Blogger Adventure: Hitha Palepu of Hitha on the Go I was introduced to Hitha Palepu when I wrote an

Blogger Adventure: Hitha Palepu of Hitha on the Go I was introduced to Hitha Palepu when I wrote an article about New York workwear brand MM.LaFleur earlier this year. That’s when I, with my dislike of flying, discovered Hitha on the Go, her lifestyle and travel blog where I have been collecting tips on how to Stay connected abroad, affordably and packing a duffle bag, which also applies if you only ever travel on the Eurostar. I asked Palepu for some advice for fly haters, and about monetising and redesigning her site. Why did you decide to set up a blog and how did you decide to focus it on travel? My blog start is a common one - I had just started my job in the pharmaceutical industry and craved a creative outlet. As I was traveling constantly, it had to be something that I could do from my laptop, anywhere. I didn’t start blogging about travel until late 2012. It started with a post on long flight essentials, which spread like wildfire on Pinterest. No one was writing about travel from a style perspective, or to an audience who had full-time jobs but prioritised travel. I began writing about travel twice monthly in 2013 with my En Route With series, launched Travel Tips later that year, and now publish 1-2 travel posts a week. How has your blog evolved since launching in 2009? The name is the only thing that remains! Hitha On The Go started as an online journal, evolved to a lifestyle blog in 2011, and became a full-fledged website focused on both travel and lifestyle this year. What are the most popular travel tips on your blog? My very first travel post, on long flight essentials, is still one of my most popular posts. This post on surviving long flights is equally popular. My most popular packing tips are how to pack electronics, packing for an overnight trip, 3 pairs of shoes for any trip, and how to pack a duffel. All of my packing and travel tip posts can be found here. I hate flying, mostly because of all the fuss it includes. What is your advice? Preparation is everything. Know what you’ll actually do (versus what you want to do) on the flight and pack accordingly. Always bring snacks, wear an outfit that’s both polished and comfortable (black leggings, an oversized white Oxford, a camel blazer, and smoking slippers is my favourite travel outfit), and bring a maximum of three entertainment options. I’ll always have my Kindle and my laptop (with a movie and some television episodes downloaded) and giant headphones. I also never leave home without my portable battery charger. One of my favourite sections is En Route With… How do you choose the women featured? A confession - I launched the series by featuring my friends! As the series grew, I looked for entrepreneurs who were creating businesses that are travel and packing focused (Ruzwana Bashir created the activities booking tool Peek, Sarah LaFleur founded MM LaFleur after experiencing the pain of packing and traveling in business attire). You recently redesigned Hitha on the Go. How did you go about it and why did you decide to do it? The website redesign was a long time coming. I waited until I had enough diversified content (videos, posts, guides) before starting the process. I knew that I wanted to work with Victoria McGinley Studios and Elembee - both are incredibly talented, and also good friends. They understood my vision immediately and were a dream to work with. The goal of the website was to create an easy-to-use, beautiful experience for all the current content, but one that could also grow with me. Hiring Victoria and Lisa was the best investment I made in Hitha On The Go. The site now has more of a magazine than blog feel. Do you still see yourself as a blogger and is the new site changing the way you approach your content? I’ve always seen myself as a writer over a blogger, but the old design was very much a blog. Hitha On The Go is now a full-fledged lifestyle website that offers a variety of content - articles, videos, and downloadable guides. Between downloadable guides and video tutorials, you have a proper multimedia site. What are the logistics of producing such content? It’s not easy. A lot goes into planning my editorial calendar, pitching video projects, and creating the content. I can’t and don’t do it alone - I work with photographers, videographers, and editorial partners to create the various types of content. While my video content is still on a project basis, I’m committed to publishing 3-4 quality posts a week and organise my time into writing, photography, graphic design, and editing blocks to get it all done. You also have a newsletter. Why did you decide to launch it and what does it add to the site? I’m just about to re-launch the newsletter, which has sadly lagged in the past few months. The new monthly newsletter will house my latest packing content, include an exclusive article, and will be the first place where I announce new packing guides and offer discount codes. You are currently working for a start-up and before that you were an exec in the pharmaceutical industry. How has the blog been fitting in with your career? Hitha On The Go evolved from a hobby blog to a legitimate side venture over the past two years. It’s allowed me to exercise and grow my creative muscles, which is necessary given the technical nature of my work at SciDose. With the start-up, my role as co-founder and COO has called on both my SciDose and Hitha On The Go experience, from creative direction, web development, legal matters, and the logistics of starting a business. You also run your own creative consultancy business, which I understand is about travelling too. Could you please say a bit more about it and how it fits in with your blog? I’m a Jack-of-all-Trades on that front! Currently, I’m working with Hudson+Bleecker on all of their digital marketing efforts - everything from defining the brand’s voice on social media, coordinating influencer gifting programs, and the creation and execution of different e-commerce promotions. I also work with luxury properties, travel agencies, and conference planners on 1:1 packing consulting and the creation of packing guides. It’s been an exciting challenge to launch these services this year, and I’m excited to see it grow in 2015. It’s quite rare to see people with a blog/site as developed as yours who still have a full time job. How do you manage both? It’s a full-time struggle. There are weeks when the job takes priority, and I may only post twice that week. There are weeks when I have more time and can create a ton of content in advance. I do spend a lot of my time working, whether it’s for the startup or the website, but I (try to) turn off by 6 pm every weekday. You’re going to have a baby in the spring. Do you think it is going to change the way you blog? Motherhood will be a major change for me personally. I’ll certainly comment on it and expand my travel content to cover packing and travel with a baby, but there won’t be a ‘motherhood’ series or vertical on the website. You have signed up with rewardStyle. How has that contributed to your blog, and how do you find it? Would you recommend it to other bloggers? rewardStyle is my primary affiliate link network, and it’s helped me monetise my website easily and rapidly. I’m a fan of how easy it is to use and the analytics reporting it provides. I absolutely would recommend it to other bloggers. I only wish some of the smaller/startup brands I work with were on it! You also partner with brands, for instance for giveaways. What is your rule to find the right balance between publicising a brand and guaranteeing good content? The brand and item to be given have to make sense for my readership, i.e. be functional, beautiful, and high-quality. It has to be a brand I love (read: have purchased their items for myself), and I have to be allowed full creative control over the content. If any of these parameters are not met, I decline the opportunity. I’m very selective about the sponsors I bring on, and prefer long term engagements over one-off posts. -- source link

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