We recently connected with Nicole Rosania and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

The idea to create a travel blog first came to me during my semester abroad in Florence, Italy. I studied abroad at an age quite younger than most – I was 19 years old and it was the fall semester of my sophomore year. I had quite a few peers gearing up for their semesters abroad the following year, so I decided to publish all my best tips & tricks online to help them. I also created my blog to keep my family and friends up to date at home. My first subscriber ever was my grandma, and my posts were read by 20 people max… on a good day. But, I was passionate about travel writing and committed to staying consistent with my content. I’ve been lucky to travel to so many beautiful places, I’ve had no shortage of content over the years. I also knew I had the work ethic and passion early on to make my website a success.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

It was on a school trip in Italy when I was 15 years old where I told myself that one day, I’d get paid to see the world. Less than 4 years later, I was sent to the Dominican Republic as a summer intern to assist a professional video team with a content shoot… and got paid to do it! Since then, I’ve held multiple positions at global organizations such as EF Education First and Save the Children; created and published a travel podcast and blog, scaling my website from 0 readers to over 13,000 unique monthly visitors, and have collaborated with countless brands, hotels, and tourism boards around the world. One of my most recent collaborations that I’m most proud of was with Celebrity Cruises and the Cruise Travel Outlet this past summer. In exchange for content and driving leads from my website, my sister and I were able to cruise the Mediterranean for 10 days – covering Iceland, Italy, Greece, Malta, and Spain.

I’ve now been to more than 40 countries and most of the states in the US, with the goal of visiting all 50 as soon as I can. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Fairfield University with a BA in Communication and International Studies in 2020, I pursued my MBA at the College of Charleston with a concentration in Marketing. I’m now working as the Content and Social Media Manager for EF Education First (Gap Year), and yes – I get paid to see the world.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I started my blog as a pure hobby during fall 2017 to inspire and educate my peers. I was motivated to create consistent content, but never imagined making a penny of income from my site. My first posts were truly horrible – picture a travel journal – published online for family members to read. My posts had no strategy behind them at all, my photos were blurry, and I really had no idea what I was doing. I just knew I liked doing it.

When I graduated college in 2020, I had about 50 posts on my site and about 50 more post ideas. I never had a shortage of content, I just needed to hone in on my skills to make my content better. During COVID, I had more time to focus on my blog. I signed myself up for courses, I networked with experts, I read blogs everyday – really focusing all my energy on revamping my website. I also rebranded, making my site more professional and readable.

I noticed an immediate increase in readers because of this effort which encouraged me to continue learning and growing. I hit the reader threshold to join my first ad network in 2021 and have been a proud member of SHEMedia ever sense – earning ad revenue on my site and opening the doors to more partnerships with brands and other creators.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of running my travel blog has definitely been to inspire others to see the world, especially younger people. I keep screenshots of inspiring comments, DMs, and texts that I’ve received on my phone that I always look back on to feel motivated. I’ve been told that my posts have helped people have their dream vacations, see somewhere they didn’t even know existed, or have pushed themselves in a way they never imagined possible. The fact that my little corner of the internet has reached enough people to really make a significant difference has been more rewarding than I ever thought imaginable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theabroadblog.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole.rosania/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolerosania/

Image Credits
Nicole Rosania, @Nicole.rosania