Crete, Greece
(Updated 5/31/2022)
Before explaining how travel blogs make money I want to clarify that travel bloggers actually make the money.
Skilled, clear, confident travel bloggers who create and connect persistently condition themselves to prosper.
However, most new travel bloggers make the common mistake of believing that a thing like a blog does all of the work.
The rude awakening arrives as persistent blogging struggles. Eventually, most travel bloggers quit.
However, learning how to monetize your travel blog opens you up to a life of fun and freedom as you circle the globe. Keep these 10 monetization tips in mind.
Note; I decided to share practical blogging tips with mindset tips to give you a proper monetizing mix. If blogging were as easy as following practical tips every travel blogger would be a millionaire. Mindset training makes the difference between pro travel bloggers and everyone else.
Tie Your Why to Being Free
Know why you want to blog. Don’t tie the reason to making money. Tie the reason to being free.
Purify your intent. Blog to be free.
Blogging to free yourself through traveling keeps you:
- generous
- patient
- persistent
- helpful
- trusting in the blogging process
Monetizing actually gets easier as your intent becomes freedom focused because letting go of thing-motivators goads you to be the blogger who actually profits. This is why business titans stress how being passionate about your business is necessary for becoming successful. You need to love the gig whether you make 0 dollars of $1 million. Otherwise, you will quit sooner than later.
Do Not Rely on Sponsored Posts to Pay Bills
Sponsored post revenue is an advanced travel blogger advertising strategy.
Businesses pay $100, $500, $1000 or more to place sponsored posts on travel blogs with:
- 1000’s upon 1000’s of daily visitors
- a well-known brand
- a hyper targeted readership
- a loyal blogging community
New bloggers have little traffic, an unknown brand and not much of a targeted community. Obviously, businesses will not pay you $1000 to advertise their wares in front of no readers.
However, if you generously, patiently and persistently create and connect you can earn steady sponsored post income in the future.
Note; every thriving travel blogger worked for free for years just like any new travel blogger. We all walk a similar blogging journey in some regards.
Do Not Rely on Advertising Revenue to Pay Bills
Similar to sponsored post revenue, do not rely on ad revenue to pay your bills until you become a seasoned, professional travel blogger.
Advertisers pay for access to many thousands of hyper-targeted visitors on a daily basis.
Most ad networks pay little per click. Generating steady income through ad networks demands you to drive a heavy volume of targeted traffic.
Do the math. Google Adsense may pay anywhere from $0.20 to $15 per click. 100 clicks on a 20 cent add yields $20 USD but how many visitors does it take to get 100 ad clicks? Typically, many thousands of visitors need to visit a blog before 100 people click on a blog ad. Before you get too excited about those $15 clicks simply understand how specific niches outside of travel blogging yield this sky high rate.
Ultimately, you need to blog patiently for quite a while before earning a steady income through advertising revenue.
Sell eBooks
Selling eBooks establishes your authority, improves your writing and opens a passive income channel.
Consider:
- Amazon
- Gumroad
- Payhip
as digital storefronts for selling your eBooks.
Connect with Folks Who Stand out from the Travel Blogging Crowd
Folks like travel bloggers Sabina (Girl Vs Globe) and Mapping Megan are brilliant story tellers, branding pros and social media wizards. Follow their lead for profitable travel blogging ideas.
Learn from the best to become the best.
Where can you find skilled travel bloggers?
- Triberr
- Facebook Groups related to travel blogging
Twitter hashtag searches related to your niche yields pro travel bloggers, too.
Network patiently.
Even though it takes being patient, connecting with fellow bloggers interested in your niche is the quickest way to make money because humans are dynamic.
For example, it takes a long time and ample work to rank on page 1 of Google. However, in a far shorter period of time and with less work, a rabid fan who comes across your blog may buy all of your products and hire you for your services too. Humans do not robotically think in terms of algorithms, backlinks and domain age. People who love what they see may buy your offerings 5 minutes or even 1 minute after seeing your blog for the first people. We are loving, dynamic, passion beings who can help each other prosper much quicker than things.
Engage in a genuine blogger outreach campaign to connect with fellow travel bloggers.
Profit by being generous, patient and persistent in bonding with blogging buddies.
Offer Blog Coaching Services
Blog coaches help travel bloggers:
- Gain clarity in picking their specific niche
- Gain clarity in building their brand
- Build a professional, income-generating blog
- Engineer a freeing lifestyle of extended travel
- Boost traffic
- Monetize intelligently and effectively
Coaching is a fulfilling way to earn blogging income.
Be a Freelance Writer
Be a freelance writer to profit through your writing skills.
Freelance writing, or ghostwriting, is a simple way for travel bloggers to monetize abilities they already possess.
Prepare to venture outside of the travel blogging niche for freelance writing jobs. Feel free to specialize as a travel writing freelancer but consider other niches to receive greater opportunities and income.
Keep an eye on job boards at sites like Problogger.net.
Publish a freelance services page with rates to find ideal clients.
Express Devout Gratitude for What You Have
Appreciate what you have to receive more.
Travel bloggers often struggle to make money for the scarcity problem in their minds. Instead of feeling more whole and complete most feel lacking. Feeling lack creates lack in your experience.
Create a gratitude list. Feel good about what you have. Feel grateful about the people in your life. Appreciate your travels.
Gratitude is an instant conduit to good. Feel good to attract prospering ideas, people and circumstances.
Create Content that Knocks People’s Socks off
Create long form content to boost travel blogging profits.
Detailed, in-depth content:
- boosts Google traffic
- increases reader time spent onsite
- positions you to increase blogging profits
For example, if someone visits your travel blog after querying a location on Google this targeted individual likely:
- expresses a strong interest in your blog, products, services and embedded ads
- sticks around for a bit to browse your blog
Similar to someone who visits an offline store, highly targeted Google traffic gradually buys your stuff, hires you or clicks your ad embeds as they stick around on your blog for a long enough time.
Connect with Me
Drop a blog comment below.
Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
I can be a helpful travel blogging resource. Even though most posts on Blogging From Paradise relate to blogging tips I also published a few hundred travel blogging related posts. Some posts rank on page 1 of Google even though I predominantly blog about a different niche.
Reach out to me. Check in. I love meeting new bloggers.
We can help each other succeed by connecting and co-creating.
Conclusion
Put in the time and work now.
Be patient.
Travel blogging is neither an impossible venture or walk in the park. Do not allow struggling travel bloggers who never learned sound strategies from pros dissuade you. Nor should you let manipulative travel bloggers who claim that going pro is as easy as publishing a few Infinity pool images on Instagram and collecting cash and comped hotel rooms delude you.
Travel bloggers go pro by following simple strategies persistently.
Keep your fun and freeing intent at the front of your mind.
You can and will succeed.
