Twin Perspectives

As motherhood looms, we catch up on Zoom to discuss the highs and lows of the third trimester. 

Hello, it's been a while! Nine months in fact since we last recorded a podcast at the end of 2019. And, wow, what a year 2020 has been. Aside from the obvious global pandemic that ground any of our travel plans to a halt this year, we also both became pregnant. Here's a quick podcast bonus episode on the bizarre year we've had so far and thoughts on our future as motherhood fast approaches.

In this final episode of the season, we take a look back at 2019 and discuss our highs, our lows and what we want to put right in 2020.

In this week's episode, we discuss our reasonings for wanting to travel less in 2020. From our thoughts on influencer marketing, to simply wanting to see the cat more, here's how we want TTT to evolve next year. 

In this week's episode, we discuss the tips we learned from a day of fascinating workshops with Pinterest UK, on how to use the platform for your blog or business in 2020. 

This week, Laura fills us in on her recent 10-day adventure to the Pacific Northwest coast of America. From Seattle to San Francisco, she reflects on her trip and what she loved and what she'd tweak if she were to do it again. Claire nods on occasion.

This (bonus) episode of the Twin Perspectives podcast series chats to Fi Grayson, owner of 'She can. She did,' to discuss the realities of running your own business and what failure has taught her. 'She can. She did,' shines a spotlight on young female entrepreneurs and business owners from around the UK.

In this week's episode, in honour of World Mental Health Day on the 10 October, we recap on our experiences with anxiety and discuss how our mental health has been over the last year. 

A rundown of our latest TTT Tour to Turkey, including our magical balloon ride in Cappadocia and our bubble-fest at a local Hammam.

Have you ever heard of the Baltic island of Rügen? Neither had we, until we visited it last week. With soft, white sands, Maldivian blue waters and one of the most beautiful national parks we've visited, we've been left wondering just why we hadn't heard of Rügen sooner.

This week, we try a new approach to our podcast by injecting a little structure. We also discuss a recent article on the rise of the 'Kid Influencer' and our thoughts on it. 

Welcome back to the Twin Perspectives podcast series! In our first episode of Season Three, we roundup the trips we've been on over the last three months, including what it's like to sleep in the same bed as Pamela Anderson (not at the same time). 

In the final episode of Season Two of the Twin Perspectives Podcast Series, we answer all of your random questions. From a debate on how many knickers you should pack for a holiday through to an intense discussion on whether we'd rather be a Smurf or a Moomin, Season Two ends of a high.

We've dedicated this week's podcast to those experiencing travel anxiety.  After five years of travelling regularly with anxiety, we like to think ourselves as something of experts in navigating the minefield (when anxious) of airports, public transport or new destinations far from home.  This podcast covers the tactics, which we've honed over the years, that can ease both the thoughts and physical symptoms associated with travel anxiety.

In this week's podcast, we reflect on our first TTT Tour to Morocco. A whirlwind five days exploring both Marrakech and the Agafay desert, our first TTT Tour with Intrepid Travel, exceeded all our expectations. From an organic cooking class in the Moroccan countryside to a sunset camel ride along the hills of the stone desert, we couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable first tour. What made it even better? The group of inspiring women we got to share it with. In the episode, aside from discussing the sights and sounds of Morocco, we also reflect on one of the most commonly asked questions when booking a group tour: "Is travelling in a group of strangers really for me?" As two introverts, we discuss how group travel has changed us for the better, providing us with some of the most rewarding friendships and travel experiences to date.

In this week's episode of the Twin Perspective podcast series, we leave the confines of our desk and head to the slightly intimidating offices of The Independent, to meet travel writer and presenter, Simon Calder. Having been fans of his work for as long as we can remember, meeting and interviewing Simon was a true highlight of our travel blogging 'career'. A former mathematician, Simon is a man with an uncanny ability to reduce the subject and trends of travel into digestible bite-size facts. For example, did you know that it'll now take someone earning the national minimum wage just a morning's work to buy a cheap flight to Europe? Or that in its heyday, printed travel content would equate to four telephone directories worth of paper from just the weekend supplements? No, neither did we. A man of almost limitless travel knowledge, our hour with Simon was a fascinating one.

In this week's podcast, we review our January adventures. From experiencing our first ever cruise around the Caribbean with P&O, to a luxury ski trip to Tignes, we discuss the highs and lows of our latest adventures. 

In this week's episode we talk about whether it's still possible to become a successful travel blogger in 2019. Answering the questions posed to us over on our Instagram account, we reflect on what it takes to launch a popular blog/social media account in an already oversaturated online world. Over the hour long episode, we cover the following questions: How do you get started as a travel blogger? How much do you have to travel in order to be a successful travel blogger? How do I produce content in between my trips if I can only afford a few a year? Any tips in affording trips when you have bigger expenses? Were you ever scared when you started blogging about what your real life friends would think? How do you find your tribe online? How do you balance being authentic but creating content that works on Instagram? If you were offered a free trip would you take it? Or will you only take it if you receive payment? How do you grow your Instagram following and keep it from going stagnant/dropping? What are the most effective methods in getting more traffic to your blog and monetising it? How can a travel blogger combine a love for travel with a care for the environment? How do you know what to charge for your work? Any tips for negotiation or asking for a fee? What do you wish you knew before you started blogging and what would you do differently now? How do you get paid to travel? Is there still space for new travel bloggers when there are already so many established bloggers out there? Our final musings? It is more than possible to build a successful travel blog or social media account in 2019 but it requires a personalised approach. With millions of blogs or Instagram accounts offering pretty pictures or "top tips" on visiting Barcelona, it's showing your personality and vulnerability that will essentially help you find your tribe.

In this episode, we attempt to round-up the last four months of travel. From LA to the German Christmas markets, we reflect on what was a rather crazy blur of travel in the final quarter of 2018. Aside from selecting a few tales from each trip, we also discuss the reality or "behind the scenes" of what was happening to us more personally in terms of mental health during this time.  Recorded on NYE 2018, we also discuss our plans for 2019 and how giving something of value in the New Year is high on our agenda.

Over the last couple of weeks, we've had several small triumphs in terms of Twins That Travel accolades. These include a piece of BBC press and the coveted 'blue tick' verification on Instagram. Two pieces of news, which to most on the outside world, would seem like great achievements. Indeed, we were initially elated with both pieces news - sharing both with friends and family - before finding ourselves quickly slipping into a common spiral of self-doubt. You see for us, and a further 70% of the population according to a recent survey, we suffer from a chronic case of Imposter Syndrome. Having blogged about it previously, Imposter Syndrome is something that can often dominate our thought process when navigating the self-employed path of travel blogging. Sometimes unable to see things objectively, many of our blogging triumphs are marred by a chronic fear that we'll soon be discovered as well, frauds. The blue verification tick on Instagram only exasperating this thought process last week, with my initial presumption being that there had been a terrible mistake. After all, it's the Kim Kardashians of the world that get a blue tick, not two small-fry bloggers from Milton keynes. In this podcast episode, therefore, we discuss Imposter Syndrome and how it affects us in our day-to-day lives as travel bloggers. As something that can worm its way into any part of your life, we delve into some of the coping strategies for those struggling to shrug of their self-imposed fraudulent status. From steering clear of the comparison trap to admitting you don't know everything, we explore the tactics we can employ to help keep feelings of self-doubt at bay.

In this episode of the Twin Perspectives Podcast Series, we attempt to de-mystify the commonly asked question of, 'How do I earn money from my blog?' Perhaps the most commonly asked question we find sliding into our DMs - and a question we had ourselves when starting our blogging journey - the answer isn't a simple one. In fact, now five years into running Twins That Travel, we've come to realise that there's almost limitless ways in which to earn money from your blog and/or social media. From passive income available through advertising on your blog, active income working with brands, through to landing your own products into the blogging universe, how you choose to make your money as a blogger is entirely your choice. A conversation with fellow blogger The Travel Hack, however, helped us to identify key business models that bloggers generally tend to adopt when earning their buck. These models, we came to realise, tend to fall between two key camps: passive and active. The model you choose to adopt, furthermore, is entirely dependent on both your aims as a blogger and your lifestyle. During this hour long episode, we work our way through the passive and active blogging models, in the hope of shedding some light on how bloggers earn their money. Far from the Daily Mail headlines, however, of Instagrammers charging six-figure fees for an Instagram post, we hope to convey a realistic and sustainable approach to blogging. Business models that require time, effort and a healthy dose of perseverance.

At the heart of any blog is its written content: something we often seem to forget. Whilst striving to grow our blogs, we tend to focus entirely on secondary factors. Things such as growing our social media following, SEO optimisation and sustained brand work seem to take centre stage: the apparent elixir to blog success.  But what if we simply put more effort into driving up the value of our blog’s very content: its written word? Could this help grow a blog? In our experience, this was certainly the case and has led to some fantastic opportunities. In turn, it has also enabled us to grow our audience, retain this audience, sustain sessions and increase our blog traffic. So, where did we begin? How did we turn our previously sloppy, brief blog posts into stories that were regularly read, shared and paid for? How did the written word become our magic wand for blog success? The answer was our simple decision to focus on storytelling. Listen as we discuss how focusing on storytelling transformed our blog, increasing both its recognition and exposure. With tips on how to inject creativity into your blog writing, how to rethink the structure of your narratives, and how to set yourself out from the crowd, this podcast is dedicated to the humble written word, and its power to reimagine your blogging career.

This week, we discuss our contrasting experiences of two very different Sandals Resorts in the Caribbean. Last month, whilst Laura jetted off to Jamaica with her boyfriend, Claire set off to Antigua with her husband to experience the all-inclusive, couples only resorts of Sandals. Arriving as somewhat sceptics to the luxury, all-inclusive experience, we both left converts to the luxury escape offered by Sandals. Whilst travel should be about discovery and adventure, we think everyone should experience a Sandals holiday once in their lives. Listen on to find out why.

Welcome back to Season Two of the Twin Perspectives Podcast Series! After three months of intense travel, we return to the podcasting world with a brand new series. In our first episode of season two, we reflect on our recent week-long Florida road trip in a giant purple jeep. From swimming with manatee, near-death experiences on a speed boat to fulfilling our childhood dream of meeting Mickey Mouse, our week exploring the sunshine state was one of our best trips yet.

Last summer, Laura and I were delighted to join the Visit England Ambassador team. A year-long ambassadorship, our task was to embark on four seasonal trips to very different corners of our country. These trips were to showcase what this small but diverse country has to offer. Our ambassadorship began with a summer trip to Margate on the Kent coast, and will end next week with a four-day exploration through Devon. With English Tourism Week (17 - 25 March 2018) nearly upon us, therefore, we thought it fitting to dedicate this week's podcast to our year of microadventures and to reflect on how we've found the year exploring our home country. Now armed with a revived enthusiasm for travels throughout England, the last year has left us passionate about the diversity this country has to offer.

Instagram, IG, the 'gram, the grid: whatever you like to call it, this social media platform is now an inherent part of most of our lives. It's that small cluster of squares  that we go to in order to share and observe the length and breadth of life: from photographs of avocado on toast and fluffy puppies, to images of new lives and recent deaths. It's a place where politicians, actors, activists, CEOs and the average Joe, rub alongside one another: a place where I can leave Justin Timberlake a complimentary message, before giving my Mum a 'like' for her recent photo of the cat. It's a place where the world is now small enough to fit inside a neatly symmetrical grid: a global community that is now only a 'double tap' away from each other. Thanks to Instagram, the world shares an intimacy that it didn't before. It's this convening power of the platform that still blows me away, even four years after starting our account. Yet as this social media platform has grown wildly more popular, so it's also risen in importance - socially and financially. As people seek to grow their accounts, questions, speculation and myths have grown around Instagram. It's social media's version of bitcoin. We too had questions of our own, and at the start of this year we decided to see if we could get them answered. The result? Remarkably, we were welcomed into Instagram to record this podcast: the incredibly articulate and smart Whitney Rosenthal, Instagram's Head of Emerging Talent, waiting with free doughnuts and a cup of coffee. There is so much we want to say about our visit - it was a  highlight of our career as bloggers. But for now, we simply want to share with you the finished product: our podcast with Whitney and her answers that we hope, you'll find as inspiring as we did. From telling us where Instagram is headed, what we should be doing more of, how to grow your Instagram account, how the platform perceives its purpose and of course, addressing the Instagram algorithm. Whitney is honest, inspiring and at all times -  genuinely helpful. So, and without further ado, here goes. Over an hour of advice from Instagram: straight from the horse's mouth. We're not going to pretend to be Instagram gurus, so instead we'll just let you listen to the guru herself.

Instagram, IG, the 'gram, the grid: whatever you like to call it, this social media platform is now an inherent part of most of our lives. It's that small cluster of squares  that we go to in order to share and observe the length and breadth of life: from photographs of avocado on toast and fluffy puppies, to images of new lives and recent deaths. It's a place where politicians, actors, activists, CEOs and the average Joe, rub alongside one another: a place where I can leave Justin Timberlake a complimentary message, before giving my Mum a 'like' for her recent photo of the cat. It's a place where the world is now small enough to fit inside a neatly symmetrical grid: a global community that is now only a 'double tap' away from each other. Thanks to Instagram, the world shares an intimacy that it didn't before. It's this convening power of the platform that still blows me away, even four years after starting the Twins That Travel account. Yet as this social media platform has grown wildly more popular, so it's also risen in importance - socially and financially. As people seek to grow their accounts, questions, speculation and myths have grown around Instagram. It's social media's version of bitcoin. We too had questions of our own, and at the start of this year we decided to see if we could get them answered. The result? Remarkably, we were welcomed into Instagram to record this podcast: the incredibly articulate and smart Whitney Rosenthal, Instagram's Head of Emerging Talent, waiting with free doughnuts and a cup of coffee. There is so much we want to say about our visit - it was a (the?) highlight of our career as bloggers. But for now, we simply want to share with you the finished product: our podcast with Whitney and her answers that we hope, you'll find as inspiring as we did. From telling us where Instagram is headed, what we should be doing more of, how to grow your Instagram account, how the platform perceives its purpose and of course, addressing the Instagram algorithm - Whitney is honest, inspiring and at all times -  genuinely helpful. So, and without further ado, here goes. Over an hour of advice from Instagram: straight from the horse's mouth. We're not going to pretend to be Instagram gurus, so instead we'll just let you listen to the guru herself.

In this podcast, we sit down with Hannah Mulvey and Ela Ayhan from Gosh PR, to get their take on what it is like working with bloggers. Why do they work with digital 'influencers'? Do they think it's worthwhile? What can bloggers do to stand out from the crowd and work on large campaigns? How should bloggers contact PRs? We found this interview not only helpful, but a sheer relief - Hannah and Ela (and Gosh PR more widely), clear champions of the work that bloggers do and optimistic for the future of influencer marketing. So, make a cup of tea, settle down and get ready for some myth busting!

In episode eleven of the Twin Perspectives podcast series, we venture beyond the safety of Claire's office to London! With our trusty microphone and laptop in tow, we set off to conduct our first ever podcast interview with our favourite fellow travel bloggers - Hand Luggage Only (https://handluggageonly.co.uk/) . Run by Lloyd and Yaya, Hand Luggage Only was born just three months before TTT in April 2014. Quickly gaining traction, it wasn't long before HLO became a self-sustaining business, and Yaya and Lloyd have now been travelling and running the blog full-time for two and a half years. Having recently won Best Travel Blog 2017 at the Vuelio Blog awards, their blog continues to grow at a staggering (and slightly sickening) rate. With average page views of 1,200,000 a month, and over 700,000 followers, it's obvious they're doing something right; and Laura and I wanted in on their secret to such a successful partnership.

This week, we focus on destroying any romantic dreams that you may hold of what it's like to be self-employed. From loneliness through to the pressure running a business together has put on our relationship, we discuss the negatives (and positives) of what it means to be your own boss.

You know that we like to travel and if you've read any of our blog posts, you'll also know that we are passionate about talking about mental health. However, what's in-between these two? Who are Twins That Travel? Over the years, we've been asked many of the same questions and we've not always had a chance to respond. So here, for your ears only, is a possibly gloriously underwhelming insight into the lives of - Claire and Laura - the travelling twins.

This week, we return with a destination themed episode on our recent wintery adventure to Norwich in Norfolk. This was our third trip as Visit England Ambassadors, and an adventure to another part of the UK that we were yet to explore.

So, your Pins are scheduled, your Tweets are primed and your SEO is impeccable but what next? If you're feeling frustrated at your blog growth then have a listen to our alternative method for turning your blog into a business. Within two years, this method brought us more success than any Pinterest traffic could achieve. It's an alternative way but one (we promise) works!

This week we discuss our recent trip to Anna Maria Island, Florida. This is a slice of old time Florida nestled in the Golf of Mexico, with perhaps the most beautiful sunrises (and sunsets!) on earth.

In this podcast, we discuss our own experiences of anxiety and depression whilst providing tips on how to manage anxiety on a day-to-day basis.

This week, we discuss our recent microadventure to Northumerbland as Visit England Ambassadors. As the least populated county in England, we weren't sure what to expect but soon became obsessed with this rugged yet beautiful part of the country. *Disclaimer: we're 99% sure that any thoughts of paranormal activity at our final hotel were 99% down to our over-active imaginations. The hotel is beautiful and worth a stay!

Ever wondered what it's like to have an identical twin? Well, let us crush those romantic notions with our 40-minute deconstruction of what it's like to hail from the same egg.

An overview of our week on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia.

The story of how two very average girls, with a fear of flying, found themselves in the world of professional travel blogging.