Is blogging dead? With AI and Search Generative Experience being leaned into on different platforms and Google-this is a question that many content creators are wondering. Truthfully, they’re really wondering is online content creation dead? Jen Ruiz, founder of Jen on a Jet Plane and I talk about all that and more in the following podcast episode. She drops some gems. While Jen is in the travel niche, I do want to mention that this episode is relevant for all content creators. Enjoy the episode!
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Creators Getting Paid-Bonus Video
For paying subscribers to the Creators Getting Paid newsletter, I’ve included a video conversation that Jen and I recorded where we talk all about monetization and how she makes money currently as a digital content creator. Sign up for $5 to gain access to the interview.
Episode Show Notes
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Jen Ruiz00: 1:03 -01:11
My name is Jen Ruiz. I am a lawyer turned full time travel blogger and author, and I am the founder of Jen on a jet plane.
Michelle Jackson: 1:11 -1:23
How would you describe the type of work that you do to someone who might be vaguely familiar with travel content creation, but they’re like, they’re not sure what that means.
Jen Ruiz: 1:24 – 2:24
So my parents essentially, yes. And I think that that’s fair because this wasn’t really a job growing up. So there was never, you know, career orientation or sessions where you were taught about how to make content creation, blogging, digital entrepreneurship into a career. And it’s really interesting to see how that has changed in our lifetime where something like, you know, before in the sixties, people used to canvas streets to sell vacuums, you know, and they would knock on 150 doors and sell like one vacuum a day. And now with the Internet, right, we can reach 150 people with the click of a button instantly. And we can sell our skills, our knowledge, our anything that we know how to do in a way that other people don’t. And that could be, you know, even something that you know how to do with your hands that you think maybe doesn’t have an application online. So I think that it’s really fascinating to see how that has evolved.
Jen Ruiz: 2:25 – 3:16
And I try to explain, I think that’s why I hold on to author as my anchor title. At least they know what that means. They know that that means I write books and so that’s a good place to start. And then from there, I try to explain how I’m a travel expert. I really have storytelling as my main skill set and I share that skillset through different mediums, like writing on my blog, like freelance travel writing for major outlets, like short form video content creation on different platforms. And so this has been a way that I’ve monetized the core skillset, writing, speaking and travel expertise. And I think things like having the author, that traditional title, really help people anchor and see what it is.
Michelle Jackson: 3:16 – 4:30
I do I love that you said, like, my parents? It’s funny, I was talking to my mom the other day, and it was an interesting conversation because she’s like, I don’t really understand what you do. And I am glad that I’m not the only person who’s still trying to figure out the best way to kind of clarify what it is I actually do. And I think partly because, to your point, work for people for thousands of years was just very different in how it was facilitated. And because of this, there’s thousands and hundreds of thousands of people. One, confused about what we do, but two, intrigued and excited about going into content creation as a profession. It’s 2024. As we’re having this conversation, what would be your number one tip for anyone thinking about going into content creation as a profession, given all of the headwinds that are happening within the space, such as AI, such as social media fatigue, those kinds of things. Like, is that something.
Michelle Jackson: 4:30 – 4:37
Is this a profession that people should be leaning into, and what are the things that they should consider?
Jen Ruiz: 4:39 -5:17
Yeah, it’s definitely a consideration, especially this year. We’ve seen it be very pronounced with Google’s algorithm changes, you know, TikTok potentially being banned. So many things are happening. And I think that if you’re somebody that’s going to go into this field, like you really think, I want to make this a steady side hustle. I want to make this my full time job. Then you need to be okay riding those waves. You need to understand that it’s never going to be calm waters. And I think that that’s the problem and why so many people end up giving up on entrepreneurship and going back to what they call, quote unquote, a stable job.
Jen Ruiz: 5:17 -6:20
But I think that that job is an illusion of stability. You think it’s stable because you can, you know how much is coming in, you know, every two weeks. But if you have that same kind of stability, quote unquote, with what you were doing otherwise online, with the side hustle, the entrepreneurship that you’re trying to start, you would be so much more inclined to stay there. So you leave for that sense of security. But it’s false, because at any point in time, we’ve seen mass layoffs, positions get eliminated in the freelance writing space, in all the different income streams that I have, everybody right now has a major the sky is falling like everything’s on fire moment. Every single one. Right now, everybody panicky everywhere you look. So the bloggers are all like, everybody’s lost 90% of their traffic and income with Google’s algorithm changes and everybody’s knocked off of page one of search results, social media people, I mean, everybody’s algorithm reaches dramatically reduced on Instagram.
Jen Ruiz: 6:20 – 6:48
You know, TikTok’s potentially being banned. People are scrambling to go back to Pinterest, to go to YouTube, to figure out where they can go to get seen. You know, in the traditional publishing world, you know, that’s constantly being threatened. Books are being banned, bookstores are being shut down. You know, ebooks are taking over. Like, there’s so much turmoil everywhere in the freelance writing world. There’s mass layoffs of these legacy publications that are shutting down. Nat Geo is not even doing their magazine anymore.
Jen Ruiz: 6:48 – 7:31
Right? They switched to a social first focus. And so everywhere you look, everyone is panicking. And if you’re going to survive in this industry, you have to be okay, understanding that it’s always going to be tumultuous. And that’s okay because you’re constantly adapting and you always understand what your core skill set is and if that means that you’re finding another way to express that as things change. Short form video was not something I did before, you know, two, three years ago, and now it’s one of my biggest generators. I have over 100 million views with my short form videos. And so that’s something that I just decided, okay, that’s the way we’re going. That’s the way I’m leaning.
Jen Ruiz: 7:31 – 8:34
I don’t know what’s coming next. It could be holograms, and I need holograms, but I’m going to have to be okay adapting to that. And I think where I see so many people get stuck is that they like to feel like they know what’s coming and they get really frustrated and scared and resentful when it goes away. It reminds me a lot of the who moved my cheese book? And so, yeah, so, like, there’s just two mice and they have like, this stash of cheese that’s amazing and it’s plentiful, but then one day it’s just not there anymore. And you have the choice to continue in the maze and find new cheese or continue hemming and hawing about the fact that the cheese is not there anymore. So, like, which one are you going to do? And I think it’s just a matter of being like, okay, is AI the next thing? Then how can I best use AI to my abilities? Like, to really help me and help me succeed instead of doubling down and being like, this is terrible, I hate it. I’m going to just complain about it. If you see that’s the way things are moving, hop on board.
Jen Ruiz: 8:35 – 8:40
And I think if you’re not ready to do that, then this isn’t going to be something you can do for a long time.
Michelle Jackson: 8:40 – 8:53
There are changes in your regular nine to five. And I think just in general, if people are resistant to change that, ultimately that’s going to be very difficult to navigate around.
Jen Ruiz: 8:53 – 8:54
Absolutely.
Michelle Jackson: 8:55 – 9:15
So you have been doing this for a while. What has surprised you about this stage of your business? You’ve written books, you’re on tv, you’re getting media accolades, you’re getting accolades from your community. What has surprised you about this moment?
Jen Ruiz: 09:17 -09:53
Yeah, I think a lot of things. I’m very happy with where I am and the trajectory that I’m on and I’m feeling like I have set out to accomplish things and I’ve done them. You know, I set out to give a TEDx talk. I gave three. I set out to be traditionally published, and my book is coming out in June. And so I feel like that really helps because you, like, keep promises to yourself. And so I think what has surprised me is that previously I was someone who was very, like, performance driven. I like to get the gold stars, I like to get the a, I’d like to get the validation.
Jen Ruiz: 09:53 – 10:49
And I’m learning now that I’m happy just by having, like, put myself out there and done these things that I’m, like, so proud of the fact that, like, I’ve taken these risks that I’ve actually seen things through. So really, like, how things perform have become secondary to me because I’ve just found that, like, I get a sense of accomplishment and of really feeling like I did that. As a solopreneur, as a business owner, as somebody who’s building something from the ground up, it feels really good to, you know, cross those things off the list. And so at this stage, I’m trying to learn more to enjoy the journey and find validation inward instead of outside in all of the awards, because I think it’s been, it’s been really wonderful and it’s something where I want to feel like I’m not driven by that. Does that make sense?
Michelle Jackson:10:50 – 11:28
That totally makes sense. It’s interesting, though, because I think for myself for a long time, I also was very, I wanted accolades. I didn’t necessarily get really into trying to get, like, massive followers and things like that, but I was definitely very much wanting to be seen for the work that I was doing. And after I started getting awards, I, you know, won several awards. I was like, that need was gone. Right. The need was met. And then I.
Michelle Jackson:11:28 – 12:02
And then I realized that how I was developing my content and approaching my brand was very influenced by those needs of acknowledgement. Right. And now it’s very different because what I want to do with the work that I’m doing kind of guides my focus in a different way than before. And that’s been kind of a humbling thing to admit to myself that, yes, I wanted accolades, but then once I got them, then it was like, okay, now what?
Jen Ruiz:12:03 – 12:49
And I think that’s fair. I think we all want them because it’s such a crowded space, and you’re working so hard constantly just to stand out that you want, you know, and you see other people going viral seemingly faster than you or growing faster than you or getting the deals that, you know, you’ve been having trouble landing. And that’s where the space can be really difficult, because we do constantly see everybody else’s accomplishments and wins. And it’s hard not to compare yourself, like, in this digital space. Whereas, you know, before, maybe you had co workers of, like, five people in an office. Now you really have people all over the world that we’re comparing ourselves to. And so there’s, of course, that natural need to want to be seen, to want people to think your work is valuable, to be recognized. It feels good to get an award.
Jen Ruiz12:50 – 13:31
And I’ve just learned that if I’m only driven by that, it can be really difficult. Again, that can lead to kind of a burnout if that’s the only validation that you’re seeking. And there’s so many avenues to burnout in this space, that’s one of them. That constant comparison or feeling like your work wasn’t good enough because it didn’t get that award, I think that that can really be disheartening for a lot of people. And the awards, you know, there’s only so many awards to go around, and I think that that doesn’t change the value of the content you’re providing. I think there’s other measures there, and I think we really just have to be mindful on giving ourselves grace and all of the flowers and all of the applause just for putting ourselves out there.
Michelle Jackson:13:31 -13:31
Right.
Jen Ruiz: 13:31 -14:09
Like, there’s so many people, like you said, that are interested in doing this, that want to do this, and it’s hard to take that first step to risk, you know, being seen to risk potentially, like, feeling embarrassed if people think, you know, that you didn’t succeed. Like, it’s hard to put out a podcast episode to make a video to make a blog post to tell your family you started a blog to make sales of something that matters to you. Like, that’s so brave. And I think we need to start right then and there by, like, acknowledging how amazing it is that you are pursuing something that matters to you. Even though there could be potential, like, naysayers, there will be potential naysayers online.
Michelle Jackson: 14:11 -14:23
I wasn’t planning on asking you this question, but I think it’s an important one, given our comments earlier in the conversation, which is, is blogging dead?
I think I look at this really like, I don’t. Any one thing doesn’t own me because my expertise comes down to, like, I know a lot about travel and how I share. That can be an any different ways, right? It could be articles. It could be. But I think the blog still has value as your home online. So I think there’s always value as like, establishing your business presence in a way that people can find you. So businesses that don’t have a website nowadays, like, they’re really hard to get traction, to get customers. And it’s frustrating when you go and you want to find something online and you can’t.
Jen Ruiz: 15:03 -16:09
And so I think it’s really important to have a website. I think it doesn’t hurt to have blog posts, even if it’s not necessarily the same kind of monetization or if it doesn’t go back to the way it was, you know, before with SEO and all of that. It’s still important to have content of value to the people who stopped by your blog. So I don’t think it’s dead in that sense, in that it’s your home online. Like, you need to have a place that you own online that represents you, your business, your content, what you’re sharing, your expertise. And then I think secondary to that is your email list, with the sole goal of your website being to collect that traffic into warm leads that you can then contact and share whatever it is you’re doing, your new article, your new video, your new whatever, and I think your new podcast episode. So anything you’re sharing, if you have that audience that you’re reaching both through the website that you own and the email list that you’ve curated from traffic to that website that’s already been interested in the content you’re producing, I think that’s a winning combination for whatever, whatever comes next, because I don’t think websites are going anywhere anytime soon.
Michelle Jackson: 16:09 -16:22
What do you wish someone would have told you about content creation? Like, if you were to start again in the same year that you started, what’s the one piece of advice you wish someone would have shared with you at that time?
Jen Ruiz: 16:22 -17:13
I think definitely the importance of email. So I have a list in the five figures and I cringe thinking about how much lost traffic I had for the years where I had, you know, 100,000 plus people a month to my website. All of those people were uncaptured leads. And so I didn’t really start getting serious about email until about two years ago when I knew I had my book deal. I knew email was really important for authors. And then I started building a list that I was consistently emailing every single week and then not just sharing my own things, not just like, oh, hey, here, I published a blog post. Click on it. But sharing travel deals and opportunities that would be valuable to them so that there would be a reason for them to open the email every week.
Jen Ruiz: 17:13 -17:50
And so that email list has really grown into such a valuable resource and I monetize it in so many different ways. I do sponsored emails with brands because I have such a great open rate and click through rate. I have that direct way to contact my followers and say, hey, I have this book that’s coming out. I have this book tour that’s launching. So it’s just a really great resource and I feel people underestimate it because it’s not as flashy as something like chasing 100,000 Instagram followers, but really, that’s the heart of your business. And I don’t think that it’s prioritized enough for travel.
Michelle Jackson: 17:50 – 18:25
What would be a great opt in for a list like that, I try to figure out, does it depend on the platform that they discover you on, or does it depend on, like, the opt in depend on the content that you’ve designed? So this is the part I’m a little intrigued by. Like, are you, are you positioned with your list in such a way that you’re attracting other people who are looking to be travel content creators, or does it, or are you creating a list that’s for solo women travelers who are needing advice, or are you doing both?
Jen Ruiz: 18:25 -19:20
Yeah. So in the beginning, I think I try to really stress myself out about list segmentation, about having, like, special emails for everyone, you know, about making sure I tracked where every lead came from, from different webinars. I was doing different lead magnets, you know, who’s interested in affordable flights, who’s interested in solo travel, who’s interested in travel writing. And that was such a headache and it was an obstacle to getting out an email weekly, which at the end of the day, like, that’s all that matters. These people have already opted into hearing from me and it’s possible that something else may interest them. So maybe they heard about me through a travel writer training course, but they see that I shared an opportunity to do like a dream job. Like currently Kiwi’s looking for summer travel ambassadors and wants to pay 10,000 euro for you to travel. And like, that’s something I would share in my email list and that’s something that would appeal to a bunch of different people.
Jen Ruiz:19:20 – 20:27
So that’s why I did that as the catch all. I have the travel deals and opportunities where I feel like I can aggregate the information that I’m sharing for all of these different groups and instead of segmenting everybody and making more work for myself and making that list something onerous that I avoid, and instead I make it easy and I just do one email to everybody and then in that email I have it formatted kind of like a letter to a friend. And then, like I said, the opportunities that are segmented for whoever might be on that list. So it’ll be like four giveaway lovers and then it’ll be like, you know, so if you’re a consumer and you signed up through my flight alert lead magnet, you might be interested in like, you know, there’s a chance to win a trip to Puerto Rico. Or here’s a deal that JetBlue is having with $49 flights. If you signed up through my content creator lead magnets, you might be interested in this new creator program or this brand is looking to collaborate with people. Here’s the application. I just put it all in one place and that allows it to be something easy for me so I don’t overwhelm myself and I don’t make excuses to not get it out.
Michelle Jackson: 20:27 – 20:42
So we’re starting to wrap up and I have a couple of easy questions. I think the one thing I’ve been curious about. So actually you brought this up and I’m going to ask very quickly. And then I have another question, which is, are you really only sending out one email a week?
Jen Rui:20:43 – 21:09
Yes. If it’s a launch, if it’s something special, like, let’s say it was a sponsored email, I’ll send that out as its own email, a second email in the week. If it’s a launch where I have something planned, I’ll have a, you know, set promotional sequence where I’ll be like, okay, we want to send out three emails a week, you know, one every day. When it’s the week of the sale. But normally my value add emails, like non promotional, non sponsored, non launch, are once a week.
Michelle Jackson: 21:09 – 21:12
That’s awesome. Okay. I’m very excited about that.
Jen Ruiz: 21:14 – 21:14
Wow.
Michelle Jackson: 21:14 -21:40
I’m very excited about that. That is a little different, dear listeners, than some of the advice that you hear from other creators. They’re emailing quite a bit, and I feel like Jen has been able to very successfully nurture a list that’s very responsive and, and she’s not having to over communicate, probably just because you are accessible in other places as well to your audience.
Jen Ruiz: 21:41 -22:16
Yes, I encourage them to, you know, reply to me. I’m very responsive to people who reply to my list. I’ll usually get back within, you know, a day or two, but, yeah, I’m accessible in other places, and I don’t like to receive a million emails. Like, I get annoyed when I get inundated, and so I like to just. And I feel like the emails that I send once a week are pretty valuable in and of itself, and they’re similar to some other travel writer opportunities that are sent out once a week or things like that. And I think, really, the cadence is up to you. I’m not bashing anybody who sends things, you know, more definitely, like, great. If you’re making sales, like, send out those emails.
Jen Ruiz: 22:18 – 22:22
Yeah, I’m not. What works for you. I think what’s comfortable is if it’s a cadence that you can keep up.
Michelle Jackson: 22:22 -22:56
And I love that you just said cadence. So I have never really been on a schedule. I prefer cadence over schedule because just my life gets busy, things just happen. But I show. I show up weekly, but it’s a cadence versus me saying, I show up every Tuesday at 09:00 a.m. are you. Are you on a cadence such as that, where you’re like, every week, this is going to come out typically on Tuesday, or are you, like, are you able to give them an exact time? I’m impressed if you’re able to do that with all the traveling you do, by the way.
Jen Ruiz:22:56 – 23:08
No, I think it’s same as you. And again, that allows me to give myself grace and not be like, oh, I didn’t get it out on Tuesday. I’m a terrible person. I failed. I’ll just send it out Wednesday or Thursday. I’m totally okay.
Michelle Jackson: 23:11 – 23:13
I feel relieved. Okay.
Jen Ruiz: 23:15 – 23:16
We got.
Michelle Jackson: 23:16 – 23:17
We got to do what we got to do.
Jen Ruiz: 23:17 – 23:19
Okay, exactly.
Michelle Jackson: 23:20 – 23:27
Um, so how are you getting all of your content creation done? Like, what’s going on? How do you do this?
Jen Ruiz: 23:28 – 23:55
Yeah, I. And now it’s a little bit different because at the moment I’m planning the book tour. So all of my efforts have been redirected to, like, this 13 city book tour. Trying to do promotions with the independent bookstores that I’m going to, you know, setting everything up in terms of book marketing, merchandise. I’m making just like a ton of stuff related to that. And so my full attention has been on that. And thankfully, I do have a team. Like, this is the most team I’ve ever had in my life.
Jen Ruiz: 23:56 – 24:39
I have a lot of people working with me right now, and it definitely feels like I need that. Otherwise. Normally it’s my partnerships manager. She handles a lot of the outreach, contracts, negotiation, things like that. And then I just focus on being creative. I try to outsource whatever I know I’m not great at. Definitely the negotiation part always felt so tedious with brands, like going back and forth, what’s the extra 20% free usage or, like, you know, all those things. And that was something that offloading, that allowed me to be able to focus on the part I enjoy, which is, you know, what do I want these videos to look like, what do I want to write in the blog posts, editing the photos that I’ve taken? Like, the creative aspect, I need you.
Michelle Jackson: 24:39 – 24:57
To share all things your book. So if you could talk about the second book that you’ve published that you’re about to go on tour with, what that was like, kind of ideating around that and getting it done, I would love for you to share all the things. Just share, share, share whatever you want.
Jen Ruiz: 24:59 – 25:41
Yeah. So this has been an interesting journey. I actually self published five books before getting a traditional book deal for my memoir in 2020. I thought I was going to self publish 20 books. There were some studies that say, you know, six figure authors have 20 books or more. So I just thought, I’m going to keep publishing different series of books. When the pandemic hit, I had the chance to pursue what had been a dream that I kind of had on the back burner, which was a traditional publishing deal for my memoir, particularly because this is different than non fiction instructional books. It was something that perhaps maybe you want to get a movie or tv deal for or maybe hit a bestseller list.
Jen Ruiz: 25:41 – 26:37
These were all big ambitions that I had. And so when the pandemic hit, I had the chance to pursue that and do so much easier, actually. So it was tough to sell a travel book in the middle of the pandemic when all travel was stopped, but it was much easier to get seen by agents, I was able to attend the Writers Digest conference for the first time, virtually. I paid extra for their pitch slam, and I found my agent through there. So this entire process started in 2020, and my book is now launching June 4, 2024. It is called twelve trips in twelve months, and it is a memoir about defying societal expectations. You know, married with children, super successful, all the things as told through a year long travel challenge. So the year before my 30th birthday, I set out to take one trip every month while employed full time as an attorney, still being back in time for court on Monday morning, because this was before remote work.
Jen Ruiz: 26:37 – 27:30
And along the way, I really realized that life was worth celebrating. Even if you feel like you haven’t hit certain milestones or you’re not on the timeline where you want to be, like, really learn to enjoy the process. And travel was a hack to do that for me. And so this tells the story of, you know, the challenge. I ended up taking 20 trips to 41 cities across eleven countries, writing my first book on how to find affordable flights, because I was able to do all this by taking on side hustle, teaching English online and learning about travel hacking, you know, and in general, how to find cheap flights. So that was what my first book was about, and it did really well, and that’s what encouraged me to quit my job and pursue this full time in 2018. So it tells the story of that year, and my hope is that it helps women in a point of transition in their lives really feel emboldened to bet on themselves.
Michelle Jackson: 27:30 – 27:45
Oh, my God, I love that so much. I definitely will make sure to have a link to the book. I’m assuming that a link to the book in the show notes. And I’m assuming that you are doing pre sales at this time as well, correct?
Jen Ruiz: 27:46 – 28:08
I am. You can find them on all the different vendors, and it actually helps to have a variety of vendor sales, not just Amazon. For anybody who’s thinking about publishing a book for best seller lists, they like to see like a variety of sales from different places. So you can buy it on Barnes and Noble, Apple books, wherever you get books from. I did get to record the audiobook, which was a dream come true.
Michelle Jackson: 28:08 – 28:12
Oh, my God. Like geeking out for you.
Jen Ruiz: 28:12 – 28:42
It was so fun. I was in the studio. I had, you know, a recording engineer. I had, you know, it really felt like I like, again, a dream come true. Like I made it in this pinnacle point in the career. So that’s why I told myself that. And I’m giving myself the grace because I have so much lined up for this summer that I told myself, you’ve already done a great job. Like, you should already be really proud because, you know, so few people get published, let alone latina authors, like, let alone in the travel memoir space.
Jen Ruiz: 28:42 – 29:21
Like, so this is. I feel really proud of having gotten to this moment and I’m really grateful for everybody who’s helped me get here and has really taken a chance on me so far. And I hope you all like the book. I do have the website, twelve trips in twelve months where I have a webinar on how to plan your own travel challenge. Just a quick introductory, just tips on how to get cheap flights, get time off, all the things that helped me do this, and a special bonus at the end. So that’s something you can check out. And I hope that you’ll come and see me on the book tour. I’ll be in Philadelphia, New York for a special wine tasting event at Bibliotech in Soho.
Jen Ruiz: 29:21 – 29:29
I’ll be at tattered cover in Denver. So yeah, hope to see you all there. Tons of, tons of places.
Michelle Jackson: 29:29 – 29:55
I’m very excited about the fact that you’ll be in Denver, but I definitely want to share the other locations that you will be stopping at as well. So I’ll get all that info from you as well. So I have two last questions. They’re super easy. First one is are you vision boarding all this? Or do you do like, how are you zoning in on your intentions in order for you to stay focused and work towards these goals?
Jen Ruiz: 29:55 – 30:50
I love vision boards, definitely. I love writing down lists. So I’m a big planner, you know, and I have daily list, monthly goals, you know, seasonal goals, yearly goals. I do meetings with my team regularly where we kind of review where we’re at and then I like to do a lot of positive affirmations, positive thoughts. Like I start my day listening to really helpful money mindset books. Because again, I think as an entrepreneur, when you’re riding the waves, it can be hard to stay positive when you see everybody being like. So it helps for me to read and like Rachel Rogers, Denise Duffield Thomas, like all of these women, Jen Chinchiro, that I think are really great mindset people. And get me in the zone in the morning where I feel like I just block out all other things and I think what am I focusing on today? And I prioritize by money making activities.
Jen Ruiz: 30:50 – 31:01
Like today I knew I had a deadline for an article for photos, travel, and so before anything else, I need to get that article out the door. Because that’s a money making activity, getting paid.
Michelle Jackson: 31:02 – 31:11
The last thing is this. If you could share how we can follow you, find you and support the work that you’re doing, that would be wonderful.
Jen Ruiz: 31:11 – 31:31
Absolutely. So you can find **@*************ne.com and under all social media platforms, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, xthreads, en on a jetplane. And then you can also find the book at twelve trips in twelve months.com and on Instagram at twelve trips in twelve months.
Michelle Jackson: 31:31 – 31:45
Jen, I am so, so proud of you. So excited about all the beautiful things that are coming your way. And then my actual last question is, what’s the next trip after the book tour?
Jen Ruiz: 31:46 – 32:30
So I am ending August with a two week cruise with Viking cruises and I am taking my book on a vacation around eastern Europe and we are going to go on photo shoots in Hungary and Austria and Romania and we are going to seven new countries in two weeks. I love Viking because they are very, you know, chill, relax. It’s a small boat. You sleep well on there. There’s not any like crazy noise or anything like that. And they are very education focused. So you get free walking tours in every port. So yeah, I’m excited to hit seven new countries with my book and yeah, just go on like a we did it tour.
Michelle Jackson: 32:30 – 32:46
I love to see that. I love to hear this and I can’t wait to see some of the photos because I feel like some we won’t get to see, but I can’t wait to see the photos of all those new to me places, to be honest. And as always, I wish you all good things and thank you so much for your time.
Jen Ruiz: 32:46 – 32:47
Thank you.
Michelle Jackson: 32:47 – 33:40
Thank you for listening to my conversation with Jen. I hope that you left inspired and with some tips and strategies to apply towards growing your brand or unique project. I also wanted to briefly share that doors will be opening in early September 2024 for the Mint Collective, a hybrid mastermind and group coaching program designed for women of color building communities in amazing spaces online. If you’re looking for community collaboration, collaboration versus competition, positive feedback and unapologetic permission to earn money at the same time while doing good, the mint collective is for you. What’s in the name? A mint is a place that prints money, that literally makes money. But mint is also a tenacious herb that thrives anywhere it is planted, just like we do. Head to creatorsgettingpaid.com/mint to join the waitlist today.
