James Hammond (00:00.194)

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.

James Hammond (00:29.07)

Hello and welcome to this week's episode and this is a set of episode to end 2024 with an exciting announcement to come up first and then I'm going to give a bit of a breakdown of 2024 for the podcast and then what's coming up in the early parts of 2025. So I'm really excited to announce that the Winging It Travel Podcast has decided to join the Voyescape Network. Now this is going to be a brand new partnership for the podcast.

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.

financially for me, I need to recoup some losses I've had for the last four years. So hopefully I can do some of that. But I'm also looking forward to working with an amazing team at Voy Escape with David and also any other brands that come on board for 2025. So David has a fantastic history with travel podcasts. He started his own one, Traveling 10, which you may have heard of in 2005. So he's an OG of the podcasting world. And this means he understands the

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.

James Hammond (02:50.958)

As I said, I still have a hundred percent control over the content and that will still be some interviews. I've done some travels this year, which I'll come to in a minute. And also I'm looking to get into the audio immersive episodes as well in 2025. I hope this will elevate the podcast to the next level in terms of exposure, listeners, downloads, monetization, better content, more countries. So that's going to be cool. There could be potential for sponsored content in 2025 as well.

And as I said before, I've been running the podcast at a bit of a loss until probably this year, actually, where I made some money. So I need to recoup some of those losses and take it to the next level for me personally as a podcaster. And 2025, we'll see some more travel content, guests, much more episodes coming. I'm still going to be weekly. I may reduce the time of some of the guest episodes to under an hour, but we'll see about that. And as I said, it'll be per week on a Monday and maybe some bonus content on a Friday. Let's see. So finally, I just want to say thanks to David and also Tim Johnson, who is the

Global Head of Content and Executive Editor of the network for the opportunity. I'm really excited about this partnership to get off the ground. We announced it today on the Monday, 16th of December. And for the audience yourselves, there'll be more content coming next week. I'm actually gonna do an episode with David to talk about his travel resume, if you like, and also about his network. So you wanna hear more about that, tune in this time next week for the last episode of 2024. And then 2025 is gonna be some cracking.

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.

He's been doing a show for a while now, building up a great audience around the world, talking to interesting travelers around the world and sharing his own interesting travels around the world. James, what can people expect from your show in coming weeks and in 2025? David is based in the Vancouver Metro area. So we got to meet up for coffee to talk about this proposal and also record an episode. So finally I've met David in person. We've had a coffee, we had a drink, we had a voice scape Christmas party, just the two of us in Vancouver. So it's great to meet him in person, understand what he's thinking in terms of the network.

James Hammond (05:16.078)

and how he can help elevate the Wiganet Travel Podcast into 2025 and 2026. He's also got some exciting travel podcasts joining his network. So I'll let him announce those coming forward. But I'm really excited for some of the podcasts to join the network with myself. I think I'm the official first one to join and get announced. Tune into next week and 2025 is gonna be exciting time for the Wiganet Travel Podcast. And to finalize, here's what David said on his article on the Voyescape Network website, which can be accessed at voyescape.com.

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.

We are beyond excited to have them join the Voyascape Travel Podcast Network as we keep building a hub for amazing travel stories and inspiration. And guess what? There's even more to come. Stay tuned for more new shows dropping soon. Check out the Wigginit Travel Podcast and all the other amazing shows at voyascape.com. So that's my bit about Voyascape. Hope you join me in the exciting news there. 2024 summary. Let's go over this.

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.

James Hammond (07:39.502)

which can be seen on YouTube and Spotify. I may also do video for my SEDA episodes in 2025, we'll see about that. But finally, to subscribe to the YouTube channel, I think I sit at 230 subscribers, so click that subscribe button, but you can also watch all of my episodes on video on Spotify too. There was some sponsored content this year, which helped monetize the podcast a little bit. I've completed more in-person interviews in the studio this year. David is one coming up next week, and I rented the studio out in Vancouver.

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.

And earlier in the year, I interviewed Harry MacCyddis on episode 139 as he's traveled to every country twice. I think the biggest theme this year in travel for my podcast has been AI. That's been talked about a lot in terms of how that can enhance your travel experience, whether that helps you book travels, whether it helps you answer questions. So I think AI in travel is coming up, especially the next couple of years. And that was the biggest theme this year that I took away. So what's coming up in the first part of 2025?

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.

James Hammond (09:59.052)

in between the guest episodes, but I've also left the door open to any potential collaborations or destination episodes for 2025. I've not even booked any trips yet. So let's see what comes up. I quite like having the spontaneity of not booking any trips. Let's see what countries I maybe want to go to or can go to. So that's pretty exciting for the podcast. And finally, to end this episode, I just want to say thanks to everyone who's listened this year or watched on YouTube or Spotify. And you may have told your friends about the podcast, about Winging It.

and you continue to delve into the content or maybe follow me on social media. Really, really thankful for all the reviews, the listens, the downloads, the comments as well. It's been a very positive year and I think the podcast is going into a new direction and an exciting journey in 2025. I'm glad to see the podcast go from strength to strength. From starting in my bedroom in Vancouver, it's come a long way and I've really got some exciting content coming up in the early part of 2025 and who knows, this time next year.

what content would have come out on the podcast. So thanks for listening in. Nothing's going to change. So we're to travel podcast will still be on Apple podcasts, Spotify, all your podcast platforms. Please leave a comment or say what's been your favorite part of the year. I do love to read that sort of stuff. And let's go into 2025 with positivity, lots more travel and loads more adventures. Thanks so much for tuning in and I'll see you for the next episode and the last one of 2024 next week. Cheers.

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.