We recently had fun digging in deep on the best and worst parts of working together on our blog. It was interesting for us to talk through some of those issues, offline, and as usually happens, our site and life will be better for it.
But we are far from the only couple who manage a website together. My favorite travel sites of all time are written by couples, some who have taken career breaks, extended honeymoons or have embarked on location independent living for the foreseeable future.
I was curious what THEY have to say about how they manage it all, the good, the bag and the ugly.
Nick & Dariece – Goats on the Road
There are many benefits of blogging together, but the best part has to be the fact that we get to spend time together. When working, we often go out to a cafe for coffee / breakfast and spend the morning there. If we didn’t blog together, it would be a pretty lonely breakfast! Another bonus is being able to bounce ideas off of one another, being able to help out with an article if we’re stuck, etc. But for the most part, it’s just being able to experience everything that comes with blogging with each other (press trips, partnerships, etc.), just like traveling!
Jonathan & Kach – Two Monkeys Travel Group
The best part about working together is sharing the workload. I’m not just inept at social media, I genuinely dislike it! So it’s very fortunate that Kach loves it and knows how to work with it. While we’re travelling, either independently or on a press trip, we have very different working patterns – Kach posts to social media and schedules everything for various time zones where we have readership, whereas my job is limited to photography and photo editing until the trip is over, when I’ll start writing.
We have very different working styles – I like to focus on a single task, finish it, then move on, while Kach has a million and one different things on the table at a time. She calls it multitasking, but I have a few other words for it! For this reason, we don’t work well together in the same room, she finds my one-line train of thought frustrating and I find the constant subject jumping a massive distraction!
We have a great way of dealing with this, which works for several other reasons too – we just work in different places. While living in Bogota for the past 4 months, I would take the bus to the public library on the other side of the city, where I have fast WiFi, a cafe, amazing architecture and an environment that helps me work. Kach prefers to work from home, on the sofa, with CSI Miami on in the background and home comforts around her. Overall, by accepting the fact that we’re so different in how we think and do things, we’re able to find ways to make that work to our advantage, rather than be the cause of arguments.
Mike & Anne – HoneyTrek
Ironically, the best and the toughest part of blogging with a partner is being on the same schedule. When we are working we give it 110% (i.e. 12+ hour days…blogging, proposals, revenue generation, coding, etc), but that grants us the freedom to literally take off whenever we want…whether it’s a 3-hour hike in the middle of the day or a spontaneous 3-week trip to South America. When we finish a project, we get to revel in its successes and take the time to celebrate together.
Though working full-time on the same schedule and projects doesn’t really give much time for introspection, outside collaboration, and as silly as it sounds…little time to “miss” your partner. All that said, we find workarounds when we are in “office” mode (like occasionally working in separate rooms and reconnecting over meals) and when we are out having adventures, the excitement of the road always seems to smooth thing out.
Rob & Nat – Love and Road
For us the best thing about blogging together is that we know each other well, so we can share the tasks and responsibilities based on each other’s strengths. We’ve never argued or had a bad time trying to share work, it all flows very easily. The partnership also works for the tasks we don’t like to do. Rob comes from the corporate world, so he is more than happy with spreadsheets, business plan and all the figures. It means that I don’t need to worry about something that I hate and he loves to do. On other hand, I’m the creative one, so most of the articles on the blog are written by me. That’s what I call a perfect symbiosis!
After 10 years together we’ve learned how to avoid sticky situations, is always better to wait a few hours or one day, and then get back to the topic and try to solve it in a better way!
P.S. Rob says he agrees!
Jonas & Aileen – I Am Aileen
As a couple who is into ‘slow travel’, we have traveled together to over 10 countries over the past 3 years. Mark Twain has a famous quote that says how: “There ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them” and it is absolutely true. Fortunately for us, we have discovered that we are nuts for each other — in a good way!
Now how do we make this work? There are 3 main factors. First of all, this will sound cliche but it will always holds true: we communicate honestly and patiently. As much as possible, steer away from drama, innuendos and “settling.” Secondly, compromise. Whenever we have individual plans that don’t go together, we often go our separate ways — meaning that once we step foot into a city, we each do what we want to do and then meet up again at the end of the day. In a way, it’s like going on solo trips separately. Lastly, we segregate tasks equally. This helps lighten the load of travel planning! We each have our ‘forte’ so we capitalize on that: Jonas always handles the finances/budgeting and logistics, while I handle the travel itinerary and bookings.
Justin & Lauren – Justin Plus Lauren
Being a travel blogger with my partner means that I get to travel with the love of my life and my best friend in the world! The best part is that we get to share so many moments together, experience the same wonderful places, and create so many magical memories.
Now, we aren’t your typical couple bloggers when it comes to the blogging side of things. Justin primarily handles the photography and videography while we travel. I (Lauren) do all of the writing, photo editing, video editing, and social media for our site. We both love to travel, but travel blogging is my passion. I’m grateful to create this record of our travel stories that we can both cherish for a long time.
Tanbay & Laura – Travelling Weasels
It’s great to have a second opinion on everything and lovely to have someone to share the highs (and lows) with. We absolutely love owning a business together and wouldn’t have it any other way. Maybe it’s because we work separately: Laura writes the articles, Tanbay does the coding, Laura works Instagram and Facebook, Tanbay works Twitter and Pinterest.
I’ve just launched our YouTube channel and Laura will be ‘directing,’ Tanbay will be editing etc. We both have different talents and respect what the other one does, thus there’s not a lot of tough about it. If we ever do find ourselves in a sticky situation, generally it’s because Laura’s hangry. So Laura eats and everyone wins!
Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube (their newest channel!)
Chris & Heather – A Brit and a Southerner
We try to maximize our strengths which means that Chris generally writes the majority of posts and Heather is the expert photographer so handles everything from shooting pictures to editing. Social media for the most part is split 50/50. When you work full-time and then come home realizing that you have a second job with your travel blog, well, it’s a nice feeling to know you have someone there to share this workload. Two heads are definitely better than one when it comes to getting everything done for our travel blog.
Sharing our travel blog is more than just about the work. It’s about sharing the most amazing experiences of traveling the world together that neither of us could have dreamed of before meeting each other. Of course, we are fortunate to be able to travel as much as we do, but the most important aspect is that we are blessed to have each other! We couldn’t imagine enjoying our travels with anyone different. Hopefully, A Brit and A Southerner can inspire others to travel the world and enjoy the unequivocal beauty around us.
Daniel & Yvette – Whirl of Wanderlust
Most, if not all, the travel planning is done by me (Yvette). However, I always run my thoughts by Daniel and try and plan things we mutually want to do. It’s important to have a fun trip and a healthy relationship! For example, my partner is a huge Star Wars nerd, so if there is an exhibition, I make sure we go. Or if there is a museum I want to see, we go (Lord knows Daniel did not want to be in the Louvre)! He is very helpful, in that he never shuts down ideas, just helps me come up with ways to make my crazy ideas happen.
Daniel comes up with great photography ideas or videography ideas for blog posts and youtube videos. It is incredibly helpful having someone to travel with that can take your photos for you, something many solo travellers struggle with. My blog and vlog would not be half as good without him. Overall, it takes work and compromise to have a successful trip and relationship, but it is definitely worth the effort to have someone to share your experiences with. I can’t wait to be 80 years old, sitting on a porch, next to Daniel, reminiscing about all our crazy adventures.
Twitter / Instagram / YouTube vlog
We always love to hear how couples make long term travel work for them. We’re starting in less than a month and absolutely love the chance to spend our time together doing what we’ve always wanted to do.
Exciting! I love following along with new travelers (especially because we are not full-time travelers, we just dabble…), good luck as you gear up!
Great list, we follow too most of these guys! Even if solo travel has its charm, however none of our solo trips was as intense as the ones we made together.
Valeriia & Xavier recently posted…Thanks God, we did Iceland by bike!
I think maybe we’re due for some solo travel adventures, actually. We’ve done the couple thing so much that solo travel seems like a whole new adventure!
Hi. Love the idea of following a couple travel blog. I have been following many blogs. And one of them just happens to be in this category. Its called bruised passports. I do not know them personally. but I love their work and travel spread.
Thanks – good to hear from you!