There’s a big market for travel. It’s estimated that the average millennial spends around $5,000 on summer vacation, according to Travel Agent Central. This is a huge amount of money invested in a single vacation, and it just goes to show how important the travel market has become.
The consultant Stephen Stepaniuk says that travelling has gone above and beyond the low-brow stereotypes of the unwashed hippie and the billionaire moving from resort to resort.
And that’s creating interesting changes for travel bloggers. In this article, he talks about how you can make money as a travel blogger in 2019.
Be Niche
Travel blogging is an oversaturated market, according to Stephen. Everyone and their mother seem to have a travel blog these days, with the majority of them going unread.
It’s not because they’re bad it’s because they don’t have a specific audience. That’s why new travel bloggers need to find a specific niche.
It mirrors the desire for millennials to have personalized experiences when they visit a destination. Readers want a blog specific to their situation.
For example, blogs aimed at travelling parents or travelling doctors are interesting and they offer a new take on the travelling experience.
Don’t just write about your trip. Write about it from a unique perspective.
Make Money in New Ways
The days of relying on affiliate marketing for travel are over, says Stephen. While you’ll always be able to create a travel blog and make some affiliate income, you’re not going to make thousands of dollars from it.
You need a new business attached to your travel blog. The blog should not be the business. It should be the magnet that leads people to your business.
For example, a travel consulting business provides an added service that few blogs have. Go beyond the conventional and think about how you can create a business that appeals.
Create Sellable Products
Every travel blogger in 2019 should have products that can be bought and sold. These should always work alongside your blog .
Travel consulting isn’t an easy thing to sell because most of your readers won’t have that sort of budget. You’re relying on a smaller number of high-value customers.
So how do you reach the other part of your audience?
The answer comes in the form of eBooks, t-shirts, photo editing, or even customized tours.
These products can be aimed at everyone and don’t look out of place on your blog. If you already have the skills, says Stephen, it doesn’t require any real effort to make these money-making products available.
Beware of Taking the Money and Running
It might seem counterintuitive to reject opportunities for sponsored content, but there’s method to the madness.
Too much sponsored content is having an adverse impact on travel blogging. Influencers who constantly post sponsored content are only becoming less relatable. As a result, 52% of millennials trust influencers less now than they did before.
Why is this the case?
Your audience doesn’t have a problem with sponsored content. They just want to hear about relatable experiences, rather than an endless array of free trips you’re getting in exchange for saying somewhere is great (even when it isn’t).
Focus on growth sometimes over the quick bucks you can get right now.
Invest in Marketing Your Blog
The days of publishing regular content and getting an audience is gone. You need to have the capital to invest in your blog to get that audience.
Modern travel bloggers must have knowledge of how to market themselves on social media. This type of marketing is no longer free and requires knowledge of how paid advertising works.
You should be prepared to invest at least a few hundred dollars in paid advertising when you get started.
Last Word – Breaking Through as a Travel Blogger in 2019
It has never been more difficult to make money as a travel blogger than it is now, says Stephen. The difficulties come with trying to successfully differentiate yourself from the competition.
But if you can do that and master paid advertising you stand an excellent chance of making money from your blog.
Which niche are you going to have your travel blog focus on in 2019?
