I revealed
my first publish on this weblog on January 29, 2010, eight months after we began
full-time RVing. Virtually fifteen years later, I’m posting this 590
th
publish. It is usually my final.
The
Finish of Our Travels
2018, we bought
our RV and settled at Viewpoint in Phoenix, Arizona. We continued touring by way of different modes, so I modified the weblog title however retained the area
rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspost.com.
These weblog
posts went viral (up to35,000 views) on this weblog:
- Debating the Professionals and Cons of the RV Cruising
Way of life - Operationalizing Part 2 of RVing in North Carolina
- Discovering Christmas on Florida’s Treasure Island
- Going Up the East Coast
- Turning Wounds into Knowledge: Georgia
- Discovering Extra in New Mexico
- Reliving WWII within the Philippines
- In search of a Base in Arizona
- Touring Gentle in an RV?
- We RVed Fulltime for 8 Years. Listed here are the ten Issues
We Realized - Leaving No Stone Unturned within the Canadian Rockies
- 10 New Landmarks in Charming Mazatlan
The weblog turned a wealthy supply of fabric for my two
journey books: Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream and Cruising
Previous 70: It is Not Solely About Outer Journeys. It is Additionally About Internal Ones.
My husband and I returned from our final journey collectively
in Might. He didn’t be a part of me on a brief solo journey to the Philippines in August.
We additionally canceled our Sixteenth-anniversary journey to Leavenworth, Washington. Sure, we are going to
not be the wanderers we as soon as have been.
The Starting of the Finish
In mid-2021, throughout the top of the COVID-19 pandemic, I used to be invited to put in writing as an knowledgeable contributor for Journey Awaits, a journey journal for the 50+ by the 50+. The journal was experiencing a development spurt at a
time when nobody may journey, however retirement desires soared.
I wanted extra time to put in writing for 2 publications, however I didn’t have the guts to deactivate my weblog. As an alternative, I wrote articles for the journal and republished them on my weblog.
Of the 60+ articles I wrote, the next went viral (150,000+ clicks):
- 6 Quaint Small Cities to Go to North of Anchorage,
Alaska - 6 Charming Small Cities to Go to in Southern Alaska
- 5 Issues My Husband and I Follow in Retirement to
Hold Us Younger
Underneath the journal’s management, my writing improved. Nevertheless, I found that having
non-original content material negatively impacted my weblog. From 4,000 views per publish, it
dwindled to 1,000.
When journey returned,
the journal’s readership fell. It was purchased by new house owners, who redefined the
content material with their writers. I’m nonetheless on the roster however not actively
contribute. They republished a few of my articles, however all writers’ retirement
items have been eliminated.
As journeys turned much less frequent, I started writing on my weblog about different subjects (retirement and renewal, well being and longevity). After my management award, I additionally wrote about management and administration. My views dropped to lower than 300 per publish. I’m not true to my area of interest. My writing wants a brand new dwelling.
A New
Platform
Whereas
writing for Journey Awaits, I used to be unaware that the running a blog world had additionally modified.
The plummeting views have been traced to frequent Google algorithm adjustments, even
for the preferred blogs. It wasn’t simply that I wanted unique content material
(though I’m certain that contributed). Bloggers turned to newer enterprise
platforms.
Two of the
hottest ones are Medium and Substack.
Medium is a single membership mannequin with
over a million paid subscriptions. Editors advocate articles to their huge reader
base. The onus is to put in writing high quality articles about in-demand subjects.
On the opposite
hand, Substack has 4 million paid subscribers distributed amongst its 20,000
or so writers, a median of 200 per author. Writers are liable for
selling their writing and signing up subscribers.
Gemini, Google’s AI, helped me slim my selection to at least one query: Ought to I spend my time writing high quality articles or selling my writing to subscribers? I haven’t got the time to do each, as I need to work on my two new e book initiatives.
It’s time to deactivate this weblog, even when I’ve but to determine. Goodbye, Blogspot, Google’s running a blog platform. Thanks for being dwelling for my journey writing.
Thanks
all for sticking with me by way of the years. I hope to see you once more on my new
platform or when one among my books is revealed. I want you all a Merry Christmas and a
Completely happy New 12 months!