Jan Wild: Interview

Jan Wild: Interview

All about RETIREMENT PLANNING | ARTICLES, INFORMATION, INSIGHTS & STRATEGIES

2019: Wednesday Interview Series

Can you tell our readers about yourself and your blog?

I’m a 65-year-old Australian blogger living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. I live with my partner Rowan who also contributes to our blog. We blog on retirement lifestyles – where to live, what to wear, where to visit on your travels. Also on aging, and ageism, wellness, financial and legal considerations, relationships etc.

Describe how did you first get into blogging?

We went to a session on blogging run by a writers’ group where we were living. We had already determined that a lot of retirement information available was focussed totally on financial matters. Our experience was that whilst money is important it is only part of the retirement jigsaw.  It is a means to an end not an end in itself. We decided we could help fill the gap by providing holistic information about retirement lifestyles.

What do you think is the best service a blogger can provide to his readers?

Honesty and thought-provoking posts. If you don’t have your integrity, you have nothing and if you don’t challenge the thinking of your readers why bother blogging.

What do you think is the best strategy that worked well for you to get more traffic to your blog?

Getting up to speed with SEO, I still have a long way to go but my work on this in the last few months has made a huge difference to my traffic.

What was your greatest failure and what did you learn from that?

Not realizing my site had been hacked. I learnt that I needed to get better hosting and security software. Also that I needed to keep a much closer eye on Google Search Console

Did you have professional help or did you create the blog yourself?

I had professional help on the initial design and then again on a redesign last year.

What do you think is the best social media strategy for getting more readers to your blog?

Pinterest is my favorite social media app as posts on there have real longevity, unlike other social media applications. Pinterest is effectively a search engine and so it has loads of potential. I am only now coming to grips with it and using Tailwind and Tailwind Smartloop. Furthermore, I also run a Pinterest Tribe that others may wish to join, it is focussed on over 50s lifestyle.

Who takes the majority of your photos?

I post a daily outfit photo to Instagram and Facebook most days. Rowan takes these for me (I used to use a tripod and an app but I am so glad to no longer have that hassle). Otherwise, the photos on the blog are mostly mine (or those of guest posters) with the occasional top up with stock photos.

What’s the most beautiful place you have ever been?

Oh, that is such a hard question to answer as there are so many beautiful places in the world and I am privileged to have done a lot of travel. I think I would have to say Lucerne in Switzerland with the stunning Lake Lucerne, the medieval Chapel Bridge.  The frescoes on the buildings, and the surrounding mountains. A trip across the Lake and up Mount Rigi is such a memorable experience. And did I mention the Swiss Chocolate?

What annoys you?

Ageism annoys me and particularly when I see older people being ageist against themselves. Giving up on life, becoming set in their ways. There is no reason to become old before your time. At 65 I am the happiest I have ever been and I am loving learning and doing new things, creating new relationships and disrupting ageism.

Please visit and follow Jan via:

Blog:   https://www.retirement-planning.info
Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/retiringnotshy/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/retiring.not.shy/
Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/retiring_not_shy/
Pinterest:   https://www.pinterest.com.au/Retiringnotshy/

If you wish to also participate in this 2019: Wednesday Interview Series please follow the link, and email me and consider it done.  I would love to showcase you and your blog.