I’m here to tell you that you can start a new career, or an additional one, at any age. After years of being a successful travel writer and building 10 plus years of Google authority, my Wordpress site, travelwithlisaonline.com, and online persona was taken down by a cybercriminal. From having a stellar internet presence, I became practically non-existent. Long story, and I don’t care to relive it, but it was devastating enough to cause me to have a mini-stroke.
“Everything happens for a reason” is a cliché for a reason. It happens to be true. With the advent of blogging, the traditional, professional travel writer has gotten lost in the noise. Social media has prevailed, and the market is flooded with travel bloggers. Anyone can and does self-publish online.
As a result of all of the above, I built this adorable website, https://whereislisanow.com to replace the decimated site and continue to showcase some of my work on WIX, a closed versus an open-source platform such as Wordpress (which I still love and work on for my day job with https://gotouchdown.com). I haven’t yet figured out how to optimize my WIX site posts despite going through their SEO wizard and beyond. But it turns out to be a much more engaging and attractive site than the one that was taken down by the creep.
In the meantime, my family advised me that this could be a signal that it’s time to change directions, as they have done with incredible success. That’s another story for another time, but I can confidently say that you have heard of many of them.
Don’t get me wrong – I am still an avid traveler and travel writer. I will always be passionate about both. But something happened recently that I feel compelled to share.
Having done professional voiceovers here and there over the years for various producers, I decided to put up a profile on ACX, the official audition website for Audible. If you don’t know what that is, think books on tape. Well, there’s no tape anymore, but you get the idea. Digital recordings of your favorite books that you can listen to while driving, lounging on a cruise ship, or while doing chores at home.
In the past, I just had to show up with my voice. But Audible requires a level of technical expertise, as you must adhere to strict recording guidelines to be accepted as one of their narrator/audiobook producers.
Thanks to Go Touch Down Travel and Tours, I was able (or rather expected) to spread my wings and learn the technical aspects of recording. Here’s the bottom line. Today, I was offered and accepted a contract to record my first Audible book – and Holy Destiny, it’s about travel. I passed the author’s test for voice and expression, now to upload a file that’s technically acceptable to the Audible team. Wish me luck! Here’s the thing. In a couple of months, I will be 65 years old. I can’t believe it! Starting a new career with gusto. It’s possible.
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