The Sun Sets on Photo of the Week

Two hundred and fifty weeks is a long time. That’s how long my Photo of The Week series lasted.

I’ve loved this series for allowing me to connect with you guys and share snapshots of my weeks as they happen. But all good things come to an end, and it’s time for the sun to set on this series.

Here’s Why

I realize there are many readers who might not even notice me phasing out an old series, but for those that have followed along loyally since the beginning, I do want to give an explanation. When I first started blogging I wanted a way to check in often in “real time” with casual and easy updates outside of my wordy, photo-filled blog posts that are a labor of love and come out weeks or months after I return from a given trip.

That sounds a lot like what social media is for, right? At the time, I had a personal Facebook account and not much else. But these days I have Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and even Snapchat (well, when I remember to use it that is). Lately, I find myself struggling to organize/create enough “real time” content for all those channels plus my trusty old series Photo of The Week.

My love for Instagram and Facebook is growing every day, and I want to focus more on those channels without worrying about repeating myself or “saving” the best photos for Photo of The Week. I’m really excited to be much more active on those channels now.

There are other more business-oriented reasons as well. Photo of The Week posts are fun to read in the moment but have little information that is relevant in the long term, which leaves them clogging up my archives and homepage with little traffic from social or search sources, which hurts the overall search engine rankings of my site. They often confuse new readers about where I am, and they stress me out when it comes to creating an editorial calendar.

So basically that’s the long version, here’s the short one:

• Removing a weekly feature gives me more flexibility and freedom in post scheduling

• It frees up time and content to redirect into my social channels

• It will (hopefully) overall improve my site search engine optimization and rankings

• It gives me the incentive to FINALLY kick start a project I’ve been wanting to do for ages…. a newsletter!

What’s Next

That’s right, I’m launching a newsletter! This has been on my wish list for ages and I’m so excited to be checking it off. Not one is it something I’ve personally been itching to do, it’s also been a frequent request from those who like to follow Alex in Wanderland via email but find my automatically-dispatched posts every few days to be too frequent. That said, I know a lot of you love that feature, so I’m keeping both options open. (And by the way, HUGE thank you to my designer dream team at Further Bound for making the logistics work out for me. If you’re looking for a site redesign, you’d be lucky to have them on your crew!)

What to expect from the new one? Every Sunday I’ll be sending out a personal, real time update like you’re familiar with from Photo of the Week, followed by links to the week’s blog posts, an inspiring travel quote, as well as some of my most popular Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest entries. And who knows what else? A mean blog comment of the week? A sassy take on the latest travel news? Pictures of random baby animals doing cute stuff? (Okay, I’ll try to hold off on the last one.) This is all new to me and I plan to have some fun playing around and finding the right fit. Suggestions are welcome!

If you’re already signed up for latest posts, you’ll have to sign up for the newsletter separately. If you’re not signed up for either yet, I’d be honored to have you onboard. Sign up here, and give yourself a big ‘ol high five for me! I’ll be kicking things off this coming Sunday with an update on my arrival in Brazil.

In the end, I think this will be a positive change on all fronts. A more personal, heartfelt weekly email update to the inner circle who want it most, and more frequent, substantial content here on the blog for those who want that most. Me? I want both. And I’m so grateful, as ever, for you guys picking up the love I’m putting down.

Excited to hear from you guys on this! Let me know what you think in the comments!

Looking for new travel blogs to obsess over? Curious about new content? Searching for the perfect gift for the wanderluster in your life? Each month, I’m sharing an inspiring selection of travel blogs, travel projects and travel shops right here! Not only are these fellow entrepreneurs following their passions and creating beautiful content, they’re also supporting Alex in Wanderland by advertising in my sidebar this month — please support them back by checking out their sites and cheering them along. (From here forward, these featured bloggers will be announced in the first newsletter of the month.)

Now let’s shine the spotlight on Alex in Wanderland’s featured bloggers for April!

Caroline of Backpacking in Heels might just have one of the coolest day jobs on the planet (and I say that as someone who is often accused of having one of the coolest day jobs on the planet!) A documentary producer slash director with an incurable case of wanderlust and penchant for storytelling? You just know this blog is going to be good.

Why I Love This Blog: Can we talk about pun fun? Post titles like Goa Hard Or Goa Home keep me clicking — and wishing I was more clever when it came to naming my own entries!

Korean American blogger Nie Nie of Adventures with Nie Nie hails from California and has many passport stamps due to her military family upbringing. She names the diverse countries of Philippines, Korea and Italy as her travel faves, and reflects those varied destinations in her colorful posts.

Why I Love This Blog: As someone who just spent 50+ hours in transit, I appreciate her practical posts like How To Stay Entertained on Flights.

Rachel Elizabeth is an English-teaching, flying-phobic travel addict who was transformed by travel. Her blog Blond Wayfarer follows her travels in Europe, North America and beyond.

Why I Love This Blog: She’s brutally honest about the tough stuff, like cancelling a long-awaited trip for personal reasons. As someone who has done the same thing, I appreciate reading someone else’s thought process.

Long time Alex in Wanderland readers might recognize Sky of Sky Vs. World from the comments section –and now I’m so excited to have her in the sidebar too! A small town Pennsylvanian with a love of all things Central America and a bravery for stepping outside her comfort zone, you’ll be cheering her along with every post.

Why I Love This Blog: Frankly, I see so much of my own journey in Sky’s — a young girl fired up to do something totally crazy and out of both her own and her community’s comfort zone, and equal parts scared and determined to do it.

Natalie of Gad About the Globe hails from Idaho, but her travel history allows her to call many places home — she’s worked in Europe, studied in Asia and Latin America, worked for the Peace Corps in Madagascar and for Americorps in Los Angeles, and traveled extensively inbetween!

Why I Love This Blog: All those smarty-pants accolades are put to amazing use for posts like Five Ways Politics Affect Travel, interspersed by the usual colorful travel tales.

Interested in becoming a featured blogger or shop? Read more here. Limited spots still remaining for July and beyond.