Meet Hanna – the 22 year old travel blogger behind the blog Based on a Travel Story! After a terrible cancer scare she decided to take charge of her life and dropped everything that didn’t make her happy, which resulted in her packing her bags for Europe a few months later and starting this new adventure. Hanna created Based on a Travel Story to help inspire others to live the life they’ve always wanted to and gives readers tools to show just how easy it is for everyone to travel. From budgets to surviving food poisoning in foreign countries, Hanna is sharing how to take that first big step! And don’t forget to check out her Instagram here!
We’re sure there are many to choose from, but what has been your favorite moment traveling so far? I have dozens of journals full of incredible memories from my travels. However, one always sticks out to me. My first big trip was backpacking through Europe for a month. I got on the plane by myself, but made so many incredible friendships. One night in Venice a large group of us headed to the beach to play soccer and hang out. The night ended up with all of us in the Adriatic Sea laughing uncontrollably without a care in the world. I’ll never forget looking up at the stars, surrounded by friends from around the world, pinching myself that I was really in Italy and I had worked so hard to get there. I can’t describe the feeling better than pure, overwhelming happiness. It was the moment I really fell in love with traveling.
What is your best piece of advice on the first step an inspiring travel blogger should take? Be authentic. There are so many travel blogger out there now and it can become easy to feel discouraged. By staying true to who you are, you will attract the right attention. This also means opening up to your readers. People want to follow someone who is relatable.
What are 3 things you can’t live without? My family, my passport and queso.
What do you think it is about your blog that keeps people coming back for more? I try to show my readers all sides of traveling. The good, bad, emotional, awkward, spiritual, or even dangerous sides. To me traveling is so much more than site seeing. I do want to share tips and how to’s, but more importantly I want to share the personal effects traveling has on me. So many people have told me what I “should” write about and I’ve written about what I “want” to. I only want to put out articles and posts that I love.
Do you have a quote or mantra you live by – if so what is it? “You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.”
What is your biggest and/or most important travel blogger tip? Safety is huge for me. Always, always, always, have a copy of your passport in a separate bag. Also write down important phone numbers in case your phone gets stolen or lost. It’s not a bad idea to have to number of your embassy as well as an address.
Which do you prefer Instagram stories or Snapchat? Why? I’m growing to love Instagram stories more, as they reach a larger and more diverse audience. It’s so fun to connect with my followers and show them a more personal glimpse into my every day life. If only it had the puppy dog filter.
How do you get your work in front of brands you want to work with? The simplest answer is reach out. Tag them, use their hashtags, follow their accounts and engage, email them and follow-up. If you don’t go for it, the answer will always be no.
What is your best tip for brands who want to collaborate with you? Get to know me. There is nothing more annoying to me than receiving a generic email that is so obviously “copy and paste”. Use my name; know a little bit about who I am as a brand. I love building relationships with the brands I work with. It’s a relationship as much as a partnership.
What do you have planned for your next adventure? In the fall I will be moving abroad to teach English! I am extremely excited to combine my love of working with children and traveling. In the meantime, I will be traveling around the states and spending most of my time with my family and friends in Nashville.
