My Journey from Safari Enthusiast to Digital Marketing Professional
As the founder of Lucie Thaxter Safaris, I create uniquely tailored African safari experiences for adventure-loving families and couples. The business officially launched a year ago, following several years as a freelance African travel expert and a rather intense stint as what I'd call a 'Safari Battery Hen', churning out proposals for an online travel company.
Surprisingly perhaps, my background isn't in travel at all. For most of my career, I worked as Sales Manager and later Director of a high-tech engineering company. This corporate role actually funded what became my full-blown African travel addiction, culminating in an incredible sabbatical where my husband and I drove our beloved (if aging) Land Cruiser from Henley on Thames to Cape Town, crossing 17 African countries along the way.
I discovered the Curious Digital Marketing Bootcamp through an Instagram post by Bunty, a well-known Henley character. I signed up knowing I needed to sharpen my digital marketing skills and spend some quality time working 'on' the business rather than just 'in' it.
While I started without specific goals, I knew my online presence needed an objective review and a proper strategy. I'll admit the initial learning curve was pretty intense, with new concepts coming thick and fast in the early stages. However, the relaxed, supportive environment and great balance between theory and hands-on practice helped tame the digital information whirlwind. By week ten, I felt comfortable with the aspects that really mattered for my business.
Key Digital Marketing Insights
The course has given me some fantastic tools, particularly in understanding which AI engines work best for different tasks. Getting to grips with SEO has transformed my approach to blogs and newsletters, while judicious use of AI has taken much of the grunt work out of content creation. Most importantly, I now have a clear picture of where my business fits in the digital marketing landscape and what I should (and shouldn't) focus on for growth.
One of my biggest takeaways? What I'm doing is actually pretty good! With just a few tweaks to the website and consistent content creation, I can keep my digital presence both relevant and engaging.
The social media module was a game-changer in helping me tackle my enormous library of 14,000+ images, breaking them into manageable 'buckets' that make post scheduling far less daunting. And finally mastering (well, mostly!) Canva has been a breakthrough I'm excited to build on.
Training Environment and Support
The Academy is a brilliant learning space with great facilities and superb resources. Having access to specialists Rachel and David brought real-world practical insights to the social media and website design modules.
The star of the show, though, has been Louize's endless patience and support. She's injected so much fun into the content and genuinely cared about each of our individual projects.
I'd recommend this course in a heartbeat to any small business owner wanting to build a digital marketing strategy and keep up with this fast-moving landscape. My advice? Leave your preconceptions at the door and stick with it when the information feels overwhelming – it all comes together beautifully in the end!