How do travel bloggers actually make their money?

To escape everyday life and the gray weather, people travel and explore the whole world. And some make exactly these trips part of their career. Travel bloggers show the most beautiful, quiet or exciting places on earth.

What does a travel blogger do?

Contrary to what it usually seems from the outside, the everyday life of a travel blogger does not only consist of exciting and luxurious trips. There is more work behind this than you might initially think. At the beginning, travel destinations have to be researched, appointments have to be agreed upon, travel and the hotel have to be booked until the trip can finally begin. Photos or videos are then taken on site for the blog and articles are written about the experience. Of course, the photos and videos also have to be sorted and, if necessary, edited until the finished article can finally be uploaded. In addition to blog maintenance and traveling, other organizational tasks are also part of the job: tax matters, marketing and cooperation partners also have to be taken care of.

How can you make money as a travel blogger?

The income of a travel blogger depends on various variables as you get your money from different sources. Travel bloggers can sometimes earn money through so-called “affiliate links”. These links direct the reader to another website that offers products. If the visitor buys something via this link, the travel blogger receives a commission. Travel bloggers can also earn money through advertising. This means you can test and introduce certain products from advertising partners. On top of that, travel bloggers can also earn money in cooperation with tour operators or tourism regions. Some travel bloggers also write books or articles for magazines outside of their blog.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

One advantage of the job is clearly the opportunity to travel the world and meet lots of interesting people. For many, this means turning a passion into a career. You often get the chance to experience things that are difficult or impossible for normal travelers. Being a self-employed travel blogger is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Although you are your own boss, you also have to take care of everything organizationally yourself. The result of this is that travel bloggers usually work much more than they would if they were employed. For some, promoting products is also a problem. In order to make money through advertising, the products advertised must be related to you, not like YouTube ad breaks. Another disadvantage of being a freelancer is that there is no fixed salary. It is impossible to predict whether you will earn a little or a lot in a month. Due to the high level of competition, as a travel blogger you often have to cover topics that interest the general public, such as city trips or mass tourism destinations, for the sake of reach. If your own interests are not included, you usually have to expect less reach.

E. Schmal / editorial team finanzen.net

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