Celebrating 7 Years of Caroline in the City

In past years, I’ve marked the date in my calendar, but this year, it took noticing my Facebook memories to jog my memory. Seven years flew by for me, starting with a cookie-cutter Blogger website to my current one, which I designed myself.

Despite the fact that little has changed about this blog in the last year, a lot has changed in my life. I quit my backup job towrite and blog full-time, something I’m still trying to get the hang of. I became the secretary of the Professional Travel Bloggers Association, a role that, among other things, allowed me to speak on behalf of the organization at conferences like the New York Times Travel Show.

It made me conquer my fear of public speaking and realize that I am an expert in my field. I joined Travel Blog Success, a course and community that has taught me a lot, despite the fact that I’ve been doing this for many years (use the link for a discount til 11 pm EST tonight!).

I’ve hung out with blogger friends in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, New York, London, and beyond. I’ve made connections with PR representatives that I will continue to have a working relationship with for years to come. While I now feel like I’m more of a writer than a blogger, I am continuing to focus on both of my blogs and am trying to make them the best they can be. Thanks for following along for another year!

Who I Worked With

Many of my partnerships from this year have been press trips to generate content for This Is My South. I only took a few trips for Caroline in the City but have a few more coming up. I went to San Antonio, Texas, went on an Eating London tour and stayed in a chic apartment with FG Properties. I also partnered with Down Under Box, Cabeau, Stanley, Maxwell Scott and many more for giveaways and reviews. I try to be very thoughtful about who I work with for this website, as I don’t want it to become one big ad.

Who I Worked For

This has been a crazy year of freelancing. At times, its’ difficult to separate my paid writing work from my blogging work. I’ve lost a few clients along the way, and quit my backup job, but I feel like this will make room for better work. This year, I worked for AAA on one of their regional websites, edited content for the web for my local newspaper’s monthly magazines, and written content for the blogs of companies like Roam Right, Foody Direct, and JetBlue.

I also wrote my first piece for Where‘s Atlanta Guestbook. I’ve also recently expanded outside of travel, penning stories for JCK, a jewelry trade publication, and The Knot. And as always, I’m also doing regular work for Her Packing List, Afar, and Eagle Creek. For more on my freelance writing, visit my portfolio.

The Statistics

• 153,184 page views
• 3367 Twitter followers
• 1,678 Facebook fans
• 1,752 Pinterest followers
• 958 Instagram followers (help me get to 1000!)
• Most Commented Post: How Travel Saved Me
• Most Viewed Post: Visiting (Surprisingly Hip) Augusta, Georgia
• Most Shared Post: How to Have a Girls Weekend in Charleston
• Total Posts: 117

States Visited: Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Texas (three new ones!)

Countries Visited: United States, England

What’s Next

That’s a good question. Next week, I’ll be announcing my travel plans for the next few weeks, including two visits to one country. My goal for this next year is to focus more on what I really want Caroline in the City to be about. I don’t want to be everything to everyone. I also hope to expand my freelance career and maybe even start writing a book! I also look forward to doing some personal travels (aka not necessarily to be blogged about) this year. I hope to add three new countries to my map this year and another two states.