I’m Not “Lucky”, I Became a Travel Blogger Because I Tried

Travel blogger is not a job title I ever imagined I’d have.  As I’m sitting here staring at what’s left to pack in yet another one of my apartment sublets, I’m thinking, “Am I seriously about to put all of my stuff in storage and go travel around Southeast Asia for a month, while making money pretty much to be there? Who am I?!”

Seriously though, my idea of my future just a mere five years ago included a relationship, an awesomely furnished apartment, and a nine to five job. I actually had all of that, but I didn’t like it, clearly. Ok so technically I did quit that job, but it wasn’t because I wanted to go travel. It was because it was boring and redundant, and what I realize now is that it lacked a challenge. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m a really, really, smart person, so it’s like I almost need seek challenges to conquer otherwise I get bored and go crazy.

That’s what I did when I had the idea to try and become a travel blogger. I hadn’t really known much about it or how it worked when I first thought about it two years ago. I remember seeing one of the biggest female travel blogs, The Blonde Abroad, and staring at her site in awe, wondering how in the hell she did it. Now I’m asked the same question, and it’s hard to explain because there’s so many pieces, but my main takeaway is always that it’s not a job you can just get, it’s something that must be created.

I didn’t want to just save up a bunch of money, quit my job, and go travel aimlessly then have to come back and find a new job. I wanted to turn something I was passionate about and good at into something I could not only keep doing indefinitely, but help other people do too.

So for anyone who would like to know how I got started as a full time travel blogger, how I make my money, and what it takes to do what I’m doing, I’ve written it all out for you here.

1. No, I Don’t Have Rich Parents or a Rich Boyfriend

Let’s just get this cleared out of the way first. I grew up poor AF, so no, I don’t have rich parents, and I absolutely hate when guys try to pay for girls to travel with them…because that’s probably the only reason why they would.  Yes, I’ve gone on a trip with an actual boyfriend before, but other than that, I pay for all of my travels on my own, which should be obvious since I usually travel solo.

Also, yes, there have been times when I’ve lost my debit and credit cards abroad and my mom had to wire me money so I could get out of Thailand, but other than emergencies, I’d never ask for a dime. I actually grew up with a single mom who only made $40k a year and raised four kids, two of which were adopted, and I started working as a waitress at age 13 because I always had the mindset that I didn’t want to take her money. That mindset still very much exists, and it’s what drives me to keep working hard to make my own money, for my own trips.

2. I Don’t Have a Degree in Journalism or PR

I kind of assume my writing skills come from me not liking to talk much, and my social media/PR skills literally came from me Googling the shit out of tutorials and techniques. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and Psychology…. Do you have any idea how miserable all those years of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry were?! I must really have a passion for travel and challenges if I’m willing to just throw all that away (yet still continue to pay for it monthly) just to pursue a dream.

3. I Got My First Writing Gig Off Craigslist, and It Wasn’t Paid

Fun fact: I accidentally moved to Los Angeles four years ago. I came for a weekend, liked it, and kind of just stayed. I had just quit my job and got broken up with back in Florida, so when a TV show actress friend I knew from home offered me her spare bedroom in Studio City, I kind of didn’t have a reason to go back. She then insisted I attempt looking for a job and an apartment so I could stay. I didn’t think either would ever happen, but I tried anyway, and it was all very fateful actually.

I started looking for jobs on Craigslist that I could do from my computer. I had no background or experience in writing or PR, but I applied for the jobs anyway. Then I saw one that stood out, it was for a journalist for an established website, but instead of getting paid, you’d get free room and board in a house in the Hollywood Hills. It seemed too good to be true, it was both things I needed, except OH WAIT, I didn’t qualify at all.

Turns out I was really good at writing emails, because after a very extensive plea, I ended up getting the job. It was absolutely AWFUL because the editor in chief was SO MEAN to me, and I was convinced that the big old house in the Hills was 100% haunted. But, I stuck to it, learned how to write articles, publish them online, promote them with social media, and network at the events I was sent to, and it eventually led me to other gigs through word of mouth.

4. I Used My Social Media Skills to Make Money

Social Media Marketing started getting really big a couple years ago, and I just so happened to be freakishly good doing it. Ideally, I wanted to be a writer, but writing doesn’t exactly pay well and I had bills to pay since I decided to move out of the haunted house. I soon discovered that there were a lot of Baby Boomer entrepreneurs in LA who were interested in this Social Media thing, but had no clue how to do it, and started charging people to have me create and schedule posts for them. That means that all of that extra time you spend scrolling through Facebook, you could be scrolling for someone else and getting paid.

5. I Used Craigslist, Elance, and Freelancer to Find Freelance Jobs

I cannot emphasize enough how lucrative freelance work can be. Maybe I can; I MADE ALL OF MY MONEY FROM FREELANCE WORK BEFORE I BECAME A FULL-TIME TRAVEL BLOGGER!!!!!!!!!!!

I know it doesn’t sound possible, stable, glamorous, whatever, but it WORKED, and I am living proof of it. The trick is knowing how to write really really good emails and pitches so that you stand out amongst all of the other freelancers. Also, just because a job doesn’t sound insanely fun or awesome, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider it! Do your research on the company or product, and pitch yourself like you’re a freaking expert!

I’ve written content for the most boring companies, and for things I had to literally research just to be able to write about them. Once I even got a job off Craigslist as a virtual assistant to a celebrity publicist and it ended up being so awesome because I got so good at it that I was not only promoted to junior publicist, but I am now able to use those skills for my own brand.

OH! And I got my first ever travel writing gig off of Elance! They ended up liking my writing so much, that they sent me to Cuba to write their next editorial.

6. I Decided To Write For Myself Too

So my blog kind of started as a joke. I had a literary agent friend who I begged to let me submit a freaking full-length screenplay to his agency for shits and giggles (it was CAA, so kind of a big deal, but he let me anyway) and after he read my dramatic action thriller, he said to me (as I was lounging by the pool drinking wine on a Tuesday afternoon), “Alyssa, you’re this cute little blonde socialite living IN Hollywood, and you’re funny AF…you should be writing about that.”

He then informed me about this whole blogging thing, which, I insisted wouldn’t work because “Why would anyone want to read about my life?” but decided to try anyway in a form that was meant to make fun of my lifestyle as a non-model, non-actress, Florida girl living right in the middle of the red carpet. I sarcastically named it, My Life’s A Movie.

7. I Got Bit By the Travel Bug

In August 2014 I took my first ever big solo travel trip because I couldn’t find anyone to come with me. I actually cancelled it twice because someone else bailed, and almost didn’t go the third time because I was dating an asshole who told me I couldn’t. But I went, to three countries/continents, and one full revolution around the world.

It was after that trip that I decided I was going to stop at nothing to find a way to work while traveling. I still had no idea how to make money off of my blog or social media, but I felt an extreme passion for writing about my adventures, and switched the theme from cynical Hollywood life news, to epic travel stories.

8. I Kept Freelancing While Building My Travel Blog

Travel blogs do not happen overnight. It’s actually insanely frustrating that people just one day decide, “I’m going to start a travel blog!” and think they’re suddenly just going to get paid to travel the world. If that were true, everyone would be traveling right now.

It takes years, and a shit ton of work, effort, and dedication to actually create a travel blog that’s successful. I didn’t make money off of my actual blog until a year and a half later, which meant I was working my ass off double time to both make money and build my brand. At the same time I was writing for other people and writing for my own blog, I was also relentlessly submitting article pitches to big publications like Huffington Post and Matador Network, which, as you can see, eventually worked.

9. I AirBnB-ed My Apartment to Travel and Pay Rent

The way I explain the steps to becoming a successful travel blogger, is with three levels. The first level is everything I just wrote above. You have to build your blog, grow your audience, become someone who is established as an expert in travel first, otherwise there’s really no reason for anyone to work with you in terms of travel or branding.

When you do get to the point where you’re established, but still not quite huge, you get to the second level, which is sponsored travel or what many like to misinterpret as “free travel”. It isn’t free. You still have to work. The work comes in the form of an exchange for publicity on your blog and social media. You also usually don’t get airfare or travel expenses, which means your flights, food, and transportation must come out of pocket, and you end up losing money instead of gaining it.

Well, when I reached the sponsored travel level, I thought to myself, “So I can technically go stay at a hotel for free anywhere in the world, so why don’t I do that and rent my apartment out so I’m at least making some form of money?”

So I found an apartment that would let me AirBnB it, completely redecorated it, and turned it into an awesome AirBnB rental that allowed me to afford living and traveling for seven months, and to about six countries. Granted I was just barely making it, and almost severely hit rock bottom, but I made it happen, gained the content, and continued to grow my blog which eventually led to making money from it.

Oh and this was my only source of income from August 2015 to January 2016. That means I dropped every other job or gig and dedicated myself to blogging and traveling full time.

10. I Became Established as a Travel Blogger & Started Working With Brands

There’s a few different ways that travel a blogger/influencer can make money, some more than others, and some in different ways than others. I’ll explain how I make money through my blog and social media, but keep in mind that I tend to only post about budget, adventure, and solo travel, which means it’s not as easy for me to get paid a ton of money by luxury resorts or fashion brands as it is for others.

Sponsored Blog & Social Media Posts

What I can do is represent brands that I actually use, would like to use, or think my audience (AKA you) would use and actually like. The way that I make money is by charging for  sponsored blog posts and social media posts, which is only fair and makes sense considering the amount of work that I do in order to maintain and grow my blog.  I also do the same thing with destinations occasionally, but for the most part, I still do “free” publicity exchanges with hotels or tours that I’d like to visit instead of just going somewhere to get paid.

In a nutshell, blogs and social media are the modern version of commercials, magazine ads, and celebrity endorsements, except the reason why they’re way better is because they’re (for the most part) real, honest, and made with good intentions. I’d never post, represent, or endorse anything that I didn’t personally like or find useful, and I’d also never recommend going somewhere that I didn’t enjoy being.

Affiliate Links

Other ways that I make money aside from sponsored posts are Google ads on my website (not much and it all goes to my web designer), and affiliate links. I use Amazon Affiliates Program to link products that I use (most of which I get off Amazon) in my blog posts, so that if someone wants to buy it, and they click on it from my blog, I get a (very small) percentage of the sale.

Affiliate links also work with company links like Travelocity, Agoda, Airfare Watchdog, Orbitz, Uber, etc., although I haven’t made anything really with those, and kind of hate the way that they look so I don’t really use them.

Contributing Writing

As I mentioned before, I write for Huffington Post and Matador Network, and from time to time will get offers to guest write on other websites or blogs for a paid amount. Huffington Post does NOT pay by the way, and recently has been accepting literally anyone who applies to write for them (back when I first got published you had to actually submit numerous pitches before being invited to write for them), which means they’re clearly more interested in the free content over quality content, so I only post on there for syndication now.

Matador Network does pay per article, and I also write for a publication called Caribbean Blue Book, and sometimes GeoChic Magazine, which both also pay. You can find paid writing gigs online like I mentioned before (Craigslist, Elance, Freelancer, etc.), or if you know of a site or publication you’d like to write for, you can usually find a submission page on their site.

So, there you have it! All of my cats are out of the bag, or something. Hopefully this all helps anyone wondering what I do, how I make money, or how I got to be a full time travel blogger. If you’re “thinking about starting a travel blog”, just know that it’s a lot of work, and that the only person who is going to really be able to make it happen, is yourself.

There’s tons and tons of people trying to start a travel blog in order to “get paid to travel” these days, but it takes a person who is truly passionate about travel, and dedicated to helping others do the same to actually be successful at it! …Well…either that, or a good business person… 😉

Lastly, thank you for taking the time to read this post. It’s something I’ve been meaning to write for a while because I really do want to explain how this whole travel blogging thing works, and to proudly show how much work I do to live the life that I’ve created!