Last Updated on June 20, 2023
The concept of experiential travel has become more popular recently, and we’re seeing a growing number of people developing an interest in exploring places and experiencing various cultures.
Doing so has been more possible with the easy exchange of one’s adventures online. These days, documenting trips has become a staple in every traveler’s agenda.
Forget the clothes and the food, the phone and camera will always stay on top priority. Some do this for a personal memento, others do in an aim to create a healthy number of online followers and eventually start a career in blogging.
A career in travel blogging
The advent of traveling and online posting have made way for travel influencers to start a career as travel bloggers. This is where they document their trips, craft content out of it, and utilize this content to make money.
If you are already writing about your travels as a hobby, then you might be surprised to know that there are several ways you can actually make smart money out of it. Lots of travel influencers are already doing a great job at it and many other beginners are looking to make a career out of it.
One of the most common questions bloggers have is how soon can they start monetizing? Much debate has been made regarding this topic. The truth is, it is completely up to you as a blogger. There are of course many factors to take into consideration, but those things you can iron out as you go along that journey.
If you are only beginning to understand how travel blogging works, just keep in mind two things: 1) have unique and great content and 2) have a steady following. When you have these two, then it’s time to think about monetization. It does not come easy, but there are different ways to make money out of travel blogging.
Here are some of the commonly known methods you can make use of.
1. Sponsored Content.
There are different ways to do a paid blog post — it could be a product review, a guest blog post, a link on your sidebars, or an advertisement in your regular newsletter. This method is common among new bloggers who are still trying to make their way into this field.
The downside, however, is that the more sponsored content you do, the more likely it is that your followers will get exhausted seeing these paid posts and they would opt-out of your site. You need to strike the right balance.
2. Social Media Marketing.
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are used by several brands to promote their products. Big influencers are being tapped by these brands to do takeovers, host Q&A sessions, and posting of their products on your feed.
These platforms, however, require a different approach than blogging. You have to exert more effort in your photos because unless you have something captivating enough, they won’t bother reading your caption.
For this purpose, people use a free social media aggregator to make sure they have all their photos in one feed. Some other users use the same to collate all the inspirations they see from various feeds and create a single reference to look at.
3. Affiliate Marketing.
When people buy products via your referral link, you receive a commission. This in a way makes you a product ambassador of a certain brand and by promoting items you have actually used and loved, you encourage your followers to purchase the item themselves. It doesn’t cost them anything extra and puts some cash in your pocket.
4. Paid Trips.
Free travel is any blogger’s ultimate goal – going to destinations with free transportation, food, and accommodation. Some destinations will offer you this deal once you have established that your blog is a go-to for travelers.
Sometimes, tourism offices provide the same offer for travel bloggers to promote local tourist destinations. There are times when they have requirements on how they would like the blog to be, you just have to align with them.
5. Display Advertising.
Unless you have decent traffic on your website, you may not get much out of display advertising. This is basically when you allow a network to post advertisements on your site.
But you have to keep in mind that the more ads there are on your page, the more annoying it becomes for readers. So make sure you know how to place your display ads in a subtle manner.
