No matter where in the world life takes this Instagram blogger, home is in Bergen County – NorthJersey.com

Name, Age: Taylor Deer, 28

Where did you grow up? Mahwah

Where do you live now? I am always on the road, but my home base is still Mahwah. I do plan to move to a new city — or country — within the next couple of years, though. Italy would be the ultimate goal, but we’ll see where life takes me.

Education: I graduated Mahwah High School in 2009 and then studied public relations at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I graduated college in 2013.

Where can we find you online?

Web: browneyedflowerchild.com

Instagram: brown.eyed.flower.child

Future Aspirations: I want to continue growing my blog and brand to the point where my business is generating over seven figures of income through targeted ads, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, brand collaborations, product selling and more. I also want to create courses to help new and aspiring bloggers start a blog or online brand and grow them into successful businesses. In addition, I would love to lead group trips around the world and show people my favorite destinations.

Favorite Bloggers/Websites/Instagram Accounts: My ultimate favorite blogger and inspiration is Kiersten Rich from The Blonde Abroad (theblondeabroad.com and @theblondeabroad on Instagram). She is the number one travel blogger for solo female travel and is originally from the San Diego area. I had the opportunity to meet her at TravelCon in Austin, Texas, in September 2018, and I loved how down to earth she was.

When did you start posting about travel and why?

I fell in love with travel during a college study abroad program in Salamanca, Spain, in 2012. After graduating JMU in 2013, I worked a few corporate jobs in New York City and New Jersey in both public relations as well as corporate marketing and communications. The years following graduation were spent trying to figure out what I wanted in life and what fulfilled me. I knew the corporate 9-5 world wasn’t for me, so I started to focus on things that truly made me happy. I began traveling avidly in 2016 during my vacation time from work. In 2017, my cousin Lisa, who owns Crawford Concierge, a luxury travel agency in South Florida, reached out to me to create a blog for her website. I absolutely LOVED writing about my travels on the side of working my corporate job, so I created my own blog called Travels with Taylor in March 2017. After a year of documenting my travels for fun, I decided to leave my job in March 2018 and pursue blogging seriously. At the time, I was 26 years old, and it was the right time in my life to start a blogging business. I rebranded to Brown Eyed Flower Child, redesigned my website and started using social media professionally. I also invested in A LOT of online courses from successful bloggers, which helped me jump-start my business and start earning an income.

How often do you travel?

Since I am still growing my blog traffic and social media, I try to travel as often as I can. My goal is to travel once a month, even if it is somewhere local here in the United States. As I continue to work with hotels, tourism boards and other travel brands, I expect to travel more in the future.

Where are some of your favorite places to visit?

This is such a tough question. If I had to choose, my favorite destination so far has been Japan. I also love Greece, Iceland, Morocco and New Zealand.

What places are left on your bucket list?

My top five bucket list destinations are Egypt, an African safari, the Maldives, Faroe Islands and Turkey.

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How often do you post on Instagram and your blog? Do you have a set schedule?

I post on Instagram every single day around noon. Since I am a travel blogger and my followers are based all over the world, I figured noon is perfect since everyone on the east coast of the USA is on lunch break, people in Europe and Africa are having dinner, those based in Asia and Oceania (the South Pacific region) are getting ready for bed, and everyone out west is waking up. All of those times are usually when people look at their phones. In regard to blogs, I try to post an article at least once a week, but the goal is to start posting almost every day. 

What does a typical day in your week look like?

To be honest, my life on the road and my life at home are completely opposite. When I am traveling, everything is new and exciting to me, but when I am home, I am all about business — which is also exciting, because I love what I do now. What many people do not realize is that there is more work that goes into creating a successful blog than you think. You really need to have the right mindset, be passionate and also willing to dedicate most of your time to your blog and business, which means having to sacrifice a few things you’re used to doing. Most days, when I am home, I begin working from the moment I wake up to the time I fall asleep. During my travels, on the other hand, that is when I experience it all and create content for my blog and Instagram.

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How did you build your large social media following?

Before I jump into how I grew a large Instagram following, I do want to put it out there that even though I have a successful account, I realized that I shouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket. Instagram isn’t a platform you own, like your blog, and if something happens to the app — which it can — it can turn into a nightmare for your business. For everyone looking to become a blogger, it is important to know that being successful isn’t all about growing a large Instagram following. Yes, it helps, but you need to have a website or platform that you own just in case something happens to social media one day. Plus, having your own blog results in long-term success.

I built a large Instagram following once I started taking it seriously. I invested in a professional camera and downloaded Adobe Suite (Lightroom and Photoshop) for editing. I also purchased Lightroom photography presets from other bloggers to create an aesthetically pleasing feed. (Now, I create and use my own Lightroom photography presets.) In addition, I also started thinking about the ways I created content, such as waking up early to get the perfect lighting and eliminating crowds from my photos, testing different angles and perspectives, investing in different camera lenses and more.

Next, I started creating enticing captions to establish a connection as well as an emotional (real) touch. Once I started opening up on Instagram, I showed my followers that I am real and authentic, and that life isn’t always the highlight reel that Instagram shows. The most important way I started growing on Instagram was engaging with fellow bloggers, influencers and other business owners in my niche by liking, commenting and sharing their content. (This is also an amazing way to create like-minded friendships.) I engage three to four times a day: in the morning, around lunchtime, when I post, at dinnertime and also before I go to bed. I also started doing hashtag research; creating fun Instagram stories that provide value to my followers; networking by attending conferences, retreats and events; hosting valuable giveaways — not loop giveaways (when bloggers post the same photo simultaneously and tag each other), though; sharing my Instagram on my blog and other social media accounts, and also through word of mouth.

Which posts get the most attention/interaction?

In general, having photos and videos with myself in it definitely generates the most interaction and engagement. I find that the photos I post with a dramatic background such as high mountains or beautiful blue waters generates a high engagement rate. People also love seeing stunning architecture, such as a beautiful building façade in Europe.

Do companies ever reach out to offer free products or paid sponsorships?

Companies and brands always reach out to offer free products in exchange for posts. Unless I believe that brand aligns with mine, I refuse to do any work for free, because I believe it devalues my blog as a business. Plus, free products in exchange for posts won’t put food on my table. I do get a lot of paid brand collaborations as well as sponsored travel, and a lot of that has to do with me personally pitching and reaching out to companies that align well with my blog and brand.

Favorite places to shop and eat in Bergen?

I absolutely adore getting my outfits for my trips at Marigold Boutique in Midland Park. When it comes to food, there are so many. I love S. Egidio in Ridgewood for pizza, Tutto a Modo Mio in Ridgefield for Italian, Sangria Tapas Restaurant in Mahwah for Spanish and Tapas food, Hearth & Tap Co. in Montvale for pub food and Rispoli Pastry Shop & Café in Ridgefield and Emerson for dessert.

Favorite day trip from Bergen?

Oh, I have so many. I love gallivanting in New York City, relaxing at the Jersey Shore, visiting a winery in the Hudson Valley and hiking a nearby trail in either New Jersey, New York State or the Poconos.

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