HoneyTrek: A case study in making a full-time living as travel influencers and content creators

“When we got into this, we didn’t know how to make videos. That’s a skill we’ve had to learn, because the industry has changed so much, from photos to videos. We are still learning all the time.” —Ann Howard

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf, Mike, Ann and Kiki talk about they got started traveling as a couple, how they made it affordable, and how they made the transition into the world of content creation (2:15); how to navigate recording and sharing travel experiences that go wrong, including relationship dynamics (9:30); how to make travel “sustainable” in the personal and creative sense of the word (17:00); the advantages of having a “niche” as an influencer, and how sponsored travel works (24:30); and what makes travel influencers stand out from others, and the importance of learning new skills (34:00).

Mike & Anne Howard are on The World’s Longest Honeymoon, traveling for the last 13 years through 80 countries across all 7 continents. They have written and photographed a National Geographic book on couples adventure travel, Ultimate Journeys for Two, as well as the glamping guidebook, Comfortably Wild.

Notable Links:

• The 10-Year Honeymoon (video)
• Glamping (upscale camping style)
• DMO (destination marketing organization)
• Brunei (country in SE Asia)
• Timor-Leste (country in SE Asia)
• How to Get Started Housesitting (article)
• Co-living (residential community living model)
• Michelin star (restaurant rating system)
• Favelas (impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil)
• World’s Most Romantic & Sustainable Destinations (article)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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