A career in travel blogging is tough but rewarding

Most of us dream of travelling the world and visiting the beautiful places that we only see in pictures but money and time often stand tall between us and our dream lives.

For those with a decent income through a business or a job, the finances are usually taken care of but there is no time. Those who aren’t working usually have all the time, but no money.

But a lucky few travel all around the world and get paid for documenting their experiences — by travel blogging.

You can embark on travel blogging by simply creating a blog or website and publishing articles on it.

But the bigger question here is “Can you make a career out of travel blogging?”

The answer is “Yes” but it is not easy. First, it takes a lot of hard work on a daily basis and you have to be patient, as it usually takes a lot of time before you see a decent income coming in.

So ask yourself whether you have the resources and time to sustain yourself during this period. Also, do keep in mind that travel blogging requires you to go out and travel and provide a first-hand experience to readers and that is an additional cost.

Way forward

To begin with, set up your blog with a simple layout and a few articles. Don’t invest too much on designing the website at this stage. Once you go live with your blog, start uploading fresh content on regular basis. Decide a frequency and stick to it. Do it for at least a few months and see if you are really into this stuff, because this is just the beginning of the rough road ahead.

Provided you have ads on your website, web traffic will help you make a small amount of money but that amount is usually small and you have to venture into allied activities to make travel blogging a full-time career.

Posting sponsored articles on your blog, running affiliate programmes, doing freelance work for publications, selling courses and tutorials are few other ways to boost your income. In fact, most part of your revenue would come through these allied services. You can also get sponsored trips against writing an article about the place of your visit. That’s also an income in kind, as you get to travel free of cost.

The internet is already crowded with an endless stream of information posted about every place. A lot of travel bloggers are jostling for being listed on the first page of the google search. The good news is that though travel blogs are readily available, few consistently post quality content.

Required skillset

A successful travel blogger needs to have a good command over the language. You should be able to put down your thoughts in an entertaining, yet clear manner.

Second, you need a good understanding of search engine optimisation, which will rank your article high in google search results, in turn bringing more readers to your blog.

In fact, knowledge of other digital marketing domains like social media marketing, customer relationship management, performance marketing, affiliate marketing etc., would help you promote your blog.

Good networking skills increases your chances of fetching a paid partnership. Basic understanding of photography, videography and editing also adds a lot of value to your blog. Though there are certain things that should be left for experts, like website designing, I would still recommend having some understanding of it so that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on this activity.