Have you ever wondered how travel bloggers make money? In this post I am going to take a look at a few ways travel bloggers make money from their blogs, writing and their social media presence.
Whether you’re a travel blogger who is looking to monetize their blog or someone who is just generally curious about how travel bloggers can earn a living while visiting the most amazing places in the world, I explore some strategies both new and seasoned travel bloggers can use to earn from their online content.
Affiliate Marketing
One way many travel bloggers make money is by using affiliates on their website and on social media too. Affiliates can be a great source of income for travel bloggers, as it’s easy to cater them their specific audience which in turn creates clicks and sales.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is the practice of using links for which the blog owner will earn a small commission when a reader clicks the link and buys something. The amount of commission can vary hugely, depending on the company being advertised and the amount spent by the customer.
The amount of money a travel blogger can earn from affiliate marketing will depend on several things, such as website traffic, how engaged their audience is and whether they can also share affiliate links elsewhere, such as to a mailing list on social media.
Affiliates For Travel Bloggers
There are lots of well-known websites that run affiliate programs that would be perfect for travel bloggers to join.
Affiliate Networks
Tips For Adding Affiliate Links To Your Posts
Adding affiliate links isn’t going to generate a huge income overnight. However, once the initial work has been done it can be a great source of passive income.
It’s best to take some time to research affiliate marketing in depth and choose the right affiliate programs for your audience and for your values as a blogger.
- Use long links for affiliates as these typically get more clicks. For example ‘Click here to buy this suitcase on sale at £39.99’ is likely to convert better than simply using ‘Click here’.
- Using analytics, take a look at your top-performing posts and start adding affiliates from there, working backwards.
- Affiliates work better in posts where your audience is already primed to book or buy something. Affiliate links in long-form travel guides and reviews will typically convert better than links in fun, anecdotal stories.
Sponsored Posts
For my own blogs, sponsored posts are one of the most lucrative ways I make money and I’ve been lucky enough to work with some amazing brands over the years.
Sometimes a brand may reach out to your blog directly or they might get in touch via a PR agency. If you think a brand is a good fit for your travel blog, you could try pitching to them yourself, explaining what you can offer them in terms of your audience and engagement rates.
If you’re unsure of which brands work with bloggers it’s worth starting with brands that you know have previously worked with other bloggers or that have a blogger PR section on their website.
How much you can charge for sponsored posts will depend on lots of factors, including DA, DR, traffic, social following and how much work is involved. I usually go in high and then negotiate to a rate both myself and the brand are happy with.
In Content Ads
In content ads are ads that appear in the content as you’re reading it. Sometimes they might be at the top of the page or in the sidebar as well. In content ads are a great way for travel bloggers to make money, especially if they have a good amount of traffic, as once the ads are placed there’s nothing more you need to do.
While ads are a great source of passive income, they can lead to a slow or disappointing user experience, especially when switched to the highest level. All bloggers should be able to monetize their blogs any way they like, but I think there needs to balance between the number of ads and the user experience.
Different ad companies will pay different rates and which ad you use will depend on your traffic. Below I’ve listed some of the most popular ad agencies and their required traffic metrics.
Bloggers with under 10k Pageviews – Google Adsense
Bloggers with 10K to 50k Pageviews – Ezoic or Monumetric
Bloggers with over 50k Sessions – Mediavine
Sponsored Social Media
As well as making money from their blogs, many travel bloggers are also able to monetize their social media channels.
While blog posts provide a long term investment (it can take time for a post to rank and start bringing in customers) some brands may want to publicize a specific event or product which social media might be a better fit.
Instagram in particular is a popular choice for brands to advertise via travel bloggers and those with a large, engaged following can charge hundreds of pounds per grid post.
Writing Services
One way lots of travel bloggers make money is by offering freelance writing services, especially while they are travelling, as it’s quick and easy to do from a laptop. They might write for other bloggers, businesses or even magazines or newspapers.
Where to find freelance writing work
There are lots of places online to find freelance writing work, such as Fiverr, Upwork, People Per Hour and LinkedIn. You could also try searching the hashtag #bloggerswanted or #bloggersrequired on Twitter to find more opportunities.
These are just some of the ways that travel bloggers can make money and there are lots of others too that aren’t covered here such as different types of photography, hosting competitions and even coaching other bloggers.
I hope this post has helped answer the question ‘how do travel bloggers make money’ and given insight into ways you could try to monetize your own travel blog if you have one.
