A Creative Change
Wow! So much has happened these last two weeks, I feel like I’ve hit the biggest peak of my Big Lap so far.
I’m exploring South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. Because my past few months of travel has been so hectic I opted out doing hours of research on where I should visit and decided to just hit up every place I found on an online blog “20 places to visit of the Eyre Peninsula.” (www.exploreshaw.com) This is why we have the internet, right? And one of the reasons I make travel videos on YouTube - to inspire people to get out there and visit the destination themselves.
My first stop was Tumby Bay and already I knew my Eyre Peninsula hit list was going to be great.
Being out on the road makes me feel alive. It was only just a few short weeks ago that I felt like I was parked against a tall brick wall. I seemed to have forgotten that my van had wheels and I didn’t need to be stuck in one spot. You know what also happens when you start listening to your heart and spend your days doing the things that truly make you happy…. Things start to change. My anxiety dropped almost immediately and my creativity exploded.
It was in Tumby Bay that I realised I was spending too much time creating content for YouTube.
I loved making videos but it was taking me away from actually enjoying where I was and really experiencing the place that I was in. There had to be a way that I could still make travel content and have a bit more time for myself, and if it allowed me to explore more too, then I was really winning.
I started filming a vlog on the Eyre Peninsula and decided I should try to actually ‘vlog’ and show people my daily life in the van. It was horrible. I didn’t like it. And it got me asking myself ‘why am I trying so hard to be like every else’. I don’t like this kind of vlogging. Honestly, I don’t care too much about what people eat for breakfast and what outfit they should wear that day. When did we get so bored with our own lives that it was more entertaining to watch strangers go about their days? I knew immediately vlogging my life wasn’t for me. So how could I continue to keep making content that fit with my lifestyle?
I went out and explored Tumby Bay, a coastal town about 45 minutes from Port Lincoln, and I realised there was so much going on in this place. Not enough for a full length vlog but maybe I could create smaller snippets, kind of like Tourism ads for the area.
I was always better at working for someone else. Promoting their brand came a lot easier to me than having to promote myself. I had previously come up with a bunch of content ideas that I pitched to brands and I hadn’t received much interest. I was pretty disappointed as I thought it was a great concept and couldn’t understand why companies didn’t see their value.
In Tumby Bay I decided to start creating them for my own brand - Travel Australia with Vanlife Shots. I would produce Tourism ads, Vanlife Tips, Campground & Beach reviews and Photography How To’s. I could also add the Aussie Big Things footage I had captured along my trip so far. When I thought about what I really wanted to do for work I knew I wanted to be out exploring the world around me - and inspiring the people who watch how much beauty there is in their own backyard. Now that I had the great idea, all I need to do was start filming.
Eyre Peninsula was a great place to start this new creative direction. In the past two weeks I’ve filmed fourteen short videos. I’m spending way less time filming and editing and it’s allowed me more time to explore and just hang out. Definitely a winning combination.
I’m really excited about this new direction my travel has taken. Even though I really loved producing the vlogs (and I hope I still continue to create longer form videos) These short form videos will set me up with better skills for future work on the road. They’re also more relatable to other brands and clients can now see the kind of content I can produce for them and how they will work to promote their brand.
My aim is to have one short form video posted every day. I’m choosing to post on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. That means, for efficiency, all my videos have to be one minute or less to comply with YouTube Shorts guidelines.
Stay tuned for my official short form content release. I want to have a few weeks worth of content ready to go before I start so I hope to have them live before the end of this month. You can check them out by following me on your social media platform of choice below.
