Creator Interviews: Karen Delgado

Hello and welcome. Thank you for tuning in to the Level Up Creators Podcast. I'm Joanne Howell, and I'll be your host today. We help digital creators build thriving, sustainable businesses they love, and we are so happy you're here. This season of the podcast, we're focusing on sharing the stories of creators and entrepreneurs who have taken the leap and navigated the world of online business creation. Today, my awesome guest is Karen Delgado. Karen is a luxury travel creator and marketing consultant for the travel, hospitality, and creator industries. She started her career journey in 2014, launching Little Black Shell, a successful fashion blog that she later transformed into a travel blog and rebranded as Lifestyle Traveler. She spent 5 years traveling around the world as a full-time travel creator before selling Lifestyle Traveler in January 2021. Since then, she's been consulting for both Fortune 500 companies and startups. Leveraging her expertise to help brands create impactful marketing strategies. She now lives in Madrid and continues her adventures as a frequent traveler, sharing her worldly experiences through her online home, Aesthetics Traveler. Welcome, Karen. Hey, thanks for having me, Joy. Oh, it's such a pleasure to have you today. So Karen, we have, um, had a little bit of a chance to chat and I'm so excited to share your story with our audience today. Um, yeah, let's dive right in. I would love for you to tell us, um, a little bit about what was happening for you before you decided to become a creator. Just give us the backstory of where you were at and what was happening in your life before you kind of decided, yeah, I think I want to move into this creator thing. Yeah, super happy to be

here and thanks for, you know, having me. Um, so when I actually started my creator journey, it was back in 2014, like you, you said in the intro. Um, obviously it was a very different time. The creator industry was, uh, this baby form. I was just getting started. And, um, I was actually a student at the time. I was in college. I had no idea about blogs or, you know, influencers, nothing. But, um, I actually went to a fashion class. That was the major that I was studying at the moment. And a professor introduced me to blogging. So she mentioned how blogging was, you know, the latest thing in fashion and that it was great for us to have a blog as a resume builder, that it was going to help us in our career and kind of like launch it, um, even when we didn't have experience, right? It served as like another internship. Um, and for one of the assignments, in this class, she had us write some blog posts. So that was the intro to blogging in the creator industry for me. And since that class, it just stuck with me. I was like, wow, you know, if I can accelerate my career by launching this travel or this fashion blog. And, um, I, I had tried writing some blog posts and I enjoyed it. And it also incorporated, uh, marketing, which I was interested in, photography, you know, fashion. All the things. So I went ahead and launched Little Black Shell and that's, that's just kind of how I got started.

Wow. That's fascinating. Amazing. So was it, was the technical aspect of getting started challenging for you? I know you mentioned you liked the writing piece. How about the tech part of things?

Yeah, I mean, I liked the writing piece, but honestly, I was awful. Like, I still have a screenshot of my first blog post and I think any creator will tell you this, right? Like their first piece of content is just When you look back on it, it's just not up to par. And, um, but the technical part, I would consider myself very tech savvy. Um, my dad is in tech, you know, he gave me a computer, I think when I was like 5 years old. And, um, I, I was very much exposed to that. Um, some of the, like the ways that I would get an allowance was by editing a family photo on Photoshop and things like this.

Yeah.

So, so I had a little bit of that foundation, but still, like, I had never built a website, you know, I had never done it for a business. So it was a lot of learning, just Googling stuff and, and figuring it out. I mean, there wasn't as much to, to look at either, you know, it was still early on. There were not as many creators. So yes, it was just trial and error. So that was a big challenge, I guess. Mm-hmm.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I can imagine being self-taught, especially at that time. I mean, YouTube was coming into being, but there weren't as many courses and how to do everything as they are now. So I'm sure that was a big learning curve for you.

Definitely. I wish we would've had the support that there's available now.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh my goodness. Amazing. So tell us about, um, you know, the process of building, you finally got your blog together, you started writing, started creating content. Um, you know, what, uh, what were some of the challenges in your process of learning, being self-taught, figuring everything out as you go? Um, what, talk to us a little bit about what some of the other challenges that you might've experienced were.

Yeah, so honestly, for me, the biggest challenge was Um, not so much the blogging side, the growing a following. I think that all had a learning curve, but it was more mental health. So when I started this, I didn't know what boundaries were at all. You know, I, I had no clue that I needed to set boundaries for, for my content. I was just thinking more like a business of what is the best growth strategy, trying different things, seeing what had more engagement. Um, but kind of like what we were touching base on right before, um, the podcast and I was sharing with you, um, it started having a negative effect on my mental health and quite quickly. So I think it's something, something important for creators and brands or anyone that has, you know, um, is a personal brand and, and is talking to the public basically, uh, to keep in mind is that while certain marketing strategies might give you really good results, it's important to keep in mind that you are a human being. So you still have emotions, you still go through things, right? If someone says something to you, even if it's a positive, right? They're just having an opinion on your life. It can still have a negative, um, effect on your mental health because you're letting too many people in. So I would say that was my biggest challenge and it was actually one of the main factors of why I sold my blog in 2021 and I moved away from the creator space for a while. So yeah, that, that was a big learning lesson.

Sure. Absolutely. Thank you for sharing that. I appreciate that, um, that insight. And that's definitely a really important thing for, for creators to think about. You know, it's, it's fascinating and exciting when you're getting started to think about building a big audience and having a huge following. Uh, but there are definitely some challenges to, like you said, letting so many people in. And, um, it's important, I think, to prioritize your mental health and your wellness. So I really appreciate that, um, you made that decision. I'm sure that was not necessarily a simple thing to walk away from, uh, you know, what you've been building there.

Yeah, that was definitely one of the hardest decisions of my life, I would say. Uh, that blog was my baby and it created You know, the new me. So making that decision was definitely challenging, but it was the right one. I don't regret it.

Wow. Awesome. That's great to hear. Um, are you able to share a little bit about what that actual process was like of selling the blog? How did you come to, um, you know, find a buyer and, um, you know, land on the right, uh, steps to take to actually get that done?

Sure. Um, that's, I think the number one question I get asked when I say that I sold my blog. I don't think many people do that, right? You just kind of start. Um, but I actually came across a TikTok. So this was around pandemic time. We were all on TikTok, right? Doing little dances and kind of getting all your learnings from there. Um, and randomly one day this TikTok shows up about a website called Blogs for Sale. And, um, this was around the time when I was, you know, trying to figure out if I wanted to continue with this once, um, Tribal resumed, um, or if I wanted to sell it because of all these issues that I was telling you about. Um, and then this, this came about and I kind of saw it as a sign. Um, I inquired, you know, send a message to, to the founder, like the, the person that, that had this website to understand how It worked and they're basically a blog brokerage. Um, so they, you list your blog with them, um, and then they find you a buyer and they handle all the legal stuff. So it was very easy. It was just, you know, listing it and I think it took like 2 or 3 months before I sold it.

That's interesting. Really interesting. Wow. Amazing. Karen, one of the things I wanted to ask you about is you're a travel creator, and typically we think about people, you know, with big followings, especially in the travel space, beautiful pictures from all over the world on your travel journeys and so on. Instagram seems to be probably a, you know, No-brainer platform that you'd be on. And you actually have the bulk of your social presence on LinkedIn and Pinterest in addition to your blog. I was curious if you'd share a little bit with us about how you decided to focus on LinkedIn and Pinterest, you know, over Instagram.

Yeah, of course. So my decision to focus on other platforms and not on Instagram this time around was because for my first blog, um, I focused pretty much primarily on Instagram. And like I mentioned about the mental health, um, it started having a negative effect on my mental health, right? Um, unfortunately, it's, there's a lot of studies around it and a lot of people that can relate to this, that social media just negatively impacts your mental health if you don't have boundaries in place. So for me, when I launched my fashion blog and then I later, um, changed it to a travel blog, I focused on my website, right? The physical business that's kind of like your, your home, um, and what you own. And then my social media, uh, platform of choice was Instagram because that's, that's just kind of where you did things at the time. It was It was the main one. You just posted pictures. It wasn't even videos yet. No stories, just photos. Um, um, so I focused there. Um, but then as more features started coming about and the algorithm started getting more moody, that's, I think, also when the mental health challenges started, because it was more posting, um, I like, how can I say it? It was less about posting content that I genuinely enjoyed and for inspiration and more about, you know, um, making peace with the algorithm. It was kind of like being in a toxic relationship and you just had to be, you know, stepping on eggshells and, and trying to appease the, your partner, which is Instagram. So, oh, with that, um, since that was one of the the big drivers for me to sell my blog originally, the first one, Lifestyle Traveler.

Yes.

Um, this time around, now that I launched Aesthetics Traveler, I didn't want to just copy paste what I did before. I wanted to do things differently. Um, I knew that boundaries needed to be in place. I knew what hadn't worked for me before. Even if it worked for me on the business side, it didn't, it wasn't sustainable for me in the long run, right? If you are your business, you have to Find things that are sustainable for you and your life, um, and then make your business work around it. So I decided to prioritize more evergreen channels this time around. Um, when I had my original blog, I also used Pinterest as a main traffic driver and I loved it. That was, um, you know, really good and no negative side effects. So that this time around, I also decided to use Pinterest. Um, I have decided to focus more on YouTube, for example, instead of Instagram because it's more evergreen. So evergreen just means that it's something that grows over time rather than you having to create constant content to stay relevant. So if I post a YouTube video today, in 2 years it can still be getting views and can actually grow, you know, randomly versus an Instagram post, it'll probably die in 48 hours. And, um, that was, I would say those are the main reasons, just my positive, but then negative experience on Instagram before and just now wanting to do things a little bit more sustainably for myself, for my business, um, being less in a rat race and more in, you know, having things work for me, more passive.

Love that. Wow. Thank you so much. That's super, super insightful. I really appreciate your, um, you know, sharing about, you know, needing to set boundaries. And I'm curious if you can share, like, what does that look like now, having gone through that experience on Instagram and having learned those lessons, you know, probably unfortunately the hard way, but, um, what does it look like for you? Uh, and, and I'd love for us to get into a little bit about your content creation process for what you do make now, but Tell me a bit more about like how you choose to set boundaries and what that looks like in your experience.

Sure. So something that I learned was, um, to share from scars and not wounds. So yeah, something I was doing before on my Instagram, especially when stories came about, is that I was just sharing live, right? And that meant I was posting my morning coffee and my walks with my dog and my travels, you know, to Brazil. And I was also posting about my struggles, but live. So it wasn't something that I was giving myself time to process on my own and to form an opinion about on my own. I was instead just opening up to my audience and then letting a lot of voices into my DM to have opinions on my life over something that, you know, was affecting my life and not really their lives, right? So. Something to keep in mind is that while I loved my, my followers and I really appreciated them, um, having an audience is a little bit of a one-way relationship. You may know your audience as a general, you know, market and maybe, um, engage with a few people, but it's still, they're going to know you more than you know them. And this gives people a sense of, even if it's well-intentioned, right? It gives other people the sense that they have some sort of entitlement over your life and maybe can have opinions on it and your decision-making. And while it might not be something that they're trying to do to harm you, it can

That is a really, really great tip. Thank you for offering that. That's very, very powerful. I think that's something that most people can benefit from thinking through, you know. I love that. It's a great strategy for setting boundaries. Appreciate you sharing that.

Of

course. So now, lots of lessons learned. You're obviously having grown a successful business. successful business. When you do create content now, what is, you know, do you have any fun rituals you engage in? Are there any interesting things you do to sort of psych yourself up? I, you know, appreciate you're not going to be sharing raw, live exactly what's happening in the moment now. You're going to probably be applying some of those lessons and being a bit more thoughtful. But what is, what does your current content creation process look like? Walk us through that a little bit if you can.

Sure. So I would say that I don't have any particular habit or ritual or anything like that that I do for content creation, but I do tend to create content more in bursts. And this is something I think I learned partially through one, my cousin. His name is Piero Delgado and we partner a lot for content creation. He's edited some of my YouTube videos. He's actually Um, a, a featured guest on my online course on Travel Creator Blueprint. And one of his methodologies for content creation is having more of a mind map. Um, and then from that mind map, you can, um, segment content ideas for different platforms. So this is a concept that I've also used, just not as detailed that he puts it in the course. Um, but I've used it for my, you know, in-house, uh, experience. So I've also led social media and influencer marketing in-house and at agencies. And that's something that now I apply to my own content creation, my own business that maybe I didn't do before, right? It was more intuitive and more, uh, sporadic the first time around. Now it's a bit more structured in that sense. So. That's, that would be what I do. Um, I just kind of do it in this mind map way and then in bursts. So I, you know, choose a day and I create content or maybe it's a week and then maybe I don't create content for a while longer. Uh, it's what works for me.

Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. That's really great. I know there's so many different ways to do it and, and there's lots of different, um, methods proposed online, different strategies. And I do think what you're sharing ultimately is that you need to find a system that works for you. Really something that feels resonant for your schedule and your interest and your energy levels and what you're excited about in the moment. So thank you for sharing. That's very interesting, that mind mapping process.

Yeah, it definitely helps. It's more structured.

Okay, amazing. So in the content creation journey that you've had so far, um, what would you, can you highlight for us a little bit of about, you know, what might've been a viral moment, like something that was, um, you know, sort of increased your following or your, your audience or, you know, brought more attention in some way? What do you have, like a specific moment that you can point to?

Yeah, so being a travel blogger, the moment was actually a destination. Um, so it wasn't like a particular, you know, like a specific piece of content, like maybe other creators have that just resonated. Obviously I had content that performed better than Yeah. And, uh, and things like that. But for me, it was, um, a particular place and this place was Greece. So in 2016, yeah. Um, when I had just started travel blogging for real, so I actually sold all of my things in California, which is where I was living at the time. Um, bought a one-way ticket to London and I just decided, you know, I'm gonna do this thing. I'm gonna do it for reals. I'm gonna leave everything behind and I'm just gonna travel around the world and Be a travel blogger. Like, if I want to do it, I just have to do it. So I did that. Um, after London, went to Berlin, and then I went to Greece. And in Greece is where I had this aha moment of, wow, I can actually do this. I can actually be, you know, a travel creator full-time, live from this and enjoy it. And Greece, um, obviously I loved London and You know, Berlin and all of that. But Greece was exactly me. Like it was exactly my aesthetic. It was exactly my vision board of what I had pinned on Pinterest for Little Black Shell. And um, and when I landed there, it was like all the stars aligned, right? Like the islands were welcoming me and knowing that this is what I had been wanting. Um, because every hotel that I reached out to there just said yet. And it was amazing. Um, I remember going to Mykonos and I just landed, um, at this gorgeous hotel, like Rocabella, um, Mykonos. And they just gave me this, this stunning room and I was so happy. Um, but then the next place that I went to, they just gave me an even better room. It's like they were competing with each other. They gave me like the, the best suite with the private pool and the view of You know, uh, and then the next hotel, it was like even better. So I'm just, it, it was, I was having the most mind-blowing moment in, in Greece. Like, how, who am I, right? Like imposter syndrome. Like, who even am I? Why am I in this suite? And like, my content is not good enough for this. Like, um, But I created the best content of my life in Greece, and I actually saw a huge, you know, um, new following that came from it on Instagram. Um, that really set the foundation for just my travel blogging career moving forward. Um, after getting those amazing collaborations with those hotels, pretty much it was so much easier to just get yeses for any partnership that I wanted moving forward of any other destination. And my audience was also more engaged. Like everyone noticed that I was just on it there.

Yes.

So that was definitely my, my viral destination.

That is so fascinating. I really appreciate that story that, um, what I'm, what I'm hearing really is that the idea of you just deciding to go for it, you know, just buying that one-way ticket is really what started it all. And it's like following that spark that, um, you know, Um, started a chain of, you know, amazing circumstances and coincidences that led to you being right where it was, seems like the perfect place for you.

Yeah, I definitely think so. I mean, it sounds cheesy, but you really are the only one that can give yourself your dream life, right? Like, you can't just wait for the stars to align and everything to be perfect and you to have No money worries, no fears, no nothing to go for it. You just have to go for it. So, and you'll be rewarded for it.

Yeah. That's fantastic. Wow. So exciting. Um, okay. So, um, I'm, I'm really interested. I'm excited to talk more about, um, the course that you've created to help other creators learn how to be travel creators as well. Tell us a little bit more about what brand partnerships look like for you, how they work for you. And, um, you know, what, what's the secret sauce to making brand partnerships work in your, in your experience?

Yeah, of course. Um, brand partnerships, I mean, they're what made my career, right? Like that's how I was able to travel around the world, how I was able to sustain myself, and what gave me all of these amazing memories and amazing experiences and what made travel blogging worthwhile. Like if I hadn't had those brand partnerships, Then it wouldn't have been worth it for me. Like that was part of the fun traveling and, and going to these amazing hotels and, you know, living that my best life while having this business that allowed me to, to do that. Um, for me, travel, uh, like the partnerships were all about relationship building. So one of my best partners while I was traveling full time was IHG. So Intercontinental Hotel Group, just as an example. Um, I had an original partnership with them. I think it was in Athens. So funny enough, Greece.

Yeah.

Um, and then from there I just stayed in contact, you know, like really created a relationship with that, um, the person that at the time was handling PR and influencers. And I just kept her updated on all of my travels. So whenever I went to a destination that had an IHG hotel, I would reach out to her and be, uh, and just tell her like, hey, I'm going to be here. You know, I'd love to, um, try out this hotel. Like I have a whole pitch that I go over in the Travel Career Blueprint. Um, but basically I didn't have to introduce myself to her anymore, obviously. Um, but I would just tell her a little bit about where I was going, what dates I would be, um, there in, and what my proposal was for partnership with her. It was usually. Uh, blog posts and then some Instagram posts at the time. Um, and with, with this, you know, brand, um, they, they were always trying to work with me because we had built that relationship. So she knew I would deliver on what I was saying. She knew that, um, it was having, you know, good results. And it was interesting for her to, to continue building a relationship with me because I was also traveling full time, right? And they go to a lot of destinations where they had hotels. So I would say it's all about relationship building and also underpromising, overdelivering, and just being very professional. Yeah, definitely very professional. Definitely, you know, um, if you're going to promise something and you don't know if you're going to give results, um, then it's better not to do that. It's better to underpromise, um, and then surprise and delight.

Wow. Interesting. That's a really great philosophy. Um, very cool. So I'm sure those kinds of tips and insights are part of the travel create— the course that you've created. I'd love to learn more about that. Can you share a little bit more about the course that you developed? You've had so much experience, um, and done it, been there and done it, you know, in the trenches. So I think, you know, you're, you're well poised to be able to share how-to with others. So tell us a little bit more about the course that you've built.

I guess so. Travel Creator Blueprint, I think, came from a need for myself, right? Young Karen would have loved to have this. Um, and, and also just as a way of giving back to my community. Like, even though, you know, I moved away from Instagram, I sold my original blog, I still feel very much indebted to my original followers and to people just in the industry. I've seen the creator industry grow so much, the travel blogging industry grow so much too. That I think it's, uh, it doesn't feel so out of reach for people to be full-time travel creators anymore. For me, when I started, I mean, it felt like a big reach, but now there's so much, you know, support. The industry is growing. I think it's like $3 point something billion. I don't remember the number, um, of the, the industry, but I know when I started it was so hard to get paid partnerships. So, um, I think it's a combination of that, my own pain points from when I got started. And, um, the knowledge obviously that I acquired from having done it, right? Grew this travel blog, um, traveled around the world, had very successful partnerships. And I've also since then led social media and influencer marketing in-house for major startups in the US and Europe, and then also for companies like Verizon. And it's just this combination of knowledge that I feel like I can't keep to myself. Um, and also last year before a trip to Spain and Italy, it just kind of clicked for me. Like, I missed this. I missed the travel blogging. I missed travel, you know, being a creator. Like, it wasn't the same just going on a trip and not sharing it, not creating content around it. Like, I was still doing it. I was still writing blog posts on my notes on, on my phone. But just not posting them anywhere. So I felt like such a waste. And, um, so yeah, it's, it's something I genuinely enjoy doing, but I want to do something bigger that is bigger than myself now, right? So I can still share content on my travel blog on Aesthetics Traveler, but now that I have this knowledge and this confidence, and I know it can have an impact on other people that, you know, maybe were like me of 7 years ago that were just wanting to get started or, you know, had this fear of, of going for it. And, um, and I can have an impact and just share all of my knowledge that, I don't know, that, that, that fills me up inside.

Yeah. Oh, that's beautiful. Wow. Well, thank you for sharing that. That's amazing. Um, I'm curious for you, um, what has been, how, I mean, it sounds like creating the content for the course is Seems like an easy thing for, for where you're at. Um, what has been the process for you of putting the actual course together? Like, has it taken you months and months or has it been quick? You know, um, what platforms have you used if you're interested, if you're willing to share with us? Uh, yeah, sure. Insight on that.

Um, yeah, so this idea of a, for a course, I think I've had it since like 2018. I actually created, um, And to put it into perspective, I started traveling in 2016. So it was very much close to my beginning journey. Um, I actually started, had launched a different course before that was more around just having a remote business in general, like more geared towards digital nomads. That was what I would say was the foundation for this course now in terms of creation. Right. So having created that original digital nomad business, uh, course in 2018, um, gave me that experience to just create another one a lot quicker. But it did take me, you know, up until last year, so 2023, to actually create this other course. So

it takes

time. I think what, yeah, definitely. I think it's more a mindset thing, you know, it's more of like, It was in my head for so long, but I didn't know if I wanted to do that because, you know, I was selling my blog and then what is this other thing that I'm launching if I'm selling this blog? And it was just, uh, just my mind was just, it was not aligning. So when I had things click in my head that I wanted to get back into travel creator, you know, like being a travel creator. That's when, you know, the decision to create the course came about super quickly. And it only took me, I think, like, uh, maybe like, um, 2 weeks or a month to write it all out. And then another month to film it. Um, then I launched it, uh, to a friends and family sale. And recently I opened it up on my website for, for the public. So. Once I took the decision, uh, it was fairly quick. It just took a while to get there. Yeah.

All part of the process, I'm sure.

Yeah. Yeah. And, and, um, for platforms from where I'm hosting it, I'm using, um, Thinkific. They're, they're really great. Um, Thinkific to host my course. And, um, I also use ConvertKit more for like email, you know, like to do follow-ups for Um, just promotion of the course. And, um, and then I host my website on Showit, which is amazing because it's a, it's like a visual, um, website builder. So it makes it very, very easy and easy to make it aesthetic too, which is a big thing for me.

Okay. Well, thank you for sharing about the course and, and getting it built and getting it up and running and launched. Um, I'm curious for you. Now that you have that and you've, you know, followed that spark as well and brought that idea that you've had on your mind since 2018 actually to life and out in the world now, tell me about, for you, what scale means. Like, how does, how do you see the course fitting into your growth, your business growth, and what sort of, how do you define what scaling your business up means?

Yeah, of course. So that's something I've thought about a lot. Like I said, I didn't want to build my business exactly the way that I did before, only the things that I liked. Um, but for me, scale is more about having time freedom and also making it as passive as possible. So while I think for a creator business, it's important for you to learn about the foundations of having a creator business, right? Like the social media strategies and content creation and blogging, SEO, you know, brand partnerships, how to have that effectively. I think the next step after that is to create products that you can do more passively. Also having a team that can help you out so you're not doing everything yourself. And if you are doing brand partnerships or if you are doing, you know, consulting, which is also something I did on the side, um, having it be very aligned. Um, so whatever time I am selling, it's It's something I genuinely enjoy and feel like it's a complete fit for my brand and for myself.

Amazing. Okay. Thank you. I think that makes a lot of sense to make sure that there's, you know, that synergy and that you're, uh, you know, in alignment with the people you're working with and the things that you're, you're working towards. I'm curious for, from your perspective, you've been at this for a long time. You know, you probably qualify as an OG creator actually, um, been doing it since 2014. So. What is one of the trends in the creator space right now that you would love to see come to an end?

Oof, yeah. I would say the transactional creator-brand partnerships. So I think the, like the more, like the common practice still nowadays for brands and influencers to partner is Um, on one-off campaigns. And like I previously said, like the things that have the most, um, return on investment and actually, you know, benefit both sides of the coin, right? The brand and the creator is relationship building. So I would love for just like one-off transactional, um, partnerships to end and for brands, both brands and creators to focus more on relationship building. So on having those long-term partnerships, so being more selective with each other, but working together longer term, I think that has way more benefits for everyone, including your audience.

Yeah. Yeah. Makes sense. Wow. That's really fascinating. Thank you for sharing that view. What would you say is something that you're most looking forward to in the creator space? So something that you're seeing emerge or hoping will start to take shape? In the, in the creator economy right now?

Um, well, I think it aligns with the business that I'm building. I love the creator, the creator educator space that is surging, uh, recently. Um, and again, that's the direction that I'm taking Aesthetics Traveler to. And I think the, the creator space, like it's important, like I said, to learn the foundations of being a creator, but ultimately if you do want to have scale in your business, There's only so many brand partnerships you can sell, right? Um, and you're kind of stuck with the algorithm and whether it's gonna, you know, reward you with engagement or with an audience. But if you have more of, you know, knowledge to sell and knowledge to help your audience, that can really help you scale. Um, so that's something I'm looking forward to, just more of this industry, this, this side of the creator industry growing.

Sure, sure. Fascinating. Thank you. I'm curious, talking about trends and things emerging in the space, just interested in your perspective on AI usage. So do you use AI at all for content creation? Are you open to that and interested in using it for content or other aspects of building your business?

Yeah. I think AI is great if you use it kind of as an assistant and maybe like an extra mind, like an extension of your mind to help you ideate. Um, at least that's how I've used it. So currently I've used it to help me, you know, come up with ideas for blog posts, or maybe I have this small concept in my head, but I don't really know how to expand on it. So I'll prompt, you know, ChatGPT and be like, hey, expand on Whatever, like, uh, the brand partnerships with influencers, like best, um, I'm losing my words. Best, best practices, you know, like just something random. Um, so I can help it kind of be my partner in thinking. Um, I think like being an entrepreneur and being in this creator business can be a little bit lonely and it's nice to just have someone to help you bounce ideas and AI can really help with that. Yeah. And, and also it can help you repurpose content. So kind of along with the mind map thing that I was talking about of like having one idea and then just having that idea feed into different platforms and different pieces of content, AI can help you with that, right? Like you can write a blog post and then have it repurpose it for email or for a social media post. Or on the flip side, maybe you start with a small post for social media and then it can Expand on it. So it's, it's a great tool for that.

Okay, Karen, you have done so much in the travel creator space and your course is out now and available. Tell us about why your mission matters to you. Why do you really care about sharing, um, and helping others learn to become travel creators?

So my, yeah, so my mission is to help aspiring creators launch their travel blog and just travel around the world, right? But I feel like it goes beyond that. So It's not just about having a business, but it's about world travel and just being open to the world and having this opportunity to just expand your mindset. And just, I just feel like traveling is, is something that has given so much to me and the world would literally be a better place if more people traveled. Not for the aesthetics, you know, not for all of that. Like that is a big plus, but it really does make you more compassionate as a person. Like you get to Understand different cultures and different people better. So you have more empathy and, um, it also helps you see how small you are in the world. So it kind of brings down your entitlement a little bit, which I know we, we all have in one way or another. Um, it also helps you personally to get rid of fears. Um, at least for me, traveling solo especially helped me grow so much as a person. Now I'm not afraid to You know, move halfway across the world for an opportunity or just go to, you know, Thailand on my own because I don't know, I want some pad thai or go to, you know, Paris for a good croissant and just talk, um, French, bad French with someone, right? Um, and I don't know, I think in general, if more people had the opportunity to make their dreams come true as cheesy as that sounds, it would be a better place. Um, so if I can contribute to that in even a small way through this course by helping people that already have that desire of world travel and being an entrepreneur, then I'm going to give it my all. I'm going to do it. That's my contribution to, to this world right now.

Thank you, Karen. That is so fascinating, really, um, inspiring to hear you, you know, what your, what your mission means to you and why you want to do that. And I fully agree. I think traveling is something that opens up so much, um, in your personal life and, and, and really can contribute to making you a better, more compassionate and empathetic person. So I love that that's part of, of why you're doing what you do. And, um, you know, I really hope the course continues to grow and go well and more people get to learn about how to do it and that it's actually possible. So thank you for putting that out in the world.

Sure, of course. I'm happy to be putting that out and I don't know. It's, it's kind of like a, a two-way helping thing, right? It's like, you help me, I help you. I, I think that's better. Um, that's the better way of the world working through collaboration.

Wow.

Fantastic.

I totally agree. All right. Well, we are almost at time, but I would love for you to share with us before we go, um, you know, an interesting fact, a fun fact, or a shocking fact that we may not know about you yet that you'd love to, uh, to clue us in on.

Sure. So going on the theme of travel and kind of just global citizen, um, I was originally born in Lima, Peru, um, then grew up in the States and, um, now I'm living in Spain. So I actually got triple citizenship. Um, today I officially got my Spanish passport, like literally 2 hours before this recording. So I'm super excited. Yeah, I finally consider myself an official, uh, global citizen. So. Oh my goodness. That is so exciting. Congratulations.

That's very, very cool.

It took a lot of work, but we're here.

I can imagine. Yeah, absolutely. That's a beautiful treasure to be able to have and, and take with you. And I'm sure you're gonna continue to stamp that passport and continue to travel and share your journeys with us and, and, and educate people as you do that. That's wonderful.

Definitely. More experiences, more knowledge. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Well, Karen, it's been such a pleasure having you on today, learning about your journey and your story. If people want to connect with you and learn more about Aesthetics Traveler and also the travel course that you've created, where can they find you?

So you can go to the website aestheticstraveler.com. Um, you will probably not find me on Instagram at the moment, but you can go to YouTube. And my YouTube channel is just, uh, Karen Alexandra. So if you do youtube.com/c/karenalexandra, you'll see that channel. And that's where I'm posting more about just my journey in general. So anything from travel blogs to, you know, creator tips to my new life in Spain, um, that's, that's where you'll find me.

Okay, fantastic. We'll make sure that we link up all of those details in the show notes. Thank you for joining us on the podcast today. The team at Level Up Creators is here to support you with building and optimizing a profitable business that will transform your life for good. Subscribe to the show and head over to welevelupcreators.com to sign up for our newsletter where we share actionable business tips for creators just like you. We'll see you next time.