Meet Melanie Martins from Malta -- travel blogger, fempreneur, and best-selling author. What started as a passion project turned into a profitable career with brand deals, collaborations with tourism authorities around the world, and now a best-selling book. In this episode, Melanie doesn't hold back on sharing the strategies she used to become the blogger businesswoman she is today -- now with more than 2.2 million Instagram followers. Please subscribe, share and leave a comment if you enjoyed this episode! Get connected with us: @melaniemartinsblog @thesarahtrott We deep dive with Melanie on the following topics: -How to gain authentic, engaged followers -How to provide value beyond pictures (going LIVE, creating a blog, newsletter, an email list, guidebook, course, webinar, exclusive content) -Be able to contact your followers outside of IG — long lasting relationships that give you control over your followers who turn into your customers -Implement beta testing to involve your community (ask your audience for feedback on products you’re testing out, what content they want from you) PLUS: -Her perspective as an original travel blogger on how the industry has changed and where it’s going next -Some of the biggest mistakes you can make and how to avoid them -Dealing with criticism on social media starts with understanding this question, "Are you a producer or consumer of social media?"