I published
my first post on this blog on January 29, 2010, eight months after we started
full-time RVing. Almost fifteen years later, I am posting this 590
th
post. It is also my last.
The
End of Our Travels
2018, we sold
our RV and settled at Viewpoint in Phoenix, Arizona. We continued traveling via other modes, so I changed the blog title but retained the domain
rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspost.com.
These blog
posts went viral (up to35,000 views) on this blog:
- Debating the Pros and Cons of the RV Cruising
Lifestyle - Operationalizing Phase 2 of RVing in North Carolina
- Finding Christmas on Florida’s Treasure Island
- Going Up the East Coast
- Turning Wounds into Wisdom: Georgia
- Discovering More in New Mexico
- Reliving WWII in the Philippines
- Looking for a Base in Arizona
- Traveling Light in an RV?
- We RVed Fulltime for 8 Years. Here are the 10 Things
We Learned - Leaving No Stone Unturned in the Canadian Rockies
- 10 New Landmarks in Charming Mazatlan
The blog became a rich source of material for my two
travel books: Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream and Cruising
Past 70: It’s Not Only About Outer Journeys. It’s Also About Inner Ones.
My husband and I returned from our last trip together
in May. He did not join me on a short solo trip to the Philippines in August.
We also canceled our 16th-anniversary trip to Leavenworth, Washington. Yes, we will
no longer be the wanderers we once were.
The Beginning of the End
In mid-2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was invited to write as an expert contributor for Travel Awaits, a travel magazine for the 50+ by the 50+. The magazine was experiencing a growth spurt at a
time when no one could travel, but retirement dreams soared.
I needed more time to write for two publications, but I did not have the heart to deactivate my blog. Instead, I wrote articles for the magazine and republished them on my blog.
Of the 60+ articles I wrote, the following went viral (150,000+ clicks):
- 6 Quaint Small Towns to Visit North of Anchorage,
Alaska - 6 Charming Small Towns to Visit in Southern Alaska
- 5 Things My Husband and I Practice in Retirement to
Keep Us Young
Under the magazine’s leadership, my writing improved. However, I discovered that having
non-original content negatively impacted my blog. From 4,000 views per post, it
dwindled to 1,000.
When travel returned,
the magazine’s readership fell. It was bought by new owners, who redefined the
content with their writers. I am still on the roster but no longer actively
contribute. They republished some of my articles, but all writers’ retirement
pieces were removed.
As trips became less frequent, I began writing on my blog about other topics (retirement and renewal, health and longevity). After my leadership award, I also wrote about leadership and management. My views dropped to less than 300 per post. I am no longer true to my niche. My writing needs a new home.
A New
Platform
While
writing for Travel Awaits, I was unaware that the blogging world had also changed.
The plummeting views have been traced to frequent Google algorithm changes, even
for the most popular blogs. It wasn’t just that I needed original content
(although I am sure that contributed). Bloggers turned to newer business
platforms.
Two of the
most popular ones are Medium and Substack.
Medium is a single membership model with
over one million paid subscriptions. Editors recommend articles to their vast reader
base. The onus is to write quality articles about in-demand topics.
On the other
hand, Substack has four million paid subscribers distributed among its 20,000
or so writers, an average of 200 per writer. Writers are responsible for
promoting their writing and signing up subscribers.
Gemini, Google’s AI, helped me narrow my choice to one question: Should I spend my time writing quality articles or promoting my writing to subscribers? I don’t have the time to do both, as I want to work on my two new book projects.
It is time to deactivate this blog, even if I have yet to decide. Goodbye, Blogspot, Google’s blogging platform. Thank you for being a good home for my travel writing.
Thank you
all for sticking with me through the years. I hope to see you again on my new
platform or when one of my books is published. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year!