FREEDOMtravel 2021 - 12 things that happened during the year

A lot happened at FREEDOMtravel last year. 2021 was the year we switched from blog to magazine, got over 100,000 visitors in a month for the first time and published a physical magazine, just to name a few things.

FREEDOMtravel 2021

Last year was another pandemic year, which meant that we were, to some extent, limited in where and when we could travel. Despite this, there was a lot of travelling both with and without a motorhomewhich we have reported on previously. It was also an opportunity to invest in and develop freedomtravel.se in several different ways. Here are 12 things that happened at FREEDOMtravel in 2021:

1. Newsletters

We had been thinking about starting a newsletter for a long time and at the beginning of the year it finally happened. The newsletter goes out once a month and offers advance information about things that are going on, links to most read articles and discounts in the online shop:

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2. New products in the online shop

We started online shop 2020, and in the summer of 2021 we finally received all the new products that we developed together with the Swedish company Pufz. These included blankets, duvet covers, pillowcases, towels, tea towels, pot holders, coasters and candlesticks - all with stylish designs featuring motorhomes or caravans.

Even though we didn't get a chance to show the products at a trade fair (the pandemic!), we were able to sell them in the webshop, and in December 2021 we broke a sales record. But the most fun has been the process itself!

3. A media vendor became a partner

At the end of 2020, Peter's brother Micke (who has been a top salesman at Vi i Villa for 30 years) started working with us as a media salesman, and in the spring of 2021 the work started in earnest. This meant that Micke started selling ads that appear both on the home page and in all 3600 articles, as well as in our physical magazine.

To make this possible, we had to buy an advertising programme so that we could deliver statistics on views and clicks to customers. We also had to hire our web developer to rebuild the site and the advertising programme.

4. Record number of visitors

In 2021, we broke visitor records, and by far. Already in April we reached almost up to 100,000 unique visitors in a month (99,915 to be exact), and in July we crossed the "magic line" with 103,355 unique visitors.

Throughout the year, we had a total of 834 484 unique visitors (88 per cent of whom were new) and 1 590 651 page views, according to Google Analytics. Visitors came mainly from Sweden (93 per cent), with the second highest number of readers coming from Finland. The final percentage was made up of Swedes living abroad or travelling. 55 per cent were women and the age distribution can be seen in the chart below.

5. More focus on Sweden than ever

In terms of content, we have written more about Sweden than ever before. If we exclude 2015 (when we travelled around Europe by motorhome all year round), 2021 is probably the year when we spent the most months on the road with the motorhome. On the one hand, we spent my (Helena's) holiday on a motorhome trip in Sweden and on the other hand, I was able to telework from the motorhome for several months in a row, while discovering Sweden during evenings and weekends. Our most read posts about Sweden during the year are:

1. What to do in Gränna - 9 tips for the polka dot town on Lake Vättern
2. Things to do in Trosa - 9 tips for a picturesque gem
3. 30 attractions in Old Town - tourist in Stockholm

6. a physical magazine - 100,000 copies

2021 was the year when we published a physical magazine for the first time. Since this was completely new to us, it was a challenge, but together with Peter's brother Micke, who works with us as a media salesman, we managed to land the project.

The magazine was printed in 100 000 copies and delivered to 600 campsites between Mora and Ystad, and to 100 motorhome dealers. In these places it was available as a free magazine, together with the magazine "Husbil och Husvagn på Väg". Fantastic fun! The project will be repeated this year, 2022!

7. reels on Instagram

Peter, who has been editing film for Youtube and Vimeo for many years, started making reels for Instagram in 2021, and now we alternate posts (pictures) and stories (events) with reels. I (Helena) still manage Instagram, but Peter edits the films. Feel free to follow us here: @freedomtravelnews

8. Redevelopment of freedomtravel.se

I don't know how many times we rebuilt the site last year! As well as rebuilding for adverts, we changed the structure of the online shop and added "See and do in Sweden" (with direct links to our different landscape pages) to the home page. At the end of the year, we did the biggest build, which means we can bring in guest writers (point 10). The web developer was hired many times!

9. From blog to digital magazine

In autumn 2021, we decided to change the word 'blog' to 'digital magazine'. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, we have experienced that "digital magazine" becomes clearer in conversations with various partners. In addition, when we started taking in guest writers on our site (next point), we thought the word "magazine" was more appropriate.

10. Guest writers and influencers

In autumn 2021, we decided to bring in guest writers to our magazine - that is, more people who can contribute articles from time to time. At the time of writing, seven writers have joined - and all of them have been given their own presentation page with links to their own websites and social media as well as all their articles with us.

We plan to bring in more, but we have been moving slowly, as we want to be able to take care of and publicise those we bring in. If you are interested in joining us, please get in touch!

11. Members of Mynewsdesk

At the end of 2021, we decided to join Mynewsdesk as a company, which is a platform where you can present your newsroom and issue press releases.

12. Co-operation with two major fairs

Towards the end of the year, it was announced that we will be collaborating with two major and important trade fairs in the motorhome world -... Motorhome 2022 Sthlm (18-20 March 2022) and Elmia Husvagn Husbil (September 2022). We will promote both and be on site with a stand, give lectures and report from the fairs.

At Husbil 2022 Sthlm - "Freedom on wheels" - we will hold no less than six lectures on different destinations. We will also be on site with a "Destination Square" where we collect and offer inspiration about a bunch of different destinations. Don't miss it!

What happens at FREEDOMtravel 2022?

We like to develop and always have new projects in the pipeline, and we feel very excited for 2022. Hope you join us!