If you want to start and monetize a travel blog and even turn it into a full-time business, you’ll need to learn from those who’ve already done it successfully. I mean the travel bloggers who are getting paid to do what they love the most – get paid while traveling.
I’ve interviewed many of them over the years so I decided to gather their best tips in one place. Below, you’ll see what 11 full-time travel bloggers did and advise you to do so you can grow your blog traffic and income.
Let’s dive in.
Travel Bloggers Share Their Best Blogging Tips
1. Caz & Craig of Y Travel Blog
Blog: Y Travel Blog
Niche: Solo travel, Couples travel, Expat travel, Digital nomad travel, RV travel, Travel with kids
Blog launch: 2010
Blog Traffic: 500,000 page views/month
Revenue: Multiple six figures
Blog Income Streams: Banner Ads; Affiliate marketing, Sponsored campaigns, Photography and videography assets
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
Our traffic sources have changed so much over the years. In the beginning it was mainly through Facebook, Twitter, and guest posting.
Then by a stroke of luck, one of our Pinterest boards was featured by Pinterest to all new sign ups (in their beginning phase). Our Pinterest following exploded to 4.5 million! We used to get 180,000 views a month just from Pinterest.
After a few years, our search traffic picked up and grew to 500,000 a month before an algorithm changed, followed closely by the pandemic, more than halved it.
Now our traffic sources are a combination of Search, Pinterest, and other social traffic.
I’ve learned it’s risky business to rely on just one traffic source. Since the pandemic, it’s been our intention to create a business that does not rely completely on algorithms. All it takes if for one change, and your entire business can be wiped out.
Monetization tips
Our first income stream was through selling text links. We soon learned that was frowned upon by Google and could lead to penalties, so we turned to other ways. We made our first $70 after about 6 months.
Another relatively easy way to make money in the beginning was freelance writing. We could use our expertise to make income, gain credibility, and give our brand greater exposure.
Next came affiliate income and sponsored content through brand partnerships, which is still a major source of our income today.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
Don’t waste time on trying to go viral on social media. It’s not sustainable. Instead focus on being consistent and valuable.
What’s your story? What makes you valuable? What makes you different?
Build your brand, your story, and your authority and this will help you build a business that outlast algorithms.
2. Nele van Hout of The Navigatio
Blog: The Navigatio
Niche: Japan
Blog launch: 2017
Revenue: $10K/month
Blog Income Streams: Ads, Affiliate marketing, Brand collaborations
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
It took focusing on just travel (and later on just Japan) for it to start bringing in an interesting amount of traffic! It took me a good few years to get to that point, especially since I learned SEO from scratch.
I recommend focusing on a more niche topic. While general blogs can have success, it’s much easier to build authority on one topic. Once Google starts to recognise you as THE person/website for this, ranking will take way less effort.
I do think diversifying is important in any kind of business, so that’s a big focus for me moving forward. I can’t just rely on SEO, so while it remains a big part of my business plan, I’m looking into other ways to increase traffic.
Monetization tips
Advertising and affiliate income are pretty passive – in a way that, if I take some time off, these streams will continue to bring in money.
However, to ensure the website reaches enough visitors and helps them make sales through the affiliate links, I am constantly updating articles and adding new ones to the site. On top of that, I run a Facebook Group about Japan with over 110.000 members, which takes a couple of hours per day to run.
So while it’s passive in some respect, it does take constant work to make sure it keeps earning.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
Stick to it! It takes time to build a successful blog, but as long as you don’t give up, keep publishing and keep learning, you won’t fail.
Taking on some SEO freelance writing or editing gigs can also help massively. It’s a great way to learn and perfect your skills that you can then transfer to your own website.
3. Olly of We Seek Travel
Blog: We Seek Travel
Niche: Adventure travel
Blog launch: 2018
Blog Traffic: 250,000 page views/month
Blog Income Streams: Ads, Affiliate marketing, Brand partnerships, Photography
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
It took me quite a while to get traction. After a year of blogging almost full-time, I was only seeing about 30,000 sessions coming in. I think this slow growth is due to the fact that I was primarily writing about off-beat travel experiences and destinations that many people weren’t actively searching on Google.
My goal is and always has been to share unique travel experiences.
Eventually, I saw the success that other travel bloggers were having with writing huge pillar posts linked to all of their smaller travel guides and adopted a similar strategy. These pillar posts were massive, often 10,000+ word travel guides that covered almost every aspect of a destination that I’ve been writing about.
After doing this, I saw consistent growth in traffic and best of all, it was able to direct readers into the more “off-beat” and “hidden gem” type travel attractions that I was most excited about sharing.
Monetization tips
My favorite income stream is affiliate marketing because it performs much better than display advertizing in the travel niche. I also like this more than display advertizing as I have complete control over the travel recommendations people are finding on We Seek Travel.
I take a lot of pride in my recommendations and authority as a travel expert. Having the opportunity to help travelers by offering real, useful, and helpful tour, accommodation, and travel gear recommendations while making a living out of it is something that I cherish.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
The pandemic really shook things up and I noticed some large blogs closing down. Lately, with AI content, things are getting interesting as well.
While I’m starting to see more and more generic AI travel blogs begin ranking for search terms that the publisher has clearly no first-hand experience on, I think Google will catch on. If Google wants to prioritize “helpful” content, then what can be more helpful than advice, opinions, and recommendations from travelers who have actually been there?
4. Maggie & Michael of The World Was Here First
Blog: The World Was Here First
Niche: Europe & North America
Blog launch: 2017
Blog Income Streams: Ads & Affiliate marketing
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
We create multiple pins for all our content and schedule out pinning it to Pinterest over a period of a few weeks.
I think Pinterest has a very specific type of audience so your success on Pinterest will vary greatly depending on your niche.
Monetization tips
[for affiliate marketing] Focus on matching the reader intent of your article to the affiliate offers you are promoting. For example, if you are writing an article about the best areas to stay in a particular city, focus on hotel affiliates.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
[on running a blog with your partner] I think we work well together and we find that they key is communication. Having spent several years working together now, we both know where each others’ strengths and weaknesses lie and are able to plan our tasks accordingly.
We have check-ins regularly and plan our tasks to ensure that we have a successful work partnership.
5. Monica from The Travel Hack
Blog: The Travel Hack
Niche: Travel hacks
Blog launch: 2009
Blog Income Streams: Affiliate marketing, Ads, Brand collaborations, Paid press trips
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
There were two main turning points to becoming a successful travel blogger.
The first was when I moved to London and started meeting lots of my fellow travel bloggers and began networking with travel PRs, brands and other content creators.
Being surrounded by other likeminded, creative and enthusiastic bloggers who were motivated to make their blog their business was so inspiring.
The second turning point was when I had my first son and I realised the true meaning of ‘working smarter, not harder’.
I amazed myself with how productive I could be with a short space of time and I realised my monthly income didn’t drop even though I was working far less.
It really helped me to focus on what was important and to not waste any time while I worked!
Monetization tips
My very first brand partnership as a travel blogger occurred through knowing the ‘right people’ and it was purely luck.
I met a few bloggers at some networking events and got along with them. They were friends and they’d been offered a press trip and had one extra space so they invited me along.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
Don’t give up too soon. Many people launch an online business but lose their enthusiasm and give up before it gets started.
The first two years are tough because you need to work SO hard for very little reward. But if you get past the first two years it gets much easier and the rewards are so much higher!
6. Jacob and Esther from Local Adventurer
Blog: Local Adventurer
Niche: Travel lifestyle
Blog launch:
Blog Traffic: 500,000 page views/month
Revenue: $30K/month
Blog Income Streams: Sponsored content, Ads, Affiliate marketing
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
The first few years was spent focused on building a deep catalogue of content and growing our audience base.
I love photography and I’m a visual learner, so most of our posts are photo heavy.
My top tips would be to give people plenty of Pinterest photos to choose from. Also, take a look at the types of photos, designs, colors, and titles that have already done well on Pinterest and continue creating more content like that.
Monetization tips
If you are building quality content, then you can earn money from sponsored content.
You don’t need to wait till you grow a large audience. Even if you have a small, dedicated following, you can earn money from sponsored content by knowing how to reach out to the right people and having good business practices.
We have brands reach out to us, I contact them directly when we have projects that are aligned with them, and I continue to foster our relationship with different PR companies.
It takes a little bit of detective work and persistence to find the right person.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
Most people start blogging in the Travel niche with the idea that it will be an endless vacation when in fact, that is quite the opposite.
If you eventually want to do this for a living, then you need to treat it like a job. You have to put in the hours to build your site, create quality content, and learn how to work with brands.
It takes a certain amount of persistence and willingness to push through setbacks.
7. Isabel Leong of Bel Around The World
Blog: Bel Around The World
Niche: Travel
Blog launch: 2015
Blog Traffic: 50,000 page views/month
Revenue: $4,000/month
Blog Income Streams: Ads, Affiliate marketing, Brand partnershps
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
I was writing for virtually nobody in the beginning. With some persistence and hard work, the site was finally able to attract a steady number of audiences on its own.
It’s a combination of active promotion in the beginning, optimizing all my posts for SEO, contributing to larger publications, attending relevant events and networking, and positioning the blog as a business rather than a personal hobby that grew my site over the years.
With that comes hiring a website designer for a complete rebrand of my site that reflects my personality as well as having business cards to hand out during networking events.
Getting constant feedback to improve the user experience and always being open to change also contributed to my site growth.
Monetization tips
[what brands look for in a travel blogger] Expertise in the topics they write about, professionalism on their travel blogs, as well as traffic and reach.
Eventually, it’s about how much exposure a brand can get through working with you and your platform, so having an audience that’s aligned with their target audience is the primary consideration.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
Hone in on your skill sets and be a master in them. Sign up for online courses.
Get involved in virtual work communities (Facebook is a great place to start).
Money is secondary, building your testimonials is primary. When you start getting a steady pool for work, that’s when you can weed out the low-paying clients and focus on providing value for your higher-paying clients.
8. Nora Dunn from The Professional Hobo
Blog: The Professional Hobo
Niche: Travel lifestyle
Blog launch: 2008
Blog Income Streams: Ads, Affiliate sales, Freelance writing.
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
At the moment, I’m doing something I never wanted to do in the past – SEO! And you know what? It’s not as soul-destroying as I had thought it would be. There’s great satisfaction in optimizing a post and tangibly measuring the results of my efforts in the form of increased traffic -and thus, income. (It’s also a chance for me to revisit some of my earlier writing and make it much – much, much – better).
My SEO adventures started last year when I hired a consultant to take dozens of older posts that weren’t getting views and to consolidate them into SEO-tastic resources that have become the meat & bones of my site, and well worth perusing.
Monetization tips
Keep in mind that in 2006, travel blogging wasn’t “a thing”, and terms like “digital nomad” and “location independent” were years from being coined.
So monetizing my blog wasn’t yet a consideration or possibility. But freelance writing was, and it was something that ended up going hand-in-hand with my blog over the years.
I gave myself two years to develop a freelance writing career that could replace the income I was getting from the sale of my business, and I was successful in that mission.
9. Katie of Katie Caf Travel
Blog: Katie Caf Travel
Niche: Travel Guides
Blog launch: 2022
Blog Traffic: 50,000 page views/month
Blog Income Streams: Ads and Affiliate marketing
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
I used to only write a blog post on topics I believed I could rank for, this means low competition keywords. Now, in light of the recent Google Updates which are rumored to encourage more holistic websites, I’m writing more articles that are just general travel guides than optimized for keywords.
I’m still writing articles with a clear topic but focusing more on the quality of writing, photos, and content in general over SEO optimization.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
I had read just about all the free advice that exists on starting a travel blog on the internet before I set out to do it myself. Most of the old-school bloggers that have been around for a while have at least one article on blogging. What I found was that they all said the same thing, “run your blog as a business from day 1”.
Unfortunately, I fundamentally misunderstood that advice – I believed “run your blog as a business” just meant to work really hard at it.
This had me spinning in circles for around 6 months, trying to get at least one article out every day.
By the time I finally gave up and joined a blogging course, I had over 100 articles and none of them ranked in search engines.
It turns out that working hard is an essential part of making it in blogging, but working correctly is far more important.
10. Becca & Dan of Half Half Travel
Blog: Half Half Travel
Niche: Travel advice
Blog launch: 2018
Blog Traffic: 1,5 million page views/year
Revenue:
Blog Income Streams: Ads, Affiliate marketing
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
We got into SEO around 2019 and 2020. We were working with Ahrefs for a while in order to find content that would do well with organic search.
This actually helped us create a few of our best articles ever–our heavy-hitters that did great in Google.
We create pins with engaging vertical photos from our blog, and put our article titles on those.
The types of content that tend to do best in Pinterest are those that have to do with “roundups” of travel apparel or travel luggage.
Monetization tips
Our first income came from Amazon affiliates. We weren’t writing too many affiliate-heavy guides, but Amazon was an easy “in.”
Later on, we started realizing that travel gear guides would do well. Our first big success was “Best Travel Pants for Men,” and then a few years later, we had a big hit with “Best Travel Backpacks for Women.”
We made connections with affiliate managers at top brands, received products, took lifestyle photos and wrote about our honest opinions on using the products in our travels.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
Keeping going is what helped us as a travel blogging couple building a business in 2020, when we found our niche with remote work topics, and it gave us our first big push.
We couldn’t believe our eyes, and it was one of the coolest experiences we’ve had to watch our traffic go up, in line with the extreme hard work we were putting in as a travel blogging couple.
11. Amy of Wandering Everywhere
Blog: Wandering Everywhere
Niche: Solo female travel
Blog launch:
Blog Traffic: page views/month
Revenue:
Blog Income Streams: Sponsored posts, Affiliate marketing, Digital products
Read the full interview.
Traffic tips
Pinterest is my top traffic source. I grew my following by regularly pinning high-quality images and engaging with the community.
From there, Instagram has been a good source for both growing the community and learning more about the people that read my articles.
Their tip for aspiring travel bloggers:
Balancing travel and work requires good time management. I often work from the road and schedule content in advance, planning months worth of content when I’m back home for any period of time.
Plus, there’s cafes just about everywhere, so it’s easy enough to post from anywhere in the world!
Final words
I hope you enjoyed this roundup.
Here are some things most travel bloggers have in common:
- they rely mostly on SEO and organic traffic;
- many are also working on diversifying their traffic sources due to Google algorithm updates;
- Pinterest is still the second main traffic source of almost any blogger;
- Ads, affiliate marketing and brand partnerships are the most popular ways to earn as a travel blogger;
- but there are also others, such as freelance writing, paid press trips, photography/selling your photos;
- it’s normal that your blog takes a year or a few until it takes off and until you find what works best for you;
- getting into SEO as soon as possible is a must;
- niche travel blogging will help you get traffic sooner (as opposed to having a general travel blog that covers anything travel related).
What do you think?
