Naomi's work? Celebrating vacation!

When you talk about a dream job, Naomi's is spot on. She calls herself a travel marketer, which I loosely translate to ‘traveling journalist’, who travels to the most beautiful places in the world for her Instagram account and her own website www.AuthenticChicaLifestyle.com where she gets paid for it too.

Describe your profession in three sentences.
‘It's quite difficult to summarize this briefly, as journalist can be such a loaded word. I wouldn't quickly call myself that, since I haven't studied journalism, but I've been writing articles for others and of course my own website for nine years now. Besides that, I'm mainly an online marketer and consultant in the travel industry, although I worked for eighteen years in fashion and marketing for various large retailers and brands before this. I have been applying all that knowledge and best practices as a freelance PR manager and social media consultant through my own company for eight years now. In the meantime, I've worked with hundreds of brands, destinations, and entrepreneurs, both in the travel, fashion, and lifestyle sectors, think of clients like LaDress, WeareGarcia, UWV, 333travel, Corendon, Glamira, Peugeot, Loetje Restaurants, Aruba, Luxembourg, Sweden, Dominican Republic Tourism, and Visit Singapore. Additionally, I am a content creator for my own channels and create video content, photos, and drone shots tailored for clients. So explaining it in three sentences didn't work for me, haha.’

I can imagine everyone is jealous of your profession, but I think it's also a misunderstanding that you just lie on a beach chair sipping cocktails. It's probably incredibly hard work. Do you have any idea how many hours you clock in a week?
‘Usually about 30 to 40 hours a week, but these are mainly the hours I work as a freelancer for others. I usually don't really count the maintenance of my own socials and website in that. During my travels (about 12 to 14 times a year), I definitely work around 15-16 hours a day. And I wouldn't say I'm jealous directly, because some people simply don't like to travel, it seems (I can't imagine that myself..), but there are certainly misconceptions about my work. Because yes, those trips are really work too.’

Why? ‘Because I usually can't determine my own daily schedule and am constantly on. Really relaxing isn't an option, as travel days are mainly filled with seeing and doing a lot. So often early on the road, with more activities than you would normally do and only returning in the evening. In the meantime, you're expected to network and of course create a lot of content (read: photos, videos, drone shots, and notes), which all needs to be sorted and edited/processed during the evenings while traveling and afterwards. Additionally, I often post live on social media. And I can't really enjoy that beach chair, because I'm usually only at the destination for a maximum of four to six days.’

When I was young, there was no internet, so I hadn't even thought that I could become what I am now. I think that applies to you too, because travel influencers haven't been around for that long either. What was the moment when you thought: this is my direction, this is my profession?

‘Very recognizable, I even experienced the fax and rolodex, haha. Besides that, I certainly wouldn't have dared to dream that I could turn my hobby into my profession and that working online would be the future. After years of working for various retailers and brands and creating different business plans to either start my own brand or an agency, online shops emerged. These quickly turned out to be many times more successful than regular stores. Through the experience I gained from this via my work and the broad knowledge I already had of branding, I quickly got the feeling that this would be the future. Then I started to retrain in online marketing and set up my own website and social media accounts as a practice/passion project, alongside my job. Well in the direction of travel, because that is really my passion and I had seen the fashion industry. This quickly turned out to be a good move, because after a few months I had more than 10,000 followers on Instagram and received requests from various partners asking if I could help them with their social media strategy. When I realized that there could also be a business model in that, which required almost no investment, the choice was quickly made. I call myself a travel marketer because I never wanted to be an influencer and there is quite a negative association with it here in the Netherlands.’

What education have you followed and did you benefit from it?
‘Besides various marketing courses I've taken over the past few years, I first studied fashion management, a nice and practical management course that has certainly formed a good basis for my current work. However, online marketing is constantly evolving, which makes it important to keep retraining and gaining a lot of practical experience. That's why I take online courses almost annually to stay updated, attend webinars, and read industry sites. Through the practical experience I gain daily from the social media accounts of my clients and myself, I continue to develop myself.’

What advice would you give your younger self?
‘Be patient, follow your intuition and passions, assume abundance, be generous, but also clearly yet kindly set your boundaries.’

With a job like yours, you can't really speak of an average day. But take one that is reasonably representative and tell how it looks.
‘When I'm not traveling, I mainly work from home and since I'm a real night owl, I like to sleep in. Usually, I wake up around 9:00 AM and start the day with a coffee and the kittens in bed. This way, I start the first hour calmly by checking my emails and socials on my phone. The rest of the day completely depends on the assignments I have at that moment, as they are usually project-based and temporary. Sometimes it's a campaign I need to prepare, like my upcoming content trip to South Sweden, for which I am guiding three content creators as a PR agency. Other times, I create social media content for my clients, as I also occasionally manage accounts for other companies and brands. This involves several hours daily in terms of preparation, maintenance, and community management, in addition to keeping up with my own accounts. I also receive many emails daily and hear pitches, create quotes, negotiate, handle administration, and network in my daily work, as I still prefer to do everything myself. Moreover, I am regularly busy with the selection, editing, and processing of content, and of course writing articles. For example, for a trip I just made for Corendon, as their premium travel ambassador, to Fethiye.’

By the way, Amayzine found all this fun about Turkey.

‘Additionally, there are monthly fairs and travel events that I attend and I regularly have networking meetings on location.
Every day is different, but there is always plenty to do…’

Are you the type that separates work and private life or does everything flow together? That seems quite difficult in your case.
‘Phew, that indeed seems to be my biggest struggle, as I am a huge overachiever and perfectionist. I mainly started for myself to realize my passions, but also to create a better work-life balance, and that combination is certainly a challenge. During my jobs in the fashion industry, I worked about 50 hours a week, which ultimately broke me and exhausted me immensely. Now I work less on paper, but since a lot of PR, social media, and editing tasks can also be done on your phone and run continuously, I find it quite difficult to keep track of this in terms of hours and to keep it separate.’

Are you still able to maintain a good private life in the Netherlands or is that difficult because friends no longer really take into account that you are in the country?
‘That is certainly difficult. I've mainly noticed that my friends from the past unfortunately care less about traveling and are mainly busy with starting a family. Fortunately, over the past nine years, I've also made many new friends in this industry, who are often freelancers and have no children, which aligns better in terms of worldview and interests. And when possible, I also take them with me on my travels.’

Always reachable or type ’two phones and Monday you're the first’?
‘Always reachable and two phones, haha.’

What do you wear on a workday?
‘I prefer to wear sweatpants and a nice sweater when I work from home, although I often wear a nicer top or blazer during online meetings. When I go to clients, events, or travel, I open the closet and often choose a stylish dress, with or without a colorful blazer and a nice hat, as this has become part of my personal brand. And besides, it's a good gimmick for people to recognize and/or remember you.’

Do you think about perfume and hairstyle? I can imagine that you want to be comfortably dressed while traveling.
‘Absolutely, a first impression and good appearance is certainly very important, even while traveling. Often, I am on the road with other journalists, PR people, and meet various clients with whom I want to leave a good impression. Therefore, I prefer to go for comfy chic, meaning a stylish outfit that is also comfortable. For me, that means: feminine but with (relatively) flat shoes or sandals, a fresh scent, a nice hat, and well-groomed makeup and/or nice sunglasses. The camera always goes with me on trips, and I also regularly appear myself in the content.’

What is your ideal airplane attire?
‘A nice loose pair of pants, a beautiful but relaxed top, a jacket, and always a nice scarf and sneakers.’

We know it’s not chic to talk about money, but it’s nice for the next generation to know what it roughly pays in this job. So can you give a rough indication? Above or below the Balkenende norm (180,000)?
‘Below, because money has never been my goal in my business. For me, the freedom of choice, the independence of being your own boss, and (almost) never having to set an alarm clock is truly priceless! I do earn more now in general than during my last permanent job, I have a lot of variety in assignments and tasks, and I work almost exclusively with nice people. Moreover, my work no longer feels like work, because I do what I enjoy and am now super flexible, allowing me to make the most beautiful trips. I also have virtually no costs for traveling anymore, which makes a huge difference.’

Has there been a moment in your career that has been decisive for your career?
‘Mainly making this switch and choosing for myself. I have worked for various large companies and brands in the past, for which I set up products and new business and launched brands in the market, until ten years ago. Then I was recruited by Nike and after an intensive application process, I was offered a contract of 8K per month, for a job with many bonus schemes and prestige, but also a lot of travel time and office work. And despite the tempting amount and the brand being good for my CV, I turned down this offer at the last moment because it didn't feel right. I didn't want to be exhausted every weekend from a busy workweek, navigating a competitive environment, and constantly performing for others. It was high time I followed my heart to do what made ME happy and also gave me energy. Then I started working part-time for a brand, I retrained in online marketing, set up my website and social media accounts for my personal travel brand, and the rest is history. Since then, I truly choose my passions and no longer for money, although that now fortunately also follows naturally. But above all, I am now much more balanced, independent, and happy!’, Naomi's work? Celebrating vacation!’