Blogger Spotlight: Roxanne of I Travel Rox

Herbert Kikoy

Before 2015 comes to an end, we, at Drift Stories is proud to have someone who has a Cinderella story with regards to traveling. This full-blooded digital nomad Cebuana started traveling few years back with one goal in mind, to travel for leisure and not to work abroad. Since then, she blogs her travel experiences and adventures at her blog awesome blog atI Travel Rox.

With no further adieu, ladies and gents,we give you the shutterbug and wanderlust Roxanne Tamayo.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND HOW YOU GOT INTO BLOGGING?

Roxanne: Hi! My name is Roxanne M. Tamayo. You can call me Rox but some people call me Anne or Xanne. Anne and Xanne sounds too girly that’s why I prefer Rox. I am a freelance virtual assistant since 2009. I am a hobbyist photographer, a wanna-be traveler/digital nomad, doing volunteer works on the side if gets the chance, and I just finished my year-ender travel from a second trip in Tokyo, Japan. I started my monthly travels since August 2014 and I’ve been to five countries for the year 2015 doing solo travel/backpacking on a budget.

I started blogging as a hobby during my college days but it was not as popular as of now. I had no access to computer unless I go to internet cafe and I had no camera of my own. Everything was just plain boring using the platform Blogger. When I was working in a company at IT Park, that was when I found out about online job because of a friend. So I decided to create a new blog using Blogger as an online portfolio for my writings and graphic design skills. Since I was working as a data entry operator, I took advantage of my fast typing skill to get an online job. My skills are perfect combination to get the job. Thanks to blogging. With my hard work, I was able to save money for a camera and a laptop. A former computer teacher in high school, Mr. Jobette Escobañas, saw my blog and gave me a part-time job for learning SEO and writing at the same time. It started from there and everything is history.

WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA OF YOUR BLOG’S NAME?

Roxanne: I created several blogs using Blogger and WordPress. For my blog’s name, I love to associate my name with Rock so I Travel Rox was born. If you notice my twitter username, it’s sheROXyourworld – I Travel Rocks (Rox) and She Rocks (Rox) your World or soon this could be I Travel Rox the World. Since I’ve been to five Asian countries this year, hopefully more countries in the coming years and Europe. Sorry, I just love playing with my name and phrases. I love being associated with awesomeness, optimism and positivity.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BLOGGING?

Roxanne: What I love most about blogging is to share information of what I’ve learned and sharing my own stories and opinions. To be honest, I am not a good writer and there are some instances I have wrong grammar because I don’t proofread. I just write and publish but when it’s work related, I really try to check my grammar. Of course, blogging gave me a lot of opportunities for gaining an online job, attending events and traveling for free.

WHAT IS THE NICHE OF YOUR BLOG AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE IT?

Roxanne: Obviously, I Travel Rox is a blog about travel. It is my travel repository blog where I gather all my past and recent trips and write my experiences and information there. I still have a lot of pending posts because I can’t accommodate all the beautiful photos that I have from my travels.

ARE YOU MONETIZING YOUR BLOG? HOW DO YOU MONETIZE YOUR BLOG’S TRAFFIC?

Roxanne: I am not yet monetizing my WordPress-powered I Travel Rox blog. I am just happy being clean, ads-free filled with travel photos. But who knows, maybe soon.

TOP 5 SITES YOU VISIT (ALMOST) EVERYDAY

I Travel Rox
Two Monkeys Travel Group
Thought Catalog
You Queen
Facebook

TOOLS YOU USE WITH YOUR BLOGGING

Lenovo laptop
Nikon D5100
Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
iPad Mini
WordPress and Blogger

WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION FOR YOUR BLOG POSTS?

Roxanne: I’ve been following a lot of travel blogs so I cannot mention all them here. Yes, travel blogs give me the inspiration to be a digital nomad, to volunteer and to travel on a budget.

BESIDES BLOGGING, WHAT OTHER INTERESTS DO YOU HAVE?

Roxanne: Besides blogging, I love to travel, photography, volunteer. Before traveling, I used to do arts and crafts. Someday I’ll get back to painting, crochet, recycling papers into notebooks and etc. If I’m bored, I’ll go to the toilet and sing because it sounds good when you sing in the toilet.

GIVE US 5 OF YOUR BEST BLOG POSTS

HOW WAS YOUR BLOGGING SO FAR? HAVE YOU RECEIVED AWARDS AND RECOGNITION SINCE YOU STARTED?

Roxanne: When I started blogging, so far I received an award using my previous blog during the Visayas Blogging Summit 2011. I got the second prize with a day tour to Maribago Bluewater Resort. My blogging entry was not that serious but I made it a fun experience.

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO JUST STARTED BLOGGING

Roxanne: Based on my experience, I started blogging as a hobby without the intention of making money out of it. I blog because I want to share my opinions and information. Blogging became a stress-reliever for me but if you want Blogging as the main source of income without the idea of starting a blog, you will just end up frustrated and bitter for not earning money and not being recognized. Join Blogging groups and conferences and you will meet other people who are awesome of the blogging world. Blogging is still a learning process for me.

LASTLY, WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR BLOG IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?

Roxanne: In the next five years, I see my blog I Travel Rox the World.

Before we go, here are 10 Quick Facts about Roxanne

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Roxanne is …

a Rational type of a girl
Optimistic
an Extrovert
Right Hemisphere
a Follower

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Roxanne’s Favorites

Author: Cecilia Ahern
Book: P.S. I Love You
Band:Maroon 5
Song: Maroon 5
Food: Filipino-style Spaghetti

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There you have it folks. Thank you for reading. Stay tuned and watch out for our next edition of Blogger Spotlight.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]