Top Creators: Guest Interview with Emily, the Translator Turned Travel Blogger

Meet Emily from Perth in Western Australia — a professional translator, travel blogger and creator who has visited six continents and is on a mission to showcase cities, luxury hotels, art and culture through the written word, photography and videography.

We caught up with Emily, who recently joined our list of Top Travel Massive Creators, to talk about how she got started, her creative process, working with brands, and what’s next.

How did a translator become a travel blogger?

After a 20-year career in translation, I was keen to branch out and channel my love of travel and writing into my own travel blog. It seemed like a natural fit for me, as it enabled me to share my travel experiences, advice and photos with others, while also being creative.

Emily at Nizwa Fort, Oman.

As someone who grew up in a travel-industry family, I was fortunate to have been able to travel extensively from a very young age; it has truly been an integral part of my life since I was about one year old. I had all these trip memories and photos, so I thought – why not start a travel blog (and associated social-media accounts) to help and inspire others!

What is your style of travel content and audience?

My content is primarily aimed at semi-discerning travellers like myself, who prefer to stay at upscale hotels and explore destinations at a leisurely pace. I mostly post about city travel (things to see in a place, practical tips, underrated neighbourhoods), art and culture (street art, and small galleries and museums), literary tourism and luxury hotel reviews. Occasionally, I also post about travelling for sport, as I have travelled internationally to watch F1 in recent times.

Outside the Ferrari garage in the pitlane at the Qatar F1 Grand Prix.

My audience tends to be roughly late 20s to late 40s in age, with roughly 60% being women and 40% men. I strongly believe in authenticity, so I post what I am genuinely interested in and have experienced myself, rather than simply jumping on trends or trying to please an algorithm.

What platforms do you create content on?

My two main platforms are my blog, homeintheworld.net and Instagram account. I also cross-post videos onto TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

Instagram is my most used social-media platform, and I post there at least once or twice a week. It can be good for connecting with people and getting inspiration, but sometimes it’s hard to navigate the algorithm. I try to dedicate just as much of my creative energy to my blog and email list, without getting too hung up on social media.

One of the biggest challenges as a smaller creator is trying to grow and get reach on social media. If you don’t enjoy creating the type of content that the algorithm likes to push, it has become quite difficult to be seen and get your content shared to a broader audience.

How do you turn a trip into content for your audience?

Before travelling, I spend time on social media and travel blogs getting ideas on things to see and do in my destination, particularly lesser-known galleries and museums, street art, bookshops and alternative neighbourhoods. I bookmark them and formulate some potential blog-post topics based on my list.

I make a point of visiting my bookmarked spots during my trip, while also allowing my trip to flow organically. I try to film and shoot a good mix of content (hotel, street scenes, food, specific attractions, architecture), always bearing in mind how I can eventually use it on my blog and social channels.

Exploring Singapore.

When I return home, I unpack it all into multiple blog posts, which involves follow-up research, photo editing and writing everything from a personal perspective (without AI). These blog posts are then broken down into individual social-media posts (carousels, Reels, TikToks and Shorts), which are drip-fed on my channels over the subsequent months.

How do you create successful partnerships with travel brands?

I’ve run my own translation business for more than 20 years, dealing with international clients around the world in four languages, so I understand the importance of good communication and efficiency.

Successful partnerships are based on integrity, professionalism and respect. Both sides should communicate in a clear, friendly manner and negotiate rates that respect the creator’s time and the work involved. Both the brand and the creator should be proud to put the finished product into the world.

I place great emphasis on responding to emails in a timely manner, having all details fully clarified from the outset, and ensuring all deliverables are sent punctually and to a high quality standard. Not once in my 20-year career have I ever submitted a translation late!

What tips do you have to be successful at affiliate marketing?

In keeping with my approach to travel blogging and content creation in general, authenticity is key.

I have had the most affiliate-marketing success by keeping things natural, using links and widgets in appropriate places (not overdoing it) and essentially inserting them where readers see them as organic. When audiences consider something to be organic and natural, rather than feeling like they’re just being sold to all the time for the sake of monetisation, they are more likely to click through and book.

In cases where the product or service is not something I have used personally, I always do a thorough check to make sure it aligns with my content and has had good customer reviews overall.

What advice would you give new travel creators?

I am still a relatively early-stage travel creator and learning and evolving as I go. At the start, I was not focused enough on writing what audiences wanted; I treated my travel blog as somewhere I essentially described my travel memories – and wasn’t even using good SEO practices!

Since starting out, I have learned to provide content in a format that inspires readers to take action, while ensuring it is easily digestible. I also ensure my content is always clearly based on my own personal experiences to help set it apart from generic AI content – whether it be on my blog or in my social-media captions.

I draw inspiration from people who are good storytellers – whether in the written word or visually – and who are authentic. I really respect creators who are able to weave their own narratives through strong writing (whether as a blog, social-media captions or editorial articles) and/or thoughtful, well-composed photography and videography.

Being part of the Travel Massive community has been a fantastic way to network with other industry professionals and keep abreast of what’s happening in the travel space. I love the little innovations that have been made to the site, such as the travel map and the company directory. It’s a great way to give small-scale operators like me a bit more visibility.

Where are you off to next?

As I write this, I have just returned from Türkiye and Italy, so I am now in the lengthy process of going through all my content from that trip.

At the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul.

I am also working on developing some physical and digital products to sell through my blog. At the same time, I am starting up another service focused more on editorial travel photography.

My long-term goals for all my travel businesses are to keep building my audience, honing my skills and expanding my network of travel contacts… and see where it leads!

— Thanks for the interview, Emily!