Ep. 10: How to do what you love, with Alyssa Ramos.
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Things not going as planned. That’s something we can all relate to…remember how excited we were for the new decade? 2020 has been a challenging year, and we’re barely 6 months in. Life throws curve balls, but if we can get to that ball and keep moving forward, we can learn about ourselves, tap into our true passions, and grow stronger. My guest today is a perfect example of this.
Today’s episode is about doing what you love.
A weekend trip to LA turned into a major move, and became the impetus for Alyssa Ramos to start blogging.
Alyssa’s my guest today, and I couldn’t be more excited. Alyssa Ramos is the Cuban American travel blogger behind My Life’s A Travel Movie. If she were here, I would’ve put out my best charcuterie plate, we would’ve had some wine, and had a ball. The audio would be a wreck and full of laughter, I’m sure of that. But instead, I interviewed Alyssa from 5000 miles away, at the tail end of lockdown in Barcelona. Talk about things not going as planned.
What started out as an episode that was selling a far-fetched dream, in true Alyssa Ramos fashion, become a show filled with actionable tips for content creators, whether writing a blog or creating content for a hotel you market or manage. Alyssa’s going to teach us all how to do more of what we love, and how to not let anything—not even a pandemic—stop us.
Alyssa Ramos dreamed of turning her life into a travel movie, she had no idea it would become a blockbuster. Despite a few missteps along the way, or perhaps because of them, Alyssa inspired a movement of solo female travelers.
Alyssa's honesty comes through in everything she does, including a course that bucks the influencer dream in favor of practicality: how to save money to travel the world.
She just launched her sustainable swimwear line and is writing a book about what she's learned while ticking 104 countries off her list. Her goal? Inspire others to live out their dreams, too.
Alyssa joined me to talk about how to do what you love—she’s turned her life into a travel movie after all—and achieved what many of us only dream of, traveling the world full time as a travel blogger.
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Hearing Alyssa’s story, and the exact steps and struggles it took to get where she is today, is a great reminder that we’re all on a journey. That first trip to Iceland, with the guys heckling Alyssa—that might’ve been a hard stop for other solo travelers. Instead, it fueled Alyssa’s fire. She’s been paving the way for other solo female travelers ever since.
When Alyssa talked about getting started by building your establishment—by networking, doing your research, positioning yourself properly, and getting published—I just, I thought this was great advice for influencers who want to make good on that title.
We also covered brand collaborations, and the struggles that both hotels and influencers face when it comes to finding and securing the right partnerships. I really liked the idea of starting small when you’re small—local brands partnering with micro-influencers for example, and the point that hotels should consider setting some money aside for influencer marketing (not just sourcing the influencers) in order to tie it to ROI.
Whether you’re listening as a travel blogger, a hotel marketer, or an influencer, I’d love to continue this conversation with you. Leave a comment below.
As always, keep sharing your stories!
Links mentioned in this episode:
My Life’s A Travel Movie Alyssa’s Travel Blog
@mylifesatravelmovie Alyssa’s Instagram Account
”My Life’s A Summer Movie” Sustainable Swimwear by Alyssa Ramos