What’s in a Liebster Award: Good Karma

Thanks to the mother-daughter traveling team, Marvellous Journey, for nominating Snapshot Traveler for a Liebster Award.

After googling the heck out of this award to discover what it’s all about, I learned it’s basically a way to promote and recognize newbie bloggers. I definitely qualify in that category.

The German word, liebster, has several translations including sweetheart, beloved, darling, dearest and favorite. I like the sound of all of those.

Although rules vary, here is the set I was given:

• Thank the blogger who gave it to you
• Answer the eleven questions they ask you
• Nominate more bloggers with less than 500 followers
• Ask those eleven bloggers eleven questions
• Let those bloggers know that they have been nominated so they can continue the chain

Believe me, I’m not one that typically participates in chain letters, but the purpose of this one is meaningful considering my goal is to connect with others passionate about travel.

So here it goes.

Thanks again, Penny and Laura, for the nomination!

Questions and answers

1. How long have you been writing a travel blog? I started blogging in 2010 with only sporadic postings. It started with a self-designed blog on WordPress and moved to a Tumblr platform before I decided to get a professional designer involved. Thanks to Byers Creative, I launched my redesigned website and began more earnestly blogging in June of this year.
2. Do you think you’ll be doing it a year from now? I hope so! I’m giving myself a year to see if it fulfills my goal of enriching my own travel experiences by connecting with others passionate about travel. Travel sometimes seems like a selfish endeavor unless I’m sharing it in some way. This is my way of reflecting on and appreciating each travel moment.
3. Describe the most dangerous experience you’ve encountered while travelling. Our turbulent cruise through the Drake Passage on our way to Antarctica was enough to scare the bejesus out of me. Dangerous? No. Yet it felt so daring. I knew we were in the capable hands of the ship’s captain. But the rocking and rolling of the ship through 30-foot swells is enough to make you motion sick, slightly alarmed and a believer in the power of the ocean.
4. Do you carry travel medical insurance? Why or why not? No. Our current insurance has us covered. Now that you mention it, I’ll look into it.
5. Name your top 5 favorite travel spots (beach, mountain, gallery, shopping mall, cafe, etc.). We plan our travel year around these favorites – Los Cabos, Mexico, a U.S. national park, a European destination and someplace more off the beaten path like Antarctica or Africa.
6. Hiking boots, runners, flip flops? What’s your preferred footwear and why? I’m no fashionista, but I like to fit into the local scene. My go-to travel shoes, depending on the season, are sandals, a casual tennis shoe or rubber-soled ballerina slippers.
7. How do you decide to drink the local water or choose bottled? We tend to go bottled water most places just to be safe, but in some locations we’ll drink the local water. We usually defer to our hotel’s guidance.
8. Are you a daredevil – deciding to bungee jump or hang gliding – or do you prefer calmer pursuits? Calmer pursuits. You won’t find us bungee jumping off a mountain. However, we are more than willing to go on a day hike in bear country (with bear spray in hand) or cross the turbulent, motion-sickness-inducing Drake Passage to see Antarctica.
9. How much time each week do you spend reading other people’s travel blogs? Not enough time, but I try to spend at least a few hours a week exploring and reading other travel blogs.
10. What draws you to travelling? The unknown. My favorite trips are those that surprise me and turn my preconceptions upside down. I also love the planning and preparation that goes into a trip. Researching the best places to eat, sights to see, and hotels to stay in is part of the fun. That’s why I like sharing my experiences on my blog. Travel also gives me plenty of material to feed my shutterbug tendencies.
11. What’s your best tip for gaining readers on your blog? Commenting and sharing other people’s good work has been the best path. I’ve also found that people tend to comment more on in-the-moment, shorter posts on my social media pages. I’m still learning, so please share your ideas. I’m all ears.

Snapshot Traveler's nominations

I thought finding quality blogs with fewer than 500 followers would be impossible. It seemed like everyone, except me, had thousands of followers. And then there’s the added work of answering the questions and coming up with new ones.

I promise. It’s worth it. The process reaffirmed why I blog and connected me with many other bloggers through my research. There are a lot of talented bloggers to discover and learn from out there!

Speaking of that … drum roll, please.

Here are the up-and-coming bloggers who have caught my eye. Consider yourself nominated and congratulations!

1. Sending Postcards, @send_postcards
2. Feather+Flip, @FeatherAndFlip
3. I Guess I Said I Wanted An Adventure, @WantedAdventure
4. Carol Sue Stories, @carolsuestories
5. Untranslated Adventures, @EleanorCobbe
6. Travels With Tracy, @TravelsWithTrac
7. Travel Drink Dine, @TravelDrinkDine
8. La Seniorita Vera, @VGBeaver
9. Shiela’s Compass, @sheilascompass
10. A Travelers Postcard, @aTravlrsPostcrd
11. Globetrotter Foodie, ‪@globetrotfoodie

Questions for the nominees to answer

1. Why did you start your travel blog?
2. What tips do you have for using social media platforms (i.e., Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest) to promote your blog?
3. How much time do you spend on your blog and how do you manage your time on it?
4. How do you decide on your content? Do you use an editorial calendar?
5. How do you define success with your blog?
6. What are your favorite resources for improving your blogging skills?
7. What’s your favorite part of traveling?
8. What is your favorite destination and why?
9. What’s your best travel advice?
10. Where are you going next and why?
11. What’s something interesting most people don’t know about you?

Nominees: I look forward to reading your responses and learning more about you. Be sure to tweet @SnapshotTravel when you’ve had a chance to answer the questions. Thanks and congrats!

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