Travel blogging has become one of the most popular blogging niches with thousands of content creators detailing their adventures for the world to see. The high success rate can be attributed to not only the beautiful places these travel bloggers showcase. But also, the creativity they provide along with the useful content. 

While it is a popular subject amongst general audiences to explore and read about, travel blogging is also attractive for those who want to be on the other side of the content as a creator.

More and more people are interested in starting a travel blog for themselves and this does not come as a surprise. I mean, traveling to beautiful destinations across the globe, documenting your experiences, and getting paid to do all this sounds like a dream.

Besides the fact that it is so much fun to do, there are quite a few successful travel bloggers out there that earn way above an average salary that allows them to live a comfortable lifestyle.

So, you must be wondering what it takes to become a successful travel blogger and how you too can make a career out of it.

Read on to find out the 15 best ways to turn your travel blog into a success and earn money from it.

What is a Professional Travel Blogger and What Do They Really Do?

Before we start discussing the different ways you can become a successful travel blogger, you need to understand what it really means to be a professional travel blogger.

Thousands of people start a travel blog every other day because the barrier to entry is small. However, only a few out of those stick with it long enough to turn it into a success.

With so many people creating a travel blog, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd.

The truth is, if you want to become a professional travel blogger, you need to treat your blog as a business. Invest in it, read books on it, and think of marketing and business strategies to make it flourish and grow long-term.

With that said, let’s have a look at the 15 ways you can become a successful travel blogger.

15 Ways to Become a Successful Travel Blogger

Design a Beautiful and User-friendly Website

Human beings are visual creatures. Simply put, we like beautiful things.

If your website is dull-looking, people probably won’t come back to it even if you have useful content on there.

The design of your website matters so much that statistics indicate 94 percent of negative website feedback is given about or around the design. 

Whether you are using platforms like WordPress or Wix or creating your own website from scratch, you need to make it beautiful and user-friendly.

This is one of the first things you should keep in mind before you start producing content for your travel blog.

These two aspects should never be ignored while creating a website for your travel blog: visual appeal and user-friendliness.

Read a Lot of Marketing and Business Books

Like I said before, you need to manage your blog like you are managing your business. And for that reason, you need to educate yourself as much as you can on business-related topics.

Read books that talk about effective marketing and business strategies. These books are going to give you valuable information on how you can grow your blogging business and become a successful travel blogger.

Some of the best books for this purpose include:

• Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Writing by Don George
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
• Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
• On Writing by Stephen King

Be Consistent

If you want to become a successful travel blogger, this one is a no-brainer.

Be consistent with your blogging efforts. Produce high-quality content on a regular basis. The more posts you produce, the more chances there are of people finding your content. This would translate to more traffic and consequently, more revenue for you.

Provide Helpful and Meaningful Content

While it is true that your audience will largely follow you for your traveling content, that doesn’t mean you should write only about yourself. Your audience can only stick around so long if the content is based around you and your personal experiences only.

Instead, along with talking about yourself, provide them with content that is helpful and valuable to them in some way. Maybe you could provide some travel budget tips. Maybe you can find the best cheap eats in the city you are visiting.

Whatever it is, always aim to educate and provide value.

Do Sponsored Posts

Sponsored posts are a great way to earn money. You can recommend products from companies you like or believe in.

This also increases your blog’s reach and makes you more visible to a wide array of people in general. All while getting paid for it.

Don’t Do Sponsored Content Without Your Research

While it is great that you have offers for sponsored content, do your research before you jump in to take on an offer.

You want to make sure that you are working with a company or brand that is ethical and one that you believe in. If you constantly keep on recommending products that don’t work and have unethical roots, your readers are going to lose trust in you.

This may result in your blog losing traffic in the long run and not experiencing any growth.

Create and Sell Products and Services

Even as an established and successful travel blogger, all your money is not going to come from blogging alone.

A great way to monetize your efforts is to start selling a product or service in your particular niche. Whether it’s a course, a book, or affiliate products, give your audience a chance to support you.

Offering your own products would also allow you to work independently from sponsors. What makes it even better is that once the initial effort has been put in, selling products becomes a great passive income source.

Don’t Generalize – Focus on a Specific Niche

Trying to please everyone with your content is going to act as your first failure towards trying to achieve success as a travel blogger.

Make your niche and topics as narrow as possible. For instance, you can write about vegan travel instead of writing about travel as a whole. Maybe you could focus on a specific country or region as your travel blog’s niche.

The reason why this works so well is because it paints you as an expert in your particular niche. As a result, more people will trust you with information on that subject.

Invest in Your Blog

As mentioned before, you should treat your travel blog as a business. And that means investing in your blog like you would if you had started a business.

You don’t become a successful travel blogger without investing in learning about the ins and outs of how it all works. After all, you have thousands of people to compete against to make it on the internet.

Therefore, whether it is time or money, invest in your blog. This can include things like:

• Taking a blogging course in your niche which is traveling in this case.
• Investing money in good quality gear and tools

Network Outside of Travel Blogging

Connecting with other travel bloggers can help you become a part of a community and an established member of an industry. However, networking even outside the realm of travel blogging can be even more beneficial for your blog.

You can do this by attending events that are not only specific to your own industry. Find where your expertise lies and offer it to successful creators and bloggers in that industry. Create a sense of collaboration and you will achieve your dream of becoming a successful travel blogger.  

Create Content That is Unique

Everyone is creating something. So, how do you succeed in a sea of content?

Be unique!

This is easier said than done.

But do stuff that is challenging or fascinating.

For example, instead of writing about a great party you went to in Thailand, write about your camping experience in Antarctica.

Write about an experience that not many people would have. This is what is going to make your content unique.

Write Guest Posts for Other Blogs

A good way to let people know that your travel blog actually exists on the internet is to write guest posts for other blogs. Ideally, you should go for a blog that is more popular than yours. You would want to write for a blog that has the same niche as yours so that you can siphon some of their readers over to you.

Guest blogging is not only going to bring in more traffic but also, improve your credibility and branding. 

Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is when you write your content in a way that makes it rank better on search engines. It is an important skill to have if you want to get ahead bringing traffic to your blog and being a successful travel blogger.

You can SEO optimize your content by using relevant keywords, including backlinks in your articles, and much more.

Build an Email Subscriber List

Building an email subscriber is possibly even more important than social media if you want to grow your blog. The people who subscribe to your email list are your dedicated readers and want to engage with your content regularly.

The reason why email subscriber lists work so well is because they provide a much more personal experience to the audience. As a result, they potentially drive more traffic to your website than your social media platforms.

Another reason for email subscribers lists to be so effective is that a user is more likely to see an email compared to social media posts.

Build Your Own Personal Branding

You may have noticed companies – think: Nike, Apple, Adidas – that build a sense of personal identity around their brand are extremely successful. 

You need to do the same. Stand out from the crowd and give yourself a unique personal branding that is different from that of others and is not run-of-the-mill.

Rather than following seemingly the most successful path, put your own spin on everything you do.

Ask yourself: what am I passionate about? What drives me to do the things I do?

Ideally, you would want your blog and any endeavors related to it to be aligned with your core values and personal branding.

Maybe you like adventure traveling. Or maybe you like finding the best hiking trails. Whatever your passion is, base your travel blog content around that passion.

How Much Do Successful Travel Bloggers Make?

How much a travel blogger makes depends on a lot of different factors. Bloggers usually make money from a diversified set of income sources.

This could be sponsored posts, selling products or services, writing guest posts, doing press trips, and so on.

Once established, you can earn up to $3000-$10,000 monthly from your travel blog alone. Add to that other income streams such as consulting services, freelance writing, and sponsored posts and you can increase that figure significantly.

This goes to show that you really can become a successful travel blogger if you put in the time and effort and follow blogging best practices. You too can turn your travel blog into a reliable source of income and make it a full-time career choice.

Yes, the market may be saturated. But making the effort to go the extra mile is going to put you ahead of others you don’t.

The Bottom Line

The road to becoming a successful travel blogger is not linear. You will hit many bumps along the way. But what is going to set you apart from the rest is how you keep on going even in the face of those roadblocks.

Most people give up. Make sure you are not one of them!