What if I told you the fastest way to sabotage your content creator business… is setting New Year’s goals on January 1st?

Yep. I said it. This is one of my hottest takes—and 12 months later, I still stand by it.

In this rerun episode, I’m breaking down why January is actually the worst time for travel creators and content creators to set new goals, routines, or systems—and how waiting just a little longer can completely change your momentum, your mindset, and your long-term success.

If you’re a travel creator, juggling constant movement, post-trip slumps, family time, inbox overload, and way too many “new year, new you” messages… this episode is your permission slip to breathe.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why January goals set most content creators up for failure
• The post-trip slump (and why ignoring it kills productivity)
• How travel and the holidays drain your creative energy more than you think
• Why “hitting the ground running” on January 1st is unrealistic for a content creator business
• How to use January as a reset month instead of a pressure cooker
• The real reason 80% of New Year’s goals fail by February
• How to set smarter, more sustainable travel 2026 goals (yes, starting now—but executing later)

If this episode hit home:

• DM me on Instagram and tell me—do you agree that January goals are BS?
• Share this episode with a fellow travel creator who’s putting way too much pressure on themselves

• Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.
• Get five shifts that will take you from travel creator to business owner with actionable next steps included. AND two private podcast episodes. Get the Creator to CEO Playbook for $5
• Say hi on Instagram

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The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

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Happy New Years Travel Creators!!! You made it through 2025 and to help welcome in 2026 I am sitting down with my podcast editor Marie from Your Girl Media to talk about the 10 lessons we learned in our businesses in 2025.

We are talking all things burnout, boundaries, branding, money, and why “doing it messy” might be your biggest advantage in 2026.

Whether you’re scaling your offers, rethinking travel, or trying to make your business feel easier (and more fun), these business lessons for 2025 will hit home.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• Why travel burnout is real (even when you’re living the dream)
• The hidden cost of being a digital nomad for too long
• Why doing what you actually want beats choosing the “smart” business move
• How a single rebrand or identity shift can unlock momentum
• Why “less but better” is the secret to scaling as a content creator
• How attraction, energy, and fun play a bigger role than strategy alone
• Why community is the future of creator businesses in 2025
• The power of being in the right room (one networking event can change everything)
• How client experience matters more than price
• Why selling identity — not features — is the key to consistent sales
• Why “doing it messy” can outperform perfection
• The money systems every creator needs before they scale
• Trusting that things can be easier (even when your brain wants control)

LISTEN to this episode of Jamie Sea's podcast: 4 Steps to Reach $100k

📍 Connect With Marie:

Want to learn about every country in the world? Check out her travel podcast: Culture Cult Show ( pst.. Laura is the writer and researcher)

Want more business lessons? Listen to her business podcast: Your Girl

Follow her on insta: @yourgirlmedia

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Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.

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Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

If your sales page feels like it should be converting… but isn’t this episode will change everything.

I’m not exaggerating when I say this might be one of the most action-packed, note-taking-required episodes I’ve ever recorded. If you’re a content creator, a travel creator, or building a real content business (not just vibes), this conversation is one to get your notepad out.

Today I’m sitting down with Sam, nomad copywriter and founder of Nomad Copy Agency, to talk all things sales messaging, sales psychology, and why most sales pages are doing way too much — and still not selling.

We break down what actually makes people buy, how to write sales copy that doesn’t feel icky, and why “learn more” might be the worst CTA of all time.

✈️ What We Cover in This Episode

• Why Your Sales Page Is Probably Too Long
• The Biggest Sales Page Red Flags
• Sales Psychology for Content Creators
• What Your Welcome Email Should Actually Do
• Selling Identity, Not Just Information
• Will AI Replace Copywriters?

Who This Episode Is For

• Content creators who want their content to actually convert
• Travel creators building a sustainable content business
• Anyone rewriting a sales page and thinking “why isn’t this working?”
• Creators who want better sales messaging without feeling manipulative

🔗 Where to Find Our Guest

You’re going to want more of Sam after this episode :

• 🎙 Podcast: Copy And — a marketing podcast for entrepreneurs
• 📸 Instagram: @nomad.copy

Follow Me On:
Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.

Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

It's the 100th episode of the Travel Creator Podcast!! We are two years old officially!!

Today is a bit of a special episode as I have my boyfriend Matt interview ME about our past year travelling out west in a rootftop tent and some of my spiciest travel opinions.

This episode is basically a collection of my most unfiltered travel stories, weird “how is this my job?” moments, and personal opinions I usually keep to myself. Consider this a thank-you gift to everyone who’s been here listening, DM’ing me, and building this community with me over the last two years! 💛

✈️ What We Talk About in This Episode:

• Why recording a podcast episode from a Walmart parking lot in 100-degree heat felt completely normal at the time
• The reality of van life and working from anywhere (libraries, cars, laundromats… you name it)
• The most chaotic travel moment of my life
• My biggest non-negotiables when traveling
• The strangest client requests I’ve ever gotten as a travel creator
• What I think are the most overrated travel destinations

💌 A Huge Thank You

If you’ve ever listened to a single episode, sent me a DM, shared the show, or told a friend about it, thank you! Truly. This podcast is my favorite thing I’ve ever created, and it exists because of you.

📣 Call to Actions

• If you loved this episode, take 30 seconds to leave a review — it helps more travel creators find the show
• Share this episode with a friend who loves travel stories or dreams of van life
• DM me on Instagram and tell me your most chaotic travel moment
• Got ideas for future episodes? My DMs are always open

Thank you for being here for 100 episodes. I’ll see you next week 💛✈️

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Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.

Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

Today I’m sharing my 2026 booklist for travel creators and content creators—the exact business books, mindset books, and creativity books I’m reading (or rereading!) to scale my creator business without burning out.

Whether you’re listening from a plane, a hostel bunk, or the world’s loudest café, these books will shape how you think, create, and build your business in 2026.

I’m pulling back the curtain on the physical books sitting on my desk and the digital ones on my to-read list. These are the titles I believe every travel creator, content creator, or creative business owner needs to read in 2026.

1. Mindset — Carol Dweck

2. Clear Thinking — Shane Parrish

3. Essentialism — Greg McKeown

4. Effortless — Greg McKeown

5. The Art of Persuasion — Bob Burg

6. Do Nothing — Celeste Headlee

7. Alchemy — Rory Sutherland

8. Slow Productivity — Cal Newport

9. 10x Is Easier Than 2x — Dan Sullivan

10. The 12-Week Year Field Guide — Brian P. Moran & Michelle Lewington

11. Never Not Working — Melissa Clark

12. A Healthy State of Panic — Farnoosh Torabi

13. Please Unsubscribe, Thanks — Julio Vincent Gambuto

14. Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity — David Whyte

15. The Great Stewardess Rebellion — Nell McShane Wulfhart

• Why creators need business books, not just “creator inspiration”
• How reading fits into my business planning for 2026
• The books I reread every year (and why)
• What fiction I’m reading behind the scenes (DM me if you want the list!)
• My nerdy love for surveillance capitalism and attention economy
• Why creators must learn business skills if they want sustainability
• How these books align with the systems we’re building inside my community

Travel creators weren’t meant to spend 12 hours hunched over a laptop in Croatia stressing about the algorithm. You became a travel creator to travel.

Inside The Travel Creator Business Plan, we focus on building an actual business—not just content.

You’ll get:
✨ One new monthly business system
✨ Co-working sessions
✨ Live Q&As
✨ A private community of creators building sustainable businesses
✨ And yes… book discussions

SIGN

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Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.

Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

In today’s episode, I pull back the curtain on how tourism boards really choose creators—plus the step-by-step system I use to pitch, follow up, and land deals.

I’m breaking down the pitch mistakes that are tanking your chances, the exact process I use as a travel creator and UGC creator, and how you can confidently pitch—without needing a massive following.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why tourism boards love working with UGC creators
• How to build a pitch-ready portfolio in one afternoon
• The correct way to find decision-makers at tourism boards
• The 4 elements every winning pitch needs
• The truth about email volume (it’s a numbers game)
• The follow-up strategy that gets me responses on my 4th, 5th, and even 7th email
• Mistakes killing your pitching

💌 Tools + Links Mentioned

✨ Bento – My favorite pitching tool (400–600 automated emails/month)

I use Bento to send hundreds of pitches on autopilot for just $50/month. The ROI is actually wild. Grab my Bento discount code in the show notes to get 10% off anything you choose.

The affiliate code is: LAURA1
The affiliate link is: https://app.onbento.com/?acode=laura1

✨ Email-finding tools

• apollo.io
• hunter.io

Follow Me On:
Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.

Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

If you’ve ever wondered how the hell creators actually make money without having 100K followers and are able to do this full time? This episode is your cheat code.

Today, I’m sitting down with the one and only Maddy Garrett (yes, again) to talk about monetization as a content creator — UGC, affiliate, influencer partnerships, group trips, digital products… all of it.

And she’s here to tell you exactly what works right now — especially if you’re a travel creator trying to make this your full-time thing.

We dive into:

• The REAL ways content creators make money

Maddy breaks down every single path she’s used over the years:

• UGC (user-generated content)
• Micro-influencer partnerships
• Affiliate marketing
• Hosting group trips
• Digital products + coaching

If you’ve been thinking you need a massive audience to monetize — this episode will change your mind.

• Why UGC is the BEST place to start (especially for travel creators)
• Growing into bigger monetization as content creators
• Are group trips worth it for travel creators?
• Why Digital products are the most underrated monetization tool

Instagram: @maddyoutdoors.coach
Podcast: Paid to Travel — The UGC Podcast
✨ Save on Maddy’s UGC Program
Use my link below to save: Use 10% off with code LAURA

👉 AFFILIATE LINK

✨ Shelby Sapp's Alter Ego YouTube Video (Thanks, Marie!)
Learn how to create and step into your alter ego:

👉 WATCH HERE

Follow Me On:
Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.

Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

Come to a Merry Travel Creator Christmas Party! https://forms.fillout.com/t/kPeoLQcKw6us

It feels like everyone and their aunt has a podcast and should you start one too?

Today, I’m sitting down with the guy who’s been podcasting since before most creators even knew what an RSS feed was.

This episode is pure gold for content creators, travel creators, and anyone who’s ever said, “I want to start a podcast… but where do I even begin?”

Today, I’m joined by David Brodie, long-time travel podcaster, founder & CEO of the Voyascape Podcast Network, and the literal grandfather of travel podcasting.

We dive into:

• How to tell better stories as a travel creator
• How to research destinations in a way that stands out
• The biggest shift in podcasting since 2005
• Should travel creators use video?
• Podcaster mistakes David sees constantly
• How to monetize a travel podcast beyond sponsorships

Including:
• podcast networks
• tours
• memberships
• community building
• digital products
• high-ticket offers
• affiliate marketing
• and the hyper-local creator strategy that blew my mind

I am literally obsessed with my producer Marie from Your Girl Media.

Jump on a 15 minute strategy call with her to brainstorm your podcast ideas!

(And tell her I sent you)

Email Marie: yourgirlmedia@gmail.com

Send her a DM: @yourgirlmedia

Check out her podcasts: Culture Cult Show / Your Girl

Voyascape Podcast Network: voyascape.com
David’s Podcast: Travel in 10
Find it on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

Follow Me On:
Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.

Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE