We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gretchen Watson . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gretchen below.

Gretchen , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

Back in 2019, my husband and I decided it was time to change directions, so with a job change that allowed us to go remote, we took our family on the road full time. After diving into the full time Rv lifestyle, we began our Instagram account and joined the community of life minded families living their best life on the road. It didn’t take long for me to develop a passion for the online Rv community. I soon realized the opportunity that lay before after 2020 when so many families were considering selling their belongings and going full time on the road. It was during this year, we took a trip out west visiting the National Parks in Utah that I was introduced to the idea of making an income from my social accounts. At first my desire for instagram was just a hobby, but after doing some research, following other’s journey’s, and eventually hiring my own social media coach, I was on pursuit of a dream I didn’t even know I had at the time. In November of 2021, I officially changed my account name from a cute title to one with purpose and vision, the Mindful Nomadic. In December of 2021, I reached out to my social media coach and began the groundwork for what was needed to grow my account as well as learn the ropes to becoming a social media influencer and working with brands and companies. After teaching me how to hone in on my niche, post consistently, and engage with other accounts, my account began to grow. Slowly I outgrew my coach, and began embarking on brand deals. My dream was finally coming true. Over the course of two years, I have since taken classes to continue my eduction in social media marketing. There have been plenty of bumps in the road, from the whoa’s that come along in social media marketing, as well as the wins you have less often. All in all, I discovered a passion for creating content and teaching others how to step out and create a life they love, all while giving them the tips to being successful on their journey in Rv life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Gretchen Watson, I am a wife of 20 years, mom of five, and the creator behind the travel account, The Mindful Nomadic. After 15 years in full time ministry, it was time for a change of pace and lifestyle for our family of 7, so in 2019, my husband had a career change allowing us the opportunity to travel as a family around the US. We travel in our 2018 Kz Sportsmen Travel Trailer which we have renovated to fit our large family. This lifestyle has allowed us many opportunities to see places most have only read about. Since becoming full time travelers, I have been able to follow my passion by creating content for Rv related brands on social media. While it’s scary for most families to even consider selling their belongings and moving into an Rv to travel the country, much, we try to inspire families that it can be done with success. We also share real life stories circumstances about what it’s like living full time in an Rv with a family of 7 , even including the not so great times. Our goal is to share how you can create a life you love to wake up and live everyday, as well as share tips and tricks for Rv newbie owners.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Growing your social media accounts take time, diligence, and plenty of patience. It is not something that can be done overnight, but with many moments of dedication even when you may feel like it’s not working or for nothing. The best advice for growing your social media presence is to first niche down. Having too many subjects gets confusing and won’t attract your ideal audience. As you grow, you can branch out, however when just getting started, find your particular niche, and start studying. Example, we Rv full time, so my niche is Rv families. Sure I am a mother, wife, and even homeschool my children, but as I was starting to grow my account, it wanted to ensure I grew an audience of followers who were interested in Rving, already owned an Rv or wanted to live in an Rv.

Secondly, stay consistent. Come up with a posting schedule. Study to find the best days, even poll your existing audience to find what content they want to see. Then create and post consistently the content that your audience is looking for. I even spend hours online searching google and other websites looking for topics that people are searching when it comes to my niche. When starting you can even schedule what days you will post about certain things, example such as Wednesday is my campground review posting day, but Thursday I may just do a static post , no reels. I keep this schedule around to ensure variety as well as a guideline to content I should create in advance.

Engagement is key. Social media such as instagram is all about engagement. The more you engage, the more your content is pushed. So make sure you engage before and after every post. Engage with your followers, as well as engage with others on the hashtags your follow and choose to use.

Don’t compare your journey. This is the hardest part, but most important. Comparison is a thief of joy, and when you start comparing to others you will burn out and lose your desire and way. It’s ok to look at your competition, however don’t let it affect your confidence.

You never stop learning. Social media is always evolving, because of this you can never stop learning. I find I always need to listen to others who know more than me and stay on top of new information being released by the social media outlets I choose to use. This keeps me evolving right along with them.

Know that ebb and flow is part of the journey. If I have learned one thing, it’s this. You will have times you are on top of the world, growing, going viral, getting views, everything is great and in an instant, you can drop that fast as well. It’s ok and it’s part of the journey. Try not to get too hung up over it or it will affect your content and further growth and progress.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I first got started, all I knew was how to make post and reels. Over time, I have learned about the importance of choosing correct hash tags and keywords. Using websites like Moz.com to help me find trending keywords. I also find Lightroom to be huge and was thankful my coach led me to utilizing this app, as well as Canva for all my post design needs. These are definitely things I wish I knew about sooner, but glad I learned when I did so I can use them to make my content stronger.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://themindfulnomadic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themindfulnomadic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GretchenGib
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themindfulnomadic?_t=8WqODVO6jNu&_r=1
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/themindfulnomadic/_created/