NEWSLETTER: What a great start to the year! Thank you for letting us share your experiences and photographs. We expanded our publications to post new stories three times a week, the idea being that each one stands alone and catches the attention of the readers. We have enough great work coming in to carry that on for at least the next few months. We hope it continues. That all depends on essays coming in and readers finding out. We are in this together.
Talking of readers and writers though. We’re looking for ways to find more of each. There are forums and FB groups, and our own personal websites. What else can you think of? The goal with this website was to create a community, a conversation between us. There was a shortage of places for me (Sarah, the Managing Editor) to publish my travel stories. They’re not based on how-to, lists, or even really recommendations, but came from a place of wonder for the people I’d met along the road, the coincidences and conversations. This prompted starting this project.
It’s taken off far more than expected. Over 551 followers in a couple of months. Over 10,000 visitors since the end of November. We’re growing. We have an Instagram account (wanderlustwriters). Posts are shared ot Twitter. We’re getting better at using hashtags to find our audience. Any other ideas?
It’d be great to expand that even more though.
One way is to sign up on the site to receive the posts as they come out. This way we foster an interest in each other’s work and not just use the site to publish our own. It becomes a community with engaging in each other’s travels.
How though do we find more readers? Which groups do you know of who would appreciate reading the essays? Those who are traveling and writing about their experiences? The restless wanderers that are met on the mountains and beaches, trains and campsites, cafes and taverns? Can you spread the word? Can you share the website for others to find?
Writers, it is also our wish to find more stories and essays so that this keeps going. There’s a momentum worth embracing here. Wouldn’t it be great to share the chance for others to publish their own stories to inspire more folks to explore the world around them, close by or far off?
We call this a Narrative Map. Why? It’s all about location. The places we know intimately. The ones we discover. The taste of the local food, the textures of the materials in the markets, the scent of the flowers and plants, the drinks, the conversations, the people. All of it. The specificity of that moment you noticed.
Share it. Take us with you.
Share the site. Inspire someone else.
Explore while you can…
Thank you, Sarah
Wanderlust 