Travel blogs have been popping up on the net for a few months. But the thing is not so surprising since more and more people think that becoming a blogger is a “good plan” to travel for free. But let’s put things in their place for a minute, because even if blogging can become a profession, it does not mean that the travel blogger earns money by sipping a cocktail and sunbathing on the edge of a beach.
THE PROLIFERATION OF TRAVEL BLOGS
I created my travel blogs several years ago. Had only one very specific goal in mind, to share my passion for travel with other Internet users. Wanted to give my tips for traveling cheaper and my advice depending on the destination.
I had no idea then what my blog was going to become, or even if it was going to last more than 6 months. But I quickly took to the game. And in addition to travel, blogging has also become a passion.
What a pleasure to be able to model your WordPress theme as you see fit, to relay your articles on social networks, and to see that they are appreciated, commented on, and shared. What a pleasure to see visits to the blog increase, and to federate a beautiful community of enthusiasts around the same theme.
But for some time (about a year and a half), travel blogs have been sprouting on the web like little mushrooms.
Some Internet users want to open a travel blog solely for the purpose of “traveling for free” and “earning money”. Some well-established bloggers have even taken advantage of the desire of these new bloggers by simply creating training courses to become “effective” travel blogger who earns money.
Open a blog to earn a lot of money, sincerely?
But do you really think a travel blogger travels the world to make money? Traveled around the world for more than fifteen months and I did not receive a salary during this whole period. Had left my job and my apartment, so I had nothing left but a simple backpack for home… I was very happy about it and this trip was the most beautiful of my life.
Thanks to this experience, I was able to give advice to other travelers on my blog. Advice is given for free of course, because it is the principle of a blog, to share one’s knowledge without asking for anything in return.
WHAT WORK DOES IT REPRESENT ON A DAILY BASIS?
Sometimes, when we explain to foreigners that we have a travel blog, they think that we are young “teenagers” who tell their lives and who “chat” all day long on social networks.
Well, no! I am no longer a teenager, I am 30 years old, with a master’s in communication, and two years of experience in Community Management behind me. Many of my readers are between 25 and 35 years old and are looking for alternative and inexpensive modes of travel, far from the “soup” that some travel agencies try to sell us. Because “yes”, the time of organized trips, with travelers “crammed like calves” into buses, is over. Traveler 2.0 wants to discover things for himself, manage his program and leave room for the unexpected!
All this to say that travel blogs like mine have a well-defined audience, looking for something they can’t find elsewhere. A travel blog is therefore USEFUL for many people. No offense to some…
But to give interesting and coherent information to readers, you must travel, often… Very often! I sometimes travel up to three times a month to completely different countries and it can quickly become exhausting. Especially when you’re a blogger, travel doesn’t quite have the same flavor as for an “ordinary” tourist.
You must constantly think about the future articles that you will write, take photos in all circumstances, share your journey live on social networks (especially in Insta Story), and that’s a lot of things to manage at the same time.
Do you think you’ll have a quiet vacation with your blog? You can forget!
To be a recognized and appreciated blogger, takes a lot of WORK and a lot of TIME. Personally, I no longer count the hours I spend on my blog. Between the writing of articles, photo editing, publications on social networks, exchanges with readers, requests by email.
You also must look into SEO rules, manage technical problems, learn more and more about photo editing software, work on your Instagram feed, do video editing, and also take care of all the administrative side… In short, I have my blog in mind from morning to evening!
So, if I were to be paid for every hour I spend on my blog, yes, I would earn a lot of money. But it doesn’t happen like that in the land of travel bloggers… And you must constantly fight for your work to be recognized.
But I love what I do and there are many upsides to being a travel blogger. Obviously, I travel often, but it was already the case before, so it’s not a revolution for me.
What I like the most is to be free to move, to be independent, and not to be accountable to a particular boss. I can choose who and why I work with, and that’s the height of freedom for me. A thirst for freedom is part of all parts of my life in general, so it was logical that it was the case in my work as well.
BECOME PROFESSIONAL, AN ADDITIONAL STEP
If all these hours of work can lead to becoming “professional” (I don’t like this word because it implies that we become different, while we are doing the same thing, except that we are paid for that), so much the better!
I will never understand this mentality of constantly criticizing people who manage to make money doing what they love.
If you have traveled a little, you know that in other countries hard work and success are complimented. In France, success is taboo… However, when someone finds a new way of life, far from clichés and established rules, we should all be happy to know that another model is possible!
Earning money is not a disease…
Earning money with your blog is possible. And I think it’s healthy that some bloggers manage to make a living from their work. We are in 2016 and the Internet is taking more and more space in our lives, so it is normal that certain professions emerge thanks to this (people like “Norman makes videos” or “EnjoyPhoenix” are perfect examples of this new generation who managed to pull out of the game).
And if you think that being a travel blogger is not a “real job”. Just ask yourself if the people who create the “Guides du routard” are not paid for their work?
Some travel bloggers, therefore, manage to travel for free and/or earn money. By promoting certain countries, activities, or services. But you can imagine that we can’t promote everything and just anything.
Obviously, the theme must revolve around travel, that the blogger likes it, and that it fits into his editorial line. Because a consistent blogger is not going to promote a product that he does not like. Or does not correspond to him.
To give you an example. I was contacted recently during my trip to Dubrovnik to promote a tour of the city on the theme of “Game of Thrones”. The agency offered me to promote it with a mention on social networks. But being there. I realized that if we booked a tour directly at the gates of the city. The price was three times cheaper! I, therefore, refused this partnership. And I will clearly explain to readers in my article on Dubrovnik not to book their tours in advance online…
Moreover, if I must promote a destination or a service. That I have total freedom of expression and that I am also paid for it, I do not see why I would refuse?
It is therefore possible to travel for free and earn money with your travel blog. But you must realize that the profession of a travel blogger is extremely precarious…
It is almost impossible to know how much money we will be able to earn the following month. (and sometimes we earn nothing). Not to mention the extremely high rate of social charges that this generates. Because if you earn money, you must declare it. The administration in France and its tons of paperwork to fill out, are always a pleasure…
So, to tell you the truth, if my primary goal was to make money. I would clearly be doing something other than blogging! But I wanted to talk about it with you and give you my own point of view. Because the subject is more and more talked about on the web. And even on television (I had moreover refused to participate in the program. . And or that the program will give a bad image of bloggers).
