Saying Goodbye to This, My Journey Weblog

I revealed
my first put up on this weblog on January 29, 2010, eight months after we began
full-time RVing. Nearly fifteen years later, I’m posting this 590

^th
put up. 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:

1. Debating the Professionals and Cons of the RV Cruising
   Life-style
2. Operationalizing Section 2 of RVing in North Carolina
3. Discovering Christmas on Florida’s Treasure Island
4. Going Up the East Coast
5. Turning Wounds into Knowledge: Georgia
6. Discovering Extra in New Mexico
7. Reliving WWII within the Philippines
8. On the lookout for a Base in Arizona
9. Touring Gentle in an RV?
10. We RVed Fulltime for 8 Years. Listed below are the ten Issues
    We Realized
11. Leaving No Stone Unturned within the Canadian Rockies
12. 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 Inside Ones.

My husband and I returned from our final journey collectively
in Might. He didn’t be 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’ll
not be the wanderers we as soon as had been.

The Starting of the Finish

In mid-2021, through the peak 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):

1. 6 Quaint Small Cities to Go to North of Anchorage,
   Alaska
2. 6 Charming Small Cities to Go to in Southern Alaska
3. 5 Issues My Husband and I Apply in Retirement to
   Hold Us Younger

Beneath the journal’s management, my writing improved. Nonetheless, I found that having
non-original content material negatively impacted my weblog. From 4,000 views per put up, 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 had 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 put up. I’m not true to my area of interest. My writing wants a brand new residence.

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 most well-liked blogs. It wasn’t simply that I wanted authentic content material
(though I’m positive 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 answerable for
selling their writing and signing up subscribers.

Gemini, Google’s AI, helped me slender my alternative to 1 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 wish to work on my two new ebook initiatives.

It’s time to deactivate this weblog, even when I’ve but to resolve. Goodbye, Blogspot, Google’s running a blog platform. Thanks for being a great residence for my journey writing.

Thanks
all for sticking with me by the years. I hope to see you once more on my new
platform or when considered one of my books is revealed. I want you all a Merry Christmas and a
Joyful New Yr!