How to Become a Travel Blogger and Make Money

9 min read

So, you’re a traveler? And, let us guess: you want to figure out a way to turn that hobby into a money-making side-hustle? Well, trust us, we’ve got just the way. Read on to learn all about travel blogging and how you can take your passion to the next level.

What is a Travel Blogger?

A travel blogger writes about travel and destinations. There are many niches within this diverse market. You might choose to focus on budget travel, a specific region of the world, cruise travel, or travel to yoga retreats. The possibilities are endless.

You don’t have to travel full-time to be a travel blogger. You can do research online and choose to take four trips a year and spend the rest of the year monetizing the content you produced during those periods. Sounds dreamy right? Okay, let’s get into the how-to:

How To Start A Travel Blog

First, you need to pick a niche. “Yoga retreats in Central America” is an example of a travel blogging niche. Take the time to create a brand and set up your website and social media around this brand. Plan your trips, and plan your content monetization strategies as well. You may need to invest in electronics and courses to learn more about content creation and related skills. You will make the most money as a travel blogger if you are good at taking photos and videos and at expressing your thoughts in writing.

5 Ways To Make Money With Your Travel Blog

Your travel blog should produce multiple streams of income. Never put all of your eggs in one basket. Make sure that you have a good mix of active and passive income streams. Passive income can protect you during a period of illness, when you need a vacation, and when you wish to retire. This means you shouldn’t be completely reliant on creating new posts for income, but rather invest in other aspects of your blog (or other projects in general) as a way of making ends meet.

Create a budget and decide how much money you need to make each month to cover your expenses, savings, credit building, and investments. Track your progress towards this goal, and don’t stop until you are successful. It can take six months to a year to fully develop a travel blog. Start with a plan and see it through.

1. Destination guide e-books

Destination guides follow a predefined format, which makes them easy to write. You can have a designer create a Canva template for you that uses your branding. As your travel blog develops, you will eventually be the author of a series of travel guides.

You can start writing your e-book before you go on a trip. Simply organize and structure your trip planning research. By the time you arrive at your destination, You will halfway write the book. Take beautiful photos and add your reviews. Share hidden gems, stories, maps, cultural tips, and local history. Include a directory of local contacts. By the time you go home, the book will be ready.

You can sell the books on your website and social media platforms with Ecwid. You can also publish the guides on Amazon. Destination guides will give you a long-term source of passive income. Write it once, set up the store, and then let automation do the rest.

2. Local tourism directories

There are many WordPress plugins available that you can use to create local directories. Here you can list all of the local businesses that a tourist might want to find in a given destination. These types of guides are beneficial to foreign tourists who do not speak the local language.

Local businesses are eager to reach these tourist customers, and they are often willing to pay a reasonable recurring fee for a listing. You can also make ad revenue and upsell destination guide e-books from the organic traffic that your directories generate.

3. Sponsored travel

Many businesses will either barter with you or pay you directly for marketing services. When planning a trip, reach out to as many hotels, restaurants, travel agents, and tourist activity providers as you can. Pitch your marketing services to them. Services you can offer include:

Featuring their business in articles on your blog
Featuring their business in YouTube videos
Creating professional business photos and marketing videos for them
Directory listings on your website
Inclusion in your destination guide ebooks

4. Adsense income

Search engine optimization should always be part of your core blogging income strategy. You don’t just want to know what people are searching for; you also want to keep an eye out for high-paying Adsense keywords with reasonable competition metrics.

You should perform your research and determine the keywords you are targeting before you launch. Then you need to track both your organic search rankings and your Adsense earnings. Set regular intervals to review and expand your keyword strategy. You should perform reviews on at least a quarterly basis.

5. Affiliate income

There is a multitude of ways to earn affiliate income as a travel blogger. You can target travel products on Amazon or from companies that offer attractive affiliate programs. Luggage and travel clothing are great categories to target. Many travel bloggers earn affiliate income by promoting travel insurance.

You can also run commission promotions for hotels, restaurants, tour guides, and local attractions. You have to make these connections on the ground when you are traveling and continue to nurture these business relationships after you depart. Be sure to use clear contracts and sales tracking systems.

Ecommerce Opportunities

There are multiple ways to sell products via your travel blog. First, you can sell digital products such as ebooks, photos, and directory listings. You can also sell print-on-demand products related to the destinations that you cover. T-shirts, keychains, and travel mugs are all trendy items.

Another way to sell items is to purchase inventory while you are traveling. Meet local artisans, introduce them to your audience, and showcase their goods. You can take orders within a limited timeframe and then use the sales proceeds to purchase and ship your products. Don’t be afraid to try something new or think outside the box—that adventurous spirit is exactly what a traveler needs to be successful as well!

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May 17, 2021

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.