Winging It: A New Chapter Begins + 2024 Summary

Welcome to the Winginit Travel Podcast with me, James Hammond. Every Monday I'll be joined by guests to talk about their travel stories, travel tips, backpacking advice, and so much more. Are you a backpacker, got to be a student, or simply someone who loves to travel? Then this is the podcast for you, designed to inspire you to travel. There'll be stories to tell, tips to share, and experiences to inspire. Welcome to the show.

It's going to be a two year contract to start with, which is going to be a great opportunity for the podcast to get stuck into the network to see how it work. And David Brody, who owns the Voyascape network was in talks with me for a few weeks or maybe a month about joining. And I really love David's vision. So the reason I'm joining the podcast network is because for four years I've been on my own. I've done okay. We've grown and we've got to so many countries with a lot of content, but I feel like the next step for the podcast.

A bit of help is needed, but it wasn't going to be an easy decision because I wasn't going to accept anything. But David come along with a proposal for Voyescape network and Voyescape is a travel podcast network, which houses independent travel podcasts and are looking to elevate your podcast with their brand with could be anything from curated episodes, sponsored episodes. could be travel destinations. It could be collaborations and it's going to elevate the podcast to the next level, I think in terms of exposure.

ups and downs of the travel podcast journey if you like and I fully trust him with his vision of this network. And I guess you're probably asking what does this mean for Winging It going on to Voyascape Network. So I'll list a few things. Not much is going to change really. The name, the format and the content will stay the same. I will still be hosting and have full control of the content. The logo will change to align with the branding of the network which you'll see now on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, etc.

content and I'll come to that in a second. So finally, yeah, I've joined the Voyascape network and I've got a few excerpts from David from his website and from him. So we can listen to one which we recorded on a video in Vancouver. Let's listen now. I'm really excited today to announce one of our first new podcasts on the Voyascape podcast network. A great show called Wigging It hosted by James Hammond. James is a adventurer traveler who's been to 70 plus countries around the world.

I'll put a link in the show notes. And I'll read a little bit now. Say hello to our newest podcast partner, James Hammond and his awesome show, The Winging It Travel Podcast. James is all about spontaneous adventures, unscripted stories, and diving headfirst into new experiences. Basically everything we love about travel. Whether you're a seasoned globetrotter or just daydreaming about your next big trip, James' podcast has something for everyone. From solo travel trips to hilarious travel fails, we've all been there. He keeps it real and keeps it fun.

So I think the best thing that's improved on the podcast has been the production. I've upgraded my sound equipment. It's a bit techy here, but I've got new microphones. I've got a brand new interface. I think the podcast sounds the best this year. So I'm really pleased with how it sounds. The launch of the audio immersive episodes has been a great success. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into those more in the new year, especially with my trip to Central America I've just completed. This year, Listen Notes has moved me up to top 3 % in the world for podcasts. So that's a great move. And FeedSpot.

and normally has me at number two or number three on the top 100 travel podcasts you can listen to. I've actually got a link to that list in the show notes, so you can click that and have a look for yourself. And my audience probably grew the most across the USA. That is by far my biggest audience with Canada and UK in second and third place, and Apple Podcast is leading the way for the platform of choice. I think I'm about 55 % female to 45 % male this year. I moved to video for the podcast this year with mostly the guest episodes.

got my interface and my microphone, sat down and got to interview in person, which is a completely different vibe. And I loved it. And it's a great learning experiences. I've got some stuff to take away for next year. Some of the most popular episodes this year has been episode 155 with Shafik, Meji talking about Patagonia, episode 150 with Ross Borden, the CEO and founder of Matador Network, episode 148 with Will Hatton, AKA the Broke Backpacker has been a very popular episode as well.

I have a podcast series for my month trip in Central America, which will cover El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. There's going to be eight audio immersive episodes. So basically two a week for my trip. One itinerary episode for each country. I've got about four to five interviews lined up, recorded or going to record. And I'll have a solo summary episode at the end of that whole series. For guests coming up, I have Richard de Gavea. We talk a lot about Africa there, about different countries within that.

content to go and see maybe some safaris or just backpacking or traveling in general. That's a great episode. As I said, next week I've got David coming up from Voyescape to talk about his network, his travels and the potential partnership. And also my friend Ed is coming on to talk about some sports travel in the new year. That's the guest episodes. And obviously on top of that is the local guest episodes that I recorded on my trip. I'm looking to do more shorter content next year about travel.

Thanks for tuning in to the podcast episode today. If you've been inspired by today's chat and want to book some travel, if you head to the show notes, you'll see some affiliate links below, which helps support this podcast. You'll find Skyscanner to book your flight. You'll find Booking.com to book that accommodation. Want to stay in a super cool hostel? You'll see Hostel World down there too. You'll find Revolut to get your travel card sorted. Click the GIGSky link to get your eSIM ready for your trip. And more importantly, you'll find Safety Wing Insurance to get that travel insurance for your trip.

There are many more to check out, so when you click that link and book your product, a small commission goes towards me and the Wiganet Travel Podcast. Thank you in advance and enjoy your travels.