Do you love to travel? Interested in the idea of turning a passion into a career? How about starting a travel blog?
But how do you start a travel blog and make money travel blogging?
In this article I will explain how I got started and make money as a travel blogger and how you can too.
Top Reasons to Become a Blogger
• Travel when you want where you want
• Work from anywhere in the world
• Be your own boss
• Escape the 9-5 rat race
• Have more freedom and flexibility
Is it Easy to Start a Blog?
If you have no experience of making websites, it can be a challenge when starting out due to the amount of things you need to do, learn and implement.
You’ll need to think of a domain name, register a URL and decide what platform to use to build and maintain your blog.
The easiest way is to register a domain name on a website like 123-reg.com, and then use WordPress. I had no previous experience of using WordPress prior to starting my website but there are lots of online guides and videos with tips – this really helped me pick up the basics and get my blog to where it is today.
It really is possible to start a travel blog from scratch or become a travel blogger without any money. Honestly, if I can do this, anyone can. It just take time to research and practice. Once you pick up the basics of creating pages, using plugins and navigating WordPress, it is quite easy.
How to Make Money with a Travel Blog
Here are the top ways travel bloggers like me earn an income.
Banner Advertising
Put banners on your website and get paid per impression or click!
Sounds easy, well if you have high traffic volume, it can be a great way to earn money, without actually doing anything other than adding code to your website to display banners.
Popular banner ad platforms to apply with include Google Adsense, Ezocic, Mediavine. If you are just starting out, the chances are you will be rejected if you apply straight away, you need to have an established site, with a modern design and a specific traffic volume. Some networks will require around 25,000 impressions or visitors per month before getting accepted whilst others are more flexible.
How much you get paid each month from banner advertising really varies depending on how many visitors your blog has, and how many impressions/clicks your ads generate.
Another option is to add specific banners to your blog. For example, if you are writing about accommodation, you could include banners from a company like Booking.com.
Advertising
Sometimes companies who offer relevant content to your blog will contact you if they like what they see and want to be featured.
Social Media
If you have a social media account with a large number of followers companies will pay you to promote products on websites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. Create profiles on all the most popular sites and companies will contact you if they want you to advertise anything.
Videos
Start making videos on websites like YouTube and Tiktok and you can display these on your website and get paid via banners ads.
Affiliate Marketing
Lots of companies offer affiliate programs where by they offer you a commission for any sales generated. For example, some of the biggest names in the travel industry like Booking.com and Skyscanner offer affiliate programs where if you add text/banner links to your website, and user click through and make a purchase, you will receive a commission. This type of advertising isn’t 100% accurate, and you will miss out on a lot of sales if for example, a user books at a later date, or
Here are some of the most popular affiliate networks that I use:
• Booking.com
• Skyscanner
• Viator
• GetYourGuide
• Awin
• CJ
• Amazon
• Etsy
• Groupon
Freelance Writing
Having a blog is a great way to put yourself out there and get found. You can find work on popular freelancing websites like Fiverr, Upwork, oDesk, which are fine when starting out in writing and looking to build a portfolio or make a bit of money.
But sometimes these websites take a cut of your payment, which can be as high as 20%! Also don’t expect amazing rates, some companies only pay $5-$10 for a 500 word article! You might instead want to invest this time into building the content on your own blog.
Some companies will contact you to see if you would be interested in writing for other websites, whilst you could also pitch or apply to travel guides/travel websites.
If you aren’t interested in having your own blog you might like to check out this article with tips how to become a travel writer.
SEO Links
If you are totally new to the world of SEO, basically this is Search Engine Optimisation and is a process companies use to get their websites ranking higher on sites like Google. If you have a good content rich website that has a high page rank, companies might get in touch to see if you will publish articles with links in on your website.
Paid Press Trips
If you are lucky you might get invited to get to go on free/paid funding trips to destinations around the world. Some tourism boards, and travel companies pay travel bloggers to go on trips and then expect you to share the content online.
Run Courses
Some of the more popular bloggers offer courses with helpful tips and advice how to start and operate successful blogs. You could set your own course up.
Start a Podcast
If you enjoy talking you could start a podcast. Podcasts are becoming more and more popular, and are one of the few industries which aren’t already saturated with people doing the same thing. It will require a lot of work to set up, plan and also execute, but podcasts can be a lot of fun, and if yours gets popular, there are lots of income generating ways to make money.
Selling Photography
If you have a passion for photography there are lots of websites where you can make money by selling your best shots.
Downsides of Being a Blogger
I’m not going to lie, there are some challenges and negative things about working for yourself as a blogger, including:
• No fixed monthly income compared to working a structure job with a company
• Being self reliant can be stressful, especially when starting out
• Competitive market, there are literally thousands of travel bloggers so can be hard to stand out
• It is a lot of work! Thinking of article ideas and writing the content can be time consuming, for little or no money especially when starting out
I would recommend starting a blog as a hobby, and try to enjoy it. If it does become a full time money making career this will be an added bonus.
How Much Can I Make as a Travel Blogger?
Okay, I’ll be honest starting out isn’t easy, and the chances you create a blog and within weeks/months you are making a steady flow of money to quit your job is unrealistic.
Second confession, I don’t actually make $1,000,000 per month travel blogger. This is my long term aim, but realistically very few, if any, bloggers actually make these sorts of sums. Some though, do make a lot of money and use this to fund travels around the glove.
Using my recommendations can help make a steady income, from the blog or from a side project like Youtube, Podcasts, freelance work etc. Start with a hobby, and maybe you will be able to turn this into a full time job with hard work and dedication.
