In 2014, a writing competitors modified my life eternally.
I had by no means thought-about myself to be an honest author. Certain, I saved a journal of our travels via Central America, however the notion of being a ‘skilled journey author’ was far past my creativeness. It was simply one thing I did for enjoyable and to maintain monitor of reminiscences.
Slightly journey weblog named NOMADasaurus had turn out to be my outlet for sharing the tales of our journey. A quiet nook of the web the place family and friends would examine in to see what Alesha and I have been as much as as we wandered the globe.
I knew that some have been making a dwelling from documenting their travels, both via blogs, images, movies or social media, however I had no concept how.
When a buddy inspired me to enter the 2014 World Nomads Journey Writing Scholarship, I hesitated strongly.
It appeared like an unimaginable alternative, giving 3 fortunate folks the possibility to be mentored by an award-winning journey author and coached into the business.
However after all, I wasn’t adequate to be in with an opportunity. I barely graduated highschool, had by no means acquired any journalism training and knew nothing about what it takes to inform a great story.
Nonetheless, with nothing to lose, I penned a narrative about our outdated Canadian campervan, Latoya, and despatched it in with quarter-hour to spare earlier than the deadline closed.
Just a few weeks later, I acquired an e mail from World Nomads:
“Your entry has been chosen as a WINNING entry in our 2014 Journey Writing Scholarship. Congratulations!”
Issues would by no means be the identical once more.
In August that yr I flew to Berlin with two different recipients, Rachel and Amanda, to fulfill with Alex Leviton, a famend journey author.
We took half in an intense 3-day workshop that explored the facility of storytelling, an introduction to journalism and how one can pitch concepts to editors.
I used to be then let out on an all-expenses-paid journey round Europe to create tales for World Nomads. A totally-fledged perception to what it’s wish to be knowledgeable content material creator.
For the following two years I muscled my means into the journey writing business, utilizing the talents I realized to turn out to be a contributing author for a number of the largest media shops on the planet, together with BBC Journey, CNN, Yahoo!, Enterprise Insider and Forbes.
These publications would pay me for my tales, serving to Alesha and I keep on the street and discover the farthest reaches of the planet.
At some point an editor at BBC stated that if we might submit good images as nicely, they might pay extra for our photos. As a few backpackers dwelling on USD$35 a day, this was an enormous eye-opener, and we began to place our efforts into images and video, alongside writing.
I took the recommendation of Alex and dove deep into the rising world of social media, broadening my horizons and being able to adapt ought to the business change.
Change it did, and utilizing what I had learnt on the World Nomads scholarship and from working with the most effective journey editors on the planet, we began to develop our personal little publication.
Quick ahead to immediately, and this web site you’re studying is now one of many largest journey blogs on the web, turning over important income and transporting us to the planet’s most stunning and distant locations.
We’ve turned our ardour for journey right into a profitable enterprise, working with tourism boards, digicam firms and tour operators to be paid to create content material about our experiences.
One week we’re sipping cocktails on a luxurious expedition ship in Greenland, the following we’re abseiling into crevasses. All for ‘work’.
We actually receives a commission to journey the world, with all of this kickstarting due to the World Nomads Journey Writing Scholarship.
And now, World Nomads, Alesha and I wish to provide help to do the identical.
The 2022 World Nomads Content material Creator Scholarship
This yr World Nomads have launched a brand new Scholarship for 4 budding content material creators to attain their very own journey goals, and we’re very proud to be partnering with World Nomads because the official mentors for these fortunate winners.
What’s the Content material Creator Scholarship?
The Content material Creator Scholarship is a model new idea, constructing on the success of World Nomads’ earlier Journey Writing, Journey Images and Journey Videography Scholarships.
The business is evolving, and with skilled journey content material shifting from single disciplines to masking a large number of bases, World Nomads have mixed the three applications into one overarching ‘Content material Creator Scholarship’.
In case you’re a artistic person who likes to journey, then being knowledgeable content material creator is probably going a dream job. However there’s much more to being a content material creator than merely importing trending TiKToks.
You could study the artwork of storytelling, visible media creation, shot and journey planning, working with shoppers, navigating social media, pitching, enterprise admin and slicing via the noise to ship stunning content material.
That’s what this new Scholarship is precisely designed to show.
World Nomads are giving 4 fortunate folks the possibility to attain their journey goals by sending them on an all-expenses-paid journey task to a spot of your selecting.
You’ll uncover precisely what it’s wish to be on a journey marketing campaign, managing epic adventures and scrumptious meals with creating content material to share throughout a number of platforms.
Earlier than, throughout and after you’ll be coached by us, skilled content material creators NOMADasaurus, that can assist you via each step of the way in which.
This Scholarship is a world-first, and goes to be the most effective springboard to working within the journey content material creator business attainable.
The Mentorship
It’s protected to say we have now learnt quite a bit since 2014 working as skilled content material creators.
Whereas we attempt to make our life look as chill and pleasing as attainable on social media, the reality is there’s a number of work that goes on behind the scenes to execute this job for shoppers.
For our fellow creators studying this, you realize precisely what we imply. It’s the most effective job on the planet, bar none. But it surely’s not a vacation.
That’s why World Nomads have requested us to be the mentors for the 4 winners of the Content material Creator Scholarship.
Leaning on almost a decade of expertise working in essentially the most distant locations conceivable and partnering with a whole bunch of manufacturers like Sony, Expedia, Vacation spot Canada, Journey Advisor and Volvo, we all know the ins and outs of the business.
We’ll be offering private 1-on-1 teaching with every winner to assist them study all the things they should know in regards to the business – how one can create stunning content material, storyboarding, how one can work with shoppers, expectations and deliverables, how one can flip your ardour right into a enterprise, and lots extra.
We very hardly ever supply personalised teaching for creators, so this in itself is a really distinctive alternative.
What You Can Win
World Nomads have partnered with us (NOMADasaurus), Sony, RØDE and Brilliant Journey to supply some unimaginable prizes!
Skilled Mentorship
Unlock your potential with 1-on-1 teaching from us!
$2500 USD Journey Price range
Journey and create content material on task for World Nomads
Sony Digicam
Shoot stunning Vlogs with a Sony ZV-E10 digicam & lens package price $799 USD
RØDE Audio Gear
File superior sound with mics and equipment price over $700 USD
Brilliant Journey Programs
Develop your journey and artistic abilities with programs price $500 USD
Journey Insurance coverage
Journey safer and smarter with US $150 towards your journey insurance coverage.
As you’ll be able to see above, the prizes are very substantial, coming in at nicely over USD$5000 worth.
Mentorship
You’ll be coached by us, as talked about above. If that’s not cause sufficient to enter then we don’t know what’s!
Journey
You’ll be given a price range of USD$2500 to e-book a 3 to 4-day journey inside a 4-hour flight from your property metropolis.
You’ll have the liberty to pick the place you go and what you wish to create, beneath the steering of ourselves and World Nomads.
On this journey you can be required to create an agreed variety of deliverables, similar to some other skilled content material creator, and add them by a selected deadline.
World Nomads will even share your content material throughout their web site and social channels, offering additional publicity for you as a creator and opening extra doorways to broaden into the business.
Gear
Our mates at Sony will likely be giving every winner a model new Sony ZV-E10 vlogging digicam to seize their content material with, and RØDE will likely be offering every winner with $700 price of microphones and different tools.
We personally use Sony and RØDE gear ourselves on all of our assignments, so that you’ll have a whole setup to turn out to be knowledgeable content material creator!
Programs
Brilliant Journey will likely be giving every winner entry to their superb creator programs to the worth of USD$500.
Insurance coverage
In case you can’t afford journey insurance coverage, you’ll be able to’t afford to journey. Particularly if you happen to’re on task with some costly gear occurring epic adventures!
That’s why World Nomads will present every winner with USD$150 to place in the direction of journey insurance coverage for his or her journey.
Find out how to Enter the Scholarship
Coming into the World Nomads Content material Creator Scholarship may be very simple, and received’t take an excessive amount of of your time.
Right here’s a rundown on the way it works:
You will discover the entry kind on this web page.
We wish to see your finest journey content material and perceive why you assume you must win. We will likely be weighting entries primarily based on 80% content material shared and 20% written submission.
Your content material may be outdated or new, however should:
- Showcase a journey story, expertise or location
- Present originality, creativity and be visually participating
- Successfully inform us a journey story or journey expertise
- Be a picture, video, weblog or vlog put up that’s in English and publicly accessible
- Take 1-2 minutes most to assessment in full (view, watch or learn)
Your 150 phrase or much less written submission must persuade our judges that you’ve got a ardour for journey and creating content material as a profession.
Your content material may be on a weblog, Instagram, Fb, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter or some other media outlet.
Whether or not it’s a written article, stunning photograph collection, inspiring video clip and even an intriguing podcast, so long as it’s travel-related and you’ve got a want to turn out to be knowledgeable creator, you might be eligible to hitch!
You don’t must have a big social media following both. The truth is we couldn’t care much less what number of followers you’ve gotten. All we care about is your ardour and creativity.
Alesha and I are two of the judges for this and are very excited to see all of the entries.
Functions shut October sixteenth, and the winner is introduced November sixteenth, 2022.
What Successful the Scholarship May Imply for You
As I look again on the expansion and success of NOMADasaurus and our personal private manufacturers, I hand-on-my-heart attribute the place we’re immediately to profitable the World Nomads Scholarship in 2014.
Sure, we might have nonetheless developed our enterprise into what it’s immediately with out the scholarship. Something is feasible in any case, and lots of of our mates are profitable on this business with out the leg-up that we acquired.
Nevertheless the scholarship provided a lot greater than only a title.
It was a window right into a world that I by no means thought was attainable. It opened doorways to working with publications and types that in all probability by no means would have occurred so early in our content material creation profession.
Getting access to a mentor expedited the training curve tremendously. The place else might I’ve discovered such a behemoth of the business prepared to reply any query I via her means?
And most of all having a worldwide firm as forward-thinking and influential as World Nomads backing us from day 1, and persevering with to again us all through our whole careers, allowed us to become who we’re immediately.
In 2022 the scholarship is taking up a revolution, and we’re so thrilled to be a part of the journey.
So if you happen to’re a budding journey content material creator and have at all times needed to show your goals into actuality, be sure you enter the World Nomads Scholarship.