Hey guys, Lauren here, co-founder of Departful. When we started our travel blog in the summer of 2012 we had a simple goal to bring high-quality, relevant and engaging travel content to readers. I had no idea that it would grow into what that it is today.
Over the past six years I’ve helped build a successful travel blog, worked with dozens of brands, participated in numerous FAM trips, launched peripheral sites, started a travel planning business, and turned Departful into a full-time career. And while that all sounds swell, it hasn’t been an easy ride. I’ve made my fair share of blunders over the years.
If you’re a travel blogger or looking to start a travel blog in the future, I want to help you. There’s so much information online about building a blog, being location independent, the beauty of passive income, earning more and working less and ultimately pursuing a life that you love. It sounds sublime but it can be downright overwhelming. At least it was for me.
So I’d like to give you a helping hand to catapult your travel blog into a viable business. I’ll provide insight on how to work with travel companies and brands, generate income from a career you love, and travel the world as you do it. Everything I talk about in this free workshop is something I’ve applied to my own blogs successfully. And while I’m giving you an actionable blueprint for achieving success, it won’t be a cakewalk. You’ll need to put in the work, wait for progress, and continue to pivot your business to remain relevant and maximize revenue.
This workshop is a behemoth so I’ve broken it down into seven topics to keep it manageable. Here’s an overview of each segment and what’s discussed:
How to Build a Successful Travel Blog
Part 1 – How to Start a Travel Blog
- Ideal if you haven’t built your travel blog or have just launched
- How to build your travel blog & what to consider beforehand
- Best practices when launching a travel blog
Part 2 – How to be an Engaging Travel Writer
- How to incorporate your own voice
- How to be an engaging storyteller
- How to improve your writing skills
Part 3 – How to Grow Your Travel Blog’s Audience
- How to build authenticity & legitimacy
- Finding your niche & understanding your audience
- Reaching your audience through social media & email
- Pro tips for growing your community
Part 4 – How to Ensure Your Travel Blog Goes Viral
- How to generate exceptional travel content that your audience will love
- Leveraging social media
- Build relationships with leaders in your field
- A step by step guide to SEO for travel blogs
Part 5 – How to Work with Travel Companies & Tourism Boards
- How to request free or discounted travel experiences
- How to participate in FAM trips
- Tips for being recognized as an excellent publishing partner
Part 6 – How to Make Money from Your Travel Blog
- A how to guide to affiliate marketing for travel blogs
- An overview of ads & how to know what’s right for your travel blog
- How to use your blog to generate freelance opportunities
- Other revenue streams for your travel blog
Part 7 – How to Make Your Travel Blog a Career
- How to continue growing your travel blog’s reach
- How to be successful as a digital nomad
Each segment describes exactly what steps we’ve taken to build a successful travel blog. For each topic, I include links to resources that I’ve found particularly helpful and I know you will too.
You may notice some affiliate links for products and courses throughout the workshop, but I assure you that these are truly things that I’ve found tremendously valuable. These are the tools that have helped to make Departful into the travel company it is today.
Instead of developing our own fee-based course, we’ve kept it open to everyone but affiliate income generated from partners we know and love helps us keep it free for you. If you’re on the fence about any affiliate product that I discuss, send me a note and I’ll give you my honest feedback based on your circumstances.
Are you ready to build a successful travel blog and turn it into a viable business? Let’s get started!
Header image courtesy of Unsplash