In 2010, a Canadian university student named Christopher Mitchell was getting ready to spend a year studying abroad in Norway. The idea of writing individual emails or letters to keep all of his friends and family apprised of his travels sounded daunting until his roommate suggested that Mitchell create a blog.

Mitchell took his friend's advice, and started a website called Traveling Mitch. Little did he know that this student side project would one day become the keystone of an award-winning career in content creation and community building.

Evolving From Teacher to Full-Time Travel Blogger

Christopher took a winding path from student to educator and finally blogger. He and his partner, Bri, spent several years after university pursuing higher education and teaching in different locations around the world. It was ultimately a blogging opportunity in Korea — and an experience at a bloggers' conference — that led Christopher to realize he could make content his entire career.

"I applied for, and became, a Worldwide Korea blogger for a year while teaching in the country. I worked with the Korean government to explore and write about the country, and when I left, I got a certificate of appointment from the minister of culture at the Moon Palace and I thought maybe this is something I should be using to guide me," Christopher said. "Later, when I was teaching in Turkey, I decided to take a few days off to go to a conference called the Travel Blog Exchange, which I'm actually now director of. That was when I learned there really were people making a living on their terms through blogging."

Travel blogger Christopher Mitchell poses in a botanical garden in Virginia, USA.

With Bri's support, Christopher returned to Toronto and began building up his career as a travel blogger. Over the following years, he'd start new ventures — including a community called the Toronto Blogger Collective — and navigate a post-COVID travel landscape.

"When COVID hit, I realized I needed to be doing more to support other people," Christopher said. "We formed another website focused on Ontario, with the goal of helping people explore their own backyards during COVID."

Travel bloggers Christopher and Bri pose with bikes in a forest in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

The fact that Christopher's travel-related business expanded, rather than contracted, during a near-global travel shutdown speaks to his ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit. And that new goal of helping others stayed strong, even after borders re-opened and Christopher could travel the world again.

"I shifted my entire mindset, I think in part because of my background in education, to this idea of creating positive ripples through my blogging work," he said. "Everything that I produce, everything that I put out, there has to be something positive in it — whether that's shining a light on a local business, giving love to a destination that needs it, or giving a speaker a chance when they haven't gotten an opportunity elsewhere."

Finding Where Travel and Trends Combine

Today, Christopher writes about traveling internationally, his favorite destinations in Canada, and even the act of blogging itself. Bri joined him in full-time content creation, too, and the duo work with a small team to keep the content production flowing. Together, they manage over 16 different content channels.

But regardless of the subject, or how they'll share aspects of their trip with followers, Christopher and Bri are careful to make sure that their work aligns with that bigger goal of creating positive ripples.

Christopher explained that he conducts extensive research to figure out what he should see, who he should talk to, and how he should present the finished content for every trip. This is the case whether he's traveling for fun, crossing an item off his bucket list, or working in tandem with a travel bureau.

Travel bloggers Christopher and Bri pose in green jackets in front of a volcano crater in Costa Rica.

"We brought in six figures from partnerships alone last year, but you don't always want to be posting sponsored content," Christopher said. "The big thing is that we're very intentional about having full creative control over what we're posting. For example, if we're going to do a winter travel article, we'll consult Pinterest, Exploding Topics, and a few other outlets to correlate what's trending at that moment."

Those trends ultimately shape how Christopher and Bri frame specific stories from each trip, too.

"I feel like part of my job as a blogger and content creator is to understand where there's interest. I can have some very specific interests, so I use Exploding Topics as a validator," Christopher said. "Let's say that local farmers markets are trending, and I'm going to a location that happens to be known for their market. The trend data can be a signal that I need to write a standalone post on the farmer's market, interview someone who runs the market, and put it all under the umbrella of why supporting and experiencing local markets is valuable. The trend plants that first seed for me."

Owning an Unapologetically Authentic Voice

Even though Christopher keeps trends and his audience's interests in mind with every story he tells, the voice of his blogs and newsletters is always, unapologetically, Traveling Mitch.

Three people in red and black coats pose with a team of sled dogs in the snow.

"In the creator community, there can be a propensity to showcase that you're bigger than the sum of your parts, but I find that if you really want to connect with people and produce great work, you have to break things down to showcase the sum of your parts," Christopher said. "That's the way we connect with each other. If you read my writing and speak to me, you won't be confused about whether it was the same person."

He recognizes that every creator will have their own style and preferred channels, but wants aspiring bloggers to know that being authentic is a big key to success.

"When I started to speak publicly about my ADHD, and started talking about being an entrepreneur in the creative space with anxiety, there were people who reached out to me or who would take me quietly aside and say, 'you know, I also struggle with this," Christopher said. "I wish I would've been quicker to be unapologetically myself including showcasing my struggles, because that vulnerability is a breeding ground for meaningful connection."

Christopher's journey, both through the world and in continuing to hone his own authentic voice, continue on. And while he and Bri are always the ones running the show, audience input, community connections, and trends will continue to help guide their path into new adventures.

If you're working on building a career as a content creator, and want to use trends as a research and validation tool like Traveling Mitch, it's easy: just sign up for a free seven-day trial of Exploding Topics Pro. You'll get clear data around emerging trends and see where people are talking about these topics online — like a helpful roadmap for your own content creation journey.

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Meet the Travel Blogger Using Trends to Enhance His Trips