me! I get to assist folks journey longer and higher and assist them discover out about alternatives to work and reside overseas, alternatives they didn’t know existed?! Woo!
Why She Created Her Websites
I created my first weblog, a basic journey weblog, completely accidentally. I used to be merely preserving a web-based diary beginning in 2011 on a now-defunct web site. Ultimately, I moved over to WordPress as soon as I realized what that was in 2012-ish.
It nonetheless took me a couple of years later to understand running a blog may very well be a job. After “making it” with my basic journey website, I made a decision to start out a niche site with my associate in 2019 concerning the state of Oregon, the place he’s from.
We love touring on the West Coast, and area of interest websites have been one thing I wished to dabble in since I knew I may recreate the success I had with my first web site simply with a extra niched-down matter!
It seems it was not solely an excellent concept as a result of it was an underserved area of interest, but in addition nice timing to start out it in 2019 since everyone knows what occurred in 2020!
After our success with Oregon, we continued increasing with the identical technique into Washington and California.
We invested the income of our first yr with Oregon right into a enterprise car to assist us create content material for the opposite websites. We bought an old-school 1974 VW Bus we named Lucy!
This was the start of making a number of income streams to strengthen the muse for our enterprise, and COVID was motivator for our area of interest website push.
Additionally, we may seize content material simply in 1-2 months and have content material to publish for the entire yr whereas we traveled internationally.
Our 4 websites are:
– Where in the World is Nina (Sure, after “The place within the World is Carmen Sandiego?”)
– Oregon is for Adventure
– Washington is for Adventure
– California is for Adventure
We even have a non-travel-related fifth website I do not speak about a lot because it’s our first website that we’re experimenting with as an affiliate website on larger ticket objects in an underserved area of interest. Thus far, it’s doing fairly good, contemplating how little we work on it.
We’re taking in round $300-$500/month in affiliate income with that website. For the reason that merchandise are for higher-ticket objects, a great deal of visitors and purchases usually are not actually wanted. All we’d like is a couple of good gross sales per 30 days to make it price it.
How A lot She’s Incomes
As they are saying, the primary one is all the time the toughest!
It took me years to make respectable cash with my foremost travel site, round 6-ish years or so (keep in mind, it took me ages to understand it may even be an actual job! Doh!).
That being stated, 2019 was my greatest yr as I made round $85k simply on my foremost journey web site! I used to be over the moon watching $5000, $7000, and $9000 roll in every month!
I began the Oregon website and was once more over the moon with the progress regardless of the 2020 pandemic. It really labored in our favor since we made it on Mediavine in February 2020 (what luck!), and since no person may journey, they have been of their backyards.
The Oregon website exploded whereas my foremost journey weblog faltered. I’ve had my foremost journey weblog on the again burner since 2020. I put most effort into our West Coast blogs, and sadly, my foremost website hasn’t come near its pre-pandemic numbers.
Hopefully, I could make it again in 2024 since I’m lastly prioritizing it after neglecting it for about 4 years.
We make wherever from $100,000 to $200,000/yr with our blogs and providers. We principally make our cash from Mediavine ads, associates, and providers.
We now have solely had one long-term consumer since 2018 that offers us round $25,000 to 45,000/yr for our providers (YouTube movies and weblog content material principally, and my associate is the one who manages it).
We had a giant consumer that wanted journey content material in 2022 and that boosted us over $100,000 alone that yr, which was superior (however a ton of labor).
Most of our affiliate income is from lodging bookings (Keep 22) and some different particular associates within the journey area of interest.
Nina’s Site visitors Stats
Pre-pandemic, I used to be getting round 150k/month-to-month views on my foremost website. That’s all the way down to lower than 50k/month now. I’ve not too long ago began engaged on it once more, although, so I can’t be too mad since I let it sit for therefore lengthy.
The one unlucky factor about our PNW blogs is that they’re very seasonal. No person visits in winter! However in summer time, they do pop off fairly effectively.
We get round 70k-100k/month every on Washington and Oregon within the summers and all the way down to round 40k/month every within the winters.
Her Major Advertising and marketing Technique
I used to be lastly getting on the e-mail technique when the pandemic took my foremost website out, so I needed to shift. E mail works higher whenever you even have visitors and I wasn’t getting a lot!
Throughout these arduous 2020-2021 years, I shifted and went all in on TikTok, and it was the one factor that stored me from eager to spiral right into a deep running a blog despair!
TikTok was nice throughout these years (it’s waned for me these days, however I additionally have not been placing within the work as a lot both). It helped me reel in visitors that wasn’t from Google, which was all I used to be getting earlier than.
Individuals don’t notice that individuals do like going to your web site from TikTok; actually, I’ve had rather a lot of days the place my visitors shot up as a result of I went semi-viral on TikTok and gained a whole bunch of e-mail subscribers and hundreds of views.
My foremost drivers from social media are folks studying about how they’ll reside and work overseas, digital nomad jobs, the best way to work on-line with out expertise, and my free guides that information them to my ebook.
My foremost technique remains to be web optimization, however as we all know, issues have gotten more durable over time.
In 2024, I’m going to work more durable on e-mail advertising and decide again up my TikTok recreation a bit extra, too.
Her Ideas on web optimization
Since I realized about web optimization and it “clicked” for me, I grew to become obsessive about it. I love nerding out on web optimization analysis and discovering enjoyable and superior key phrases I need to write about. It’s crucial for my enterprise and the primary method I’m even a full-time blogger.
Being a blogger with out web optimization and truly earning profits from it…? I’m unsure if it is potential?!
Considered one of my greatest methods is “child posts,” which I don’t know if I can declare this title, but it surely’s what I’ve been calling what I do for a few years, however I primarily love writing child posts. These are shorter posts on a really small matter.
For instance, a weblog submit on a particular hike in a state park, or a sure seashore. It is a entire weblog submit on simply this one tiny matter, a child submit, if you’ll. These may not carry within the hordes of readers many bloggers need, however a variety of these child posts add as much as an honest chunk of views, plus they hammer in my authority for the bigger matter.
Once more, let’s take the instance of a hike. I’ll write a child submit on XYZ hike – the precise hike solely, and what that you must learn about it. I’d even write one other child submit on one other hike referred to as the ABC hike.
And these two mountain climbing posts are a part of my greater “greatest hikes in 123 Nationwide Park.” I then write the “greatest issues to do in 123 Nationwide Park” and embrace these two hikes, plus hyperlink to my “greatest hikes” article, thus rising my data and authority on this nationwide park.
This kind of clustering content material isn’t actually new or authentic, but it surely’s a “again to fundamentals” idea that some bloggers overlook about, particularly journey bloggers who’re continually going for the “large shiny key phrases” they discovered for his or her subsequent vacation spot.
Key phrase Analysis
I merely write what I need to write about, however I be sure that there’s an honest key phrase that goes together with the subject I would like!
Whereas I don’t 100% write for web optimization, it’s principally what I do write about, however I suppose I’m fortunate in the truth that it normally traces up with my pursuits.
Finest hikes? Finest seashores? How did I get a working vacation visa in Australia? Digital nomad stuff? Low cost nations to reside in? Journey jobs? Woo! I like these matters, and they’re usually superior key phrases to go for.
Even when the amount isn’t a lot (500ish/month, let’s say), I like the subject, I do know it advantages my readers, and it’s going to mesh effectively with the content material on my weblog anyway, so I’m going for it.
I like having clusters and having tons of weblog posts a few sure space or matter. Because of this I feel my area of interest websites are literally extra enjoyable than my journey weblog. I like rising extra a few surrounding matter; it’s much more rewarding.
So, like I discussed above, I’ll write tons of child posts to help my greater articles. I not often will write a “issues to do___” submit with out having no less than 3 “child posts” stemming from it. Even this isn’t preferrred sufficient for me, however generally it’s what it’s for my foremost journey weblog.
My area of interest websites? I normally have a hoard of child posts to hyperlink to, and I feel that is one in all my greatest key phrase methods. I’ll discover a “greater” key phrase like “greatest waterfall hikes in ___” and I’ll have a child submit for nearly each single waterfall hike I point out. I normally attempt to goal for key phrases that provide essentially the most alternative for me to stem off a bunch of child posts! I like child posts, are you able to inform!?
The larger my cluster, the higher. So, when keyword researching, I look out for these mega clusters that I can actually get into.
Hyperlink Constructing
I’d say link building is fairly vital. I took my new California website from a DA0 to a DA16 in only a few months. All I did was take part in a couple of hyperlink constructing threads, did a few visitor posts, and did 1 or 2 HARO call-outs within the interval of some months.
I take advantage of a couple of hyperlink constructing methods, one being a hyperlink constructing group that I take advantage of sometimes on Fb. I do visitor posting, however I would like to enhance my frequency right here. I do some weblog collaboration articles (these are the simplest! You could find these teams on Fb, too), and naturally, HARO.
HARO is definitely hit and miss, and it’s, as a rule, a miss. However when it’s successful? It’s hit! You’ll normally get a hyperlink again from a excessive authority web site with a excessive DA and possibly even get talked about in a prime on-line web site, even Forbes!
My greatest HARO win was again in 2016 or so when Enterprise Insider by some means preferred me sufficient to do a function on me, and it sort of went viral!
I even bought one other follow-up article written by me, and this, thus far, was one in all my greatest running a blog wins on HARO. I want I may get one other one like this that falls in my lap this simply!
Not solely did I get some nice backlinks (my article was even translated into quite a few languages), however I bought a large enhance in followers on Instagram, too.
And lastly, I take advantage of Link Whisper for inner linking! The day I signed up and paid for it, I knocked out so many missed hyperlink alternatives! I used to be shocked and embarrassed at what number of weblog posts I didn’t hyperlink again to.
I used to pay my VA to do that as soon as each month, and now, with a couple of clicks, it will get completed a lot sooner.
Her Content material Creation Course of
I’ve 526 revealed weblog posts on my foremost journey website (which was once nearer to 650, however I not too long ago did a giant culling). And my three different area of interest websites have a mixed 286.
My movement goes one thing alongside the traces of:
- Key phrase analysis
- *do the factor I’m writing about and take in depth voice notes*
- Define weblog
- Write
- Evaluation article
- Full media
- Format article
- Edit
- Publish
I ought to add a movement for promotion, however my present technique is *speak concerning the new submit whenever you keep in mind to.* Oops!
Her E mail Lists
I positively use e-mail. The Develop Highlight has made all of the distinction. I supply a couple of freebies and entice sign-ups that method. The Develop Highlight makes it fairly and highlights the e-mail field greater than different plugins to encourage sign-ups. I ship an e-mail twice month-to-month.
Except for Google visitors and “pure” e-mail sign-ups this manner, each time I’ve a semi-viral submit on Reels or TikTok, I get a couple of hundred new e-mail subscribers.
I level them to my free guides that they’ve to enroll in. These guides additionally hyperlink to my product, which is an e-book!
How A lot She Works
I work round 5 “actual” hours per day or so. My associate and I worth our gradual mornings with espresso and convos, and our brains flip to mush after hammering away for 5 hours.
We used to grind all day every single day, however have slowed down rather a lot. We all know we may earn more money if we chipped away more durable, however we don’t care! We don’t need to get burnt out (been there, completed that!)
Since we journey rather a lot, we all the time take a couple of weeks off right here or a month off there. And I’m primarily ineffective in December since that’s after I go to my household, and I get little or no completed.
Once we do our highway journeys for our area of interest websites, we barely even contact our computer systems. We’re simply van-living round and exploring, and people journeys are normally 6-8 weeks lengthy.
Her Favourite Assets
I’ve gone by way of SO many sources, and I sort of bought out of it for some time, if I’m being trustworthy.
After choosing myself up a bit and slowly getting again into utilizing sources, I’ve to say, Nina’s web optimization group (not me, one other Nina!) on Fb is a superb useful resource. She is absolutely superior at explaining issues and making issues make sense within the complicated world of web optimization.
And I’ve been a long-time listener of Brandon’s Running a blog Millionaire podcast. He’s been doing this for a very long time, and his podcasts are actually useful and to the purpose.
I do know it’s nonetheless controversial in our area, however if you happen to’re writing off AI, you’re lacking out. Many individuals suppose it’s a horrible software, however they haven’t tried utilizing it accurately. I gained’t get into an excessive amount of right here, however for bloggers, it’s an immensely useful software when used accurately!
Should you suppose utilizing AI is actually asking ChatGPT to “write a weblog submit on the highest 10 issues to do in Rome,” copying and pasting it into WordPress, and hitting publish, you’d be right: AI is freaking terrible!
However when used accurately, really prompting it, pasting in your voice notes out of your go to, after which modifying it as an actual reside human, you might be saving so a lot effort and time.
I simply wrote three weblog posts in someday as a result of I used AI. I’d have been fortunate to have written one with out utilizing AI. And sure, I edited all of them in nice element, and you’d by no means know I used AI if I did not inform you. I’m unsure I may reside with out it now! It makes me a machine.
Oh, I even used ChatGPT to assist me edit this interview right here, so my proofreading time went from over an hour to a matter of minutes!
Her Go-To Instruments
Except for my ChatGPT talked about above…
My life could be in chaos and shambles with out Asana, telling me what to do and what assignments want doing every single day. I can preserve tabs on the staff simpler and on myself!
Affilimate helps me preserve monitor of what my associates are doing, which is one thing I seemed to extend final yr, and in that yr, I greater than tripled my revenue from associates.
The software itself doesn’t essentially assist me improve my revenue, however the information and progress in a single, handy platform (somewhat than logging into the 1000 affiliate platforms) assist me higher monitor and perceive it! Even utilizing their affiliate deep linking software helps reduce my time/my VA’s time down by rather a lot!
This is likely to be a bizarre one, however YouTube is one other “software” I can’t reside with out. We don’t simply use it to be taught; we love GrowingAnnanas exercises to get us up from our desks! Critically, running a blog at a desk for hours will get painful, sure, for actual! I’ve a “cracking” shoulder that makes me really feel historic, and I used to be borderline getting carpal tunnel for a minute there!
This line of labor will not be nice on your physique, so yeah—remember to maneuver! Your physique and mind are your life’s greatest and most wanted instruments. Our life-style makes it simple to overlook about ourselves and our well-being.
I let it go for some time, however her at-home exercises have me making myself a precedence once more!
Her Greatest Problem
The modifications! I’m all the time up for a problem, however generally within the running a blog recreation, simply whenever you suppose, “You bought it,” one other main change occurs…
Whether or not that’s a Google replace, a brand new revolutionary software, or a freaking pandemic. Change is inevitable, and I’m not afraid of it. I simply want I may benefit from the journey for greater than a second earlier than being thrown a brand new wrench to make use of.
Her Biggest Accomplishment
Merely *being an entrepreneur.*
I by no means would have thought I’d turn into one. 2011 Nina thought she was going to show English in Thailand for a yr after which get caught behind a desk at a soul-sucking job for the following 30 to 40 years.
This was by no means my objective. This was by no means my dream. This was by no means one thing I assumed I may do. I could not have fathomed this life earlier than. And but, right here I’m!
I’ve grown a enterprise the place I can take cost and oversee somewhat than do grunt work for a capped revenue.
I’ve created a enterprise the place I can spend over a month with my household and assist them, and barely log in on-line and know I’m nonetheless producing revenue.
I’ve developed a enterprise that offers me final freedom and adaptability in my life—one thing I really didn’t know existed for some time and one thing I assumed would take me perpetually to realize.
I’ve bought a enterprise I’m happy with and love doing, which gives me with an excellent life. Critically—pinch me!
What She Needs She Knew When She Began
I want I had identified concerning the significance of analyzing and testing.
I’m nice at implementing, however I may very well be higher at trialing, testing, and understanding if issues are working! I’ve not too long ago began to get higher at this, like utilizing warmth maps and truly trying again on analytics and graphs, and many others., to see if what I’m doing is working.
I bought used to only doing and letting it journey, in no matter route it went in and didn’t really see what was working or not!
I’m enhancing at analyzing the whole lot and seeing what’s working and never working. It might appear a bit foolish, however again within the day, running a blog appeared to be a bit simpler, and no matter you probably did, it sort of labored.
These days, it’s not flying! You have to analyze your information and cease spinning your wheels by doing issues that aren’t working. I threw spaghetti on the wall and let it stick or fall, however discovering out how and why it was sticking and one of the simplest ways to make it stick is making extra of a distinction now.
Her Major Mistake
Grinding in circles… I labored so arduous in my starting years, however I used to be getting in circles listening to the whole lot everybody was saying in Fb teams, on YouTube, and many others… I wanted to only go arduous on studying a very powerful factor—web optimization.
As soon as I began grinding in a single route, I began going someplace! I used to be attempting to be taught and apply 27935403 various things, plus attempting to go arduous on Instagram (after I didn’t need to be an influencer anyway! Only a blogger!)
Her Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs
Don’t wait too lengthy to rent assist. The second I employed a VA and writers, I began making extra money.
Sure, it can value you, however you’ll be able to’t do the whole lot. You’ll burn out and stagnate shortly as a result of there’s solely a lot a singular particular person can do.
Additionally, don’t put all of your eggs in a single basket. I’d have been completely taken out as a blogger when the pandemic hit if I didn’t begin diversifying in 2019!
Being cussed and never being somebody who provides up simply are good traits to have. I wished this so badly, and regardless that it took me some time to get right here, I made it!
And it’s superior to look again in any respect the instances you wished to throw within the towel and see all of your arduous work (learn: stubbornness) really labored out!
There was no method I used to be giving up, not after I understood the liberty having your individual enterprise may present for me. I used to be immediately addicted to creating it occur. That is the way in which to go if you happen to’re in search of extra freedom.
However the path shall be bumpy till you make it over the hill!
