So you’ve got a good blog running. So, what next? Of course everybody wants to turn their passion into profit and there are a few ways to do this.
The following are my top five tips on how to make money from your travel blogging:
Table of Contents
Start with the right mentality
The most important part of the process is your thought process. As long as you maintain – the student mentality – you are guaranteed to succeed. What I mean by the student mentality is being prepared to enter an ever lasting learning process. As technology is advancing, traditional money making methods are constantly changing, reforming and fusing. Hence, you have to be prepared to always adapt to different changes and be open to implementing new strategies or revising current ones.
As any learning process is concerned you also have to be prepared to invest both time and money. You also have to realise that eventually travel blogging can become a full time job and you can expect to put in at least 40 hours per week in it. But it all comes down to how much money you really want to make.
Being chilled about it – money’s just an extra incentive
If blogging is only a hobby for you and you are not focusing 100% on it, then there is no point in investing too much in it. You can take it easy and learn as you go, making small monetary gains here and there, enough to pay off your website running costs and maybe cover one or two trips a year.
Taking it seriously – you want to make a living from travel blogging
If you are seriously considering making a full time job of travel blogging then you must invest seriously. Here I would recommend doing a few courses on Travel Blogging, Writing and SEO as these will give you a broader knowledge on how to start making profits fast. For more tips on investing check out my Why and How Much Invest in your Travel Blogpost.
Advertisements for your Travel Blog
Once you have enough quality content and a decent audience you can start monetising your blog. Google Adsense is an excellent way of placing ads on your website and you get payed every time your readers click on an ad. Google AdSense has an automated feature which automatically places ads on your articles so you don’t have to do any work.
Affiliates for your Travel Blog
Affiliates are like ads but more specific. Instead of a company placing ads on your site, you recommend a product or a service to your readers. This is excellent if you write tutorials or do reviews as most big companies will offer affiliate programmes now. And examples include hotels, airlines, travel agencies, travel insurance companies. Basically a lot of companies will have affiliate programs and it’s very easy to sign up to them. All you have to do is go on their website and search for the affiliate option. If you can’t find it , send them an e-mail and ask them. A lot of companies do affiliate programs via affiliate brokers such Awin, CJAffiliates or Rakuten Marketing.
Selling on your travel blog
Selling on your travel blog is a great way to monetise it. You can have a dedicated shop section on your website where you can advertise your products. Or you might be an amazing painter and sell your paintings or make songs and sell your songs. You might be a great writer and sell your books. Or maybe a hard version of your blog in a book format! Whatever it is, if you have a decent audience, they will support you by buying your products.
On the other hand you might be offering services. Consultancy, counselling, web design, whatever it is that you are also good at, you can turn it into profit. As Travel is such a broad concept it can be associated with basically anything. The only limit is your imagination.
Publishing content for money
As long as you have good quality content on your blog you can use it as a resume for getting paid writing opportunities. There are many online publications that pay for travel articles. All you have to do is convince them you have a writing talent through your blog and you are guaranteed to make between $50 – $500 per publication. Matador Network, Verge Magazine, Vice, Outpost Magazine, National Geographic are few of the many sites that will pay you for your travel articles.
Have you tried any of the above-mentioned and have anything to comment? Would love to hear your thoughts
