Karen “Kay” Akpan is a mom, wife, aunt and the face behind The Mom Trotter. Her goal is to inspire and encourage families to find a balance between parenting, educating their kids, and traveling the world. She is also the founder of Black Kids Do Travel, an organization created to increase diversity in travel.
Karen “Kay” Akpan and her family of three are on an American adventure. Living on the road and working from their RV, Kay and her family have traveled to 35 states over the last 5 years and documented it all on her blog, The Mom Trotter. “I started The Mom Trotter,” Karen recalls, “in order to share budget travel tips, connect with other families who wanted to travel with kids, and increase the representation of Black families traveling.” The Mom Trotter features articles written by Kay on homeschooling, traveling with children, and insider tips like how to find $20 tickets to London.
After launching The Mom Trotter in 2017, Kay has seen her audience steadily increase each year, and in 2019 she decided to attend a creator conference to learn how to earn a living. She turned to AdSense to start monetizing on her own, then partnered with a Google Certified Publishing Partner, Mediavine, on Ad Manager. “Ad revenue has been amazing for my business,” she says, “because I can keep my content free and as my page views increase I can earn more from my ads.”
The Mom Trotter blog.
Venturing beyond the blog to real-world impact
With her ad revenue earnings, Kay has been able to hire a team that allows her to focus on creating content and engaging with her readers. As a content creator and small business owner, Kay takes pride in the impact she’s had on the tourism space. “I’m able to highlight Black families in places where they normally aren’t featured,” she says, “and I can show parents that your adventure can continue even with kids or on a budget.”
Kay has even extended The Mom Trotter mission beyond her blog and into her organization, Black Kids Do Travel, which she started with her six-year-old son Aiden. “We started Black Kids Do Travel to help increase representation of Black families in travel media,” she explains, “and to create a safe space for families to discuss the challenges they face traveling with children of color. It’s become a strong, beautiful community of over 27,000 families and a trusted resource that families can turn to when they have travel questions or concerns.”
Kay, her husband, and her son working together.
As Kay and her family continue their journey, she’s excited to double down on The Mom Trotter blog. “My blog is the best of both worlds from a business standpoint: it’s an excellent way to share information, but it also enables me to sustainably earn an income. I know the more I create good, quality content, the more I can increase my readership, and the more ad revenue I’ll earn. I’m excited for what's to come and to continue helping families travel.”