Myths Vs. Realities of Being a Travel Blogger · Knowledge of WordPress Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) knowledge ... Reality of Running a Travel Blog And time. Travel Blogging

Myths Vs. Realities of Being

a Travel Blogger

Laurel Robbins

LaurelRobbins.com

Monkeys and Mountains | Adventure Travel Blog

©LaurelRobbins.com MonkeysandMountains.com Twitter.com/Laurel_Robbins

Myths & Realities of Being a

Travel Blogger

4 Myths vs. Realities

Still want to be a travel blogger? How to do it?


Myth #1:

You Get Free

Travel


Reality of Free Travel?

.

Yes, you can get your expenses paid, but….


Reality of Free Travel: It’s

Anything But Free

Likely be held to a strict itinerary with frequently

long days

While you are on your free trip you will be:

Constantly promoting the destination/activity on your

social media accounts

Editing photos

Writing blog posts about the trip (usually happens after

the trip)



Reality of Free Travel

Free travel is not a

vacation, it’s an

exchange of services

Myth #2: Running a

Travel

Blog is

Easy…Anyone Can

Do It


Reality of Running a Travel

Blog

Yes, anyone can

create a travel blog

and call

themselves a

travel blogger,

but…


Reality of Running a

Travel Blog

To run a successful travel blog you need to have the following skills: Writing

Photography and photo editing Social media know-how across multi-platforms

Knowledge of WordPress

Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) knowledge

Creative thinker

Ability to pitch and sell yourself to DMOs/tour companies/hotels


Reality of Running a Travel

Blog

And time. Travel Blogging is very time

consuming

When you’re starting out you should be posting at least 3-

4 times a week on your own blog and writing 1-2 guest

posts a week for other popular blogs.

In addition to writing the posts there’s also the

photography and promoting the posts via social media

and SEO research required for each post.



Reality #3: You Can Work

From the Beach….But You

Probably Won’t

Myth #4: You Can

Earn a Living From

Travel Blogging


Reality of Making a Living

From Travel Blogging

Yes, but very few people do.

If making money is your key objective, there are

5 billion easier ways to make it other than from

travel blogging


Reality of Making a Living

From Your Travel Blog

Making Money Directly From Your Blog

Corporate sponsorship

Affiliate marketing (works best when site is

very niche specific)

Advertising

But there is another way….the best way in my

opinion…


Realities of Earning a Living


The best way to make money from your travel blog?

Use your blog as a platform to showcase your other related skills: Photography

Writing

Social media

Graphic/web design

SEO

Paid speaking gigs

Endless possibilities


Realities of Earning a Living


Why is using your blog as a platform to

showcase your other skills the best way to

earn money from your travel blog?

Because in a sea of thousands of travel

bloggers, it allows you to stand out, to

become known for something, to be

unique, to showcase your own style.


Case Studies: Laurel Robbins,

Michael Turtle, Nienke Krook,

Laurence Noah Write an e-book

We each wrote a series of

three books, published by

Travel Bloggers United

(TBU)



Case Study: Laurence Noah,

Finding the Universe

Laurence Noah, along with two

other bloggers, formed Lightmoves

Creative, a photography collective

focused on helping our clients

create unique images for their

campaigns…

“Like everything, it’s a question of

identifying your individual

strengths, and packaging that in a

way that fills a need in a

professional and attractive way.”

Laurence Noah

Image courtesy of: Laurence Noah

Case Study: Gillian Duffy, One

Giant Step Gillian capitalized on her love of reading and created The

Global Bookshelf, a website that sells travel books.

She receives a commission every time she sells a book.


Case Study: Abhishek Behl

Wild Navigator

Abhishek uses his site as a platform for his consulting service

in responsible tourism & wildlife conservation. In the coming

weeks it will become a responsible travel operator.


Case Study: Laurel Robbins,

Monkeys and Mountains I turned my strengths of Twitter know-how and social media time

optimization into an online consulting and training company:

LaurelRobbins.com which shows clients how to:

Turn Conversations into Customers in Just 10 Minutes a Day


Getting Started: Quick Tips

Define your niche. How will your site be different than all the others?

Write engaging content that serves a purpose and include photos that take readers to the place you’re describing.

Choose a revenue generating model: Be patient, it takes time to earn money from travel blogging

Don’t be afraid to experiment

Invest in your self: Writing, photography, social media, SEO.

Connect with other travel bloggers, bloggers outside of traveling and industry. Ask lots of questions.

Invest in building your following. It’s a long, slow process but worth it.


Thank you

Happy Travels

Questions?

Laurel Robbins

LaurelRobbins.com

Monkeys and Mountains

Twitter:@Laurel_Robbins


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Myths Vs. Realities of Being a Travel Blogger · Knowledge of WordPress Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) knowledge ... Reality of Running a Travel Blog And time. Travel Blogging