There’s so much one can gain from traveling. It’s an excellent way to escape the mundane and find time for self-development. And today, there are many ways to travel without burning a hole in your pocket.
But traveling doesn’t always have to be a one-time getaway during summer vacations. It can also lead to a fulfilling career.
One path that could take you there is blogging. And in particular, travel blogging.
Travel bloggers can earn a lot of money if they enhance their skills in writing and marketing. The content and target audience are also huge factors for a blogger’s success.
So if you want to capitalize on your writing to see more places around the globe full-time, read these tips to turn your blogging into a full-fledged travel business.
How to Start Travel Blogging for Money
1. Get Freelance Work
Traveling as a career is all about finding your niche and incorporating your talents. If you’re already a blogger, writing is your main arsenal, so you have to learn how to make a living off of it.
Freelance writing is a good choice to earn income when you’re just starting out with your blogging career.
But don’t expect to earn a lot immediately. You have to establish yourself first until your experience and influence can be monetized.
Understand that you should never settle for work that’s too cheap for the task.
$5 for a 500-word article is too low. There are freelance jobs out there that pay up to $75 per article, which would be enough for you to go to affordable destinations overseas.
As you keep writing, you’ll get more backlinks that will be beneficial for your search rankings. Once you’ve established your blog’s brand, more people will begin to notice you and offer writing jobs.
From here, you can develop your niche better and negotiate the rates you want.
2. Get into Photography & Sell Your Photos
Photography is crucial in travel blogging. It’s become an important part of social media to have visually appealing travel photos of beautiful locations.
If you’re not into photography yet, spend the time to learn how to snap a good shot and edit photos.
Today, photography should be a priority when travel blogging. Instagram is one platform you can use for marketing your work. A great example of a travel blogger who utilizes his photography skills is Olly Gaspar of We Seek Travel.
Using social media can also boost your chances of getting paid work. By putting your photos on Instagram, you can attract attention and gain followers who may be willing to pay you for your writing or photos.
Besides social media, another option to earn is by selling stock photos.
You can sign up to an online stock photo network and upload your best photos there. Though there are strict rules to follow when doing this, selling stock photos is an easy way to earn passive income.
3. Create Enticing Video Content
Video marketing is a growing trend that’s useful for any business or self-made entrepreneur. Many bloggers dabble with content creation on YouTube but few have focused on producing regularly as much in written format.
So consider making videos on YouTube to build a larger audience and find success in travel blogging.
Produce fascinating and sensational content that can truly pique everyone’s interest, which can be crazy parties in Thailand or a wild kayaking experience in Fiji.
If you consistently create eye-catching video content, you’ll gain more views and catch the attention of sponsors. Once you have that opportunity, place ads on your YouTube videos so you can get a good stream of passive income.
4. Place Advertisements on Your Blog
To earn ad revenue, your blog needs to have traffic. So if you’re just starting a travel blog, don’t expect too much in the beginning. But place ads on your site if you have the opportunity to do it at an early stage because it eventually pays off.
This may be difficult for some bloggers since there are those who want to have an ad-free site. But once you’ve gained a loyal readership, most of them won’t mind. Some would even be proud of you for earning a living through this.
5. Learn Affiliate Marketing
One of the most effective ways to earn from travel blogging is through affiliate marketing. It liberates you from a lot of work since you just have to set it up once and your passive income follows.
Affiliate marketing is simply earning a commission by promoting the services and products of other brands. This can be anything but the most effective way for this to work is by promoting brands you’ve experienced.
You have to believe in the product to sell it well to your audience.
Of course, affiliate marketing doesn’t mean there’s no work to be done. You have to gain enough traffic on your site and an audience that trusts your brand.
But with this, bloggers can earn about five percent from a sold product that was recommended by them via special affiliate links on their blog posts. All you need to do is set these up and earn a bit of passive income on the side.
Also read: 11 Travel Bloggers Share How They Grew Their Blog Traffic and Income
6. Earn from Sponsored Posts
You can also make money travel blogging by doing sponsored posts and advertorials.
These are write-ups that a brand or client pays you to write on your blog. This may either feature the brand name or a link to their site.
For sponsored posts, there are guidelines that you strictly need to adhere to. Google allows you to have paid-for links on your blog but these should always have a disclaimer.
Similar to affiliate marketing, share brands and products that you understand and trust. Make sure to disclose these types of posts to your audience, or else you may lose credibility.
Read also: How This Couple Built a Top Travel Blog and Earns $10K/Month with Brand Partnerships
7. Put Your Work Out There
Once you’ve gained enough followers, develop your own products.
Entrepreneurs understand the importance of selling merchandise — even in the travel business.
You can sell books, promos for tours, or a course among other things. What matters is that you know how to be unique and get creative with your merchandise.
Having a strong following is crucial when putting your products out there. This reduces the risk of overspending on merchandise without having any potential buyers.
Spend the first few years in your travel blogging in reaching out to people and building your following. You can market your merchandise to them later on once you’ve gained their attention and trust.
Understand first that you need to become an authority on traveling before you can sell anything to anyone. And this requires time and patience when developing awesome content and reaching out to the right people who will gladly pay for your influence.
Read also: Why I’m Taking Six-Figure Blogger
About The Author
Shane Haumpton is a contributing writer for several websites and blogs, including Adorama Learning Center. She has written on a variety of topics, ranging from lifestyle, photography, travel, and arts and crafts to gadgets, social media, and internet safety. This self-confessed coffee addict and shutterbug manages to do all these while enjoying life as a nomad.
Stock Photo from Kite_rin @ Shutterstock
