I stalked you on Instagram!!!!

Okay so last week I asked if you wanted me to audit your travel account.

My inbox BLEW UP 😭

I went through every single handle you dropped and picked 3 accounts and because so many of you showed up, I’m throwing in a bonus audit too 🎉

If your handle didn’t make it this time don’t stress 😌 I’ll be doing short audits regularly on our stories at @creator.takeoff so you might just be next 👀

Let’s get into it 👇🏽

🚨 QUICK NOTE BEFORE WE START

All four of these are beginner creators and honestly? They’re already doing better than most people who never even start 🙌🏽 This feedback comes from a place of genuine love, because I WANT to see you grow. Please don’t take anything to heart!
Take what helps, leave what doesn’t 😌

AUDIT #1: @traveltemptations.in

WHAT’S WORKING

✅ Username is easy to remember that’s more important than people think 😌

✅ Bio is doing its job really well tells people what you do, gives them a reason to follow, and builds credibility with the 12 countries mention 👏🏽

✅ Pinned intro post means new visitors immediately know who you are and what you’re about

✅ Itinerary carousels are solid and useful for your audience

✅ Some posts already have text hooks…keep doing this 👀

🔧 WHAT NEEDS WORK

• Right now ALL your videos are text + trending audio and while that’s a safe place to start, it’s also what’s keeping you stuck 😬

• Your audience can’t connect with you if they never see or hear you, they won’t know WHO IS JALPA?

• Your hooks barely start with YOU in the frame, that is important to build trust → especially in the times of so much AI generated content!

• Your videos never have any shots of you reacting to something you’ve seen → even though you have super interesting experiences shown on your page

💡 MY ONE BIG SUGGESTION

I know talking to camera can feel scary at first and that’s completely okay 😌

Start with voiceover reels. Just record your voice over your travel footage. Do this consistently and you’ll slowly get more comfortable. Then when you’re ready, try capturing just the hook line on camera and doing the rest as voiceover. Baby steps.

This week’s fix: Make ONE voiceover reel. Just one. Then aim for 2 a week until it feels natural 💪🏽

AUDIT #2: @letzgoexplore

✅ WHAT’S WORKING

✅ Great username, short, catchy, and instantly clear 👏🏽

✅ You have a talent of finding unique places

✅ Your engagement on personal content (like the anniversary post) shows people want to connect with you when you let them 😌

🔧 WHAT NEEDS WORK

• Bio Updates: → You’ve traveled to so many countries, add that number to your bio to build credibility! → Move your email out of the bio and into the “contact” button under Edit Profile

• You can scroll through this entire page and never find out who you are. No faces, no voices, no story. Your two most viral videos are generic poll reels that anyone could have posted. Those views aren’t building you an audience because there’s nothing personal to follow into!

• Think about what makes YOUR couple travel story unique…is it budget international travel? Your story on how you moved to Boston? Your favourite adventures together? SHARE your unique opinions!

• This is a COUPLE travel page but I can barely see both of you…some covers have Srinidhi but Narayan is barely visible anywhere 😭 People need to see both of you, your dynamic, your story

• Hashtags are not helping you grow anymore…switch to SEO keywords in your captions instead. Think about what someone would actually search for like “couple travel tips” or “Boston travel guide” and use those naturally 👀

💡 MY ONE BIG SUGGESTION

This week, film one reel, just the two of you talking to camera, telling people who you are, where you’re from, and why you travel together. Pin it to the top of your profile. Every viral video you ever post needs somewhere to land, and right now it doesn’t. Let people meet you 😌

This week’s fix: Update your bio + film ONE reel where both of you are visible 💪🏽

AUDIT #3: @anoonanp

WHAT’S WORKING

✅ Bio is optimised and gives people a clear reason to follow & the value you provide

✅ Pinned reels are really strong great first impression

✅ You recently started doing face to camera reels and that is such a big step…keep going!!! 🙌🏽

✅ Fonts and colours are consistent across all reels…your page looks clean and intentional

✅ Mixing in your personal journey and struggles is exactly the kind of content that makes people feel connected to you 😌

🔧 WHAT NEEDS WORK

• Please update your profile picture to a clear closeup of your face 😌 It’s the first thing people see and it creates an instant connection & recall!

• Currently your hooks are not strong enough → Study your analytics on the edits app and see if the skip rate of your reels is above 35% (that means people aren’t hooked in the first 3 seconds)

• Example from this video: “I did my 10 days with the trip without any guide or group and this is the 3 things I did to get it right the first time. ” → You need to ask yourself when you write a hook, if a stranger hears this, what will this make them feel? Is it relatable? is it shocking? Inspiring? Busting a myth? Creating FOMO? Giving them a clear problem?

• Rewrite of this hook: “This mistake in Spiti can cost you 10,000rs!” → Now you’ve instantly captured the attention of anyone planning a trip to Spiti, nobody wants to lose money (plus this hook is shorter, yours was too long!)

• Now your script can simply proceed: “I went here for 10 days, let me share my top 3 tips with you!”

• See what happened? You’ve now layered two hooks on top of each other. The first line creates fear. The second line builds trust because 10 days solo signals that you actually know what you’re talking about.

• Add CTAs at the end of your reels something like “share this with a friend who needs to visit Spiti”…small things like this make a big difference to engagement 👀

💡 MY ONE BIG SUGGESTION

Step 1: Go through your last 10 reels. Write down just the first line of each. For every one, ask two questions: would a complete stranger know exactly what this video is about from this one line alone? And does it make them feel something?

Step 2: Pick 5 travel creators you love. Find their most viewed reels. Write down their first lines. Do the same audit. You’ll start seeing the pattern immediately. 😌

BONUS AUDIT: @discoverwithanisha

WHAT’S WORKING

✅ Username is discoverable and easy to remember 😌

✅ Having “slow + solo travel” in your name is great for SEO people searching for this can actually find you 👏🏽

✅ Bio is clear and tells people exactly what to expect when they follow you

✅ Pinned posts are strategic and having an intro post is such a good move…more creators need to do this 🙌🏽

✅ Recent videos have strong text hooks AND verbal hooks this is exactly why they’re performing better. Keep it up 👀

✅ Talking to camera is building real trust with your audience…don’t stop

✅ Subtitles on your reels is a small thing that makes a big difference 👏🏽

✅ Diligently replying to comments is genuinely underrated and it shows 😌

🔧 WHAT NEEDS WORK

• Right now your feed is ~80% trending reels and ~20% other formats. Try flipping that: keep trending to about 20% Trending can get views, but it doesn’t always build a loyal audience.

• Your text hook “Indians are travelling to Switzerland in the wrong way” is strong 👀 but the video still follows audio + text style! Try a better format like a fake podcast-style reel, or a voiceover with B-roll to make these videos more engaging

• That Swiss Guide video feels like a teaser. First give real value to build trust 🤝 Then add your CTA for the guide at the end. That usually gets better performance + more conversions

• Your bio says “solo + slow travel”, but I don’t see enough solo travel tips on the feed (except the recent collab). That’s a big missed opportunity! Check the comments on your posts and on top creators’ posts people are already asking for solo travel tips. Make reels on those exact questions…

• You captions and CTA’s usually encourage save as a CTA. For eg: Save this thailand itinerary. I would suggest try to push only SHARE OR COMMENT for end CTA’s that will get you better results. If you ask then save, only they will see it but if you ask to share more people are likey to view

• Stop using #fyp or #fyppppp in your posts…it actually signals to Instagram that you’re trying to game the algorithm and can work against you 😬

💡 MY ONE BIG SUGGESTION

You already have the positioning now back it up with the content 😌

Create a small series specifically around solo travel tips. Even 4 to 5 reels. That’s your sweet spot and your audience is already there for it.

This week’s fix: Post ONE reel specifically about a solo travel tip and see how it performs compared to your other content 👀

The one thing ALL FOUR had in common 👀

Not enough face time on camera 😬

Every single account was playing it safe with text and trending audio. And I get it…showing up on camera is scary, especially when you’re just starting out.

But here’s the truth:

People don’t follow pages. They follow people 😌

The faster you let your audience see and hear you, the faster you’ll grow. It really is that simple.

And if you’re reading this thinking wait… that’s literally my page too

Now you know. Go fix it this week 😛

Now let’s get into your question of the week 👇🏽

Unpacking Your Question 💌

Honestly? YES…even at 1,200 followers. ✅ Trial Reels are basically your little “let’s see what happens” experiments. They can put your content in front of people who’ve NEVER heard of you… and sometimes that’s how a reel randomly takes off 🚀 And even if it doesn’t do amazing, it’s still super useful: you’ll learn what to tweak (maybe people are skipping too fast, maybe it needs a clearer CTA, maybe it’s not shareable yet). 👀 So yep…use Trials to TEST ideas, and use your feed to BUILD your community over time. 💛

One Cool Thing I Did This Week 💕

That’s it for this week’s Unpacked… see you next Wednesday with something new to unpack 👋🏽

Lots of love & sunshine,

Aakanksha

P.S. Want me to do this again? Hit reply and drop your handle might just see yourself here next time 👀😌