I love attending conferences. I really do. I think they’re great places for meeting likeminded individuals and for bouncing ideas off one another (and, of course, having a drink, or two, or three).
I went to TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange) at the weekend in Lloret de Mar – a coastal town in the Costa Brava that’s literally just down the road from me, so how could I not go, right? It wasn’t my first TBEX conference (I went to another one in the Costa Brava three years ago), and I’m definitely not a newbie when it comes to blogging, but I arrived back in Igualada with a head full of ideas and no clue where to start.
These ideas ranged from monetisation methods to blog post topics to ways to promote my freelance work. Now, I’m all for nurturing ideas, but there comes a point when too many cooks spoil the broth – anyone else feel like that?
So, partly to help pluck some of the ideas out of my head and whack them out there in the ether, and partly to inspire you guys to get creative when it comes to monetisation, here’s part two to the popular post I wrote recently which covered a selection of ways you can make money blogging whilst you travel.
1. Promote Some of Your Own Products
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m sure at some point in my childhood I wanted to be an inventor. I mean, who doesn’t want to create awesome products that will help people out? (And make tons of money in the process).
Whilst you might not become a millionaire, you can create a great product that will help solve a problem. This could be anything from creating a useful app that helps people discover cheap restaurants or creating a real-life item that could potentially be the answer to a helluva lot of prayers.
It doesn’t have to be anything complicated – the simplest of things are sometimes the best – but as long as it solves a problem you could be onto a money maker.
Take Beth and Randy of Beers and Beans, for example. They’ve created an awesome product, Speakeasy scarves, which are essentially pretty scarves perfect for travelling situations, but they also have a hidden pocket for your passport and other valuables. Genius, right? It’s such a simple idea but it does the job.
2. Plan Someone Else’s Trip
As a keen traveller you probably know a lot more about booking accommodation, how to find the best restaurants, and how to build a reasonable itinerary better than someone who perhaps doesn’t travel a lot.
That, right there, is a highly marketable skill.
Think about it: why are travel agents so popular? They take on all the stress of booking travel so their clients can just enjoy the anticipation of getting away for a while.
DJ from Dream Euro Trip commented on the last post in this series and said that he makes 90% of his income from planning other people’s trips to Europe.
If you have specialist knowledge on a country or region, then why not use that knowledge to make money and help people out?
3. Sell Your Photography or Art
This is something that I’m looking into doing in the not-too-distant future. I’m not the most talented artist in the world, but I do enjoy creating mixed media pieces of places which people seem to enjoy (take a look at my Instagram account from some examples).
If you’ve got an eye for design or love carrying out little sketches when you’re exploring – tap into that skill.
Likewise, if you’re a good photographer you can utilise this talent and sell your photographs on Etsy or a similar site. Most travellers love snapping photos as they move around, so what better way to put those snaps into use whilst inspiring others to get out and explore the world?
4. Offer Consultations for a Niche Skill
The world and his wife seems to be a “consultant” of something these days. With the ability to promote your services with a professional-looking website, it’s easy to trick people into buying services that they think they need.
Okay, I’m not suggesting you do this at all. At all, you hear me.
If you’re going to sell your services through consultancy you need to be really, really good at something and have the proof to back that up.
Social media consultant? I want to see your thousands of followers engaging with you on a daily basis.
Writing consultant? Show me where your writing’s been published and any awards you’ve won.
You see, you can’t just whack up a website and offer some half-hearted service (can you tell this is something I feel passionately about?). That makes you a fraud and, let’s face it, it’s not a sustainable way to make income. Someone will find out that you’re feeling your way around in the dark and it won’t be pretty when you’re exposed.
Now the scaremongering is out of the way, let’s talk about how you can make this a viable way to make money blogging.
First of all, it’s a good idea to offer a service that relates in some way to your blog. Whether that’s consulting about travel or life coaching, make it relevant – you want to be known as an authority on it.
Once you’ve figured it out, plan how you want to format that service. Will it be a one-on-one Skype session? An on-going package? A group webinar?
The world is your oyster.
5. Set up and Run a Tour
You’re a traveller so obviously you love to travel. But how you can leverage that love into something that makes a decent income?
Well, I believe travel is evolving at the moment into something much more personal. It’s shying away from pre-packaged, cookie-cutter trips and focusing more on ways you can travel authentically within your preferred travel style.
This is perfect for you because you can tap into this market. How? By combining your knowledge of various places and your love of travel and your community. Bring them all together and offer a one-of-a-kind trip that’s unique to your brand.
There are loads of travel bloggers that have branched out into this area recently and they’re providing a range of trips, from food tours and adventure trips to on-the-ground photography workshops and more.
The best part? If you have a big enough audience it can be a very lucrative way to make a living. Plus, you get to show your community the places and things you love in the process.
So there you have a few more ideas of how you can make money blogging whilst you travel. Of course, the possibilities are endless and it all depends on what you’re passionate about and the value that you can offer your audience.
Creative stuff Lizzie! I am moving heavily over to a product/eBook model these days because I love selling and generating passive income. I do run a prospering freelance writing business and my blog coaching biz is growing too, so I dig consulting, but in the same respect, I want to release on them a bit because they are more time intensive than I would like. Thanks for sharing!
Ryan
Ryan Biddulph recently posted…Smiling Sunday: 30 Seconds of the Cutest Puppy in Bali (1080 HD Video)
Hi Ryan! Great idea. I’m looking into passive income streams this year as well – hoping to get a few e-books out into the ether before the year’s out!
There’s definitely a lot of opportunities to get paid these days, we just need to be creative and REALLY good on what you do because there’s too much competition out there…
Just wondering, how did you find TBEX in general? For some reason it never appealed to me.
Bruno B @ Geeky Explorer recently posted…Istanbul: Between Two Worlds
Very true, it’s all about standing out from the noise. Easier said than done but there are plenty of ways to do it if you’re creative enough!
TBEX was good – it wasn’t my first one, but I found the talks gave me lots of ideas and it’s always great for meeting lots of new people. Can I ask why it doesn’t appeal to you?
I love these! I’ve actually just started looking into planning group vacations for transgender people and their partners and allies, since that seems to be an open niche.
Charlotte recently posted…Backyard Adventures: Garden of the Gods
Great idea Charlotte! It’s good to get in early with a niche.
There are definitely a lot of opportunities to make money online but most of them require hard work and discipline. Many people think it is as easy as pushing a few buttons.
Ben recently posted…Cancun, Mexico: How Cheap Is It Really ?!?
So true. Making a sustainable and long-term income online isn’t a walk in the park!
Really great ideas, Lizzie. I especially like the trip planning idea. I’ve NEVER used a travel agent. I like doing my own research and finding my own special deals. I didn’t realise that not everyone does this! So many of my friends use travel agents even just to book flight tickets from Point A to B – it amazes me!
I agree with you – if you’re particularly knowledgeable about a certain part of the world – you can definitely sell your services by helping other people plan and book their holidays.
Radhika@FulltimeNomad recently posted…Why We Choose The Slow Travel Digital Nomad Life
A lot of my friends do the same! I’m always like “but hey, did you know you could get it much cheaper here?” Sometimes they have no idea that doing it yourself saves a lot of money, and other times they do it for the convenience (I, however, like trawling the internet for hours looking for great deals!).
I’m a freelancer now so I don’t focus much on earning from my blog. But I will do #1 and #2 soon, specially #2 since a lot of my readers already get it from me for free!
Aleah | SolitaryWanderer.com recently posted…Of Sumo Wrestlers and Other Stories of Kindness
Great idea! If you already have the customers then why not?! 🙂 I’m planning on creating my own products, too, it’s just a case of finding the time!
I’m loving your blogging guides Lizzie! I wish these posts had been around when I started my blog. At the moment I make zero money from my blog, I do get approached but the proposals never suit my audience 100% so I turn them down. However, you’ve shown me some alternative ways which don’t include promoting other companies to make money! Thank you!
Shing recently posted…Saltstraumen Maelstrom – the World’s Strongest Whirlpool in Bodø!
So glad you like it Shing! I barely do any collaborative work with companies for the same reason as you, but I’m working on branching out into some of these areas later this year (or next year, we’ll see…)!
Great post. I’m a newbie travel blogger and at the start of a year of travels and these are help suggestions. It’s a bit overwhelming to be honest. I’m just a guy who likes to write, but we all have make a few bucks and eat. Thanks again for the post. Cheers!
Wayne Seto recently posted…How India Challenged Me And Rebuilt Me.
Glad you like it Wayne! And you’re so right, it can be overwhelming sometimes. I’m just a writer, too, but I’m finding myself regularly branching out into new areas to keep afloat!