Interviewer: Most of us work throughout the year largely in order to fund a few precious days of holiday. But a privileged few are able to live on the road and make a living by writing about their experiences for their online followers. I’m referring of course to professional travel bloggers, and I have two of the most successful here with me in the studio today. Elsa, Rodney, welcome.
Elsa & Rodney: Thank you.
Interviewer: Elsa, how do other people generally regard travel blogging and travel bloggers like yourself?
Elsa: Well, you might think they’d all envy us – you know, what’s not to like about roaming round the world and making an excellent living from it? However, most of my followers are aware that it has taken a lot of dedication and sacrifice to get me here. I quit a really lucrative job to do this. I got rid of my apartment, and now, everything I own can be squeezed into a 75-litre rucksack. Now, I don’t know anyone who’d swap what they have for that! I’m often asked how I can possibly get by, but the truth is that if you haven’t used something you own in the last 24 hours, you don’t need it. People know I’m passionate about what I do and that I spend hours updating my blog, responding to comments ... And there’s a common belief that I’m an incredibly skilled negotiator because I can talk hotels into actually paying me to stay with them. But the simple truth is that usually, I approach them and they just say they’re up for it! Just like that! And there’s no sign that’s about to change, fingers crossed! My
services are still in demand.
Interviewer: Rodney, you’ve built up a huge following with your travel blog. What’s the secret to attracting such a wide readership?
Rodney: Well, content is king, as they say. Lots of bloggers make a point of uploading new content as often as they can, but for me, the focus has to be on quality over quantity. And even if you’ve managed to get lots of keywords into your articles, tagged them appropriately and so on so that search engines can find them, well, lots of other blogs have all that too, so what makes yours stand out? Maybe you’re a vegan, so you do the vegan travel blog. Or you’re travelling in a van. Or you do the vegan van travel blog – now you’re talking!
Interviewer: Elsa, your blog’s been established for seven years now. Do you ever look back at your very first blog posts?
Elsa: Occasionally, and it’s intriguing to see how my style has developed as a writer. At times I still have to spend hours getting an article just right – planning, drafting and redrafting and proofreading. But I have to say I’m not particularly proud of those first few posts. I can’t often see what their intent was. I mean, they weren’t poorly written, but nor were they really focused on giving the reader what they wanted. More like ‘This was my itinerary when I was in Mozambique’, rather than ‘Here are five gorgeous isolated beaches you can go to in Mozambique’ ... They still read well I guess, but so few people saw them that it’s not worth losing sleep over!
Interviewer: You’re both clearly very successful bloggers now, but would you say you’ve made mistakes?
Rodney: Oh inevitably, especially when I was starting out, just learning the ropes. But it was often quite a while before it dawned on me that I’d got something wrong, and so the followers I thought I might be able to reach ultimately never ended up following me.
Elsa: Yes, as with any web service, we need to get what is referred to in the business as authority, or the recognition that yours is a quality page which other people link to and so on. That doesn’t come overnight. The authority your site has now is a result of your content creation a year or two back. And you may not be aware that you screwed up when you created the content all that time ago.
Interviewer: Sure! Well, you must have had some absolutely amazing ...
Vocabulary
regard: (V) to think about someone or something in a particular way.
E.g.
regard somebody/something as something
Paul seemed to regard sex as sinful and immoral.
Edith was widely regarded as (=considered by many people to be) eccentric.
His work is highly regarded (=regarded as very good) by art experts.
a lucrative business/contract/market
Had the plan worked it would have proved highly lucrative.
talk somebody/yourself into/out of something: to persuade somebody/yourself to do/not to do something.
E.g.
I didn't want to move abroad but Bill talked me into it.
talk somebody/yourself into/out of doing something
She tried to talk him out of leaving.
approach: to speak to somebody about something, especially to ask them for something or to offer to do something.
E.g.
approach somebody
We have been approached by a number of companies that are interested in our product.
I'd like to ask his opinion but I find him difficult to approach (= not easy to talk to in a friendly way).
approach somebody for something
She was often approached for help and advice.
approach somebody about something
We have approached the company about the possibility of a merger.
approach somebody about doing something
Have you approached John about organizing a concert?
approach somebody to do something
She was approached to take part in the event.
be up for sth: to want to do something.
E.g. We're going clubbing tonight if you're up for it.
content is king: we have to aim at unique, high-quality, interesting and relevant content.
The term was first coined by Bill Gates.
“Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet, just as it was in broadcasting" A statement quoted by Bill Gates in his essay, Content is King
make a point of doing something: to do something deliberately, even when it involves making a special effort. Sp. poner empeño en.
E.g.
He made a point of spending Saturdays with his children.
I always make a point of being early.
Used to say that someone has said or suggested something that one thinks is good, worth doing, etc. Said when someone makes a suggestion or offer that is better than one that they have already made. That is what I wanted to hear; that's a good idea or a good plan, especially compared to previous suggestions.
E.g.
"You don't want hamburgers. Well, how about steak?" "Yeah, now you're talking."
‘Fancy an ice cream?’ ‘Now you’re talking.’
A: "We could just have some sandwiches for dinner." B: "Meh." A: "Or we could try that new Thai place." B: "Oh yeah, now you're talking!"
draft something to write the first rough version of something such as a letter, speech, book or law. Sp. hacer un borrador.
E.g.
I'll draft a letter for you.
redraft: (V) /ˌriːˈdrɑːft/ to write an article, a letter, etc. again in order to improve it or make changes. Sp. Reescribir, redactar de nuevo.
E.g.
The Department of Health may have to redraft the guidelines.
proofread: /ˈpruːfriːd/ proofread (something) to read and correct a piece of written or printed work.
E.g.
Has this document been proofread?
show somebody/know/learn the ropes
(informal) to show somebody/know/learn how a particular job should be done.
E.g.
I spent the first month just learning the ropes.
He works repairing streets, and knows the ropes when it comes to safety.
Miss McGinley will show you the ropes and answer any questions.
dawn on somebody if something dawns on you, you begin to realize it for the first time.
E.g.
It dawns on somebody that… Suddenly it dawned on me that they couldn't possibly have met before.
overnight:
1. during or for the night
E.g. We stayed overnight in London after the theatre.
2. suddenly or quickly
E.g. Don't expect it to improve overnight. She became famous overnight.
screw up to deal with a situation very badly.
Synonym mess up
E.g.
You really screwed up there!
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