Where I Went on My Content Creator Retreat
And What I Got Done
For several years now, I plan a Creator Retreat in January. It’s a great way for me to rest, get my energy back and work on my business without interruption. It’s my view that a well-designed Creator Retreat is a wonderful way to assert to yourself that your business has value and needs time to plan for and reflect on.
Especially in 2025 if you’re American.
A Creator Retreat is basically the same as a Writer’s Retreat, an opportunity to lean all in on your business. A well-planned retreat lets you be for lack of a better word…selfish about being 100% focused on thinking about, working on and strategizing your upcoming business year for your creative business.
IT IS NOT A VACATION
Each year I look forward to the planning process, the actual experience of the retreat and getting work done. I thought it would be interesting to share what I ended up going and what I ended up working on while I was gone.
My hope is to inspire you to design a retreat whether it’s 24 hours or longer. Ok, I’ve kept you waiting long enough-here are the details.
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Bingen, Washington/Hood River, Oregon
And Portland, Oregon
I shared a poll on my Thread profile asking people where they thought I was going to for my retreat. The three choices I shared were Portland, Oregon/Mexico City and Reykjavik, Iceland. All three places are spots that I absolutely plan on visiting-likely sometime this year.
Why did I ultimately decide on Oregon/Washington State?
There were a few reasons…
I’ve wanted to visit the property that I ended up staying at for the past 4 years. I wasn’t excited to go during COVID so I waited.
The weather is completely different from Denver’s weather. It was cloudy, grey and moody the entire time I was on my retreat. Perfect weather for working, resting and staying on task.
The hotel’s amenities! I always want to soak in a hot tub or hot springs and embrace wellness practices during my trip.
Where Did I Stay? The Society Hotel Bingen and The Society Hotel in Portland
Cost! The trip was very reasonable. I spent $900 for 8 days away including all expenses.
Proximity to nature-One compelling reason for going to this part of the country was that it’s absolutely beautiful! There was so much water, moss and greenery everywhere. It’s the opposite of Colorado.
Good food-There is very good food in this area.
I share how I planned my trip and some helpful tips if you’re looking to plan a retreat too.
What Were My Initial Goals?
I had a number of goals that I set for my week away. They felt a bit aggressive, audacious and a little bit crazy. However, I was stuck in a grey, rainy, cloudy location without a car-I was pretty motivated. Here’s what I was hoping to do…
Batch and get 2 months ahead on my content calendar for Creators Getting Paid
Begin a new outbound pitching push-I now send out pitches a minimum of once a week. This could include pitching for the following:
Podcast guest opportunities-Are you looking guests for your show?
Grants/Scholarships
Brand Partnerships/Sponsorships
Programs
Work on a monetization strategy-Specific to the different parts of my brand.
Batch newsletter content-I was happy with getting at least 1 month ahead.
Work on some opt-ins
Templates
Mini-Courses
Record podcast episodes
Rebrand Michelle Is Money Hungry
Administrative tasks related to brand clarity
Check and update my profiles everywhere
Update my LinkedIn Profile
Update some SOPs (standard operating procedures)
Work on my One Pager and Media Kit
Enjoy some good food
Hang out at the spa-The space was glorious
Visit Hood River, White Salmon and Portland
What Did I End Up Getting Done?
I thought it would be interesting to share what I actually worked on. I think this is helpful for context around the actual amount of content that I’m batching. Also, it might help some folks gage-the amount of batched content that may make a difference when working on your brand.
Batch and get 2 months ahead on my content calendar.
Yes! I was able to do this. I have at least one 1 post scheduled until the end of February on my website.
Work on a monetization strategy
Yes! I’ve actually been thinking about my monetization strategy for awhile now. I just tightened it up while I was here.
Batch newsletter content
Yes! I wrote 8 newsletter editions-this number doesn’t include other editions that I batched at the end of December.
Work on some opt-ins
NOPE-I did not get that done LOL!
Begin a new outbound pitching push
I’ve continued pitching! This is actually a huge area of focus for me moving forward.
Record podcast episodes
Yes, I recorded 6 podcast episodes
Rebrand Michelle Is Money Hungry
Done-but I needed to some help with the URL change for my website
Michelle is Money Hungry is now called “Your American Money”
Administrative tasks related to brand clarity
Check and update my profiles everywhere
I didn’t finish doing this
Update my LinkedIn Profile
I’m still working on this
Update some SOPs (standard operating procedures)
Still working on this
Enjoy some good food
I’m amazed by how good the food is in this region. Here’s what I ended up eating:
Scandinavian food from Broder Ost-Enjoyed!
Sushi
Congolese food
Farm to Table-Enjoyed!
Hang out at the spa-The space was glorious
Every single night I soaked, sat in the sauna and just got blissed out.
Visit Hood River (it’s a little town)
I ended up visiting on Monday because I was car-free and the shuttles didn’t run over the weekend.
Visited Portland
Technically I stayed in Portland for one day at the beginning and end of my trip. I’ve visited before and will be returning later this year for a conference. For this trip my priority was heading to Bingen-White Salmon, WA and Hood River, OR
One Last Reason Why I Do This
I want to happen to my business vs. having my business happen to me. I also wanted to be proactive vs. reactive with my content and give myself enough time to market all of the important stuff connected to my brand.
At a time when things fee so stressful, I feel refreshed and ready to get things done. Rest is a huge priority for 2025 and I’m looking forward to planning my next mini-retreats.
Where Would YOU Go?
Let me know where your ideal Content Creator Retreat would be and why.
And you go alone?
I would love to go to Japan or a glampy cabin in the mountains for something like this.