Always Bring Sunscreen
Family-friendly resorts reviewed by a family.
My family travel blog was off to a great start this year: Visitors booked more than $100,000 worth of vacations. However, it is now unlikely that any of those sales will be realized because of Coronavirus-related cancellations. It's a stark reminder that a startup's fortunes can be made or broken by a single event that is beyond anyone's control. Good luck out there and stay safe.
More than 50,000 visitors have come to Always Bring Sunscreen since we launched the website on Sept. 23, 2018. It's an exciting number despite the relatively low earnings of the project. One of the biggest motivators is when parents write to thank us for helping them plan a family vacation. That's the mission!
I was shocked to learn how much traffic that Pinterest drives to certain websites, so I spent a few days creating pins for all our content. I also joined a group board that is dedicated to Caribbean travel. A slow trickle of traffic is rolling in now despite the fact that our account has zero followers. The next step is to grow a following of qualified pinners.
Someone booked a trip to Beaches Resort after visiting our site in January, however, the commission from that booking didn't become "real" until the travel was completed in March. That's when we made our first $100.
I shared an early version of the website on LinkedIn and it got a good reaction. Some Facebook traffic began to roll in a few days after that. Then, e-mail traffic. Friends and family drove most of those early visits (especially my former co-workers).
I built the first version of the website in three days using Squarespace. It was a whirlwind and the fastest that I've ever built a "complete" website. Squarespace has some limitations, but on the whole, it's a great tool to launch a website quickly.
My wife and I considered taking a trip to Atlantis Paradise Island a few years ago, but there were complications that sapped the fun out of "vacation." Meal plans. Wristbands. Restaurant reservations, etc.
As an alternative, we searched for all-inclusive resorts that make it easy to travel with small children. Some resorts are better for families than others, so we started Always Bring Sunscreen to share our experiences.
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