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The truth about travel blogging

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Slightly different post than usual, but today I would like to talk about something that was bothering me a lot recently and decided to share these thoughts with you. If you’re planning to become a travel-blogger this post will definitely help you to understand how it all works and make you more aware about how it all looks like and what to expect. As you already know, I have quitted my full-time Social Media career last year in June. It’s been almost a year of working as a full-time blogger and decided to share my thoughts and feelings.

Where to I start? Well, first of all I would like to say how extremely difficult this whole year was. It was very exciting and beautiful too, but apart from all these incredible travels, trips, all the wonderful people I’ve met and things I’ve experienced ( I am forever grateful for all the opportunities and will never ever take it for granted!) I’ve also experienced many unpleasant situations and this is the topic I’d like to touch today.


First of all- jealousy. Since I’ve left my full-time job I have experienced a lot of that. I had people questioning me and my earnings wherever I said what my job was. Even people I used to really like in the past, were talking behind my back and were trying to find out how much money I make, how can I afford living in London from “just a blog”, how can I travel so much if I “don’t work”. There were comments back home that I must be a prostitute in London, because “how can she afford places like Dubai, Seychelles and Maldives”. Then my favourite- “she must have a rich boyfriend”. Well, here I would like to add- my goal was never to find a rich boyfriend to rely on. I am probably one of the most independent girl on Earth and it would never cross my mind, no matter how hard the life is, if you need to build everything on your own from the scratch. I’ve always wanted a man who would love me, respect me and support me. A man who would be right next to me and help me fight for my dreams and be ready to work hard to build the empire together. And here we are- myself and Salvatore, fighting for our dreams, working on our careers and building this dream life since we’ve met in our early twenties and both came to London with nothing but a dream. So just to make it clear -he is not my sugar daddy ( I wish, HAHA,ok I am kidding!)

I am also not a rich kid, who was given everything from the parents. As I have already mentioned in the past, I came to London 6 years ago with £600 in my pocket, that I have saved while working all summer as an animator in Kos Island, Greece. So nope, nothing came easy and nothing was given to me- it was all determination, patience and hard work. If you’re planning to be a full-time Influencer/ blogger you need to be prepared for this sort of comments and I want you to be aware of that. To people who don’t understand this industry, it will look like we don’t actually have a job and we’re always on holidays. With the time you’ll learn to ignore these inappropriate comments and continue doing your thing anyway.

Second thing I would like to talk about are press trips as I get a lot of questions about them too. It’s truth, that we do get a lot of opportunities. We get paid to travel, create content (photography + blog advertising). Especially when you build the relationships with PR’s and travel agencies, you’re more likely to get more opportunities – if they were happy with all the deliveries before of course! However, do I only go on press trips and accept every single proposition? Of course not! I wish I could tell you how many I decline every month!

The truth is, running a travel blog full time is a constant and never-ending investment, no matter how “big” you are on Social Media. No matter how many invites come though my email, I only accept projects, destinations and hotels, that both – myself and my audience will benefit from. Also I always have my own bucket list of places I’d like to visit and blog about anyway, so I will always invest my own money in plane tickets, hotels and restaurants – NO, THEY ARE NOT ALL SPONSORED. Sometimes I even prefer to pay for a hotel, to have more time shooting content outdoors, exploring the place, rather than being kind of “stuck” shooting the hotel. I love beautiful hotels stays- don’t get me wrong, but I always try to find time for exploring the places to be able to really write about them. Not everything I do is “for the gram”. I am always trying to travel the way that I’m able to really recommend stays ( luxury and affordable luxury) places to drink, eat and things to do- and yes I do pay for all that to be able to really call myself a “blogger”and have something to say about the place rather than just write a hotel review and come back home. I don’t go to places just because the trip is sponsored. I am trying to always fit the destination into my brand and I analyse if it will be worth it for days before I say “Yes”. As you have also probably noticed, I often ask you, where’d you like me to travel next and I always keep your answers in mind, while planning my trips, to make sure I deliver to both- my audience and my clients.

So if you’re planning to become a travel blogger as you think that this way you can travel for free, as everything is sponsored – you’re wrong and this is not what you should think of when planning to turn your blog into a full-time business and a long-term career. You need to be prepared, it will always be an investment- no matter how many followers you have and how long you’ve been doing it for. Personally I’m investing almost all the money I make into next destinations and content to make sure my business keep rolling.

Next thing which is super hard in this industry- a lot of brands will ask you to work for free. I find it upsetting sometimes, as being a blogger really means being a photographer, graphic designer, Social Media and Marketing expert, video editor, a model, a creative director- all I one person. I don’t think it’s fair to be asked to work for free. It’s a job like any other. Creating content end editing takes me days and building this blog and other Social Media channels took me years. Also it was (and still is!) a huge time and money investment, so I now simply refuse working for free. However, if you’re only starting to build it, you need to be prepared, that you may be asked to work for free or in exchange for a product and I think it’s ok at the beginning as you’re starting to build relationships with brands and PR’s, but you need to learn and understand your value so you’ll know when to start charging for your work and services offered. After all, it’s hard to pay the rent with free make up and clothes 🙂

I hope this article helped you to understand how the “behind the scenes” looks like and what you need to be aware of when thinking to go blogging full-time.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Travel in TheBlondeFlamingo style


Thank you, 2018- The Blonde Flamingo

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Can’t believe this year is coming to an end. It has literally flown! I thought it would be a great to sum it up a little. It’s been a HUGE and very challenging year for me and it’s hard not to get emotional.

I honestly don’t know where to start and how to describe this year. But surely 2018 was a year of huge growth- and no, I am not talking about the growth of my blog or Instagram followers here but growing as a person. It was a year of very difficult decisions and hard choices, year of probably the biggest amount of stress but also the year of a huge progress, big changes (that I would have never ever predicted) and big dreams coming true.

As you probably remember 2018 started in the most blissful way for me- I have celebrated NYE and spent the first week of a January 2018 in so far- my favourite place on Earth ( next to the Seychelles!) – The Maldives. Stay there truly helped me to recharge the batteries and inspired me so much. I started the year with a new super positive energy that definitely helped me to push forward. 

Together with Siobhan from They.Wanderlust

February has been a very busy month for me as it’s a Fashion Week month. I have been working a lot, attending shows, events and working on various campaigns and creating lots of content. I have spent the entire month working in London.

March was also a crazy month and my last one working full-time 9-5 as a Social Media and Marketing Coordinator ( but in March obviously I had no idea what was going to happen after!) This month I also met someone I have been following since I was a teenager- Eliza from Fashionelka.pl and she was so kind and so inspiring. It was so funny but after we’ve met I had a feeling like I always knew her. Eliza really gave me a kick that was needed! We’ve stayed friends and kept seeing each other during the year. It was really one of the highlights of 2018 for me. It’s a miracle to be surrounded and supported by a person like Eliza and I am forever grateful that we connected.

In April, together with a first bloom of flowers I felt like my business started to bloom too. This is when all the invites for my first press trips started to go through my emails and I was feeling very overwhelmed as I still had a full-time job. It started to get harder and harder to do both- work full-time and run my business. Also this month I had a phone call that nobody ever wishes to receive- my dear Grandma was dying. It was heartbreaking. Few hours after I was already sitting on the plane back to Poland to see her. I made it on time to say bye to my beloved Grandma who showed me the world and gave me so much love and care. I couldn’t put myself together after she passed away. She died in the most horrible way and it was all happening on my eyes and I just can’t get it off my head (even now). But I had to let go…

I came back home to London feeling so bad. Stressed, scared, exhausted. I’ve felt like I couldn’t push forward after loosing her. I started to think to cancel all the upcoming press trips but my mum said grandma would be so sad if I would do that and encouraged me to continue doing what I love so she could see that. I was still a bit off at work but thankfully the director of the company I worked for for was very helpful and he allowed me to do my job remotely after I explained what happened and what business I am running on the side ( I was so afraid to tell him!). I will never forget his words „ You go go go go! You need to take every opportunity now”. That opened many doors for me as I was finally able to accept the invitations, travel the world and build my Social Media presence. and by travel I mean TRAVEL A LOT, TRAVEL ALL THE TIME! I have started with a first Press Trip to Mykonos with Rocabella Hotel- one of my favourite places in Europe. Mykonos always gives me energy and inspiration. I hope I will have a chance to visit in 2019 too.

May is always my happiest month as it’s my birthday month! It started with another incredible press trip to Turkey with Hillside Beach Club where I got to meet many inspiring Influencers from all over the world and celebrate my birthday!

This trip was followed by another insane Press Trip to Mykonos ( how lucky to be there twice this year!) with my favourite Polish Brand Renee Girls ( this year we’ve also celebrated a year of working together!) and this trip was a very special one as I got to be a part of their summer campaign( my first ever Magazine Shoot and Filming! It was so scary but so incredible! I had to get out my comfort zone and break many barriers but I ended up feeling more confident, more comfortable in front of the camera and I was feeling proud of myself! I also loved the results of our work. You can see it here.

June was the most extreme month for me. This month I travelled non- stop. From a trip with my best friends to Marrakesh, through the Italian Road trip with Hertz Europe ending up in the place I have been dreaming to visit forever- Kenya – one of the most incredible experiences in 2018 – Luxury Safari with Fairmont Hotels – still can’t believe I have been there! Here I also met someone that I truly admire and I am so grateful this trip brought us together. Meeting Bonnie from TheStyleTraveller.com was one of the highlights of this year too. After these trips the amount of work was simply insane and I was super busy, jet-lagged and always stressed ( I was still working as Social Media Coordinator at Soho House while travelling to all these places!) Kenya opened my eyes and helped me to realise what really makes me happy. With that saying, after Kenya I have decided to GO for it, to live my dream full-time and I handed my notice in. I have finished working for Soho House on the 30.06.2018. That was a HUGE change in my life. Today I know it was a right decision.

July started with a well-deserved holiday. I have headed to Fuerteventura to visit my childhood bestie Marta from Martabrezo.com and we’ve spent the most wonderful 2 weeks chilling, exploring the island, dancing, singing, surfing ( well she was, haha!) It was truly one of the most favourite times of this year for me. I slowed down, recharged and got myself ready for running my business full-time. I came back new-born that really helped our relationship with Salvo- because of all the stress I was facing it was extremely hard 6 months for our relationship. I struggled to find the balance, I became a real workaholic- not a loving and supportive girlfriend I used to be. Trip with Marta helped me to relax a bit, forget about the most difficult months and start off fresh.

I got back to London in the Mid July and yet, my bofriend made my biggest dream come true- we’ve booked a trip to Aruba to see flamingos ( crying writing this as it was honestly my biggest dream!) 4 days later we were on the plane, holding hands and we felt closer than ever before. It was honestly such a wonderful trip. I started to learn the balance – I was still working and creating content for you but at the same time I gave myself time to tan, relax and enjoy time as a NORMAL couple on holidays without recording every single thing. We promised each other to take more trips like that! Travelling only for work is not always easy!

In August I have decided to spent time with my family, as through the year I really struggled to find the time to go home. I also felt like my mum needs me after grandma passed away. I spent almost 3 weeks of August with my mum and brother- firstly in Poland and then in Crete, Greece. It became a little tradition to explore a new place every year with my mum ( last year we celebrated her birthday in Mallorca). We truly loved our little trip together. It was actually the gift from my mum for my 25th birthday so it was very special. I hope we will travel together again in 2019!

September started with a big BOOM. Again a Fashion Week month! This time I haven’t only attended London Fashion Week but I was also invited to attend a couple of shows in Paris! It was honestly incredible. I have seen so many beautiful shows, attended many fabulous events, connected with lots of inspiring boss babes I have been always following on Instagram but never met in real life so it was so nice to finally meet and enjoy this busy time together!

What a dream, Paris Fashion Week, wow wow wow! I was really blessed to head there with my friends – Klaudia and Aleksander who took the most magical photos for us! If you ever need photographer you should definitely hire Alex! He does the magic!

This month I have also flew to Ibiza for a big press trip with Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza to celebrate the opening of Hard Rock Hotel in London in spring 2019. Really looking forward to it! It was such a fun trip full of parties, beach clubs, incredible dining and night out experiences. I have stayed at places I could never wish for! It was INSANE!

20.09.2018 was also a big day for us as we have moved to the new beautiful apartment in London (after MONTHS of constant search for THAT dream place). It was a huge success and happiness for me and Salvo. We’re slowly working on it but we’re already grateful and happy for a bigger homie! I finally have my dream The Blonde Flamingo office, yay! What a big dream coming true for me! Finally have my little space to create for you.

October started with an insane invitation to Grenada from Grenada Tourism Board- goals! I was crying from happiness! I couldn’t be more excited to explore another incredible Caribbean island and let’s be honest- escape the horrible London’s weather, haha! This trip gave me so much energy, we had a great Influencer team on Board – Taylor, Scott and Dave– we honestly had so much fun together! I hope we will travel together again in 2019!

November brought 2 fantastic Press trips that I am forever grateful for! I have headed with Pink Lady Apples to Avignon and also to the House of Laurent Perrier with Laurent Perrier ( I couldn’t believe my eyes when these invites came through my email) I had the best time learning about these incredible brands while being surrounded by the most talented and inspiring UK Influencers ( It was my fourth press trip with Bonnie, how lucky we were to travel together so much this year? I couldn’t be happier)

December was another busy month. I have created lots of Christmas content in London, I have travelled to beautiful Zakopane, Poland with Klaudia that brought many childhood memories. It was so magical to experience snow and the mountains after so many years! I have finished off the month with a amazing Press trip to Trentino – I have been snowboarding after 6 years break. It was a little bit challenging but oh wow, how beautiful! I really, really missed it and I want to do more snowboarding this winter for sure.


From Trentino I got on the plane to Naples, Italy where I’ve spent Christmas with my boyfriend’s family. It was so lovely. My family back home in Poland is quite small so it was so nice to experience the big Italian Christmas ( still thinking of all the food haha!) I was surrounded by so much love I can’t put in words. I am actually sad now to be back in London. I wish we could have stayed longer! Also the weather was so beautiful! ( how lucky they are for a 18 degrees and sun in December!?) We’ve spent the time relaxing, eating ( all the seafood OMG), I have also brought one of my favourite things we do in Poland and I was teaching Salvo’s cousins how to make gingerbread cookies! They had so much fun, my heart was melting! We’ve also had strolls and breakfasts by the beach, we even found time to visit my favourite beach club. Ahhh, such a wonderful time!

These two gave me so much love this Christmas!

As you can see this year was huge for me. I had to break it down by months and it actually helped me to really see the growth and the progress. It was one of the busiest, most stressful year of my life but after visiting all these incredible destinations, meeting so many inspiring people, growing my company, learning and experiencing so many incredible things I think all the stress and hard work was worth it and I feel ready to push even more in 2019. Thank you so much for all the support you gave me this year. All this would never ever happen without YOU. Thank you so much for being here! Promise more content, more travels and more inspirations in 2019.

Don’t ever be afraid to chase your dreams! They are waiting for you.

Here’s your favourite TOP 9 posts from my Instagram in 2018! Over half milion likes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am now getting ready for chasing more dreams and more flamingos in 2019!

 

Love you all,

Dominika, The Blonde Flamingo

Personal thoughts and Instagram tips

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Slightly different posts than usual but here’s few thoughts about Instagram from a perspective of  now, a full-time blogger.

  1. Life is not always as colourful and amazing like on Instagram photos.  Waking up in the morning and first thing that you do is Instagram scrolling?  Some people would look at it as inspiration for next holidays, lovely way to wake up looking at all magical hotels, fashionable outfits, flower baths, perfectly set up breakfasts. The others seeing these things over and over again every morning before going to the office find it depressing. As it’s extremely hard not to crave the same life, I mean who wouldn’t like to ‘wake up like this”? We’re the people responsible for educating our audiences- what y0u see here is our job. Of course we love what we do, we get invited to the most incredible places and it all may seem so perfect. However let’s keep in mind- this is the job like any other. We get paid to create and inspire. Brands expect that through our content the sales will increase. That’s why what you sometimes see may seem “too much” or “non-realistic” but we need to make sure it catches the eye and “sells” really.  Our job is to make sure it will inspire, it will make people dream about going to this particular cafe, hotel or a destination. But it’s important to understand that our life is not always as glamorous as what you see on our feeds. We’re also humans cleaning the house, shopping groceries and having ups and downs. So don’t compare yourself thinking “they have perfect life” and your one’s crap. Believe me or not but there’s people in the industry who’ve got no money in their bank account, they are literally homeless but playing the perfect feed game while staying in free hotels, eating in free cafes and wearing clothes they were gifted – all in exchange for Instagram photo. You should be aware of that before starting all the negative thinking about your own life. Don’t feel bad about going to work, having your career, making a living and going on holidays from time to time. As this is real. That’s a real life and you should be grateful for it everyday.
  2. It’s not all about numbers. I see a lot of new bloggers who just started and they are already stressing about numbers, likes, algorithm doing all they can to kind of “speed it up”. What I would suggest is to find you niche, style and focus on the content and message more than just desperately looking for likes and follows, playing follow for follow game, buying followers and doing million shoutouts a day. Firstly you need to organically find people who would simply enjoy watching and reading what you do. Nobody said it’ll be easy, but I can promise it’s so worth it. Numbers will come after time and you’ll feel more proud knowing that what you created is real, the followers are real people who actually love what you do and love you and support you through the whole journey.
  3. Be yourself.  Be true to who you are. Don’t lie to your audience and don’t be afraid of your weaknesses- they are real people following you so they will understand and feel your ups and downs as they are facing the same battles. Open up with them and support one another. My audience helped me so much through this journey and I know I would have given up long time ago if I didn’t speak loudly about the struggles and didn’t get the support. Remember – they are real people. Let them share this journey with you and see your growth. Let your photos define you, your personality and your style. Take your audience to your dream places. Let them live this dream with you.
  4. Be proud of what you create. Sometimes we let likes decide if the content we created was good or not- I get that a lot too and slowly learning to accept that likes are nothing I can control, they come and go, each post is different. But as long as I put the same amount of time and effort, and my heart into it – that should make me proud no matter how it performed as I created it with love and passion.
  5. Get inspired but don’t copy. Remember “one thing about following people and copying what they do, you will always be one step behind”. So don’t. Find your own style and work on it. After some time you will laugh at it (omg I do all the time!) but this is when you see your progress. Put the real you out there and let the world the world love you and accept you as you are. It will make the whole journey easier than constantly chasing and pretending someone you’re not.
  6. Take a break sometimes. They all say- engage, engage, engage. It’s true- by liking and commenting others posts you will more likely get some extra attention on yours. However imagine we all would spent everyday and all the time liking and commenting others posts. We would probably forget that we actually have lives! So do it, but know the limit. By spending too much time online you’re having less time for your family, friends and real life experiences. So do it all but don’t get crazy . I like taking a morning/ afternoon or even the entire day completely off to recharge my batteries, look for inspiration outdoors, meet people rather than chat to them online all the time and give my eyes a well-needed break. Your Instagram won’t die if you do so!