Ep. 19: Travel blogging (with Gloria Atanmo of The Blog Abroad)

Gloria Atanmo is an online educator and content creator in the travel space, starting her career as a blogger through witty, reflective, and informative storytelling. She is also an author, frequent speaker on numerous stages, and leader of retreats across the world. She now focuses on helping female entrepreneurs make a bigger impact.

Where to find Gloria

• Course: Blog Like a Boss
• Instagram: @glographics
• Twitter: @GL0

Read the full transcript below.

Gloria Atanmo:
A lot of people, they have this dream but they’re not willing to struggle for it. Like failure is guaranteed. Success isn’t. So are you willing to fail in order to get to that inevitable success? And I was like, I failed often, I failed hard and I never had too much pride to say, okay, let me work this restaurant, let me teach these kids English lessons. I even played semi-pro basketball in Spain for a season. Like I was just like, okay, whatever keeps me on the road, I’m going to do it. So I tried everything and it was fun. You meet some incredible people and you make some pretty cool stories.

Melissa Guller:
That’s Gloria, Atanmo, creator of The Blog Abroad. It all started with a one way ticket to Europe and only $500 to her name, but after a lot of hustle and PB and J’s, Glo now earns her full time income traveling the world and sharing her journey as a solo female traveler. Glo has managed to create the life of her dreams through a relentless pursuit and a gradual growth to her business. But if you think this is some glitzy, glam story where everything went right, think again. In this episode, Glo gets real about her life and story, and we talk about how so many people let the fear of ambition hold them back. Plus in this unprecedented time in global history, I had to ask, is this really a time to start a new blog? All this and more in today’s episode of Everything is Teachable.

Announcer:
Welcome to Everything is Teachable, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes to learn how everyday creators have transformed their skills and passions into online courses and businesses. To introduce this week’s episode, here’s your host, Melissa gueler.

Melissa Guller:
Hey everyone. I’m Melissa from Team Teachable and today I’m here with Gloria Atanmo, creator of The Blog Abroad. Glo is an online educator and content creator in the travel space, starting her career as a blogger through witty, reflective and informative storytelling after venturing to over 80 countries across the six continents and working with brands along the way, she’s landed features in Forbes, Oprah Magazine, Conde Nast, Essence, Buzzfeed, and more. She’s authored a book, spoken on many stages, led retreats around the world, and now focuses on helping female entrepreneurs make a bigger impact and income. To quote, my favorite part of her bio, Glo gives herself another five years before she’ll go live on a mountain and be fertile.

Now before we say hello, I do have to include an atypical disclaimer. The audio you’ll hear on this episode is okay, but not what regular listeners are used to hearing. There are far bigger issues going on during this global epidemic than my wifi, but in this remote recording you may notice some decreased audio quality. I promise that Glo’s story more than makes up for it and I hope that no matter when you’re listening to this episode, you can leave feeling a bit more inspired, uplifted, and ready to seize opportunities. Now let’s meet Glo.

Melissa Guller:
Hey Glo! Welcome to the podcast.

Gloria Atanmo:
Thank you. I’m super excited to be here.

Melissa Guller:
So to kick things off, let’s go all the way back. What did your life look like when you are first starting the blog?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, so just a little bit of context. I started my first like actual blog at 11 years old. So I’ve always been blogging, but as I evolved and as I grew in the subject and the interests changed, so The Blog Abroad was kind of like a natural pivot when I learned that I’d be studying abroad. So I went from a diary blog at 11 to a pop culture blog to a music blog, to a sports blog, to an academic blog and finally a travel blog in 2013 so it was very much like, you know, at the time I knew of a travel bloggers existed, but because I had so many blogs before that never thought I would become anything.

Gloria Atanmo:
You know, blogging was my life. It’s what I did. It was my corner of the internet that I got to own and kind of just like dump all my thoughts and just, it was almost like my public diary in a way because I wasn’t a loner, but I was very different growing up and I never really fit in. We call it like a floater, like when you go to the cafeteria and you can like sit with the cheerleaders or the jocks or the nerds or the chess club, like you just fit in everywhere but you didn’t have your own little click or circle. So I was very, I don’t want to say isolated, but I was a bit of a loner growing up. So the internet was like my friend and my blog was like my everything and I could just tell it all my thoughts and so that’s what I really, that was always my goal when it came to blogging. I have to ask or any of them, Oh my God, yeah, I get off the leave. I get so excited when there’s like a fellow Zenga user because it’s literally, it’s been like all the posts have been archived so you have to email them to like get your old blog posts. But my very first blog was called, I’m a little black balla. Holla. Like that was your own Glo was a little black balla holla way ahead of the game.

Melissa Guller:
So by this point you’re starting this blog and you’re already queen of the blogs, but for The Blog Abroad, what was the first few years like, what did that feel like and where are you trying to earn money from the start or did it just feel like blog number seven we’ll see how this goes?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, it was tough. I definitely, I’ve put a lot more just investment time and money into creating this one. I built it on cyber duck. If anyone remembers that. I built the website on cyber duck, so it wasn’t even hosted on WordPress and I hired a photographer to do a whole branded photo shoot with me with like a little vintage suitcase and a cowboy hat. Like I don’t even know what my style was, but this was running. I was trying to brand myself as this travel blogger before I left.

Gloria Atanmo:
And yeah, of course you don’t really know what you’re doing. I didn’t have any money to like invest in I guess the education. So I was my best way of education form of education outside of Google and YouTube university was trial and error. Like a lot of, I actually, I call it error and trial because that always came first. I would just like fail forward and fail often. But one thing that I knew is I always knew my privileges. I was a native English speaker. I had cell phone, I had a laptop, I had a camera. These are resources that I can use to either exchange and barter with hostels and exchange like a bed or food. So I always knew that like I had resources and I’m never going to say, okay, I’ve got $10 in my bank account. What was me? Oh my gosh.

Gloria Atanmo:
I’m like, girl, you’re in Paris. You better suck it up and go find a hostel that needs someone to run their social media. So I would like walk into like the reception. I’m like, Hey, let me work her for week and let me just also run your Instagram. Like I would just go in and just like literally own it. I would walk in like the most confident woman acted like, you know, Oh I could afford to stay here if I wanted, but let me just exchange my services in exchange for a bed anyway. And so I was very much with the mindset of okay, I don’t have any money to last very long. So make this work because you’re trying to build this travel blog. It means you need to be traveling to build the content. So my Glo, how can you prolonged your stays in in these countries and yeah, how can you stay abroad, you know, you’re called The Blog Abroad.

Gloria Atanmo:
Like how defeating would it feel to be home in four months? You know the blog at home. Exactly. So that’s how I started. I know you also kind of took a leap of faith by just booking a one way plane ticket and in that moment how, I dunno, how are you feeling when you just jet it off? How did your family feel about all of this? Oh, you know what’s funny and, and most people with, they followed me on social media for a while. They know, you know, my Nigerian background and the famous storyline, you’re either a doctor, a lawyer, or a disappointment. And when I, when I switched, I was a premed major for the first two years in college. And when I changed it, literally I waited until the week before graduation to tell my mom that I was no longer a premed major.

Gloria Atanmo:
That’s how terrifying it is to be raised in a Nigerian home. So you, you fear your parents because there’s so much. Um, there’s these expectations that are placed on you. So when I told my mom I was going to Europe, I didn’t really tell her that it was a one way ticket. I didn’t tell her what I was doing. I just kind of said, Oh, there’s an internship. Oh, I have this gig. And I didn’t really let her into the whole plan of like not really coming back until I was out of money. And I think the first time, yeah, I think the first time I came home after that first one way ticket, it took three years for me to finally fall like dead broke and be like, I’ve got nothing left. I’ve got to go back.

Melissa Guller:
Wow. So three years. What did those years feel like then when you are abroad? Kind of bartering services and actually interesting, but just what did life look like then?

Gloria Atanmo:
If it’s tough, but I, I would say like it was tough, but it was exhilarating. Like that thrill. So sometimes I wake up and I’m like, man, I, I would, I would love to just go back and live that life for a week again because you know, they say more money, more problems and it’s cliche, but when you’re, when you’re just young and broke, like nothing matters and you just, you’re so carefree. And I remember like, because I was still building my Instagram, like people found me on Instagram and one guy hired me to shoot his engagement photos in Barcelona. So I would get the most random gigs. But I always knew that like as long as I understood that this temporary chapter was not going to be my future and it was not going to last forever. A lot of people, they have this dream but they’re not willing to struggle for it. Like failure is guaranteed. Success isn’t so are you willing to fail in order to get to that inevitable success? And I was like, I failed often, I failed hard and I never had too much pride to say, okay, let me work this restaurant, let me teach these kids English lessons. I even played semi-pro basketball in Spain for a season. Like I was just like, okay, whatever keeps me on the road, I’m going to do it. So I tried everything and it was fun. You meet some incredible people and you make some pretty cool stories.

Melissa Guller:
I’m sure you have amazing stories from all of that for sure. And what I noticed too is you mentioned, you know, not having too much pride to say yes to different jobs, but also it seems like you were trying tons of things and they didn’t even have to be related to each other. And I know a lot of people are worried about what’s the perfect idea, what’s the thing that I should pursue? But like you, maybe they just try different things, see where the money comes and kind of embrace opportunity. Yeah. And I think

Gloria Atanmo:
it’s so important for people to also not be afraid to share their now and speak their truth in real time. And this is not to be shady, but I think a lot of travel bloggers, many of them start because their husbands or their boyfriends are funding their travels, you know, while they’re working. So they, they have that capital or that stepping stone to fall back on. And so people, they’re not going to talk about it of course. So people see them like, Oh wow, they’ve just always been so good at what they do. They just always have been able to afford to travel. They just, wow. They’re just so amazed, you know? And so I’ve always been super honest about my journey, how broke I was and because I wanted to remind the average person like, Hey, this is, this is reality. Success is not linear. And if you’re admiring all of these like super superficial platforms that only highlight the best parts of your life, then it’s not a realistic path and you, you need a, you need to see the struggle behind the curtains.

Melissa Guller:
[inaudible] I love that. And especially in today’s age of social media and the highlight reel effect where you just get to see everybody’s very best moments. I love that you do take people behind the scenes and say things like, girl, I would live in off bread and butter for months. Like I think that that’s not important to share, but also probably reassuring that you did have to work hard and it’s through hard work and time that you did eventually start to gain some momentum. Right? Exactly. So speaking of, I know that one pivotal moment for you is an article in HuffPost that came out where you wrote an article called stop asking me how I afford to travel. So can you tell us a little bit more about how that article came to being and then the impact on your blog and business afterwards?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, it was so funny. So I remember as well, like, you know, when you’re starting a travel blog, I think this is also some really good advice for anyone who’s trying to build an audience. I mean, you can be the most amazing writer in your own right. Like you can, you know, write amazing things. But if your audience consists of seven people, which at the time I can like count the seven people who were reading my blog, shout at a Tawny, shout out to Mel, shout out to my sisters. You know, I, I knew exactly what they were reading my blog. So you need to start pitching yourself to get on other publications who have the audience that you’re trying to gain. And so when I was like, you know, thought catalog elite daily HuffPost Matador network, there were a lot of platforms and publications early on that I just like pitched my heart out.

Gloria Atanmo:
So if a blog, if I felt like a blog post with one of my better pieces, I would pitch it to all these other publications like 10 and this one particularly was picked up by like I think eight publications translated in six languages. But what’s weird about it is I didn’t, the title, like you have no control over the title when you submit a piece to another publication. So the way I’ve framed it was the problems with the question, how do you afford to travel? And it was kind of like, you know, it was a little bit of a nicer approach because when you put it on HuffPost at the time, I think they had 5 million Facebook fans and all of a sudden people read the title and they stop there and make the judgment. It was a very polarizing piece. You know, people either loved it or they hated it.

Gloria Atanmo:
Like they loved it cause they can relate. Maybe their coworkers were like, Oh, you know, how do you afford to travel? We’ve worked the same job and we make the same amount and I can hardly afford my bills. Like how do you afford to travel? And then you have the people who are like, nobody asked you, you dumb broad, you know, so these two like opinions. But what was cool about the article is, because I remember like there was a lot of my friends from my college and I say friends very generously, but they knew I was, you know, cause I went to school out of state and Kansas, Baker university. Um, they knew I was struggling. Maybe they knew I didn’t come from much money. And it was a very, it was a private school was a liberal art arts school and it was very expensive.

Gloria Atanmo:
So a lot of people that went there were well off. And I was there devil collegiate athlete. The only way I could afford to be there was because I was an athlete for basketball and tennis. So they saw me post college traveling. They knew they were making more money than me and they would ask me what this under undertone of like, wow, like how do you afford to travel when I make more than you? And so article kind of broke down like, Oh, well how do you afford to get your nails done every day? Like, Oh, does your mom help you with your Starbucks coffee every morning? Like, Oh those, you know, basketball tickets. Like how did you afford that? So I literally flipped the script and I said, he spend the money on the things that you prioritize and like, I’m not, I have nothing fancy about my life and everything that I wear is, is from Ross or you know, hand me downs from like high school, like, you know, so I kind of broke down how I’m so like I’ve sacrificed so much in order to afford a very basic level of travel.

Gloria Atanmo:
So yeah, that was a fun. Um, I remember being on the beach in Barcelona when I got my first hate comment. It was a fun and interesting chapter. Yeah. It must be interesting too to have a piece that can be interpreted as polarizing like you said, just because the headline alone can be seen that way. I love the article. I read it. We’ll put a link in the show notes, but I’m curious though too for maybe people listening who are wondering how did you get this article published? Do you have any advice around if people should be pitching or what’s the right way or the wrong way to go about doing that to try to get featured in a publication? Definitely. So I think a lot of people are really passive with their passions and it’s like it’s a wrong approach because you can be the most talented person in the world, but if no one knows you exist, then you’re not going to be discovered.

Gloria Atanmo:
Like no one’s actively going to be knocking at your door. Like, Hey, I heard you’re a great graphic designer. Can you design my logo? Like you’ve got to put yourself out there. So a lot of these publications, if you go to, they should have like a submit pitch form or button at the end of the page or on one of their pages on the website. A lot of them are kind of like retracting that approach now because maybe they’re overwhelmed by the amount of pitches. But back then like everyone was like pretty much a free for all like Hey, if you have a pitch write to this email or they had a form embedded on their website. So I was religious, I was pitching like maybe a dozen articles a week and then HuffPost at the time was giving people a platform. So I had my own like editor login so I can pretty much publish as I as I pleased.

Gloria Atanmo:
And that’s so important I think to note that you were really out there like you were actively making these pitches because I don’t know if people even realize that’s an option for them, that for some publications it is as straight forward as freaking out, figuring out the right person to email or submit to and continuing to pitch. Yeah. And I think it’s also important to make sure you’re pitching your best stuff and to diversify the type of pitches you’re sending based on the publication and what they, what they post. So I would also like, you know on Facebook they have the feature where you can click see first for different fan pages. So I would put C first on like HuffPost and all of these other publications where I was hoping to write for so that I can see the type of content they were constantly publishing because maybe something does really well on your site or on another publication, but it’s not what have posts likes to publish.

Gloria Atanmo:
So you need to kind of figure out like what’s the culture of HuffPost, what kind of content do they like to post, what gets the best engagement. So even by doing that like small type like market research, you can kind of understand like, okay, this piece would probably do well on this platform and this piece of do better on this platform. And even when this particular piece was like syndicated across multiple sites, each publication kind of like reframed the title or reframed like the articles approach. They changed some of my words. So, um, yeah, you know, every, every publication has it.

Melissa Guller:
An audience [inaudible] great advice. Make the pitch personal, really do your research and people are taking notes. So let’s go back to you. So this article goes viral, if I remember correctly, people are loving it and then how does your business move forward from that? Where do things start to look like for you?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, Holy crap. That was like, that was the pivotal moment where it all became real. I remember my emails were just insane. So at the time I didn’t even really, like, I wasn’t collecting email addresses, but I had a guest book, which is sounds so strange to have that on the blog. So let’s go. I was, I had a guest book and all of these people were like flooding my guests book with like, love your article. You’re amazing. I want to send you this. Like I want to send you here. Brands started hitting me up. We’d love to fight at Germany. Can you write for our website? How much do you charge? What are your rates? We’d love to send you this, and I was just flooded with all of these like offers and I was, of course, I had never gotten anything like that before, so in my mind I’m like, Oh my God, Oh my God.

Gloria Atanmo:
Oh my God, this is happening. It’s not exactly a part of you. It’s like, okay, you’ve been here before, but then I’m like, Oh my God, I’ve never been here before. So internal freak out. But then it gets real. You’re like, okay, now you’ve got to, you got to put a value at what you’ve been doing for free for over a decade. Like how do you all of a sudden think of a number to define what you do for fun? And I had such a, I probably had an unnecessary, unnecessary struggle for almost two years because I was afraid to charge what I was actually worth in fear that it wouldn’t be fun for me anymore. I’m like, if this becomes work and my actual job, then it’s, it’s, it’s not my, it’s not my passion. I, I’m a sellout. I’m, I’m this, I’m that.

Gloria Atanmo:
And I started just really just getting down on myself or like making it work, which is so counterintuitive and it’s interesting the way the way your brain works. Like you fight so hard for something and then you get it and you try to talk yourself out of it. Cause now you’re afraid of the potential of what it could become. But I did start to lean in to the opportunities and I think for the next eight months I was pretty much traveling on the dime of the brand and like working for them as an ambassador. So yeah, I was just kind of like, I was able to get the next maybe year and a half of sponsored travels covered. So all of a sudden it took out the pressure of hostels and accommodation. I had food stipend and then I was getting paid for my writing. So it started to become real and I was able to start figuring out, I’m like, okay, if can bundle my services this way, or okay, maybe I can connect these two trips. Okay, this company is flying me to Thailand, then I’ll have this next company fly me to Vietnam. And it was also kind of cool because it’s like, you know, they’re paying for your travels. So you’re also trying to help the brands out by connecting the trips so that they’re only having to book one ticket inward.

Melissa Guller:
Hmm. And I know something that you just talked about, I just want to go back to, because I think a lot of people might be afraid of potential as you said, and maybe don’t even realize it. So I’m wondering how did you mentally kind of move yourself into a place where you did start to feel comfortable with pricing your services? Or are you more comfortable now? Or how have things kind of shifted for you?

Gloria Atanmo:
Oh a hundred percent and we’ll, we’ll get to this in a little bit about the chorus and why I have a premium chorus and why, what comes with, you know, having a premium chorus. But it wasn’t until one of the brands that I work with or that I worked with, they hired me for four articles. And so of course I sent the marketing manager my rates and she had like, she had been following my blog for about a couple of years. So she had seen me grow, she’d see me improve and evolve as a writer and as a blogger. And she emailed me back and she was just very honest. She was like Glo I this isn’t if my company found out I was doing this, you know, it wouldn’t be good but I’m going to times for what you just sent me because this is ridiculous. You should be charging this much.

Gloria Atanmo:
And she basically quadrupled the rate that I gave her. And that’s when like for, of course, first off I start crying cause I was like, Oh my God, someone knows my value because I sure as hell though it was so humbling and such a pivotal moment in my career as a blogger because it gay. It’s like I needed someone else to give me permission to step into what I kind of already knew. Like I knew I was a good writer. I knew I had a way of connecting with people. I knew I could storytell better than the average blogger, but I was like, if I charge too much, people will think I’m greedy. They won’t think I’m doing it for the love of travel and you know, of course all of these limiting beliefs and it was her that really helped me step into my value and yeah, since then it’s been history. Now I’m, I’m too expensive. I’m just kidding

Melissa Guller:
that somebody has that moment in their business where there’s the one person who maybe does come in, maybe it won’t be a client, but maybe everyone taking stock of their own pricing right now can think like, has my price been this for a long time? Am I charging this price just because I’m afraid of what might happen if I go higher? And so hopefully you listeners can maybe take some some inventory about what they’re currently doing and we all deserve to charge a little bit more.

Gloria Atanmo:
And that’s a caveat is like in my blogging of boss course, like I literally have a whole module set on like valuation and what am I worth? And telling people to like offer packages so that you’re not locking your client or sponsor into like, Hey, this is my rate. Take it or leave it. It’s like, okay, everyone has varying budgets to have variety with what you can offer them so that people have an option to say, okay, I might not be able to afford package C but you know, package a, I can work with that. So that’s something that I take so personally now because I was like, when I, when I have bloggers in my chorus or just the people that I coach privately, like I see them terrified to put a number to their information into their education and their value. And for me it gives me so much joy to like give that same feeling that that woman gave me. Like, no, no, this is what you, this is what you’re really worth.

Melissa Guller:
[inaudible] absolutely. And before we do talk about starting to bring online courses, and I think that that advice that you just gave about packaging and offering options is so powerful because like you said, if you can give people options, not only do they feel like they’ve got some control over what sounds right to them, but then you’re meeting different customers where they might be. And I think people would be shocked that some people always want to go premium. They always want to pay you way more than maybe you even dreamed. And it can never hurt to offer more options and to give packages as options. So I think that’s amazing advice for people listening today. Cool. So let’s get into the online courses. So at what point in your blogging life did you bring online courses into your business?

Gloria Atanmo:
Um, too late. I definitely, if I knew what I knew now, if I knew then what I know now, gosh, I wish I would’ve started my course like three years ago. My very first transition from teaching or my transition into teaching was through bootcamp. So the Bali blogger bootcamp was like a week long bootcamp where aspiring bloggers would fly to Bali. We create content, teach workshops, and just kind of give them the experience of like, Hey, here’s everything we know about blogging and like let’s, let’s immerse you into like what it’d be like to be on a trip and how you would create content in a country. And that was really fun. And so that lasted three, three rounds of that. And then I evolved into retreats and retreats again was like, it wasn’t just for bloggers, it was kind of for like female entrepreneurs and it was like mentorship involved in community building.

Gloria Atanmo:
And then it wasn’t till last year where I was like, okay, like I for first and foremost I was like, I got to a point where I was making like really good money with the travel jobs that I was taking. But it got to a point where maybe it was half burnout and half not having that same fulfillment and joy, but I felt guilty for taking jobs that I knew I could, I don’t want to say doing my sleep, but it was like there are bloggers that are like fighting and deserve this more than me. Like this is, it was easy money and I was, I don’t want to say yes to easy money just cause it’s there. And so I was turning down like five figure jobs and I was like, Glo. What’s something’s going on? Like first and foremost, when you’re turning down good money, it shows that, first of all, it’s not so longer about the money.

Gloria Atanmo:
So if, if you’re listening to this and you’re like really money motivated, I promise you that’s going to be short-lived and you need to find a deeper purpose and deeper mission. Why you do what you do. And when I got to that point, I was like, okay, this is, it’s scary, but I don’t, I don’t know what I’m feeling, why I’m feeling like this, but I’m like first and foremost, positivity and community. I really was trying to foster something that didn’t exist for myself. And I was like, man, it would be cool to just bring a community together. People who are just evolving, growing, want to learn, want to support each other. And yeah, it was just like, so starting the blog of boss course last March, I’d been sitting on that course for about a year and of course telling myself, Oh, it’s, it’s not time. Oh, I don’t know.

Gloria Atanmo:
It’s gonna fail. It’s gonna flop. I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s just the typical usual stuff. And then last year I got that email from Teachable where they were hosting their summit. So went ahead and signed up and I was like, okay, let me, let me, let me see what all this is about. And I’m just like listening to the speaker, is it? I’m just like, googly eyed. I’m like, are you kidding me? This is, I can do this. Like I see myself in them like they’re doing everything that I’m doing offline. They just put it online. You know, I was already doing the teaching, I was already hosting the workshops, I was already hosting retreats and doing one on one coaching. I’m like Glo. This is so, so much more scalable and this makes so much more sense like this. This has to be your next move.

Gloria Atanmo:
And I think anyone, anytime you do something for the first time, I promise you the amount of ways that you can talk yourself out of it. Like every, every morning I woke up with a hundred reasons why I shouldn’t be doing it. Imposter syndrome was real and the fear of failure was real. But I was like, I got to a point where I was like, look, there are so many more people that will benefit from this then I know and I have to just have those people in mind. And when I look at the community now, over 200 students who have graduated, the completion rate is like almost 90% like and that the community, they, they meet together offline and we meet up at conferences and they’re so supportive and they’re so positive. It is so amazing what it’s been able to do for not just the travel industry but for, for community in general because without a community, your business is sustainable.

Gloria Atanmo:
This solo journey is isolating and you need to feel like, okay, there are other people in the trenches with me. So what was it like then to go through that first course creation experience in your first launch? Yeah, like it was so terrifying and exciting because when you’re in like, I love the trenches. Like we talk about like, Oh I’m in the trenches. Like I’m, I’m in the grind, I’m in the hustle because I just like for three weeks, cause I already had all of these notes. I didn’t want him to build this course for a few months, but I just never acted on it. So I had all these notes. So the first thing was like putting the skeleton together. What did I want the modules to look like? What was like the natural sequence of learning that I wanted to take my students through because you want that user experience to be seamless.

Gloria Atanmo:
So it has to start with like you know the semi basic stuff and then advance and evolve into the more complicated stuff. And of course monetization I was like, okay I’m going to stick that in the middle. Cause you know you don’t want to talk about money right away, but you know a lot of people join the course to learn how to make more money with their blog. And it’s like you, you want to sell them what they want but you give them what they need. And so I’m, I’m in the first two, three modules. I’m building the foundation. I’m building like the core of like what actually makes a blogger successful, but no one will talk about it or no one like is selling that kind of stuff. So it’s great to kind of build that foundation in the first couple modules and then get to the meaty stuff into the good stuff.

Gloria Atanmo:
And you know, I think adding weekly coaching is also really good idea for someone who’s doing a first course because you’re getting to get that like market research, you’re getting to get that active feedback. You know, every Sunday when we do the Q and a and the module reviews, like I’m getting to be on a chat with up to 60 people at a time in like just ask them their questions and answer their questions and talk them through like more stories or expand on the modules in the lessons. So it was a really immersive experience and it was terrifying again, cause you’re like, anytime he goes to through something for the first time you’re like, am I doing this right? Am I giving enough? Am I giving too much? Like [inaudible]. But, uh, it was amazing.

Melissa Guller:
And how many students did you have that first time around?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, so 64 I believe. And the live calls would, I think the most that came on a live call was like 47 so yeah, they got, it was pretty intense. It got so intense at the second round. I capped it at 30 I’ll say that

Melissa Guller:
big. That’s a lot of people.

Gloria Atanmo:
I’m going to say know your limits. The first, first round I was like everybody come one come all. I did all these promos, I made all these like marketing videos I did, I did this like whole funnel strategy. I was so stoked. A really good book to read for anybody that’s launching I’m sure. And most people have heard of him. Jeff Walker, the book launch was really good for like launch strategy. So using that sequence and kind of just getting myself amped up and yeah, it really, it went over better than I expected. And yeah, the first week did 50 K so it was just like when you’re able to see like what you’re capable of doing, it’s just insane. And so I was like, okay, this is great money. But it’s also like a lot of overwhelm and it’s, it’s a lot of demands. And I want to make sure like services, everything.

Gloria Atanmo:
I want to pour my everything into everyone and in that first round I also gave them pretty much unlimited access to me. So I think boundaries are important. It’s probably smarter to set office hours because it was my first round. I’m like, I just want them to know that I’m there for them and that I support them. So I gave out my cell phone number, I told them they can call me any time. So giving that to 60 people, it’s a lot. So 30 the second round and 30 the third round was a lot more sustainable and manageable.

Melissa Guller:
But what I think is important is that for anybody launching the first time, I think there’s two things. One is that you should do stuff that doesn’t scale, like be available, give out your phone number. Really just go above and beyond because those first students and just the testimonials that you’ll get, the success like that’s going to be worth all your extra efforts that you won’t be able to do maybe a couple of years later.

Gloria Atanmo:
Super true. Like, I think what people have to realize is those first students become your ambassadors. Like they become, yeah, they become the people that senior praises to the next person who was like hesitant to invest. And it was like wanting to get one of their friends to do it first to make sure it was legit. So yeah, I agree

Melissa Guller:
100% and the second thing I wanted to note too is you’re mentioning like, Oh 60 people, it’s so many. And it absolutely is. And I think for anybody who maybe doesn’t have an audience like you may have had when you were launching even five students is plenty. Like if you imagine a class or a group with five people, three to five people, that’s still meaningful. So I don’t think people need to focus so much on, you know, how can I get so many students and I want to fill up this room and instead just focus on how kind of deliver to the people I do get.

Gloria Atanmo:
Oh my God. Absolutely. And I would almost like encourage you guys like to start small. Like, I’m like with my mastermind, this is my first year of doing my mastermind and I have seven women and it’s such a perfect size and I’m like, Oh this is, this is manageable cause I can, cause they now have that unlimited access to me and so I want it’s, it’s a much more manageable number at seven with that kind of unlimited access. So it was cool to be able to say, okay, I still want certain people to have that type of access to me but it needs to be smaller scale and maybe a higher tier program. So I agree. Like numbers aren’t everything and I think it’s just all about experimentation and just depending on like maybe you’re really extroverted or introverted and you’re like, Oh that’s the thought of like people emailing and calling me all the time scares me. I mean you don’t have to do that, but you do need to be like service driven, service driven leadership is everything and people know you, you just, when you care like it shows and it’s important.

Melissa Guller:
Well said. I know you mentioned masterminds and you have mentioned already retreats and courses and masterminds. And so I’m curious, can you tell us what are the different products or I hesitate to call them products, but maybe opportunities we’ll have services to work with you and how do they serve your different customers differently?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, no, that’s an amazing question. And I think for anyone starting out as well, like maybe you’ve never created a product before, I think it’s important to start with something basic. Like if the idea of publishing a $99 course or $1,000 course terrifies, you know, that that was not my first product that I offered. Like I now have an ecosystem of products and services. So my very first one was an ebook that I self published five years ago and later got picked up by a publishing house two years later. Um, the next thing that I offered was my Bali blogger bootcamp. After that it was my retreat. Sister had server retreats. Then it was my sister had summit, which was like a conference. Um, and now it’s, and then it was my course, sorry, blog, like a boss chorus. Now it’s my mastermind and I’m launching an Academy, the serve, sell and scale Academy.

Gloria Atanmo:
So I said a lot, but I’ll just focus on probably the top three now. So blog, like a boss is a course for any aspiring blogger, no matter the niche to learn the ins and outs of what it takes to not only serve, serve your audience, but serve brands who want to work with you and monetize and you know, build more impact but also more income. I get, I feel like it’s the, a through Z of what it takes to be a successful blogger as someone who’s been blogging for 19 years. Um, the next one is serve, sell and scale. And that’s an Academy and that’s teaching people how to create their first digital product. So that could be a course, it could be a resource library, it could be an ebook, it could be, you know, hosting your first retreat, really teaching people how to build that first thing that serves people, learn how to sell to your people and then learn how to scale that. And then the final one is the mastermind. I call it the Glo mastermind. Growing legacies of wealth. And when I use the word wealth, I mean wealth, abundance of not only finances but also happiness and learning, teaching people how to really be wealthy, quote unquote in all areas of their life. So those are my three, I guess main services that I’m focusing on in 2020

Melissa Guller:
I find that most people start in one place and then move into other offerings because I feel like something that you’re doing well is that you’re giving people an opportunity to grow with you. And I think that that about you’re like that.

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, exactly. And I think it’s so important for people to understand that when you deliver on one products, like the, the, the next best person that’s going to buy your next thing is someone that’s already bought your previous thing. So you do want to create different services and things that kind of advanced. And so blog a boss is definitely like entry level way of working with me. The next one is a S3 Academy. It’s more intimate. And then the last one is a mastermind. And so it’s, it’s really, yeah, it’s an evolution of people as bloggers, entrepreneurs, business people. Because I think one thing that I take pride in is that I’m just a sponge. I am so eager to learn, not just for myself, but so I can mentor and pass it on to, to those that I coach. And so I’m, I’m so excited when I, you know, dive into a new book. I’m reading relentless right now by Tim S Grover, how to go from good to great to unstoppable. And I’m just like, Oh, like every time there’s like a nugget, I’m like, I can’t wait to share this quote with my mastermind because I’m just like, I get so excited when I learn something that unlocks a part of my brain that maybe I have like a mental block. And so I love that feeling of unlocking different levels of people’s brains for them through what I learned. So yeah,

Melissa Guller:
I love that visual of like unlocking different levels of people’s brains or even just the way that we’ve been talking about. Like people can start in one place and by the time they make it to the point of maybe being able to work with you in a mastermind, their needs are so different people in the course. And so instead of trying to do one thing that fits everyone, which never works, instead, now you’ve created an ecosystem where you can meet different people where they are and listening. You can start at the beginning, start by maybe picking the simplest problem you can solve for somebody and just focus on that. And then so critical. I love that we’re talking about helping your existing students because those are the people who’ve already said, I trust you. I’m in. And they’re the people that if you help and continue to help them get real results, they’re the ones who are probably going to buy from you more. But I think too often we focus on how do I get new students, how do I get new students? And we overlook the importance of, like you said, over delivering to your active students.

Gloria Atanmo:
Exactly. And I think it’s also important for people to consider the lifetime value of their customer or their average client. So someone has gone through, let’s say they started at my ebook and then they did my bootcamp and then the did my retreat and then my chorus, and then my summit, and then my mastermind. That’s almost $20,000 so people have to really consider like treat, treat people well at any level because that, that number can grow. And I don’t want people to think that like, you know, Oh if I want to make you know $1 million with my chorus and I’ve got to find 10,000 people, 10,000 different people, I’m like, or you can just build with like a a core group of a hundred and just like really serve them to like be most in depth level cause they’ll grow with you and they’ll also see that you’re evolving as a person.

Gloria Atanmo:
I think one thing that I’m also, I just take a lot of pride in is that I share my now like everyday on my Instagram story, I share my daily agenda. I show people what I’m working on, I show them behind the scenes so they don’t look at my page and say, Oh she’s so lucky. Oh she just, she just lets her way to the top. I’m like, I’m first of all not at the top. And then second, I hustle so hard because I want to show people the work that goes into the brand that I’m building.

Melissa Guller:
I love that. And maybe for us right now. Could you share your now what are you thinking about right now in your business and maybe what’s coming up next for you?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, so you know, of course with COBIT 19 kind of putting things at a halt. I think it’s so important for a lot of people who especially, you know, cause I’ve been, I’ve been speaking with a lot of travel bloggers in the industry and rightfully so, there’s a lot of panic, there’s a lot of anxiety. It’s never a good feeling to go from, you know, steady income to for some people, zero. And so when I see their panic and I, and I, and I see their worry, I’m like first and foremost, it’s so good to have been there. Like it’s, it’s, it’s cool to empathize because I’m like, Oh, I know what it’s like to not have anything coming in. Like it’s a scary place. But when you come from a place of empathy, it’s so much easier to coach and to teach because you can say, okay, here’s how I got through this.

Gloria Atanmo:
Here’s how I survived my next seven days. Okay, here’s my next 30 day plan. So what I started doing was offering free discovery calls. I’m on Instagram, just, you know, for people who said they just needed to pivot in their business. And I think it’s so important to just equip people with resources that you have. So now what doing my content approach and content strategy is changing a little bit. So I invested in like a, a massive whiteboard like the kinds that you see at school. Um, so that I can like record more videos for Instagram and YouTube that just teaches people how to build a business or maybe pivot their business plan. And now what I’m doing is also putting together different coaching packages. So outside of blah, like a boss and the S three Academy and my mastermind, I’m also doing private coaching.

Gloria Atanmo:
So for people that want that one-on-one access to me because I wasn’t offering it like that before. So now putting together coaching packages where I can just work intimately with people who are really like, okay, I’m struggling, I’m panicking. I, I don’t know what if, if I can’t get things back to normal by July like my business has done. So I really want to work with those people first. And then, yeah, more than anything just building community like I’m doing, there was 200 people after my Teachable panel talk that DM me their email address cause I could put out like a little call out. So I’m doing a free group coaching call for them on Sunday. But just, you know, finding ways to just like serve first and foremost. Like I think it’s again, meeting people where they’re at and just reassuring them like, Hey, I know what it’s like to like not have money or to not know what your next month is going to look like.

Gloria Atanmo:
I used to joke that I couldn’t afford to think about next week. Like I just, I need a bed tonight and I would like, you know, maybe a sandwich to hold me over. So, you know, I was always like living for my today. And so that is one of the best things that could’ve happened to me because now I’m more equipped to teach people how to focus on their now and worry about their today. Because if you’re in a place where all you can focus on is how you can afford next month, you will never be able to be at peace with yourself and work through a strategy that not only serves you but also serves your, your mental health

Melissa Guller:
[inaudible] and the empathy that you have mentioned. I think that’s so important as business owners, as humans, of course creators just, even though we’re working online, we are still talking to humans and right now it’s you know, odd, uncomfortable time for a lot of people. And I love that you mentioned community as well and just how can we stay connected? And I did have a question for you because obviously your experience in the blogging world goes back to the eight 11 new, this is a new normal right now for who knows how long and how do you think the blog community or even the travel blogging community is going to look for the next few months and is it still an okay time for people to start a blog if they’re thinking about it?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, that’s a great question. And I was getting from a lot of my students like should I still be pitching? Like, you know, what should I do? And interestingly enough, like I’ve still had like sponsors and agencies like email me job opportunities. Like Hey, we’ve got a client and you know, here’s their budget. So you surprisingly, people are still like business as usual with their budgets. Like some brands and companies like they’ve had, they have an emergency stash or you know, things aren’t as effective because they’re online based or something. So, um, I think it’s important bloggers not to go into panic mode and completely just say, Oh I’m just, I’m done with my blog cause I don’t know what the future is going to look like. I think right now, especially like I use this analogy that it feels like the world is the Titanic ship.

Gloria Atanmo:
You know, we’re all on this sinking ship, but we do need some leaders to step up to throw out the life jackets and to put the babies and moms on planks and to organize, you know, getting people off the boat. You know, there’s certain things that need to happen in order to establish yourself as someone that people can trust. So I’m telling people like, Hey, if you are like really suffering or are working through you know, anxiety like here, here’s a, you know, I was posting different like free summits on mental health and anxiety and, and giving people therapy resources. Um, because the sooner you can heal yourself, the sooner other people can see that you can heal them too. And we really need leaders to step up right now. And so for people who have a blog and feel like they want to abandon it or like you know, it’s too late to start a blog.

Gloria Atanmo:
Understand right now, like especially with media vine. So media vine is the main ad provider, ad revenue provider for travel bloggers and I think bloggers and other niches and things are like, I still put, I published a post a couple of days ago and yeah, my ad revenue is still, it’s still going up. So there are still ways to be making money with your blog and there’s still opportunities out there. If you completely abandoned and quit, obviously nothing’s going to happen. So you need to understand like life moves and phases and there’s going to be tougher phases. I think right now there’s a lot of like fitness bloggers who are thriving because now they’re sharing all of their at-home recipes and at home workouts. And I love it because like right now they’re, they’re, they’re making the most of this opportunity to get all these people who are now on social media, showing them their at home workouts, showing them how to, you know, schedule their day better. So it’s all about believing in yourself and trusting the process.

Melissa Guller:
[inaudible] I think that’s such great advice. Now before we do wrap up with some final words, where can people connect with you or continue to learn more?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, so I love Instagram, G, L O graphics, Glo graphics, fun fact. That was a name of my first failed business. A graphic design company shows people never give up, keep going. And the reason I can’t change it is because when Instagram verified my account, instead, if I change my username, I’ll lose my verification. So, um, it’s a little bit of a vanity thing that I’m keeping Glo graphics. But you can find me there. Um, that’s where I showcase, you know, pretty much all my video photo and in the captions you can find some of my writing and yeah, lots of Nigerian comedy sketches, lots of, lots of education and just lots of empowerment.

Melissa Guller:
Amazing. And we’ll make sure to put a link in our show notes as well to your site and of course to your Instagram, which I can attest is dope to look at. So I feel like you just are a real person on the internet. So I had a great time learning more about you before today. So I do want to just say it’s been a pleasure learning more about you. And before we do wrap up, do you have any final words of wisdom or inspiration for our listeners?

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, I think right now, especially as a time to just connect with those who are on the same journey as you, like, you know, maybe they’ve been hit hard with their business, maybe they’re trying to grow, maybe they’re trying to pivot their life and, but they’re positive and you know, that they’re empowering. Like we, you know, we’re talking about social slash physical distancing, but it’s also important to practice virtual distancing from people who aren’t positive or aren’t seeing the bright side of things or trying to make the most of the opportunities and privileges that they still do have, you know, access to to water and to internet and to a computer. Like all of these are still tools that we can use to make the most of this, this, you know, season that we’re in.

Melissa Guller:
So well said. Well I can’t thank you enough for joining. I loved learning more about you and I hope that people do follow up and follow more about your journey. So thank you again for joining.

Gloria Atanmo:
Yeah, thank you Melissa for having me and shout out to Teachable. You guys are one of my favorite companies now. Like I’m just so obsessed with the people behind the brand. Like it’s so important that ethical business ethics is a thing and you guys have been incredible. So I’m just so happy to be a part of the community that you guys are building to empower online educators.

Melissa Guller:
Thanks so much for joining us this week. You can learn more about Glo The Blog Abroad and Teachable in the show notes at teachable.com/eit19. That’s E I T one nine.

Before you go, make sure you subscribe to our podcast so you can receive new episodes right when they’re released. You can either subscribe right in your favorite podcast app or you can sign up for email alerts at teachable.com/podcast. And if you are enjoying the show, I hope you’ll let us know! We love reading your reviews on Apple Podcasts and if you have a minute to spare, we’d love to read yours too.

On behalf of Team Teachable, we hope you enjoyed this episode about travel and meeting people where they are with Gloria Atanmo. We’ll see you in the next episode of Everything is Teachable.