Interested in learning how to get featured in the media?

Well, you’re in luck, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be going over how to score free media coverage to grow your blogging business!

Our guest for the episode is journalist and media coach Lynya Floyd, who will be sharing her best tips. By the end of this episode, you’ll understand:

• Why bloggers should focus on getting PR for their blogs
• A proven strategy for pitching media for stories and features
• How to come up with captivating story ideas to pitch media
• Tips for writing pitch emails that stand out
• Mistakes to avoid when trying to get press coverage
• And more!

In short, if you’re wondering how to get free media exposure for your blog or business, you won’t want to miss it!

How To Get Media Coverage As A Blogger [Podcast Episode Audio]

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Amazon Music

Click here to listen on TuneIn

Free Travel Blogger Resource Library

To help you really jumpstart your blogging success, I’ve added 55+ blogging resources like printables, video tutorials, and workbooks into a FREE resource library for travel bloggers.

These resources are meant to help you grow your traffic, community, and income faster and with less overwhelm!

Get PR For Your Blog With These Helpful Tools:

Google Trends. This free tool can help you keep up with trending topics to craft story ideas around and pitch to media.

Awareness Days. Use this site to research holidays and awareness events to create timely story ideas around.

Qwoted. This tool helps you easily share your expertise with media.

Help A Reporter Out. As a blogger, you can use this tool to find opportunities to be quoted in stories in magazines, newsletters, and online publications.

How To Get Free Media Coverage As A Blogger [Episode Transcript]

The following is a summary of the podcast episode sharing how to get featured in publications and media. It is transcribed as best as possible, with paraphrasing included. For the full strategy on how to get PR for your blog, make sure to listen to the audio version of the podcast above.

Whether you’re trying to gain visibility for yourself, your blog, or a product or service you’ve launched, getting media attention is a smart way to do it.

Getting featured in reputable publications, podcasts, TV shows, and other outlets helps you gain instant credibility and increase your exposure.

But, how do you go about landing these visibility opportunities?

That is exactly what our guest, Lynya Floyd, is going to share with us. Lynya is an award-winning journalist, experienced ghostwriter, and sought-after media coach for corporate clients and entrepreneurs.

And today, she’ll be sharing her best tips with our blogging community!

Free travel blogger resource library

But first, before we go over how to get press coverage, I want to share my free Travel Blogger Resource Library.

Inside you’ll snag access to 55+ resources from cheat sheets to workbooks to workshops to video tutorials that can help truly turn your blog into a profitable business – including a variety of pitch and outreach templates.

I’m all about implementation and I really want to make sure you don’t just listen to the episode and forget about it, but that you actually use what I share to make your blogging life easier. Feel free to even pause this episode to go grab those resources.

You back? Then let’s dive into how to get media attention as a blogger!

1) Thank you so much for taking the time to share your tips on how to get publicity for your blog! To start, can you tell us more about yourself and your business?

Thank you so much for having me! I am a content creator, ghostwriter, and a PR and media coach.

I assist entrepreneurs in navigating the media landscape, helping them understand how to obtain media coverage, what topics to discuss, and how to effectively pitch their ideas. Once they secure media coverage, I guide them on leveraging it to boost their business.

Unlike many media coaches, I’ve spent nearly 20 years behind the scenes in the industry, so I have a unique perspective on this subject. My career began as an editor at reputable magazines such as Glamour, Essence, and Family Circle, which gave me invaluable insight into what makes a compelling pitch from the editorial side.

Today, I pitch ideas to these same outlets, so I really know what it’s like to sit on both sides of the computer.

2) Let’s start with the basics. Why should bloggers bother to focus on getting PR? What are the benefits?

There are many benefits of getting PR for bloggers, but I’ll distill it down to a few key points.

a) It’s the ultimate endorsement for your business. It acts as a credible testimonial from reputable platforms. Whether we are buying a product on Amazon or exploring new content, we instinctively seek endorsements or testimonials, and media coverage provides just that.

When readers or viewers see you featured on a trusted platform, it immediately elevates your credibility and entices them to engage with your content. This endorsement can significantly enhance your following and client base. It’s really helpful to get publicity for your business in this way.

b) Initial media appearances can often catalyze further media opportunities. It’s not uncommon for platforms to inquire about your previous media engagements before featuring you, thus having a media portfolio can be advantageous when pitching.

Over time, consistent media exposure can snowball, transitioning from you reaching out to media outlets, to them seeking your expertise, positioning you as a thought leader in your domain.

c) Lastly, one of the compelling advantages of PR is its potential to exponentially increase your reach beyond your existing audience. Typical blogging and emailing are confined to the audience you’ve already built, be it hundreds or thousands.

However, a single media appearance can extend your message to hundreds of thousands, or even millions, vastly amplifying your visibility and engagement rate.

This expanded reach can translate to more followers on social media, more sign-ups for your offerings and opt-in freebies, and ultimately, more clients and customers engaging with your blog brand.

Every time you land a featured interview, media appearance, or byline, it not only endorses you but broadens your horizon, providing a platform to share your message on a larger scale, and bringing more individuals into your fold.

3) Now let’s dive into tips on how to be your own publicist. I know you have a strategy for getting media attention that you call the “5W’s of pitching”. Can you break this down a bit for us?

Certainly! When it comes to how to get media exposure, I like to use a strategy dubbed the “5W’s of pitching”. It encompasses the core elements of securing media attention. Let’s delve into each aspect:

Why: Begin by clarifying the purpose behind seeking media coverage. Is it the prestige of being featured in renowned outlets, or are you aiming to reach your target audience by appearing on niche platforms?

Understanding the ‘why’ guides your approach and the outlets you decide to pitch.

What: The term “pitch” might sound foreign to some, yet it’s the cornerstone of media engagement. A pitch letter is your gateway to media features, succinctly presenting your story idea and demonstrating why you are the apt person to discuss it.

While crafting a pitch is straightforward, avoiding common pitfalls requires a level of finesse that can be honed over time.

Where: Deciding where to pitch entails identifying the right outlets that align with your objectives. Instead of focusing on a single platform, diversify your reach by targeting multiple places to establish yourself as a thought leader in your domain.

The more visible you are across different platforms, the more likely journalists and media outlets will reach out to you.

Who: Identifying the right person to send your pitch to within an organization is crucial. A common misconception is to aim too high or too low on the editorial hierarchy.

The middle tier, often laden with decision-making power, is where you should target your pitches. They are typically more involved in content selection, making them more likely to engage with your pitch.

When: Media personnel continually seek stories with a sense of urgency or timeliness. Aligning your pitch with trending topics or upcoming significant events enhances its appeal, veering away from evergreen ideas that lack a sense of immediacy.

A well-timed pitch resonates more, increasing the likelihood of being picked up by media outlets.

In wrapping up, if you want to know how to get featured on news sites, magazines, publications, and TV, the 5W’s framework provides a structured approach to securing media features. Each step builds upon the other to maximize the potential of your outreach efforts.

4) Many bloggers struggle with coming up with irresistible story ideas. Can you share some tips for this?

Crafting irresistible story ideas is an art. It’s essential to have a rich reservoir of ideas rather than clutching onto just one or two, thereby providing ample material for various pitches. Here are a few tips:

Change the conversation: A proven technique I often suggest is looking at trending topics within one’s industry and exploring how the conversation around these topics can be altered or extended.

For instance, the “quiet quitting” story widely discussed last fall morphed into discussions around quiet quitting in relationships or the nuanced approaches in managerial hiring and firing. By taking a prevalent topic and giving it a slight twist, you can both ride the wave of current discussions and introduce a fresh, engaging angle.

Leverage Google Trends: Utilizing tools like Google Trends to observe what topics are gaining traction during certain times of the year can also help tailor your story to what the audience is currently interested in.

Utilize timeliness & urgency: Crafting a story with a sense of urgency, answering the question “why this story now?” significantly enhances its appeal.

This could be driven by recent statistics, industry trends, or upcoming awareness days.

For example, if there’s a trending topic in the travel industry or a notable day approaching where travel will be a focal point, these elements can lend a timely essence to your story.

Incorporating these strategies can aid in crafting a narrative that not only captivates your target audience but also positions you favorably in the eyes of the media outlets you are pitching to. By delivering a fresh perspective on existing conversations and underlining the timeliness of your story, you significantly increase the chances of your pitch being picked up.

5) Once a blogger has landed on the story idea or ideas they’d like to pitch, what are some tips for actually finding media outlets to pitch the story to?

Identifying suitable outlets for pitching your story idea can be approached in two ways: deriving the idea first and then finding the outlet, or identifying the outlet and then tailoring your idea accordingly.

Both approaches have their merits, similar to planning a vacation where you either decide on the destination first or the experience you seek.

Here are a few important tips to keep in mind:

Research outlets: If you’ve solidified your story idea, you might consider collaborating with a media coach or a PR professional who has a broad understanding of various outlets to help match your idea with the appropriate platform.

Independently, a good starting point would be conducting Google searches to find outlets that have previously covered topics akin to your idea.

Take a targeted approach: If there’s a specific outlet or platform you’re eyeing, like a particular podcast, review their past episodes or articles to grasp the type of content they favor. Tailor your idea to align with their thematic focus, ensuring a seamless fit.

Make sure the outlet you pitch is a great fit: It’s imperative to thoroughly research and ensure your story idea resonates with the outlet’s target audience. Your pitch should feel like a natural fit, addressing the interests and concerns of the audience.

Often, pitches miss the mark when there’s a lack of understanding about the outlet’s audience demographic. For instance, pitching stories about toddlers to a platform focused on teenagers and tweens could result in a lost opportunity for media exposure or getting chosen to cover a story.

Do your due diligence: In-depth research about potential outlets as well as understanding their content strategy and audience will significantly increase the chances of your pitch being accepted. It’s about making your idea a “100% yes!” for the receiver by demonstrating a clear alignment between your story and the outlet’s framework.

By intertwining a robust understanding of both your story idea and the prospective outlet’s domain, you optimize the chances of your pitch landing successfully, be it through professional guidance or thorough independent research.

6) Part of pitching entails actually crafting the pitch email. What are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to pitching media and editors?

Crafting a compelling pitch email is an art that necessitates a balance of service and self-promotion. Over my career, I’ve received thousands of pitches and identified common pitfalls that can be easily avoided. Here are some primary dos and don’ts:

Do come from a place of service: Ensure your pitch resonates with the recipient by addressing what’s beneficial for their audience. The narrative should extend beyond a self-centered perspective, aiming to provide value, actionable insights, or solutions that can enrich the audience’s lives or businesses.

Do offer actionable takeaways: Every pitch should offer actionable steps or tangible takeaways that the audience can apply. Whether it’s through sharing personal anecdotes laced with helpful tips or providing expert advice, aim to offer something that encourages positive action or change.

Don’t neglect the value exchange: Media consumption is a trade of time. Ensure your pitch warrants the time audiences will invest in reading, watching, or listening to your story. Offer them something meaningful in return for their attention and time.

Do highlight your unique qualifications: Utilize a section of your pitch to spotlight why you are the suitable person for the story. Flaunt your credentials, experience, and unique insights without reservation. This is not the stage for modesty; it’s about convincing the recipient that you are the most relevant and informed individual for the narrative.

Don’t shy away from self-promotion: A pitch email is an arena to shine; don’t shy away from showcasing your achievements and capabilities. Be unapologetically bold in presenting yourself as the go-to expert on the topic at hand.

Do tailor the pitch: Ensure your pitch is tailored to align with the outlet’s thematic focus, audience interests, and current industry dialogues. Generic pitches often miss the mark; a well-researched, customized pitch elevates your chances of capturing the recipient’s interest.

Don’t overload your pitch with information: Be concise and straight to the point. Avoid overwhelming the recipient with excessive information. The pitch should be a tantalizing teaser that incites curiosity and interest, not a comprehensive exposition.

These guidelines aim to refine the approach towards crafting pitch emails that not only capture attention but are geared towards fostering a positive impact and engagement with the targeted audience.

7) Bloggers typically create content across their digital touchpoints – whether that’s articles on their blog, photos or videos for social media, or something else. Is there a way for bloggers to leverage the content they’ve already created to get media attention?

Leveraging existing content is a strategic way for bloggers to gain media exposure without starting from scratch. Here’s how:

Repurpose popular content: Looking for the best way to promote your blog? Here’s one idea: certain outlets welcome the repurposing of already-published content. Identify your most popular or engaging posts and consider pitching them to such outlets. This allows your work to transcend its initial reach and resonate with a broader audience, transitioning from your usual sphere to more expansive platforms.

Adhere to outlet preferences: It’s essential to respect each outlet’s preferences concerning original versus repurposed content. Prestigious or exclusive platforms typically prefer original content to drive unique traffic. Always review the writers’ guidelines of potential outlets to ensure your pitch aligns with their policies.

Refresh and re-craft your content: Revise your existing content to cater to different platforms or audiences. A new angle, additional insights, or a current hook can rejuvenate your original post. Aim for a balance where a substantial portion of the content is fresh, addressing the question of “why this story now?”

Use reader feedback as a resource: The comments and feedback from your readers can be a goldmine for new content ideas or angles. Sometimes, a reader’s comment could spark an entirely new narrative or offer a perspective you hadn’t considered. This interaction may inspire reimagined content that caters to evolving audience interests or questions.

Extend the conversation: Leverage the dialogue generated by your original posts to create follow-up content or answer arising questions. This not only demonstrates your engagement with your audience but also presents new pitches rooted in already successful or engaging topics.

Utilize cross-platform repurposing: Explore converting blog posts into different formats like videos, infographics, or podcasts. This cross-platform repurposing not only breathes new life into your content but also caters to diverse audience preferences, further enhancing your chances of catching media attention.

By adopting these strategies, bloggers can efficiently maximize their existing content’s potential, pitching refreshed or repurposed pieces to a variety of outlets, thus amplifying their reach and impact in the digital realm.

8) When it comes to getting PR, how important is building relationships with journalists and influencers? What tips can you offer for bloggers to establish and nurture these connections?

If you want to be featured in media, building and nurturing relationships with journalists and influencers are of paramount importance in the realm of PR.

Much like having a good doctor before you face a health issue, having these connections before you need to pitch your story is crucial. Here are some actionable tips for bloggers to establish and foster such connections:

Focus on proactive relationship building: Don’t wait for the moment you need to send out a pitch to start building relationships. Start now by following, engaging with, and understanding the interests and beats of journalists and influencers in your domain.

Leverage LinkedIn and Twitter (X): Journalists often announce job transitions, share their work, or even call for pitches on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. Ensure you have a presence on these platforms and follow the journalists and influencers relevant to your niche. Engage with their posts, congratulate them on their achievements, and showcase genuine interest in their work.

Document contact information: Keep a dedicated document where you store contact details and any relevant information about the journalists and influencers you wish to pitch to in the future. This can be valuable when the time comes to reach out with a pitch.

Celebrate milestones: Marking a journalist’s work anniversary or congratulating them on a well-executed story not only shows that you pay attention, but also helps in keeping the connection warm.

Engage in conversations: Comment on their stories, share your perspectives, and engage in meaningful conversations on social media. This proactive engagement makes you a familiar name, paving the way for a receptive audience when you do have a pitch to send.

Offer value: Whenever possible, offer value. Whether it’s a unique insight, a compelling story, or a different angle on a trending topic, providing value can help you stand out and foster a mutually beneficial relationship.

Respect their time: When the time comes to send a pitch, ensure it’s succinct, relevant, and well-timed. Respecting their time and workload is part of building a good professional relationship.

Maintain regular but not overwhelming contact: It’s important to keep in touch; but, avoid overwhelming them with too frequent communications. Striking the right balance between being present and being overwhelming is crucial.

By employing these strategies, bloggers can effectively build and nurture relationships with journalists and influencers, which in turn, significantly bolsters their PR efforts, paving the way for fruitful collaborations and expanded media visibility.

9) What are some common mistakes bloggers make when trying to secure publicity, and how can they avoid them?

When thinking about how to get featured in publications, one thing to remember is the importance of avoiding common mistakes like:

Not doing your research: It’s crucial to thoroughly research and understand the outlet you’re pitching to. Ensure your content aligns with their focus and caters to their audience’s interests.

Having a lack of actionable content: Offer actionable tips and valuable insights. The audience should gain something beneficial from your content, creating a reason for them to engage with you further.

Sending error-ridden pitches: Before sending your pitch, proofread it meticulously to avoid any errors. Mistakes in your pitch, such as incorrect names or typos, reflect poorly on your professionalism. Remember, this pitch also serves as a writing sample, showcasing your competency to the outlet.

Missing a sense of urgency: While evergreen content is valuable, infusing a sense of urgency or timeliness in your idea can significantly boost its appeal. This makes it more likely for journalists to pick up your story. By being meticulous with your pitches, offering value, and ensuring a good fit with the chosen outlet, bloggers can considerably enhance their chances of securing the coveted publicity.

10) Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! Before we sign off, can you let everyone know where they can find you?

• Website
• Instagram
• 5 Things To Do Before Sending Your Pitch (Free Checklist)

Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to start doing outreach that can get you publicity for your blog.

Before you go, don’t forget to grab access to the free Travel Blogger Resource Library. There are a ton of resources in there on growing your community and increasing your blogging profits.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time businesses.

Happy blogging!

Be A Guest On The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast

If you have actionable strategies to share to help bloggers grow their traffic, community, and income, as well as create profitable and healthy online businesses, I’d love to hear from you!

Note that interview episodes will also be livestreamed on YouTube, so guests need to be comfortable on camera and should have access to headphones, a microphone (or headphones with a microphone), a strong internet connection, and nice lighting (such as studio lighting or a room where you can sit in front of a window).

Please click here to fill out the podcast guest application form.

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You can also use the hashtag #TPTBPodcast to share comments, takeaways, and questions about the episode. I’ll be monitoring the hashtag and joining in on the conversation too!

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Click here to subscribe on iTunes to be notified when new episodes publish.

I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d leave a review right here and let me know your favorite part of the episode or a takeaway you walked away with. By leaving a review, you help the show be seen by more people, helping the episodes to have a greater impact.

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Each month, I’ll be choosing one reviewer at random to win a FREE seat inside one of my travel blogging courses.

Winners can choose from:

• How To Grow Your Blogging Income Through Facebook Ads
• How To Land Paid Press Trips As A Travel Blogger
• How To Make Money (Fast) With Affiliate Marketing
• How To Start A Tour Company In Your Own Backyard
• How To Start A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money
• Build Your Blogging Profit Plan Masterclass

Winners will be chosen at random from the reviews and will be notified via email, so make sure to send me — jessie (at) jessieonajourney dot) com — your email address so I have it. 

Get Visibility For Your Blog With These Helpful Past Episodes:

How Niching Down Can Help You Grow & Monetize Your Blog

9 Clever Ways To Increase Blog Traffic (Beyond SEO)

12 Quick Wins For More Blog Traffic & Income

How To Create A Pinterest Strategy That Grows Your Traffic

How To Find Niche Keywords By Doing Competitor Research

How To Get Blog Followers, Build An Audience & Grow Your Blogging Business

How To Reach Your Blogging Goals Faster With Outreach Days

How To Update Website Content For Increased Traffic

How To Plan Out A Year Of Content In One Week

Click here for all profitable blogging podcast episodes.

What tips would you add to this guide on how to get featured in the media as a blogger?

Interested in creating a streamlined blogging schedule that can help you stay organized?

Well, you’re in luck, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be going over a 3-step workflow for bloggers looking to be more productive and reach their goals faster and easier.

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand how to:

• Audit your blog tasks to create a more intentional blogging schedule
• Streamline your blog schedule to save time while getting more done
• Create a repeatable process for growing your blog
• Organize your blogging workflow so that you always know what to work on and when to get results
• And more!

In short, if you’re sick of feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and confused when it comes to blogging, this workflow can help! Plus, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the blogging process beyond simply writing articles.

How To Create A Streamlined Blogging Schedule [Podcast Episode Audio]

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Amazon Music

Click here to listen on TuneIn

Prefer to learn how to implement this blogging workflow template through video? Click here for the workshop version:

Free Travel Blogger Resource Library

To help you really jumpstart your blogging success, I’ve added 55+ blogging resources like printables, video tutorials, and workbooks into a FREE resource library for travel bloggers.

These resources are meant to help you grow your traffic, community, and income faster and with less overwhelm!

Create A Blog Schedule With These Helpful Tools:

Keysearch (get 20% off with code JESSIEONAJOURNEY). This is the keyword research tool I use to streamline my content planning process, find high traffic keywords, and create content that ranks in search results. It’s one of my all-time favorite blogging tools!

Jasper AI (free trial included). Use the power of artificial intelligence to create a quick article workflow. Jasper can help you quickly create content outlines, generate blog post ideas, write blog posts faster, and more.

StoryChief. Quickly share your content across all of your channels and platforms from one dashboard — in-depth analytics included. In short, it takes all of the different tasks involved with the process of blogging, and streamlines them through one handy tool.

ConvertKit (get 30 days free, no credit card required). This feature-rich and user-friendly email marketing platform makes it easy to create email campaigns thanks to their email campaign workflows, landing page templates, automations feature, and more. Along with their paid plans, they offer a limited free plan here.

Mailerlite. Mailerlite is another great email marketing tool that is free to start. Some of my favorite free Mailerlite features include automation, landing page builders, 24/7 chat support, and more.

ManyChat. This AI chatbot allows you to easily automate sharing your content with followers by simply prompting them to leave a specific comment. For instance, you might say “Comment #TravelInfluencer below and I’ll DM you a list of my 31 favorite influencer networks for travel bloggers.”

TextExpander. Speed up your blogging workflow with this tool that allows you to immediately populate canned responses based on pre-assigned hashtags.

Descript. This video and podcast production tool helps you streamline writing, recording, transcribing, editing, collaborating, and sharing your content. One of the best features is the ability to automatically remove filler words, which can help you save time with editing.

How To Create A Blog Schedule [Episode Transcript]

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt anxious or overwhelmed about blogging. I know I can’t see you, but I’m pretty sure if I could every single hand would be in the air.

Recently I spoke at the Travelpayouts Blogxiety Retreat, an online event aimed at helping bloggers recognize and combat blogging-related anxiety and stress.

My session shared a 3-step strategy for staying organized as a blogger so you can save time and get things done. Today, I’ll be sharing that strategy with you in podcast and blog form. If you’ve been looking for blogging workflow ideas, the tips shared can really help!

Free resource library for creators

But first, make sure to grab my free Travel Blogger Resource Library.

Inside you’ll snag access to 55+ resources from cheat sheets to workbooks to workshops to video tutorials that can help truly turn your blog into a profitable business – including a Mindful Morning Routine Workbook and a mini workshop on streamlining your blogging workflow, both of which can help you add more ease to your business.

I’m all about implementation and I really want to make sure you don’t just listen to the episode and forget about it, but that you actually use what I share to make your blogging life easier. Feel free to even pause this episode to go grab those resources.

You back? Then let’s dive in! Whether you’re looking for a blogging workflow for beginners or seasoned creators, the following 3-point plan for streamlined blogging step-by-step can give you clarity.

Step #1) Audit the tasks on your current blogging schedule

Grab a pen and paper and write out your annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily tasks. The goal here is to realize where you can cut and combine.

You want to cut out tasks that don’t help you reach your goals. For example, if you want to create a passive income business monetized through ads and affiliate marketing, you should focus on tasks that grow your traffic — like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content planning, and Pinterest — instead of trying to master every social media platform at once.

In terms of combining, think about tasks that satisfy the same objective. For instance, to streamline your content strategy, you might record a video of yourself filming your podcast for YouTube and then use the audio to share on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.

Or, you might take points from your long-form content like your blog posts, podcast episodes, and YouTube videos to use as short-form social media posts. A guide sharing 10 tips for traveling sustainably can be 10 individual social posts.

Step #2) Streamline your blogging workflow where possible

Look at your remaining tasks and consider what you can automate, such as:

• Sharing opt-in freebies & resources (with plugins & AI chatbots like ManyChat)
• Onboarding new email subscribers & customers (through an automated email welcome sequence)
• Making sales (with evergreen sales funnels and tripwire funnels)
• Sharing new blog posts (with push notifications or content creation tools like StoryChief)

In this step, also consider how you can prepare for success. A few ideas for this include:

• Creating an annual content plan
  • Your weekly blogging schedule will likely have a lot of content creation tasks, so it’ll save you a ton of time if you always know what you’ll be working on and when – including having a social media and blog posting schedule mapped out
• Doing keyword research before traveling – so that you can gather relevant information and take relevant photos and videos to create the content once back home
• Then while traveling, take diligent notes and favoriting photos in your phone while traveling – this way, you’re not starting from scratch once you’re ready to craft the content

• Creating canned responses to common emails – and you can use a tool like TextExpander to quickly populate these canned responses using hashtags
• Crafting tweakable templates for pins, contracts, pitches, sales emails, etc.

Another part of this step where we’re streamlining our blogging workflow is considering tools that can help us save time.

I know it can be hard to justify expenses before you’re earning an income, but I do recommend thinking about when it might make sense to invest.

For example, even if you’re a brand new blogger, I highly recommend investing in a keyword research tool so that you can properly optimize your blog posts for SEO.

This will save you so much time in the long-run, especially since if you don’t do this now you’ll end up having to go back and spend a ton of time revising your old content.

My personal pick for a keyword research tool is Keysearch, which is what I’ve used for years to optimize all of my content for SEO and rank my blog posts at the top of Google search. Code “JESSIEONAJOURNEY” gets new users 20% off Keysearch.

Other tools that can help save you time with your daily blogger schedule, a few of which are even free, include:

• Affiliate network aggregators like Travelpayouts, ShareASale, and CJ.com for finding & collaborating with affiliates
• Canva for graphic design templates
• Later, StoryChief, Publer & other social media schedulers for pre-scheduling & posting content across multiple channels

• Jasper AI, ChatGPT & other AI tools for content planning, research & creation – my Jasper referral link snags you a free trial
• Descript & other podcasting tools that automatically remove filler words

Step #3) Create a repeatable blogging schedule

This schedule should be based on your unique blog business goals. Here is how I create my monthly blogging schedule:

• Break up my month into weekly “sprints”
• Have a “promo” focus for each month

Just remember, your schedule might look a little different just based on how you run your blogging business, but here is my personal blogging schedule template:

• Week 1) Content & Outreach – this includes focusing on tasks like writing blog posts, reaching out to potential brand partners or other bloggers to collaborate, etc
• Week 2) Promotional Planning – we’ll come back to this one
• Week 3) Travel Blog Prosperity – as in, getting everything ready for the next month in my membership, such as the new course that goes live, scheduling the live calls, etc.
• Week 4) Overflow – finishing anything I didn’t get to earlier in the month

Now let’s dive deeper into the Promotional Planning week. This is one of the most important steps in creating a blogging schedule that is also profitable.

In the back of my planner, I keep a sort of key. It’s a piece of scrap paper with every month of the year listed with one big focus listed for each.

These focuses are things that will help me grow my traffic and income – like:

• product launches
• creating new opt-in freebies like resource libraries and quizzes
• hosting community events to grow my email list like free challenges
• taking part in free bundles and summits
• and more

If you haven’t updated your content in a while, you might also focus on that for a month to boost your traffic.

Or you might implement a new keyword research strategy — like doing competitor research.

You might also focus on new ways to promote your affiliate links.

Think about your blogging business and what can help you grow your traffic and income and create an annual Promotional Planning plan. Because remember, creating a blog schedule is knowing more than when you’ll post!

Work in batches & time block to streamline your blogging schedule

Now to make this step even more effective, I recommend that you weave working in batches and time blocking into your repeatable blog schedule.

Batching refers to grouping similar tasks to get into a flow state and work more efficiently.

For example, when it comes to my podcast workflow, I don’t script an episode, then record it, then edit it, then write a blog post for it, etc. Instead, I script all of my episodes at once, then I record all at once, then I edit all at once. This helps me streamline my workflow and be more productive.

Time blocking refers to scheduling similar tasks into timeslots that are visually blocked off on your calendar. This way, you don’t end up spending all day on a task. Instead, you’ve allotted a specific amount of time to efficiently complete a task.

Asana has an excellent resource explaining how to implement time blocking.

Blogging workflow recap & action plan

1. Audit your current tasks and projects to cut and combine where possible
2. With the remaining tasks, consider how you can automate and streamline your to save time — including with helpful blogging tools
3. Create a repeatable blogger schedule for yourself, and consider how you can work in batches and time block to be more efficient
4. Schedule your workflow into your blogging calendar or organizer of choice — i.e. paper planner, digital time management tool like Asana or Trello, etc.

Alright now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to create a system for staying organized as a blogger. Additionally, I hope you found seeing a blogging schedule example from my business helpful.

Before you go, don’t forget to grab access to the free travel blogging resource library. There are a ton of resources in there on growing your community and increasing your blogging profits.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time businesses.

Happy blogging!

Be A Guest On The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast

If you have actionable strategies to share to help bloggers grow their traffic, community, and income, as well as create profitable and healthy online businesses, I’d love to hear from you!

Note that interview episodes will also be livestreamed on YouTube, so guests need to be comfortable on camera and should have access to headphones, a microphone (or headphones with a microphone), a strong internet connection, and nice lighting (such as studio lighting or a room where you can sit in front of a window).

Please click here to fill out the podcast guest application form.

Stay In The Loop

Want to get notified by email when new episodes publish? Click here to join the podcast mailing list.

You can also use the hashtag #TPTBPodcast to share comments, takeaways, and questions about the episode. I’ll be monitoring the hashtag and joining in on the conversation too!

Subscribe + Review (To Win A Prize!)

Love learning new blogging strategies to help grow your website traffic, community, and income?

Click here to subscribe on iTunes to be notified when new episodes publish.

I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d leave a review right here and let me know your favorite part of the episode or a takeaway you walked away with. By leaving a review, you help the show be seen by more people, helping the episodes to have a greater impact.

Bonus:

Each month, I’ll be choosing one reviewer at random to win a FREE seat inside one of my travel blogging courses.

Winners can choose from:

• How To Grow Your Blogging Income Through Facebook Ads
• How To Land Paid Press Trips As A Travel Blogger
• How To Make Money (Fast) With Affiliate Marketing
• How To Start A Tour Company In Your Own Backyard
• How To Start A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money
• Build Your Blogging Profit Plan Masterclass

Winners will be chosen at random from the reviews and will be notified via email, so make sure to send me — jessie (at) jessieonajourney dot) com — your email address so I have it. 

Create A Blog Schedule With These Helpful Past Episodes:

How To Improve Your Mindset For Success In 3 Steps

How To Map Out & Crush Your Blogging Goals

How To Create A Travel Blog Business Plan

How Niching Down Can Help You Grow & Monetize Your Blog

How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing As A Travel Blogger

How To Grow Your Email List (For Free) As A Blogger

Best Digital Products To Sell Online As A Blogger

How Long Does It Take To Make Money Blogging (One Year Or Less)

Best Travel Blogging Courses For Taking Your Blog Full Time (Free & Premium)

Click here for all profitable blogging podcast episodes.

What are your top tips for creating an organized blogging schedule?

Interested in learning powerful Amazon affiliate marketing tips and tricks?

Well, you’re in luck, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be going over how to make money as an Amazon affiliate – creative strategies included!

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand:

• Why you should join the Amazon Associates affiliate program
• How to create an effective affiliate marketing content strategy
• Amazon affiliate best practices for seeing success
• Advanced strategies for increasing your Amazon affiliate income as a blogger
• Mistakes to avoid if you want to see success with the Amazon affiliate program
• And more!

In short, you’ll snag loads of ideas for monetizing your blog with Amazon affiliate products!

Amazon Affiliate Marketing Tips [Podcast Episode Audio]

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Amazon Music

Click here to listen on TuneIn

Free Travel Blogger Resource Library

To help you really jumpstart your blogging success, I’ve added 50+ blogging resources like printables, video tutorials, and workbooks into a FREE resource library for travel bloggers.

These resources are meant to help you grow your traffic, community, and income faster and with less overwhelm!

See Amazon Affiliate Marketing Success With These Helpful Tools:

LTK. Formerly known as LIKEtoKNOW.it, this platform allows influencers, bloggers, and content creators to monetize their content by linking to products they recommend through affiliate marketing. It also offers a workaround for adding Amazon links to emails.

Online Broken Link Checker. This free tool can help you locate and update broken links, including broken Amazon affiliate links!

Keysearch (snag 20% off with code JESSIEONAJOURNEY). When trying to optimize your affiliate posts to rank in Google, Keysearch can help you do your important keyword research. This budget-friendly yet robust tool helps me consistently rank my content in the top of organic search results!

Is Amazon Affiliate Marketing Profitable? [Episode Transcript]

The following is a summary of the podcast episode sharing Amazon affiliate marketing tips, with paraphrased responses. For the full strategy on how to make money with the Amazon affiliate program, make sure to listen to the audio version of the podcast above.

There are many ways to monetize a travel blog, though one of the first revenue streams creators typically implement is affiliate marketing. And one of the most popular affiliate programs to join is Amazon Associates.

Of course, it takes more than simply joining Amazon’s affiliate program to actually earn money – which is why I’m so excited to be chatting with today’s guest, Alexandra Jimenez of Travel Fashion Girl.

Alex has built a 7-figure blogging business, with the majority of her income coming from affiliate marketing. In this episode, she’ll be sharing her best tips on how to see success as an Amazon affiliate.

Free travel blogger resource library

But first, before we go over how to do affiliate marketing on Amazon, I want to share my free Travel Blogger Resource Library.

Inside you’ll snag access to 55+ resources from cheat sheets to workbooks to workshops to video tutorials that can help truly turn your blog into a profitable business – including a Crafting Profitable Affiliate Posts Workbook.

I’m all about implementation and I really want to make sure you don’t just listen to the episode and forget about it, but that you actually use what I share to make your blogging life easier. Feel free to even pause this episode to go grab those resources.

You back? Then let’s dive into how to see success with affiliate marketing through Amazon!

1) Thank you so much for taking the time to share your tips! To start, can you tell us more about yourself, your blog, and how you got into affiliate marketing?

Absolutely, I had the pleasure of launching Travel Fashion Girl in 2012.

The essence of Travel Fashion Girl is to guide female travelers on how to pack light, regardless if they’re planning on using a carry-on or checking a bag. It’s all about the nitty-gritty of packing: what to pack, and what to wear during their travels.

Just like everyone else, initially, I had the pervasive question: how does one make money from blogging?

The advice I stumbled upon was a bitter pill to swallow at the moment – “Create amazing content and they will come.”

Despite finding it slightly frustrating, I took it to heart and focused on generating a lot of valuable content.

Fast forward 6 months, and I was fortunate to have a mentor who shed light on a revenue-generating path – affiliate marketing. He suggested that I could earn by linking to the items I was referring to in my content.

Initially, I was discussing various products in my posts without realizing that I could monetize these mentions through affiliate links. But once I had this insight, I started embedding affiliate links to products, and that decision was a turning point.

Given the product-focused nature of my blog, affiliate marketing dovetailed nicely with my content, and quickly became a significant source of revenue.

2) So let’s start with the basics. Why should bloggers join Amazon’s affiliate program? And is the program right for everyone?

Let’s start with a little Amazon affiliate marketing for beginners lesson. Joining Amazon’s affiliate program is a no-brainer for bloggers and content creators, primarily because of Amazon’s universal appeal.

Almost everyone shops on Amazon, making it a logical choice to link to this popular retailer through the Amazon Associates Program and earn revenue from it.

Amazon is popular

One of the top reasons why Amazon Associates stands out as a lucrative revenue source is the sheer volume of traffic Amazon receives. It’s arguably the number one retailer that people trust and prefer, thanks to perks like next-day shipping, which comes in handy, especially for last-minute shopping before travels.

Amazon offers revenue-boosting opportunities

Additionally, Amazon’s affiliate program offers a distinctive way of earning revenue. When you recommend a product, say a backpack or a suitcase, and someone clicks on your link to buy it, Amazon’s current policy allows you to earn revenue on the entire cart of purchases, not just the item you linked.

This means if someone goes to Amazon through your link, adds a suitcase to their cart, and proceeds to check out with an array of other products – be it other travel accessories, groceries, or even a sofa – you get commission on the entire shopping cart.

Even if your article discusses lower-priced items like travel adapters, but a visitor makes larger purchases, the Amazon affiliate commission is on the whole cart. This aspect alone highlights the immense earning potential associated with Amazon’s shopping cart model.

3) What types of Amazon products can you earn affiliate income from? And is there a way to choose which would be best to promote to your specific audience?

Essentially, you can link to anything and everything sold on Amazon. Interestingly, Amazon has varying commission rates depending on the category of the products linked.

For instance, electronics and clothing have different commission rates. Upon signing up for the Amazon affiliate program, you can review your commission table earnings, which can vary from person to person.

But, how to decide what Amazon products to link to?

One of my top Amazon affiliate marketing tips is to start with what you use and love. Sharing your personal favorites is an authentic way to engage your audience.

For instance, during my travels, my Osprey Farpoint backpack was my go-to companion. I wrote a review sharing my love for it and linked to Amazon where my readers could purchase it.

There’s an immense advantage in promoting products you have a personal connection with. It not only builds a revenue strategy but a blog brand strategy.

Building trust with your audience increases affiliate clicks

Some bloggers may focus on SEO-worthy items or those perceived to bring in more money, but this approach can be quite competitive and less personal. Instead, sharing your unique preferences or needs with your audience creates a distinctive space amidst the commonality, and that’s where the real connection happens.

For example, despite the shift in purchasing behavior during the pandemic, my audience continued to trust my recommendations. This trust stems from an authentic sharing of products that resonate with me, whether it’s a specific brand of contact lens cases for travelers or cookware for those who enjoy cooking at Airbnbs.

The overarching idea is to share what genuinely appeals to you, not what you think should appeal to others or what appears on every other packing list.

This personalized approach not only helps in standing out but cultivates a trusting audience who are more likely to follow through on your recommendations, both now and in the future.

4) When sharing personal Amazon product recommendations, how do you make it clear you’re being genuine and authentic, even when using an affiliate link?

Authenticity is my cornerstone when it comes to sharing product recommendations, especially within the framework of affiliate marketing. A significant part of maintaining this authenticity is owning and using the products I endorse.

I don’t usually work with brands for sponsorship, and there’s a reason behind it.

Let’s take Osprey, a brand I adore, as an example. My enthusiasm for Osprey backpacks was so palpable on my blog that other bloggers reached out for a supposed sponsorship contact. But, in reality, it was just my genuine love for the brand shining through.

This love for the products I recommend isn’t manufactured or paid for, which is why I shy away from brand sponsorships.

If a brand sends me a product and it doesn’t resonate with my values or expectations, I prefer sending it back rather than forcing a positive review. This way, I don’t feel obliged to write a review that doesn’t echo my true experience with the product.

I’ve found that purchasing products personally for review is a strategy that aligns well with my values.

For instance, during sale events like Prime Day or the Nordstrom Sale, I buy products that catch my eye.

This approach not only ensures authenticity but also affords me a practical insight into the product’s value. There’s no obligation to write a review, and when I do, it’s based on my real, personal experience, which my audience appreciates.

Sharing a unique perspective is paramount.

Even if another blogger and I are using the same product, our rationale and experiences might be very different. I ensure my content shares my unique rationale and experience which not only enriches the narrative but also underscores the authenticity of my recommendations.

5) Getting more into strategy, I know you use an “affiliate content trifecta” method to promote your affiliate links. Can you explain this?

This is one of the most important parts of my Amazon affiliate marketing strategy!

The concept of the “affiliate content trifecta” emerged from a pressing need to adapt during the challenging times in 2020, especially when the travel sector took a hard hit.

My strategy initially was heavily dependent on my blog, Travel Fashion Girl, which featured over 2000 blog posts, each optimized for monetization and SEO; however, 2020 underlined the importance of having an engaged audience which led to a more audience-centric approach.

The fundamental shift was recognizing that the audience isn’t just on the blog; they’re interacting on various platforms like Facebook and engaging through newsletters.

I managed a robust Facebook community of over 100,000 members before it was shut down. As I looked at the organic interactions between members, I saw that my audience sought more than just travel product tips; they were interested in a wider spectrum of product advice that came from a trusted source, and that was me.

The trifecta unfolds through three steps: content creation based on audience queries, adaptation of this content across different platforms, and promoting affiliate links through these channels in a manner that resonates with the respective audience on each platform.

As we’re diving deep into Amazon affiliate marketing tips, let me expand on each here:

Content Creation: In terms of Amazon affiliate marketing ideas for content, my strategy begins with looking at direct queries or discussions within the community, be it on Facebook or via emails.

For instance, if someone inquires about packing tips for Bali, that’s a cue for a blog post that not only addresses the query but is also optimized for SEO using tools like Ahrefs and Keysearch.

Content Adaptation: Once the blog post is crafted, the content is then tweaked to suit the conversational tone of the Facebook community. The same core content is also rephrased in a more personal tone for the newsletter audience.

This adaptation ensures the content feels native to each platform, thereby fostering a more authentic connection with each unique audience.

Promoting Affiliate Links: Finally, I add affiliate links. On the blog and Facebook, I can directly link to Amazon; however, newsletters present a challenge since Amazon Associates’ program terms prohibit direct linking.

Luckily, a third-party affiliate program called LTK solves this issue, as you can share the same product links in the newsletter without breaching any terms.

6) Amazon has a few different programs for bloggers looking to earn a commission promoting their products – like Amazon Associates and the Amazon Influencer Program. What is the difference between these programs?

When it comes to the Amazon affiliate program for bloggers and creators who own their own websites, I typically recommend Amazon Associates over the Amazon Influencer Program. To make it clear why, let’s compare the two:

Ownership of Content:

Amazon Associates: This program is something I recommend for bloggers since it empowers us to maintain control over our content, ensuring it stays on our blogs. This way, we keep the traffic and can generate revenue through various channels like ads or direct digital product sales on our site.

Amazon Influencer Program (Amazon Storefront): Conversely, in this setup, our content is hosted on Amazon’s platform, meaning we don’t own or control that content. If there are any changes to the program or if it gets discontinued, we could lose all the content hosted there.

Monetization Potential:

Amazon Associates: By channeling traffic to our blogs, we can monetize that traffic in numerous ways apart from affiliate commissions, such as through display ads or selling ebooks.

Amazon Influencer Program: The revenue potential here is restricted solely to affiliate commissions from Amazon.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization):

Amazon Associates: We have the liberty to optimize our content for SEO, making it more discoverable on search engines, and subsequently driving more traffic to our blogs.

Amazon Influencer Program: The SEO advantages are either non-existent or severely limited as the content is hosted on Amazon’s platform. Plus, we’re essentially driving traffic away from our sites to Amazon.

Revenue Comparison:

I’ve noticed from my experience that the revenue generated through Amazon Associates appears significantly higher compared to the Amazon Influencer Program. For instance, revenue from single links shared on my Facebook group through Amazon Associates far outweighed that from the Amazon Influencer Program.

Data and Tracking:

Amazon Associates has better data and tracking capabilities for each Amazon affiliate link, which can be important for comprehending and optimizing performance.

7) There are a lot of Amazon affiliate marketing tips for beginners out there; but, do you have any advanced strategies for how to make money as an Amazon affiliate?

Absolutely! A few of my best advanced tips for Amazon affiliate marketing include:

Utilize unique tracking IDs: One amazing feature of Amazon Associates is the ability to create unique tracking IDs for each blog post and page, such as a resource page with affiliate links.

This allows for a deeper understanding of buying behaviors associated with different pieces of content – which you can use to better understand what actually works when it comes to increasing your affiliate income. Honestly, the most successful Amazon affiliates look at the data.

Adjust content for trends: By reviewing the data from Amazon Associates, it’s possible to spot trends in audience preferences. This is one of the most important Amazon affiliate marketing tips to understand.

For example, despite frequent mentions of Osprey, a one-time mention of Samsonite led to significant purchases. This kind of trend spotting prompts further exploration and content creation around products or brands that resonate with the audience.

Review popular product models: The data also highlights popular product models, enabling adjustments in content to better align with audience preferences.

For instance, when I noticed a different model of an Osprey backpack being purchased, I created a new review of that model – which led to an increase in engagement and affiliate earnings.

Pay attention to color preferences: By noticing color preferences among products, it’s possible to align the visuals on the blog with the colors that are being purchased more. This small adjustment can make the content more appealing and relatable to the audience.

8) Are there any ways to use the Amazon affiliate program to grow your relationship with individual brands?

The Amazon Affiliate program doesn’t offer a direct way to grow relationships with individual brands, especially as the brands often don’t get access to data regarding who is driving the sales for their products on Amazon.

However, there are some workarounds in terms of using your Amazon affiliate status to grow relationships, like:

Leverage sales data for brand outreach: By analyzing your sales data from Amazon Associates, you can see which products or brands are popular among your audience. From there, you could reach out to the brands you do well with to demonstrate your influence and propose collaborative opportunities.

Do outreach based on popular items: Looking at the data, if you notice certain items like power adapters are selling well, it can prompt you to reach out to relevant brands, such as Anker, to explore partnership opportunities. This proactive outreach, backed by data, could open doors for product reviews, sponsored posts, or other collaborative projects.

Utilize alternative affiliate platforms for direct brand relationships. Platforms like Avantlink and ShareASale have structures in place where each brand has a representative you can interact with and explore partnership opportunities. If they see you doing well, they might even reach out to you to explore collaboration ideas.

Leverage brand-specific affiliate programs: Brands often have their own affiliate programs which can be found either through a simple Google search or by checking the brand’s official website. With these, you’ll have direct access to the brand to build a deeper relationship.

9) What are the biggest mistakes you see bloggers who are trying to increase their Amazon affiliate income make?

While we’ve gone over some of my top Amazon affiliate program tips, here are some of the top mistakes I see bloggers make when trying to increase their Amazon affiliate income:

Lack of product linking: By not providing links to the products and services you mention in your content, you miss the chance to earn affiliate income and also risk frustrating readers who are keen on following your recommendations.

Ignoring audience curiosity: Bloggers often underestimate their audience’s curiosity about the products and services they use. When followers express interest in your choices, such as airlines, booking websites, or even the packing tools used, it’s an indication of an opportunity to include affiliate links.

Misunderstanding of audience skill level: Often bloggers forget that not every reader possesses the same level of knowledge or expertise in a particular field.

For example, a cooking blogger might overlook linking to a specific type of pan assuming their audience knows what it is, while in reality, some readers might be unfamiliar with it and would appreciate a link to purchase it.

Another example: distinguishing between a backpack and a day pack may seem trivial to a travel blogger, but it might not be for a reader new to traveling.

Inadequate explanation and recommendations: Bloggers sometimes fall short in explaining why they prefer certain products or services, and where to get them. Providing a thorough explanation and linking to the products or services can significantly enhance the user experience and potentially increase affiliate income.

Not updating links: Finally, one of the most important Amazon affiliate marketing tips is to make sure your links actually work. In instances where a product is no longer available, bloggers often forget to link to similar items. It’s a missed opportunity as readers might be interested in purchasing similar alternatives even if the exact product is unavailable.

10) Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! Before we sign off, can you let everyone know where they can find you?

• Travel Fashion Girl website
• Women’s Travel Fest
• Compass Rose Packing Cubes

Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode sharing Amazon affiliate marketing tips. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to start promoting your Amazon affiliate links in creative ways that can help you increase your travel blogging income.

Before you go, don’t forget to grab access to the free Travel Blogger Resource Library. There are a ton of resources in there on growing your community and increasing your blogging profits.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time businesses.

Happy blogging!

Be A Guest On The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast

If you have actionable strategies to share to help bloggers grow their traffic, community, and income, as well as create profitable and healthy online businesses, I’d love to hear from you!

Note that interview episodes will also be livestreamed on YouTube, so guests need to be comfortable on camera and should have access to headphones, a microphone (or headphones with a microphone), a strong internet connection, and nice lighting (such as studio lighting or a room where you can sit in front of a window).

Please click here to fill out the podcast guest application form.

Stay In The Loop

Do you want to get notified when new episodes publish?

Interested in hearing about opportunities to join livestreamed podcast interviews so you can engage, ask questions, and turn your blog into a profitable business more easily?

Then make sure to opt-in for podcast email notifications sent to your inbox!

You can do that by clicking here.

Subscribe + Review (To Win A Prize!)

Love learning new blogging strategies to help grow your website traffic, community, and income?

Click here to subscribe on iTunes to be notified when new episodes publish.

I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d leave a review right here and let me know your favorite part of the episode or a takeaway you walked away with. By leaving a review, you help the show be seen by more people, helping the episodes to have a greater impact.

Bonus:

Each month, I’ll be choosing one reviewer at random to win a FREE seat inside one of my travel blogging courses.

Winners can choose from:

• How To Grow Your Blogging Income Through Facebook Ads
• How To Land Paid Press Trips As A Travel Blogger
• How To Make Money (Fast) With Affiliate Marketing
• How To Start A Tour Company In Your Own Backyard
• How To Start A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money
• Build Your Blogging Profit Plan Masterclass

Winners will be chosen at random from the reviews and will be notified via email, so make sure to send me — jessie (at) jessieonajourney dot) com — your email address so I have it. 

#TPTBPodcast

The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast is a podcast for bloggers wanting to increase their smart passive income, grow their communities, and monetize their websites.

Have a question about one of the strategies explained in the show?

Do you want to share a takeaway with your community?

Please share on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TPTBPodcast.

This not only allows you to interact with the community, but I’ll also be monitoring and adding to the conversation to answer your questions and connect with you, too!

Master Affiliate Marketing With These Helpful Past Episodes:

How To See Success With Affiliate Marketing For Travel Bloggers

15 Creative Ways To Promote Affiliate Links As A Blogger

How To Create A Resources Page That Grows Your Affiliate Income

How To Use White Label Affiliate Programs To Monetize Your Blog

How Niching Down Can Help You Grow & Monetize Your Blog

How To Find Niche Keywords By Doing Competitor Research

How To Reach Your Blogging Goals Faster With Outreach Days

How To Update Website Content For Increased Traffic

How To Plan Out A Year Of Content In One Week

Click here for all profitable blogging podcast episodes.

What tips would you add to this list of Amazon affiliate marketing tips?

Interested in learning how to validate an online course idea?

Well, you’re in luck, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be going over 6 effective course validation ideas that can help you determine if your audience truly wants the online course you plan to create.

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand how to:

• Test and validate your online course idea
• Grow a targeted email list of subscribers to market your course to
• Increase online course sales even when you’re away from your laptop
• Guarantee people will purchase your course before you create it
• And more!

In short, if you’re not sure if people will be interested in your online course idea, this episode can help you ensure they will be—so that you don’t waste your time building a course nobody purchases.

How To Validate An Online Course Idea [Podcast Episode Audio]

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Amazon Music

Click here to listen on TuneIn

Create An Online Course With Teachable (Bonus Included!)

This episode is sponsored by Teachable, a platform that helps you create online courses, coaching products, and digital downloads. They’re also the online course platform I’ve been using for the last 6 years!

When you’re a blogger, you’re always looking for new ways to monetize—and Teachable offers the perfect solution. With Teachable, you can create and sell online courses, coaching products, and digital downloads.

Their no-code platform is easy to use and gives you the best of it all: high-quality learning experiences for your audience, flexibility to get paid on your terms, and the power to grow your earning potential.

And if you’ve never considered creating an online course or you’re not sure where to start, try out Teachable’s AI Curriculum Generator. All you need to do is put in the title and a brief description of your course, and in seconds, it gives you back a full course outline. You can re-order or edit it as you see fit, or start building out your lessons immediately.

Bonus: To get started, go to teachable.com/ai-hub to sign up for free to check out the platform. If you want to take advantage of their advanced features, use promo code JESSIEFESTA2023 to get a month free of the Pro Plan.

Free Travel Blogger Resource Library

To help you really jumpstart your blogging success, I’ve added 55+ blogging resources like printables, video tutorials, and workbooks into a FREE resource library for travel bloggers.

These resources are meant to help you grow your traffic, community, and income faster and with less overwhelm!

See Course Creation Success With These Helpful Tools:

Teachable. This is my digital course creation platform of choice. One neat feature is their AI Curriculum Generator, which can help you quickly create an outline for your online course and start building it out. Click to try it for free, and if you want advanced features use code JESSIEFESTA2023 for 1 free month of their Pro Plan.

Free Course Pricing Calculator. This handy tool from Teachable can help you determine how much to charge for your online course — something important to consider before you validate an online course idea.

ConvertKit. Most of your online course marketing will be done via email, so it’s important to have a feature-rich and user-friendly email marketing platform – like ConvertKit. My affiliate link gets you a 30-day free trial — no credit card required! Alternatively, you can join their free plan here.

Validating Your Online Course Topic [Episode Transcript]

One popular type of digital product for bloggers to create and sell is an online course. We’re already teaching about a topic through our blogs, so it makes sense to take that knowledge sharing one step further and package it into a more premium educational product like a digital course.

Alternatively, you may have a certain content creation skill you’re known for — like growing your blog traffic, writing captivating stories, or taking amazing drone footage — that you might choose to create a course around.

While creating an online course can be an exciting opportunity to make money by sharing our gifts with the world, it also comes with some fears — like what if nobody buys?

If you’re nodding along then you’re in luck, as in this episode we’ll be going over a number of ways that you can actually validate your course idea before creating it.

Free AI course curriculum generator

But first, before we discuss how to create profitable online courses by validating our ideas, I want to remind you to grab your bonus gift from Teachable.

Teachable is the course creation platform I’ve used for years — though you can also sell coaching programs and digital downloads too.

Using their platform, you can use all types of content to create your course, and they even host your videos. Some of my other favorite features include:

• The ability to create an affiliate program to help boost course sales
• Analytics and reporting to help you better optimize course content
• Flexible payment options like Buy Now, Pay Later as well as recurring payments (which I use for my membership)
• Automated tax filing to save time and stress
• Built-in AI tools to help with writing lessons, creating content summaries, making quizzes, and outlining courses
• Automatic subtitles on video workshops
• And more!

Get started quickly with their AI Curriculum Generator at teachable.com/ai-hub. You can try it as well as the platform for free. If you’d like advanced features, use promo code JESSIEFESTA2023 for a free month of Teachable’s Pro Plan.

Free resource library for creators

Additionally, make sure to grab my free Travel Blogger Resource Library.

Inside you’ll snag access to 55+ resources from cheat sheets to workbooks to workshops to video tutorials that can help truly turn your blog into a profitable business – including resources to help you create a profitable online course.

I’m all about implementation and I really want to make sure you don’t just listen to the episode and forget about it, but that you actually use what I share to make your blogging life easier. Feel free to even pause this episode to go grab those resources.

You back? Then let’s dive in!

Course validation strategy #1: Listen to your audience

This tactic is all about listening to the needs of your audience and better understanding what they want from you. This can be helpful whether you’re creating a digital product, an opt-in freebie, or even blog and social media content.

Personally, I like to keep a spreadsheet of all the questions I get asked via email, DM, Instagram comments — anywhere I interact with my audience.

Then when I see the same question coming up over and over again, I know it’s a really important one to address — and potentially a good one to create an online course around.

Course validation strategy #2: Ask your audience what they want

If you have an engaged audience, you can also ask them what they’d like to learn from you. You can do this in an email newsletter, an Instagram Story, a Facebook group — wherever you regularly engage with your community.

For this, I recommend giving people a general topic to work with.

For instance, instead of “I’m thinking of creating an online course, what should I create?” you can say something like one of the following:

• I’m thinking about creating a course for solo female travelers. Would you buy this, and what topics and questions would you want addressed?
• I have so many course ideas swirling around in my head but I don’t know what to create first! What is your biggest struggle right now that you wish you had a course to help you overcome?

Course validation strategy #3: Create an opt-in freebie first

An opt-in freebie is a free piece of content meant to help your audience solve some kind of problem or pain point.

So, if you’re thinking about creating an online course to help people take better travel photos, you could create an opt-in freebie that also aims to help people improve their photography skills.

While this doesn’t directly tell you that people would purchase your course, it can provide some validation on the actual course topic.

If lots of people are grabbing your travel photography opt-in, you know they’re interested in honing this skill.

Bonus: You’ll have a targeted list of people to market your course to once it launches!

Course validation strategy #4: Host a free webinar

Like an opt-in freebie, a free workshop or webinar can help validate the course topic. An added benefit of this strategy is people will also get a sense of your teaching style — which can make them want to buy from you.

This is also why many people host a free live webinar as part of their course launch strategy, with the webinar segueing into a pitch for the course, often at a discount or with special bonuses to make the offer more enticing.

And if it goes well, you can also turn your live webinar into an evergreen offering that is available all the time to make course sales on autopilot.

If hosting a live webinar using webinar software or in a Zoom room seems intimidating, you can always start by teaching live on your favorite social media channel, like Instagram or TikTok.

Course validation strategy #5: Host a paid workshop

This kicks the free webinar strategy up a notch as you’re not only validating your course topic but also that people would pay money to learn about it.

Just keep in mind that when people spend money on something they expect real value, so make sure to deliver it.

In fact, aim to make people feel like they got even more than they paid, which can help build that know, like, and trust factor with your audience and help turn them into repeat customers in the future.

Course validation strategy #6: Presell your online course

In my opinion, this is the very best way to validate your online course idea. It entails actually collecting payment before your course launches — so you know beforehand if it’s truly something people want.

Now I know some of you may be thinking, “How do you sell something you haven’t created yet?”

You’ll definitely want to have your course mapped out so that you can sell the idea and the transformation. People do need to know what they’re buying, meaning you need to know what you’re selling.

Plus, you’ll typically want to create a sales page to share with your audience so that they can sign up.

However, what you can do is teach each module live, let’s say once a week.

From there, you can create the new content week by week and take student feedback into account. This allows you to add even more value to your course, as you’ll truly be addressing the problems and pain points of your students – vs guessing what those are beforehand.

Another benefit? Teaching live also allows you to charge more for your course, as this is a premium course asset. If you’re not sure what to charge, Teachable offers a handy free course pricing calculator.

Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to validate your online course idea and start monetizing your blog with this powerful digital product type.

I’d also like to thank our sponsor one last time, Teachable, for helping to make this episode possible. Remember, you can go to teachable.com/ai-hub and get a month of Teachable’s Pro Plan for free with the promo code JESSIEFESTA2023.

Also, don’t forget to grab access to the free Travel Blogger Resource Library. There are a ton of resources in there on growing your community and increasing your blogging profits.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time businesses.

Happy blogging!

Be A Guest On The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast

If you have actionable strategies to share to help bloggers grow their traffic, community, and income, as well as create profitable and healthy online businesses, I’d love to hear from you!

Note that interview episodes will also be livestreamed on YouTube, so guests need to be comfortable on camera and should have access to headphones, a microphone (or headphones with a microphone), a strong internet connection, and nice lighting (such as studio lighting or a room where you can sit in front of a window).

Please click here to fill out the podcast guest application form.

Stay In The Loop

Do you want to get notified when new episodes publish?

Interested in hearing about opportunities to join livestreamed podcast interviews so you can engage, ask questions, and turn your blog into a profitable business more easily?

Then make sure to opt-in for podcast email notifications sent to your inbox!

You can do that by clicking here.

Subscribe + Review (To Win A Prize!)

Love learning new blogging strategies to help grow your website traffic, community, and income?

Click here to subscribe on iTunes to be notified when new episodes publish.

I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d leave a review right here and let me know your favorite part of the episode or a takeaway you walked away with. By leaving a review, you help the show be seen by more people, helping the episodes to have a greater impact.

Bonus:

Each month, I’ll be choosing one reviewer at random to win a FREE seat inside one of my travel blogging courses.

Winners can choose from:

• How To Grow Your Blogging Income Through Facebook Ads
• How To Land Paid Press Trips As A Travel Blogger
• How To Make Money (Fast) With Affiliate Marketing
• How To Start A Tour Company In Your Own Backyard
• How To Start A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money
• Build Your Blogging Profit Plan Masterclass

Winners will be chosen at random from the reviews and will be notified via email, so make sure to send me — jessie (at) jessieonajourney dot) com — your email address so I have it. 

#TPTBPodcast

The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast is a podcast for bloggers wanting to increase their smart passive income, grow their communities, and monetize their websites.

Have a question about one of the strategies explained in the show?

Do you want to share a takeaway with your community?

Please share on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TPTBPodcast.

This not only allows you to interact with the community, but I’ll also be monitoring and adding to the conversation to answer your questions and connect with you, too!

Master Course Creation With These Helpful Past Episodes:

How To Make Money Travel Blogging With Online Courses

How Niching Down Can Help You Grow & Monetize Your Blog

How To Find Niche Keywords By Doing Competitor Research

How To Reach Your Blogging Goals Faster With Outreach Days

How To Be Comfortable In Front Of A Camera

How To Grow Your Email List (For Free) As A Blogger

Best Digital Products To Sell Online As A Blogger

How Long Does It Take To Make Money Blogging (One Year Or Less)

Best Travel Blogging Courses For Taking Your Blog Full Time (Free & Premium)

Click here for all profitable blogging podcast episodes.

What are your favorite ways to validate a course idea?

Struggling to create content that sells? Tired of publishing social media posts that don’t actually lead to blog business growth?

Well, you’re in luck, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be focusing on how to create content that helps you increase your income!

By the end of this episode, you’ll have an in-depth social media strategy mapped out. More specifically, you’ll learn:

• A step-by-step process for time-saving, captivating content creation on social media
• How to create content that drives sales, affiliate clicks, and email subscribers
• Tips for strategically creating content that increases sales
• Ideas for repurposing blog articles into social posts
• How to use social media to create genuine connections with your audience
• A few powerful social media post templates that get results
• And more!

In short, you’ll snag a full step-by-step strategy for creating social media content that helps you increase your income.

How To Create Content That Sells & Converts [Podcast Episode Audio]

…or click the links below to tune in on your preferred audio platform:

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Amazon Music

Click here to listen on TuneIn

Invite: How To Make Money As A Travel Blogger [Free Workshop]

While we’re on the topic of blog monetization, I’d love to invite you to my free workshop: 10 Powerful Ways To Make Money Travel Blogging.

During the 60-minute on-demand workshop, you’ll learn:

• Myths related to monetizing a blog (that may be holding you back!)
• Strategies for creating profitable content (so those blog posts, emails & social shares lead to income!)
• Tips for earning recurring passive revenue as a blogger (so your income grows even when you’re away from your laptop!)
• How to create products that you know your audience will buy (so you don’t waste your time!)
• Advice for growing your affiliate income (with a strategy that truly works!)
• And more!

Plus, your free ticket to this actionable workshop also includes a Q&A, limited-time replay, and special bonuses.

Click here to grab your seat in the free travel blog monetization workshop.

Subscribe + Review (To Win A Prize!)

Love learning new blogging strategies to help grow your website traffic, community, and income?

Click here to subscribe on iTunes to be notified when new episodes publish.

As this is a new podcast, I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d leave a review right here and let me know your favorite part of the episode or a takeaway you walked away with. By leaving a review, you help the show be seen by more people, helping the episodes to have a greater impact.

Bonus:

Each month, I’ll be choosing one reviewer at random to win a FREE seat inside one of my travel blogging courses.

Winners can choose from:

• How To Grow Your Blogging Income Through Facebook Ads
• How To Land Paid Press Trips As A Travel Blogger
• How To Make Money (Fast) With Affiliate Marketing
• How To Start A Tour Company In Your Own Backyard
• How To Start A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money
• Build Your Blogging Profit Plan Masterclass

Winners will be chosen at random from the reviews and will be notified via email. 

How To Create Content That Converts On Social Media [Episode Transcript]

*Note: This is the edited-down and paraphrased version of the episode on how to write content that converts on social media. For the full episode, listen to the audio version linked above.

As travel bloggers, we’re constantly creating new content – typically sharing about our trips with our audience; but, are you also considering how to create content that truly grows your blogging business?

This is exactly what we’ll be discussing today, with a focus on creating content for social media marketing.

And I’m so excited to introduce today’s guest, Hailey Rowe, a Marketing/Sales Consultant, Coach, & Linkedin Lead Generation Service Provider.

Hailey has helped hundreds of clients with creating content that truly helps them market and monetize their businesses, and today she’ll be sharing her best social media tips for bloggers with us.

The goal: that by the end of the episode, you have a step-by-step strategy for creating content that increases your income in place. If you’re curious about how content marketing for sales works, you won’t want to miss it!

Free blog monetization workshop

But first, make sure to also grab access to my 10 Ways To Make Money Travel Blogging workshop.

This free workshop shares 10 powerful strategies for growing your travel blogging income and turning your blog into a wildly profitable business – including affiliate marketing.

Plus, there are bonuses, a Q&A, and a limited-time replay.

So again, feel free to pause this episode to go grab your seat in the free workshop.

You back? Then let’s dive into how to make content that sells and converts on social media!

1) Thank you so much for taking the time to share your content selling tips! To start, can you tell us more about yourself and your business?

I am a marketing and sales strategist and coach, and also a LinkedIn lead gen service provider. Specifically, I help clients grow their visibility with things like collaborations and partnerships. Additionally, I help them grow their clientele.

Often, people have a passion or something they love doing, but they don’t know how to monetize it or market it.

That’s where I come in. I help them find strategies that work for their personality type and their strengths.

One big thing that a lot of my clients do to nurture their audience is create content. So I’m excited to be talking about that today.

2) What does it mean to create content that sells, particularly when speaking to bloggers? And what types of content are we talking about here?

Developing social media content offers a way for your audience to get to know you without you being active with them in person, on the phone, or on a webinar.

You want to have a well-rounded strategy where you are hitting all of the hesitations that they may have about buying your product or service – or clicking your affiliate link, grabbing your opt-in freebie, or doing another call-to-action.

We don’t want to just craft social media posts sharing tips or sharing about our personal lives. Instead, aim to address beliefs, concerns, or objections holding your potential customers back from buying whatever it is you’re selling or taking the action you want them to take.

When it comes to how to create content for social media that addresses these beliefs, concerns, and objections, there are specific types of posts you can use like:

Cool Factor Posts. These are posts that establish you’re credible, that you know what you’re talking about, and show off your expertise in your field. When it comes to social media for bloggers, this is definitely one type of post you’ll want to add to your content plan.

Social Proof Posts. You don’t only need to show that you’re credible, but also that whatever it is you’re offering or selling has brought people results in the past.

Value-Based Posts. This is probably what you’re already doing. You’re already sharing useful content on your blog, and you can repurpose some of the tips you’re sharing there into your social media content.

Storytelling Posts. Maybe you can elaborate on a story that led you to write your current blog that you want to send traffic to, or maybe you can tell a story about the affiliate product you’re marketing and how it worked for you.

If you’re looking for tips for selling products, you can use these types of posts to promote your own offerings too. Note that along with social posts, storytelling emails are also powerful.

Promo Posts. These types of social media posts get straight to the point about what you’re selling. For instance, you might say “Hey guys, I’ve just launched a new digital project. Here is what it is.” These are less common, as you shouldn’t be straight selling to your audience every day.

Engagement Posts. These are meant to increase audience engagement with your social media content. For instance, get your audience to answer a question, share or save your post, or tag someone in it who would relate to what you’re sharing.

These types of posts are really good for growing your audience as they tend to get seen by more people thanks to additional shares as well as the algorithm, which looks at engagement as a signal that the content is valuable.

Objection Busting/Belief Shifting Posts. In these types of social media posts, you’re really helping people to overcome objections – such as objections to the price or believing they won’t actually see results.

Gap Posts. This type of social media content shows an existing gap related to your topic and a possible solution. So sometimes our audience doesn’t even know they need to be educated on a problem that they have, or maybe they kind of feel like they have a problem, but they haven’t been able to articulate it and haven’t been able to see that there’s a possible solution.

In this instance, you might have some educational posts that bring this to light for them. One example social media template is “Have you ever experienced [ISSUE]? Then [PROBLEM] might be the problem!”

3) Do you have any tips for how to write content that sells?

Here’s some advice for how to create great content. Always ask yourself 3 questions:

• What do I want people to know?
• How do I want people to feel?
• What do I want people to do?

If you infuse these questions into your social media content, your posts will naturally improve.

Also, don’t get overwhelmed with all of these different content types. Simply ask yourself, “How can I use a few of these different types of social media posts to get started?”

4) I know you have a framework for creating profitable content. So, can you share your process for developing 30 days of content that sells?

Here is how you can create a month’s worth of content for social media posts that bring results:

Step #1) Choose your content pillars. These are the topics or themes that you want to be known for. I recommend choosing 3, though you can choose a maximum of 5.

Step #2) Break your content pillars down into post ideas. Now let’s move into the ideation phase of our content creation for social media strategy. For each pillar, you want to come up with 10 ideas for social media posts you can share with your audience.

To do this, consider 10 struggles, concerns, or challenges that may be holding people back in relation to each content pillar.

Step #3) Choose your headlines. From this list, choose one headline or prompt that you can give each to make a social post out of it. I encourage you to choose a headline that either has a number, generates curiosity, or shows how to alleviate your audience’s concerns. For instance, “3 ways to make friends while traveling solo” could be a headline.

Step #4) Pinpoint how each social post can help you reach your blogging goals. In this step, you’re choosing a call-to-action for each post. This might mean having them grab your free resource library email opt-in, take a quiz that gets them onto your email list, read a new blog post, watch a new video, click over to a sales page to learn about your product, or something else.

Step #5) Choose how you’ll deliver each post. Finally, for each post, you want to decide the best way to share the content. Maybe you do it as a carousel, a video, a live, a text-based post, or something else. You can also take one idea and create content across platforms for it – which is encouraged so that as many people as possible see your message.

It’s recommended to batch each post type to get into a flow and save time. So create all of your written posts at once, then all of your vertical videos, etc. This is one of my top tips when it comes to social media marketing for bloggers who want to streamline their workflow.

5) What are some examples of opportunity-generating content?

Opportunity-generating content is content that leads to new email subscribers and new leads.

I call these pre-offer posts, as they promote the opt-in freebie you offer your audience before you put your paid offer in front of them. They offer a way to make your content presell your paid offerings.

For each freebie, aim to create 10 different social posts that generate curiosity. Within these posts, highlight different benefits of your freebies and different things they’ll learn. This works to keep your social content fresh, plus different parts of your freebie will resonate with different people.

Note that opportunity-generating social content isn’t just about sharing your opt-in freebie. You could also share things like promoting a giveaway on your blog or creating a bundle giveaway with other content creators where you all add resources to a bundle and promote it as a group.

You also want to think about how you can share these in unique ways across your different social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook, your Facebook group, etc.

Think about your calls to action too. For instance, you might say something like “Comment #TravelHacks to get my free travel hacking cheat sheet.”

6) When you have people leave comment on a social post with a specific hashtag, are you using an AI chatbot to deliver the promised freebie?

While you can definitely use AI Chatbots – like ManyChat, for instance – I find value in personally delivering the freebie to them in the DMs. This allows me to add a personal note.

It’s beneficial to have genuine conversations with your audience on social media. This way, you can also learn more about what they’re looking for and how you can serve them.

7) What is a creative idea for increasing engagement on social media posts?

Consider creating a content series where each post builds on the previous one.

At the end of each post, you can have a cliffhanger like “Stay tuned for tomorrow where I’ll be talking about [TOPIC]. Comment below if you want to be tagged in the post!”

This can help boost your reach and engagement.

8) What’s a step that people often miss when posting on social media?

Here are a few social media mistakes bloggers and entrepreneurs often make:

Acknowledging their audience. Here is a social media tip: When somebody new follows you, send them a thank you note and a welcome message so they know what to expect and that you’re open to hearing their questions.

For instance, let’s say you’re engaging on Instagram. You might say “Thanks for being a part of my Instagram community. I would love to hear more about you.” And then ask an intentional question that either allows you to get to know what they need or invites them to grab your opt-in freebie.

Think about what you could do to make your followers feel noticed and personally engage with them. They’re going to be way more likely to convert as well as read your future posts and all of that if you have developed a more personal relationship with them.

Creating a sustainable schedule. Instead of spreading yourself thin posting every day, start with 2-3 posts per week so that you can get into a groove and find your voice. From there, you can increase your social media posting schedule if needed. This can help you actually enjoy social media and not feel overwhelmed by it.

9) What are some tips for structuring social media posts?

Let’s dive into how to create good content. First of all, you always want to remember that people have an attention span of about 3 seconds, so the most important thing to perfect is your hook or your headline. This is what people see first, and is what is going to stop them in their scroll and make them want to read/watch/listen further.

One area where people often go wrong is in a live video they sit around for 5 minutes waiting for people to join, but then you’ll immediately lose those who tuned in early.

After the hook, you want to agitate the problem or give them a reason to keep reading/watching/listening.

From there, you’ll share the meat of the post. This is where you share the actual tips, lesson, or story that you’re promising in the hook or headline.

Finally, you want to give the call to action.

That is a kind of general order to follow when writing social media posts. There are also loads of other copywriting formulas you can use to structure your posts, a few of which include:

Discrediting Limiting Beliefs. For this social post, you might present the quote someone hears when they’re limiting belief is showing up, or share the limiting belief in some kind of hook. And then from there, you want to discredit the limiting belief with proof. So instead of sharing why this limiting belief isn’t true, consider how you can show it. And then you want to invite your audience to do the call-to-action or engage in some way.

Before After Bridge. This social media copywriting formula weaves in storytelling by having you share your before and after story in relation to your product or niche. You share how you started from the bottom, what challenges you faced, and how you found solutions.

The bridge part of the formula is where you insert your product, an affiliate link, an opt-in freebie, or some kind of offer as a way for people to also overcome a similar challenge.

The AIDA Formula (Attention – Interest – Desire Action).

• Attention = your attention-grabbing hook
• Interest = creating more interest in the post
• Desire = what makes them want to achieve this dream outcome or do your call-to-action
• Action = the call to action

As you can see in all of these social media templates, when it comes to how to create social media content for business, it’s important to include a call to action.

Another tip for structuring your posts is to think about what you already have written in your blog posts and repurpose some of that content. You can also take a piece of long-form content – like a blog post, podcast episode, or YouTube video – and pull out one point to expand on through social media. In fact, a blog post featuring 10 tips can be 10 different social posts.

This can help you create content faster.

10) What are some ideas bloggers can use to grow an audience with this creative content strategy we’ve discussed?

Consider how you can collaborate with others to get in front of each other’s audiences. For example, you might host an Instagram Live with another blogger. When you go live, both of your audiences will be notified, which can help improve the reach of the post.

You might also swap emails promoting each others’ freebies, be guests on each others’ podcasts, share about each others’ product launches, or become affiliates for each other and host webinars for each others’ audiences to promote your products.

Tip: When collaborating, find bloggers who share your audience but who don’t have competing products.

Follow up audience questions and concerns by writing a social media post. So if you sent a welcome message to a new follower and they shared a problem they’re facing, you might create a piece of content to address that and then send it to them.

You could say something like “This post reminded me of our conversation so I wanted to share it with you.”

This is a great way to build deeper connections with your audience and build audience loyalty.

Reach out to potential partners on social media. You can let them know that you’re open to collaborating.

11) How do bloggers measure the success of their content? What Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should they be tracking?

The first thing to define is what you’re trying to accomplish.

• Are you trying to grow traffic to your blog?
• Are you aiming to get email subscribers?
• Are you trying to get people to buy an affiliate product?
• Are you attempting to get people to enroll in a course you created or purchase another product or service from you?
• Something else?

Depending on your social media posting goal, the KPI will be different. It might be email signups, sales, affiliate conversions, or something else.

It’s important to track these KPIs. For instance, if you collaborate with another blogger to swap emails promoting your opt-in freebies, create a tracking link that lets you know how many new subscribers the collaboration brought you. This will help you identify key partners you may want to reach out to again to collaborate with.

12) Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom on creating content that sells! Before we sign off, can you let everyone know where they can find you?

• Website
• Free Content Roadmap
• Instagram

Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to create content for social media that leads to sales and conversions.

Don’t forget to grab access to the free 10 Ways To Make Money Travel Blogging workshop. If you’re looking to monetize your blog, this powerful training can help.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time blogging businesses.

Happy blogging!

Be A Guest On The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast

If you have actionable strategies to share to help bloggers grow their traffic, community, and income, as well as create profitable and healthy online businesses, I’d love to hear from you!

Note that interview episodes will also be livestreamed on YouTube, so guests need to be comfortable on camera and should have access to headphones, a microphone (or headphones with a microphone), a strong internet connection, and nice lighting (such as studio lighting or a room where you can sit in front of a window).

Please click here to fill out the podcast guest application form.

Stay In The Loop

Do you want to get notified when new episodes publish?

Interested in hearing about opportunities to join livestreamed podcast interviews so you can engage, ask questions, and turn your blog into a profitable business more easily?

Then make sure to opt-in for podcast email notifications sent to your inbox!

You can do that by clicking here.

#TPTBPodcast

The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast is a podcast for bloggers wanting content and blog post ideas to nurture their communities and strategies to monetize their websites.

Have a question about one of the strategies explained in the show?

Do you want to share a takeaway with your community?

Please share on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TPTBPodcast.

This not only allows you to interact with the community, but I’ll also be monitoring and adding to the conversation to answer your questions and connect with you, too!

Create Content That Converts With The Help Of These Past Episodes:

How To Enjoy Social Media – Strategy Included

How To Grow Your Travel Blogging Income With A Tripwire Funnel

Create A Challenge That Grows Your Email List & Business Income

How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing As A Blogger

Create A Profitable Automated Email Sequence (With Template!)

How To Create & Monetize A Blog Series

How To Pitch A Brand Collaboration Proposal With Confidence

How To Improve Your Creative Storytelling Skills

How To Be Comfortable In Front Of A Camera

How To Create Your Travel Blog Business Plan

How To Reach Your Blogging Goals Faster With Outreach Days

Do you have any other content creation tips for social media?

How do you create content that sells and converts?

Well, you’re in luck, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be focusing on how to write a resource page that serves your readers and helps you monetize your blog!

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand:

• What a resources page is
• How to write a resource list for your blog
• How to monetize a blog resource page
• Tips for sending traffic to your resource page
• And more!

In short, you’ll snag a full step-by-step strategy for successfully creating a blog resources page that leads to income.

How To Make A Resource Page For Your Blog [Podcast Episode Audio]

…or click the links below to tune in on your preferred audio platform:

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Amazon Music

Click here to listen on TuneIn

Invite: How To Make Money As A Travel Blogger [Free Workshop]

While we’re on the topic of blog monetization, I’d love to invite you to my free workshop: 10 Powerful Ways To Make Money Travel Blogging.

During the 60-minute on-demand workshop, you’ll learn:

• Myths related to monetizing a blog (that may be holding you back!)
• Strategies for creating profitable content (so those blog posts, emails & social shares lead to income!)
• Tips for earning recurring passive revenue as a blogger (so your income grows even when you’re away from your laptop!)
• How to create products that you know your audience will buy (so you don’t waste your time!)
• Advice for growing your affiliate income (with a strategy that truly works!)
• And more!

Plus, your free ticket to this actionable workshop also includes a Q&A, limited-time replay, and special bonuses.

Click here to grab your seat in the free travel blog monetization workshop.

Subscribe + Review (To Win A Prize!)

Love learning new blogging strategies to help grow your website traffic, community, and income?

Click here to subscribe on iTunes to be notified when new episodes publish.

As this is a new podcast, I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d leave a review right here and let me know your favorite part of the episode or a takeaway you walked away with. By leaving a review, you help the show be seen by more people, helping the episodes to have a greater impact.

Bonus:

Each month, I’ll be choosing one reviewer at random to win a FREE seat inside one of my travel blogging courses.

Winners can choose from:

• How To Grow Your Blogging Income Through Facebook Ads
• How To Land Paid Press Trips As A Travel Blogger
• How To Make Money (Fast) With Affiliate Marketing
• How To Start A Tour Company In Your Own Backyard
• How To Start A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money
• Build Your Blogging Profit Plan Masterclass

Winners will be chosen at random from the reviews and will be notified via email. 

How To Make A Blog Resource Page [Episode Transcript]

Having an affiliate marketing strategy is a smart way to increase your income as a travel blogger.

And as I’ve shared in a number of past episodes, there are many different tactics you can use to increase your affiliate revenue – like creating a resources page or recommendations page for your blog.

If this concept is new to you, stay tuned, as I’ll be breaking down how to make a resource page that helps you make money travel blogging.

Free blog monetization workshop

But first, make sure to also grab access to my 10 Ways To Make Money Travel Blogging workshop.

This free workshop shares 10 powerful strategies for growing your travel blogging income and turning your blog into a wildly profitable business – including affiliate marketing.

Plus, there are bonuses, a Q&A, and a limited-time replay.

So again, feel free to pause this episode to go grab your seat in the free workshop.

You back? Then let’s dive in – starting with an explanation of what a blog resource page is.

What is a blog resource page?

Put simply, it’s a page where you let your audience know what your favorite products and brands are.

And the way you can monetize this page is by using affiliate links when you promote these items.

Want a website resources page example? Here is a link to my own Travel Resources Page.

Now, what I want to do now is go step-by-step through how to create a resource page for your blog in the best possible way, so that you can really see success with this.

Let’s start with…

Step #1: Consider what your audience sees you as an expert on

If you want people to click on your blog resources page, people need to see you as an expert on a topic. Basically, they need to want to know what you recommend.

This is why it’s really important to have a clear blog brand – which involves having a defined mission statement where you know who your audience is and how you help them, and that you consistently make this clear through your annual content plan.

So, if your blog is all about helping travel photographers hone their skills, and you’re constantly sharing really helpful tips through your blog posts, emails, and social media shares, people are naturally going to say, “Hey, what camera do you use? What are your favorite lenses? What tools do you use to edit your photos?”

These are the types of items that would work perfectly in a resources page on your blog.

Now if you’re still figuring out your brand, don’t stress out. Just take this as a reminder of the power of having a niche site with a specific mission that you’re creating content around.

Okay, moving on to…

Step #2: Draft a list of products to include

When drafting a product list for a resources page on your website, really think about:

• The products and services you use and love in relation to your blog’s main topic
• The products and services that would benefit your audience
• The questions your audience asks you

For instance, as someone who blogs about solo female travel, I’m constantly getting asked for travel safety gear recommendations – meaning my resources page includes items like my favorite pickpocket-proof clothing and the personal alarm that I use.

Once you draft your product list, you can move on to…

Step #3: Do some keyword research

Now you don’t have to do keyword research – because you’ll be placing this page in a high visibility spot on your blog where readers will naturally see it anyway; however, doing keyword research can help you grow your traffic and get eyes on your resource page beyond your regular readers.

So, for instance, instead of simply titling it a Travel Resources Page, you might opt for a more specific, long-tail keyword. In fact, you might even choose to create a few blog resource pages, each optimized for a different keyword related to your blog’s mission.

For instance, as an adventurous solo female travel blogger, I might have Solo Travel Safety Essentials as one page, Best Solo Camping Gear as another, etc.

Again, you really want to think about your own blog brand and what makes sense for you, and also do a little keyword research to see if breaking these up into a few separate pages makes sense.

Whether you do the resource page as one page or a few, another benefit of doing keyword research is you get to see what questions and concerns people actually have – which can also help you choose what products to promote to help ease these questions and concerns.

Okay, moving on to…

Step #4: Apply to any necessary affiliate programs

Of course, along with helping your audience through your recommendations, another goal with your page is to earn affiliate income. So, make sure to apply to any programs that you’re not yet a part of.

Typically when you apply to an affiliate program, there is a place to leave a note in the application. Here, you might share that you’re a huge fan of their brand, and that you’re hoping to include them in a resources page that you’re creating for your blog.

This can help show that you’re a true fan of the brand and that you’re eager to start promoting them right away.

Next up, it’s time for…

Step #5: Collect visuals for your resources page

While you can simply add links to the page, you can make your blog resources page more enticing by including images.

You may have your own images for some of these products already, though you can also reach out to the brands to see if they have any you can use.

Typically, you’ll reach out via a brand’s press page if they have one. There might also be some visual assets in your affiliate program dashboard if you’re an affiliate for the brand.

You really shouldn’t just take images from a brand’s website, shop, or Amazon store. To protect yourself from potential legal action, it’s best to play it safe and just ask and actually get permission.

Okay, now let’s chat about…

Step #6: Create your blog resources page

What does a resource page look like?

There are actually many different ways to do this, so I recommend spending some time researching other blogger’s resource pages.

Personally I have mine set up in sections separated by topic like Travel Safety, Staying Connected, Travel Photography, etc.

In each section, the products are laid out in rows with three columns each. Each column has a product photo, a short description, and an affiliate link. Actually, I include an affiliate link in both the text (in bold) and the image to help increase clicks.

Note that one of the absolute most important things to include on your blog resources page is an affiliate disclosure at the very top of the page.

By law, you are required to disclose when you use affiliate links, and nobody should be able to click an affiliate link without realizing you have them on the page – which is why it’s imperative to have the disclosure at the top of the page.

So once your page is created, you can then move on to…

Step #7: Link the resources page from your homepage menu

Your homepage is the MVP of your site – as in, the Most Valuable Page. As I’ve shared in past episodes related to SEO, you want to get all of your blog posts no more than 2 clicks from the homepage.

In terms of a resources page, I recommend you link it right in your main menu. And if you have a few niche resource pages, you can simply have a menu item that reads “Resources” with a drop-down showcasing each one individually.

The other benefit is that your readers will see your menu as they read your blog posts. So if they love your content, they can easily find your resources page.

If you’re trying to optimize this page for SEO, you should also spend time growing backlinks to it.

Remember, backlinks help send authority to your important pages, which can help them rank in organic search results.

And finally, let’s discuss the last step in our how to write a resources page strategy…

Step #8: Update your resources page regularly

Taking the time to update older content is a general best practice for all of your blog posts and pages.

A big part of SEO and offering a great user experience is having up-to-date content. This also includes updating broken links.

Make it a habit to check your site for broken links once a quarter. You can use a plugin like Broken Link Checker to do this – I just recommend deleting it after you’re done, as the plugin is quite heavy.

Now before we sign off, I do want to answer a common question about creating a blog resource page, and that is:

Should I just link my Amazon Influencer Storefront?

So for anyone who is wondering “What is an Amazon Influencer Storefront,” Amazon actually has an influencer program where you can create and curate your own storefront.

It’s basically an extension of their regular affiliate program for qualifying creators and influencers, and you’re able to create your own page on Amazon with a URL to showcase the products you recommend to your followers.

It can help you make money with Amazon and it allows you to share this sort of hub with your affiliate links quickly, easily, verbally, and in places where links aren’t possible – like a podcast episode.

Of course, you can do whatever feels right to you and makes sense for your blogging business. If your Amazon Influencer Storefront is a big money maker for you and you’re regularly updating, optimizing, and promoting it, then sure, it might make sense to do that.

But, this can also limit you.

Personally, Amazon affiliate links are not part of my main affiliate strategy. I use them, but I’m way more likely to promote programs that have a higher payout.

Also, many products I use aren’t on Amazon, so for me – and for many other bloggers – it makes sense to create a brand new page that also has the benefit of keeping people on your website longer, vs leaving your website to peruse Amazon.

Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to create a resources page that helps you grow your affiliate income while allowing you to share recommendations with your audience.

Don’t forget to grab access to the free 10 Ways To Make Money Travel Blogging workshop. If you’re looking to monetize your blog, this powerful training can help.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time blogging businesses.

Happy blogging!

Be A Guest On The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast

If you have actionable strategies to share to help bloggers grow their traffic, community, and income, as well as create profitable and healthy online businesses, I’d love to hear from you!

Note that interview episodes will also be livestreamed on YouTube, so guests need to be comfortable on camera and should have access to headphones, a microphone (or headphones with a microphone), a strong internet connection, and nice lighting (such as studio lighting or a room where you can sit in front of a window).

Please click here to fill out the podcast guest application form.

Stay In The Loop

Do you want to get notified when new episodes publish?

Interested in hearing about opportunities to join livestreamed podcast interviews so you can engage, ask questions, and turn your blog into a profitable business more easily?

Then make sure to opt-in for podcast email notifications sent to your inbox!

You can do that by clicking here.

#TPTBPodcast

The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast is a podcast for bloggers wanting content and blog post ideas to nurture their communities and strategies to monetize their websites.

Have a question about one of the strategies explained in the show?

Do you want to share a takeaway with your community?

Please share on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TPTBPodcast.

This not only allows you to interact with the community, but I’ll also be monitoring and adding to the conversation to answer your questions and connect with you, too!

Grow & Monetize Your Blog With These Helpful Past Episodes:

How To Grow Your Travel Blogging Income With A Tripwire Funnel

Create A Challenge That Grows Your Email List & Business Income

How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing As A Blogger

Monetize Your Email List With 4 Smart Strategies

Create A Profitable Automated Email Sequence (With Template!)

Press Trips 101: How To Get Paid To Travel As A Blogger

How To Create & Monetize A Blog Series

How To Grow Your Blog Fast With 12 Clever Strategies

How To Create A Gift Guide For Your Blog

How To Host & Promote Your Blog Giveaway

How To Write Better Emails With Email Storytelling

Do you have any other tips on how to make a resource page for a blog?

Interested in learning how to grow your email list fast?

Well, you’re in luck, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be focusing on how to get more email subscribers quickly by hosting a free bundle giveaway.

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand:

• What a free bundle giveaway is
• How to grow your email list for free using a free bundle
• Tips for implementing this strategy so that you get new subscribers quickly
• How to pitch other bloggers to take part in the bundle — outreach template included
• And more!

In short, you’ll have a powerful email marketing strategy that you can implement in your own blogging business!

How To Grow Your Email List Fast With A Free Bundle Giveaway [Podcast Episode Audio]

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Amazon Music

Click here to listen on TuneIn

Bonus: How To Grow Your Blog Fast [Video]

Want to learn ways to grow your blog quickly — beyond hosting a free bundle giveaway?

The above video shares 14 ideas quick-win strategies for increasing your blog’s traffic, community, and income.

By the way, I regularly post YouTube videos sharing monetization strategies for travel bloggers, so make sure to subscribe if you’d like to be notified when these publish!

Free Travel Blogger Resource Library

To help you really jumpstart your blogging success, I’ve added 50+ blogging resources like printables, video tutorials, and workbooks into a FREE resource library for travel bloggers.

These resources are meant to help you grow your traffic, community, and income faster and with less overwhelm!

Subscribe + Review (To Win A Prize!)

Love learning new blogging strategies to help grow your website traffic, community, and income?

Click here to subscribe on iTunes to be notified when new episodes publish.

I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d leave a review right here and let me know your favorite part of the episode or a takeaway you walked away with. By leaving a review, you help the show be seen by more people, helping the episodes to have a greater impact.

Bonus:

Each month, I’ll be choosing one reviewer at random to win a FREE seat inside one of my travel blogging courses.

Winners can choose from:

• How To Grow Your Blogging Income Through Facebook Ads
• How To Land Paid Press Trips As A Travel Blogger
• How To Make Money (Fast) With Affiliate Marketing
• How To Start A Tour Company In Your Own Backyard
• How To Start A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money
• Build Your Blogging Profit Plan Masterclass

Winners will be chosen at random from the reviews and will be notified via email, so make sure to send me — jessie (at) jessieonajourney dot) com — your email address so I have it. 

#TPTBPodcast

The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast is a podcast for bloggers wanting to increase their smart passive income, grow their communities, and monetize their websites.

Have a question about one of the strategies explained in the show?

Do you want to share a takeaway with your community?

Please share on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TPTBPodcast.

This not only allows you to interact with the community, but I’ll also be monitoring and adding to the conversation to answer your questions and connect with you, too!

Master Building An Email List Quickly With These Helpful Tools:

Beaver Builder. I personally use both their theme and plugin. The plugin allows you to create beautiful landing pages using a user-friendly drag-and-drop page builder. This is what I like to use to create landing page when hosting free bundle giveaways.

ConvertKit. Of course, an important part of any list-building strategy is having an email marketing platform. Luckily, ConvertKit is feature-rich yet user-friendly and is made by bloggers for bloggers. My affiliate link gets you a 30-day free trial — no credit card required! Alternatively, you can join their free plan here.

Teachable. This is my favorite platform for creating profitable online courses, which you can incorporate into a sales funnel that begins with the opt-in freebie you share through the free bundle in our list-building strategy.

Grow Your Email List Faster With These Helpful Past Episodes:

How To Create Opt-In Freebies To Grow Your Email List

How To Grow Your Email List For Free As A Blogger

Create A Free Challenge That Grows Your Email List & Income

Monetize Your Email List With 4 Smart Strategies

7 Types Of Emails That Can Boost Your Travel Blogging Income

What To Send To Your Email List To Engage Your Community

Create A Profitable Automated Email Sequence (With Template!)

Making Money With Webinars: 10 Do’s + 3 Don’ts

Grow Your Blog Fast: 12 Quick Wins For More Traffic & Income

Click here for all profitable blogging podcast episodes.

How To Increase Your Email Subscribers With A Free Bundle [Episode Transcript]

If you’ve been in my community for a bit, you know that I’m obsessed with list-building. It is one of the main strategies that has really been worth my time and that has really helped me to grow and monetize my business.

I’ve talked in a previous episode about using opt-in freebies as part of your email marketing strategy — as in, free pieces of content you give your audience in exchange for their email — though the tricky part is often getting your freebies in front of new people.

While promoting your freebies on social media and within blog posts as part of your regular content plan is smart, I’ve got another tactic for you that can help you rapidly get your opt-in freebie in front of new eyes.

And that is collaborating with other bloggers to create a free bundle or toolkit. I’ll be detailing how to successfully set this up and promote it step-by-step in this episode.

Free resources for content creators

But first, before we dive into this episode on how to get more newsletter subscribers quickly, I want to direct your attention to the show notes, where I’ve shared a link to my free Travel Blogger Resource Library.

Inside you’ll snag access to 50+ resources from cheat sheets to workbooks to workshops to video tutorials that can help truly turn your blog into a profitable business — including a sample Free Toolkit Collaborator Outreach Template!

I’m all about implementation and I really want to make sure you don’t just listen to the episode and forget about it, but that you actually use what I share to make your blogging life easier.

Feel free to even pause this episode to go grab those resources. You back? Then let’s dive in — starting with going over what exactly this collaborative bundle or toolkit is.

What is a free bundle giveaway?

In short, it’s a collection of high-quality digital resources that help your readers solve a specific problem.

For instance, a few years ago, I collaborated with Jen of Jen on a Jet Plane to create a Make Money Travel Blogging Toolkit that included free workshops, workbooks, cheat sheets, and Lightroom presets from us as well as other bloggers we reached out to.

Everyone involved promoted the toolkit, which helped us all to grow our email lists, as to receive each resource a person had to enter their email address to then be sent it in a welcome email.

Basically, collaboration helped us help each other to grow. Strength in numbers!

Okay, but how do you actually go about creating something like this for your blogging business?

Let’s break that down right now step-by-step, starting with:

Step #1: Come up with a purpose for your free bundle

In order to make your bundle enticing, you need an overarching theme.

Better yet, you need it to offer some kind of transformation for the people grabbing it, with all of the included resources working to help make that transformation happen.

Now, important note here:

Consider your own blog’s brand and mission and the audience you want to attract.

If you have a solo female travel blog, creating a social media bundle or road trip toolkit isn’t going to help you attract solo travelers who would benefit from your content.

Instead, you’d source resources that help people plan solo trips or confidently travel solo.

This brings us to…

Step #2: Make a list of potential collaborators

Now it’s time to actually choose who you want to invite to be a part of this bundle.

I recommend starting out by inviting people who already have relevant freebies and digital products they may want to add to the bundle.

Going back to the solo travel toolkit idea, you might research bloggers who already have opt-in freebies, eBooks, printables, and eCourses related to solo travel.

Additionally, you can simply reach out to bloggers in your niche who may want to create a printable or resource to include.

Okay, now let’s discuss to next piece of strategy on how to grow your email list fast…

Step #3: Do your free bundle outreach

Once you have your list of potential collaborators, you want to actually reach out to them.

By the way, I’ve added a sample Free Toolkit Collaborator Outreach Template to my free Travel Blogger Resource Library — linked in the show notes.

But, a few tips for this:

1) Make it clear why people should participate. What is the benefit for them? For example, you might mention that you’re recruiting 20+ bloggers in the same niche to collaboratively promote the bundle to help everyone grow their email list with targeted subscribers.

2) Be specific with what is needed to take part in the free bundle. This not only includes the content, but also any deadlines, image dimensions, etc.

You might even create a form, like a simple and free Google Form, to collect all materials to help keep everything organized and in one place.

3) Have an agreement detailing expectations. For instance, you might have a simple agreement noting that all contributors are required to send an email to their list at least once and post at least once across all of their active social media channels.

This helps set clear expectations for everyone, and helps ensure that everyone is contributing to the success of the bundle. Remember, the goal is that everyone increases their email subscriber count!

Now it’s time for…

Step #4: Create a landing page for the bundle

Personally, I use the Beaver Builder plug-in to create my landing pages, though many email marketing platforms include landing page builders. Here is also a 30-day free trial of ConvertKit for anyone who is in need of an email platform with landing page functionality.

If you’re on a tight budget, you can also use WordPress’s native Gutenberg editor to create a more basic landing page.

On this page, you want to include…

• The benefit or transformation people will receive from grabbing the free bundle
• The dates the bundle is live
• Instructions on how it works
• The resources included in the bundle

To give you an example, here is what the “Make Money Travel Blogging Toolkit” landing page said:

From there, it showcased the various resources that people could grab. These resources were listed individually, and people would need to sign up for an individual contributor’s email list to be sent the freebie.

Okay, moving on to…

Step #5: Test your free list-building bundle

Make sure all of the links and sign up forms work properly to provide the best possible user experience for those who sign up.

This will also help you avoid wasting time answering emails from people who complain that links aren’t working. This can be easily avoided if you test everything beforehand.

After this, you can move on to…

Step #6: Provide contributors and affiliates with promotional assets

To really help make the promotion a success, consider creating a promotional toolkit with email swipe copy, social media graphics, and a sample promotional schedule to make it easy for contributors to share.

Additionally, if you have an affiliate program for your own products already it’s smart to let your affiliates know about the promotion — particularly if your opt-in freebie is part of a sales funnel.

For instance, one of my revenue streams is creating courses for bloggers in Teachable. This platform also allows me to create an affiliate program, so that other people can promote my courses and earn referral income when they send new enrollments my way.

Well, many of my opt-in freebies are the entry point of my sales funnels. For example, some freebies might unlock a limited time discount through a tripwire funnel or offer one of my courses with special bonuses at the end of an automated welcome sequence.

Because my affiliate program offers a 30-day cookie, my affiliates can promote my opt-in freebies — Teachable actually allows them to convert links from my website into tracking links — and then if anyone purchases one of my blogging programs within 30 days they’ll get affiliate credit.

In short, get as many people involved in the promotion of the bundle as possible to really maximize email signups for everyone, and possibly even sales for those who have products.

Now finally we are on our last step…

Step #7: Promote, promote, promote

The success of these types of multi-contributor events comes from everyone promoting to their audiences, so spread the word far and wide.

Create a sitewide banner promoting the bundle, pop a call-to-action box in your relevant blog posts, share across your social media channels, and let your email list know.

Really anywhere you have eyes looking at what you say, share about the bundle.

Bonus tips for seeing success with a free bundle

1) Consider tying your bundle to a trend or seasonal event – such as a romantic travel toolkit around Valentine’s Day or a holiday bundle in December. You’ll be able to tap into what is trending and create promotional content around it, which can help boost engagement and visibility.

2) Consider tying your free bundle to a paid offer. This can help you monetize your travel blog while growing your email list. For example, as mentioned previously, you might create a sales funnel that begins with your freebie and ends with a pitch to a related product.

Pro tip: To really see success with this, the paid product should solve the same problem as the opt-in freebie.

So, for instance, if your freebie is a PDF sharing a list of places where you can sell your travel photography, you might add these new subscribers to an automated nurture sequence that ends with a pitch to your paid Monetize Your Travel Photography Course.

3) Thank your bundle contributors for participating afterward. This helps to leave the doors open for collaboration in the future, and growing your blog through collaboration, in my opinion, is a very smart strategy.

Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to create a free bundle or toolkit that helps you grow your email list fast.

Don’t forget to grab access to my free resource library for bloggers. There are a ton of social media resources in there.

There are a ton of resources in there on growing your community and increasing your blogging profits.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time businesses.

Happy blogging!

Be A Guest On The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast

If you have actionable strategies to share to help bloggers grow their traffic, community, and income, as well as create profitable and healthy online businesses, I’d love to hear from you!

Note that interview episodes will also be livestreamed on YouTube, so guests need to be comfortable on camera and should have access to headphones, a microphone (or headphones with a microphone), a strong internet connection, and nice lighting (such as studio lighting or a room where you can sit in front of a window).

Please click here to fill out the podcast guest application form.

Stay In The Loop

Do you want to get notified when new episodes publish?

Interested in hearing about opportunities to join livestreamed podcast interviews so you can engage, ask questions, and turn your blog into a profitable business more easily?

Then make sure to opt-in for podcast email notifications sent to your inbox!

You can do that by clicking here.

What would you add to this guide on how to grow your email list fast?

Interested in learning how to write SEO-friendly blog posts?

Well, you’re in luck, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be focusing on how to write blog posts for SEO step by step.

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand:

• How to write an SEO-optimized blog post from start to finish
• Tips for choosing the best keywords to optimize your blog post for
• SEO best practices to keep in mind when creating content
• The best ways to drive traffic to your blog posts
• And more!

In short, you’ll have a complete plan for writing a blog post step by step from scratch!

How To Write SEO-Friendly Blog Posts [Podcast Episode Audio]

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Amazon Music

Click here to listen on TuneIn

Prefer video? The following video also shares tips for writing a blog post from scratch (though is a slightly different script from the podcast). Feel free to listen/watch both for bonus tips:

Free Travel Blogger Resource Library

To help you really jumpstart your blogging success, I’ve added 55+ blogging resources like printables, video tutorials, and workbooks into a FREE resource library for travel bloggers – and this includes a Blog Post From Scratch Template to help you create SEO-optimized content from start to finish.

These resources are meant to help you grow your traffic, community, and income faster and with less overwhelm!

Subscribe + Review (To Win A Prize!)

Love learning new blogging strategies to help grow your website traffic, community, and income?

Click here to subscribe on iTunes to be notified when new episodes publish.

I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d leave a review right here and let me know your favorite part of the episode or a takeaway you walked away with. By leaving a review, you help the show be seen by more people, helping the episodes to have a greater impact.

Bonus:

Each month, I’ll be choosing one reviewer at random to win a FREE seat inside one of my travel blogging courses.

Winners can choose from:

• How To Grow Your Blogging Income Through Facebook Ads
• How To Land Paid Press Trips As A Travel Blogger
• How To Make Money (Fast) With Affiliate Marketing
• How To Start A Tour Company In Your Own Backyard
• How To Start A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money
• Build Your Blogging Profit Plan Masterclass

Winners will be chosen at random from the reviews and will be notified via email, so make sure to send me — jessie (at) jessieonajourney dot) com — your email address so I have it. 

#TPTBPodcast

The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast is a podcast for bloggers wanting to increase their smart passive income, grow their communities, and monetize their websites.

Have a question about one of the strategies explained in the show?

Do you want to share a takeaway with your community?

Please share on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TPTBPodcast.

This not only allows you to interact with the community, but I’ll also be monitoring and adding to the conversation to answer your questions and connect with you, too!

Master Writing Blog Posts For SEO With These Helpful Tools:

Travel Blog Prosperity. Snag access to 80+ courses plus over $2k in bonuses – all meant to help you grow your traffic, community, and income. If you’re interested in the discounted first month offer mentioned in the episode, email me at jessie (at) jessieonajourney (dot) com with the subject “Travel Blog Prosperity discount” and I’ll send you a coupon!

Jasper AI (formerly Jarvis). Use the power of artificial intelligence to quickly create content outlines, generate blog post ideas, write articles, and more.

Keysearch (snag 20% off with code JESSIEONAJOURNEY). When it comes to doing keyword research to write an SEO-friendly blog post, my favorite tool is Keysearch – which helps me consistently rank my content at the top of Google search results!

Surfer SEO. This tool is like employing an SEO expert on your team (without the 4-figure monthly price tag). You’ll get specific recommendations tailored to your blog for how to optimize your blog posts for SEO and rank in organic search results. You can see my video tutorial here, too:

Write Better Blog Posts With These Helpful Past Episodes:

Create A Streamlined Blogging Schedule In 3 Steps

How To Overcome Creative Block As A Blogger

How To Create A Gift Guide For Your Blog

How To Create & Monetize A Blog Series

How To Come Up With Blog Post Ideas People Actually Read

Use This Template To Make A Blog Content Calendar

12-Step Content Creation Checklist For Bloggers

7-Step Blog Post Promote Checklist – Trello Board Included

How To Update Your Content For Increased Traffic

Improve Your Creative Storytelling Skills For More Engaging Writing

How To Sell Your Blog For Profit

Click here for all profitable blogging podcast episodes.

How To Write A Blog Post From Start To Finish [Episode Transcript]

You probably know it’s important to create great blog content that is valuable to your readers.

Maybe you’ve heard that you should also optimize this content for keywords, or that it’s helpful to niche down and continuously write about the same topics to establish your authority.

But, I’m curious: do you have a repeatable workflow for creating SEO-optimized blog content?

If not, then this episode is for you, as I’ll be sharing a step-by-step strategy for how to write a blog post from scratch – and optimize it to rank in Google search results and bring you blog traffic.

Free Resources For Content Creators

But first, before we dive into this episode on how to write SEO-friendly blog posts, I want to direct your attention to the show notes, where I’ve shared a link to my free Travel Blogger Resource Library.

Inside you’ll snag access to 50+ resources from cheat sheets to workbooks to workshops to video tutorials that can help truly turn your blog into a profitable business.

One particular resource I want to point out is the Blog Post Creation & Promotion Trello Board – which can help you create great content that actually gets seen faster and easier.

I’m all about implementation and I really want to make sure you don’t just listen to the episode and forget about it, but that you actually use what I share to make your blogging life easier.

Feel free to even pause this episode to go grab those resources. You back? Then let’s dive in, starting with some pre-blog writing tips.

The importance of SEO in blog writing

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, can get complicated; however, at a basic level, understand that your goal is to create a great user experience. This involves things like making sure your site is speedy and secure, and that your content answers the questions your audience is asking – which is where keyword research comes in.

To accurately answer these questions, you really should have the experience and knowledge to properly do so. You know, as someone who has never raised kids, I have no business writing parenting articles.

This is why niching down is so helpful – you not only make it clear to your audience what you’re an expert on, but also to Google. And Google likes to rank blogs that are trustworthy, accurate, and that demonstrate first-hand experience with the topics they’re covering.

So, just keep this is mind as you create your annual content plan.

Additionally, it’s important to realize that SEO is about so much more than just optimizing individual posts for keywords. You really want to spend time creating a robust SEO strategy that helps you offer an incredible user experience across your entire site.

Okay, so on that note, let’s dive into the strategy. Keep in mind, this is the way I do things. My blog gets over 100,000 monthly pageviews and I’m quite good at getting content to rank at the top of page #1 results, so I do know what I’m talking about.

That being said, of course, there may be other experts who do things a bit differently. Also, SEO is an ever-evolving process and Google updates its algorithm constantly, so do try to keep up with best practices.

Now, let’s kick off our strategy on how to write an SEO-friendly blog post from start to finish with…

Step #1: Define your main goal with the blog post

Are you simply looking to grow your traffic? Is this a post optimized for affiliate clicks or sales of your own digital product?

This will be important when we move to the next step where we start doing keyword research, because you want to make sure that your main keyword aligns with your goal.

For example, if your goal is related to affiliate marketing for bloggers and you want to get people to click your Expedia affiliate links, you should choose a keyword that attracts people looking to book a hotel.

On that note, let’s move on to…

Step #2: Choose a main keyword

Again, this should be related to your blog brand, niche, and main content pillars.

You really want to choose a keyword that you can realistically rank for – meaning, you have the topic authority and you can beat out the other articles that are already ranking.

There are a few strategies I like to use to find keywords, including:

• Starting with a general idea that I want to write about and then doing research in a keyword research tool to find the best possible main keyword to use
• Doing a competitor keyword analysis, which means seeing what keywords other blogs in your niche that you can reasonably compete with are ranking for, and trying to create content around those that is even better
• Researching Zero Search Volume Keywords that can allow you to outrank forum posts – which I have to thank Nina Clapperton of She Knows SEO for teaching in my Travel Blog Prosperity membership; it’s such a powerful strategy that I think many bloggers aren’t utilizing

Now, you may be thinking “how the heck do I find out this information?”

Well, I use Keysearch, which is a budget-friendly yet robust keyword research tool that will allow you to do all of the strategies I just mentioned. Click here and use code JESSIEONAJOURNEY for 20% off!

Learn SEO & keyword research

I’ll also add that if you’d like guidance on these keyword research strategies, I have workshops on all of them – as well as other SEO tactics – in my Travel Blog Prosperity membership. Doors are technically closed right now, but if you email me at jessie (at) jessieonajourney (dot) com I can give you a coupon to try out your first month for just $9, and then you can cancel at any time – even before the discounted month is over.

Just note that discount offer is for new members only at the time of this episode going live and may not be valid in the future.

Can you do keyword research for free?

Now, you may also be thinking, “Is there a free way to find these things out?”

I’d say there are tools that give you ideas for travel blog posts and keywords; but in my experience, I haven’t found any free tools that truly give you the full picture to really optimize your content for SEO, especially when we move on to the next steps and we’re collecting even more keywords for our content.

Okay, once you have your main keyword, it’s time to move on to the next part of our how to write SEO-friendly blog posts strategy….

Step #3: Check the search intent of your blog post

This is one of the most overlooked steps when it comes to writing SEO-optimized blog content.

You want to make sure that what you plan on writing matches what is actually ranking in Google.

To do this, Google your main keyword and see what comes up. Are there other blog posts answering the same question you set out to answer? If so, that’s a good initial indication the intent matches.

Okay, now let’s continue to chat about SEO blog writing with…

Step #4: Find additional keywords to include in the blog post

While you’re optimizing for your main keyword, it shouldn’t be the only keyword you aim to rank for.

This is why, when people ask me if I ever optimize content for low volume keywords, I remind them that your posts should be getting traffic from more than just one keyword. You want many different keywords to bring your article pageviews.

So in Keysearch, I will look at:

Related keywords – which are typically variations of the main keyword, like NYC solo travel vs traveling New York City solo

Must words – also known as Latent Semantic Index keywords, which are words and phrases found in many of the first page results

Ranking keywords – I’ll also look at the keywords that other first page results are ranking for – so this is basically another form of competitor research

As I do this research, I create a long list of keywords that I want to include in my blog post.

Which brings me to the next piece in our strategy on how to write a good blog post for SEO…

Step #5: Create an SEO-optimized blog post outline

Creating an outline not only helps you write blog posts faster, but it can also help you implement on page SEO as you create your content.

My first step with this is to look at the blog posts already ranking on the first page. What questions do they answer? What sections do they include?

Because your goal is to create the most in-depth piece of content that exists on the topic, you want to make sure you answer those – and more.

Now, I want to make one thing very, very clear: You 100% should not copy and plagiarize anyone’s work. However, you do want to do research.

When I’m writing blog content, I’m always thinking “How can I make my article even better than what is already out there?”

So consider ways to make your content more clear, digestible, and actionable.

One your outline is created, it’s time for…

Step #6: Write your SEO-friendly blog post

Now it’s time to create your incredibly valuable and helpful content. This content should really keep the reader in mind including what they’re looking for and what questions they’re seeking answers to.

In terms of optimizing content for Search Engine Optimization, you want to include the keywords from your longer list in your blog post.

When it comes to how to write SEO-friendly blog posts, you should include your main keyword in:

• Your blog post title
• The meta title + description
• URL or post slug
• Within a few sub-headings
• Within the content itself
• Within image alt text if it makes sense organically – because above all else alt text is meant to describe the images you use for those who are visually impaired
• Within image names – for instance, instead of DSC1234.jpg, I’ll name it something like “NYC-solo-travel-Central-Park.jpg”

Building on SEO, make sure to add any relevant links to past posts you’ve published within the content. Backlinks are an important part of any SEO strategy.

You might also add an FAQ section, which can make the post more robust while helping you add more keywords. Plus, it can increase the chances of these questions appearing directly in Google search results – which can help increase your click-through rate.

You also should think about ways to help this content help you. This means adding affiliate links to bookable actions, promoting your opt-in freebie to grow your email list, or mentioning your own digital products if it makes sense.

Ready for the next step in our strategy on how to write SEO-friendly blog posts?…

Step #7: Finalize your blog post

Add your:

• Categories and tags
• Images
• Featured image
• Pinterest pins if you have a Pinterest strategy for bloggers

You should also thoroughly proofread – because if your post is full of errors people will not trust what you have to say.

Once you’re ready, it’s time for…

Step #8: Publish and promote

Once you hit publish, the work doesn’t stop there. First of all, make sure to link your new post from your other relevant content to help improve SEO.

You also want to promote the post like crazy via:

• Your email list
• Social media – utilizing each platform’s best practices to really improve your reach
• Pinterest
• An Instagram Story
• Google Web Stories

Really anywhere you have an audience, get eyes on that new content.

Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to create SEO-friendly blog content.

Don’t forget to grab access to my free resource library for bloggers. There are a ton of resources in there that can help you better understand how to write SEO-friendly blog posts.

Also, I know this episode was a bit more technical than usual, so again, if you found any of the concepts discussed confusing – SEO, link building, affiliate marketing, content planning, site structure, traffic – we discuss all of it and more in the courses included in Travel Blog Prosperity. And remember, if you’re interested you can email me at jessie (at) jessieonajourney (dot) com to get your first month for just $9 to try out.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time businesses.

Happy blogging!

Be A Guest On The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast

If you have actionable strategies to share to help bloggers grow their traffic, community, and income, as well as create profitable and healthy online businesses, I’d love to hear from you!

Note that interview episodes will also be livestreamed on YouTube, so guests need to be comfortable on camera and should have access to headphones, a microphone (or headphones with a microphone), a strong internet connection, and nice lighting (such as studio lighting or a room where you can sit in front of a window).

Please click here to fill out the podcast guest application form.

Stay In The Loop

Do you want to get notified when new episodes publish?

Interested in hearing about opportunities to join livestreamed podcast interviews so you can engage, ask questions, and turn your blog into a profitable business more easily?

Then make sure to opt-in for podcast email notifications sent to your inbox!

You can do that by clicking here.

What would you add to this guide on how to write SEO-friendly blog posts?

Well, you’re in luck, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be focusing on all things YouTube, from increasing your following to monetization and more.

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand:

• Why bloggers should consider creating a YouTube strategy
• How to set up your YouTube channel for success
• Tips for growing your YouTube channel
• How to use YouTube to grow and monetize your blog
• YouTube mistakes to avoid
• And more!

Our special guest for this episode is Ilana Schattauer of Life Well Cruised, who will be sharing all of the above and more so that you know exactly how to create a successful YouTube channel.

Note: This episode features affiliate links to trusted partners!

A Powerful YouTube For Bloggers Strategy [Podcast Episode Audio]

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Amazon Music

Click here to listen on TuneIn

Bonus: How To Grow Your Blog Fast [Video]

Want to learn ways to grow your blog quickly — beyond using YouTube?

The above video shares 14 ideas quick-win strategies for increasing your blog’s traffic, community, and income. Many of these tactics can be combined with your YouTube strategy for even better success.

By the way, I regularly post YouTube videos sharing monetization strategies for travel bloggers, so make sure to subscribe if you’d like to be notified when these publish!

Free Travel Blogger Resource Library

To help you really jumpstart your blogging success, I’ve added 50+ blogging resources like printables, video tutorials, and workbooks into a FREE resource library for travel bloggers.

These resources are meant to help you grow your traffic, community, and income faster and with less overwhelm!

Subscribe + Review (To Win A Prize!)

Love learning new blogging strategies to help grow your website traffic, community, and income?

Click here to subscribe on iTunes to be notified when new episodes publish.

I’d also be extremely grateful if you’d leave a review right here and let me know your favorite part of the episode or a takeaway you walked away with. By leaving a review, you help the show be seen by more people, helping the episodes to have a greater impact.

Bonus:

Each month, I’ll be choosing one reviewer at random to win a FREE seat inside one of my travel blogging courses.

Winners can choose from:

• How To Grow Your Blogging Income Through Facebook Ads
• How To Land Paid Press Trips As A Travel Blogger
• How To Make Money (Fast) With Affiliate Marketing
• How To Start A Tour Company In Your Own Backyard
• How To Start A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money
• Build Your Blogging Profit Plan Masterclass

Winners will be chosen at random from the reviews and will be notified via email, so make sure to send me — jessie (at) jessieonajourney dot) com — your email address so I have it. 

#TPTBPodcast

The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast is a podcast for bloggers wanting to increase their smart passive income, grow their communities, and monetize their websites.

Have a question about one of the strategies explained in the show?

Do you want to share a takeaway with your community?

Please share on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TPTBPodcast.

This not only allows you to interact with the community, but I’ll also be monitoring and adding to the conversation to answer your questions and connect with you, too!

Start A Successful YouTube Channel With These Helpful Tools:

Canva. This graphic design tool makes it easy to create captivating channel banners, video thumbnails, and other graphics.

TubeBuddy. This tool helps you optimize your channel and content to more easily grow on YouTube.

vidIQ. This tool helps you boost your views and subscribers on YouTube.

Grow Your YouTube Channel With These Helpful Past Episodes:

How To Start, Grow & Monetize A Successful Facebook Group

How To Use LinkedIn To Grow & Monetize Your Blog

How To Create An Effective Blogging Workflow In 7 Steps

Why You Need A Drone & How It Can Help You Grow Your Blog

How To Overcome Creative Block As A Blogger

7-Step Blog Post Promotion Checklist (Trello Board Included!)

12 Strategies That Can Help You Grow A Blog Fast

How To Enjoy Social Media – Growth Strategy Included

Responsible Blogging: How To Use Your Platform For Good

Click here for all profitable blogging podcast episodes.

YouTube For Bloggers Guide [Episode Transcript]

*Note: This is the edited down and paraphrased version of the episode on how to make a successful YouTube channel. For the full episode, listen to the audio version linked above.

As a blogger, there are many social media platforms you can choose to be active on.

That being said, if you’re looking to gain visibility, grow a community of fans, and monetize your blogging business, one you’ll want to get on your radar is YouTube.

Now, if you’re unsure of how to utilize the powers of YouTube, don’t worry, as our special guest, Ilana of Life Well Cruised — who has seen major success on the platform — is here with us today sharing tips for growing a YouTube channel, best practices for creating and uploading videos, mistakes to avoid, how to monetize on YouTube, and more.

Free Resources For Content Creators

But first, before we dive into this episode on how to grow your YouTube following, I want to direct your attention to the show notes, where I’ve shared a link to my free Travel Blogger Resource Library.

Inside you’ll snag access to 50+ resources from cheat sheets to workbooks to workshops to video tutorials that can help truly turn your blog into a profitable business.

I’m all about implementation and I really want to make sure you don’t just listen to the episode and forget about it, but that you actually use what I share to make your blogging life easier.

Feel free to even pause this episode to go grab those resources. You back? Then let’s dive in!

1. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your tips on how to build a successful YouTube channel! To start, can you tell us more about yourself, your blog, and how you got into YouTube?

My name is Ilana and I’m the creator of the Life Well Cruised YouTube channel and Life Well Cruised blog, which I originally started in order to share cruise travel tips.

I had success building an audience on my blog and a little bit on social media, so I thought I’d reach them and also more people on YouTube, as well.

Additionally, I know that people really enjoy watching cruise YouTube videos before a cruise, so I decided this could be a nice additional income stream.

2. Okay so let’s start with the basics. Why should a travel blogger get on YouTube? What are the benefits?

In addition to having a blog, it’s another income stream; but beyond that, it offers the ability to show people your expertise.

It really adds another element to our content — similar to social media, except it offers a larger potential income stream than many of the other social media platforms that we might be using.

Another benefit is building an audience and expanding the existing one.

Plus, YouTube helps you gain visibility and authority in your niche and become a bit more well-known in a sea of other bloggers.

If you’re looking to grow a true fanbase, YouTube is a great place to be. When people watch your videos, they really get to feel like they know you.

Even the way people comment creates such an interesting dynamic, as you’re really able to communicate with the people that are engaging with your content. It becomes a relationship where they truly can become fans and it’s a great way to grow a real community.

3. Now, of course, bloggers are always trying to figure out how to actually monetize their brands. How can YouTube help bloggers grow their revenue? Any advice for how to create a profitable YouTube channel?

YouTube is a really good way to grow your revenue as a blogger or a vlogger in several ways.

One of the most popular ways to monetize on YouTube is by running ads on your videos through the YouTube Partner Program. With this, your ad income increases with the more video views you get. Just note you’ll need to meet certain requirements to be eligible.

Additionally, you can make money through sponsorships — either by having brands sponsor a video or even your entire channel so that you’re in more of an ambassador role.

You can also work with brands through affiliate marketing for travel bloggers. With this, you can promote products and services you love in your videos and earn a commission for every person who makes a purchase.

4. Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways to monetize a travel blog. Is there a style of YouTube video that you’ve seen convert well when promoting affiliate partners?

It’s probably different for everybody; however, what I have seen success with in my niche is to share cruising tips and hacks, and to promote travel items through this type of content.

These are usually items found on Amazon as I’m an Amazon affiliate, though there are many other options for affiliate programs.

For example, many people don’t realize cruise ship cabins have metal walls. So what people can do to help make additional space in their tiny cruiseship cabin is bring magnetic hooks to attach to the walls and use these as additional storage.

When I create videos like this, I see my affiliate sales for that product increase.

5. Let’s backtrack for a bit. For someone who is brand new to YouTube, what are some best practices for setting up your channel? Any tips for how to successfully start a YouTube channel?

To start with the basics, it’s really smart to create a channel banner. You can do right in Canva, which has templates you can work with. Here you might include a call to action or let people know what and how often you post.

From there, set up your profile, choose your channel name, grab your handle (make it your blog name), write a channel description, and include links to your other platforms.

You can also upload your branding and customize the layout — including adding featured sections and featured videos for new and/or returning subscribers. The video you choose for new subscribers should give people a good idea of what your channel is about and what they can expect.

For mine, I highlight my 50 Genuis Cruise Hacks: Save Money, Pack Better & Get Organized For Your Cruise video in order to appeal to as many people as possible.

From there, decide on what type of videos you think you’d like to create and, if needed, experiment. That being said, I do think it’s helpful to stay within a niche and to regularly create videos on specific topics once you know what you want to put out there so that you can be seen as an authority in that niche.

6. You have such an engaging YouTube, so I’m really curious how you come up with your content ideas and if you have a set YouTube content plan?

I do have a content plan for YouTube, and it’s actually really simple.

Similar to my blog content calendar, I have a few specific themes I regularly cover on my channel, like:

• cruise port destinations
• packing tips and hacks
• mistakes to avoid when cruising

From there, I go through my YouTube content plan for the month ahead and divide the upcoming videos up by those themes so that I’m not covering the same theme back-to-back. This way, I create different types of videos that different people might be interested in.

This also helps me streamline my workflow and save time.

To help keep myself organized, I use a big paper calendar from the dollar store and I place mini Post-it notes showcasing my video ideas on the days I plan to publish that particular video. This also makes it easy for me to move my video ideas around as needed.

7. Okay, so you have your idea for a new YouTube video. What does your workflow look like for actually taking that idea and turning it into a finished video?

Before I film a YouTube video, I actually think about my idea and try to come up with a compelling title and thumbnail.

If I can’t, I may skip that video or save it for later when I’m feeling more inspired. This is important because I need to be relatively sure that the video will get clicked on YouTube.

Once I have my video, title, and thumbnail idea, I create an outline for my video, starting with a hook to grab peoples’ attention and keep them watching. I do not script my videos, but instead I film in sections. So if I’m sharing 10 tips, I’ll film 10 short sections and then combine them to create the YouTube video.

8. So once you have that finished video, do you have any tips for uploading?

Keyword-rich titles & descriptions

Once my video is uploaded, I create my title and description. When I was first starting out I created longer descriptions to try to get as many keywords in there as possible and really let the YouTube algorithm know what my video was about.

Today, since I already have an audience and YouTube has gotten to know my channel, my descriptions are a bit shorter — though I do still include keywords.

In terms of YouTube keyword research tools, I use TubeBuddy and vidIQ. I find vidIQ to be particularly interesting, as if you have a paid plan it gives you 50 different video ideas — including title ideas — that are usually in your niche. And you can also see what is already coming up in YouTube for those titles to be able to do some research and really create the best video possible.

I will say that when I first got started with YouTube I was very intentional with my keywords, though now I’m a bit more lax since I have an audience and YouTube has gotten to know my channel. I definitely still include them, but I’m first thinking about how to create a really enticing title.

Video tags

I also utilize relevant tags. YouTube has said they’re not as important as they once were, but I believe they do still have some importance when it comes to getting found in the search results for your intended topics.

YouTube thumbnail

Another important piece of uploading your video is creating an enticing thumbnail. Personally, I like to create a thumbnail that works in conjunction with the title because I think it’s human nature to look at the thumbnail image before reading the title.

I like to include bright colors, visuals that are appealing to cruise travelers, and text that evokes curiosity.

For example, there is a type of balcony cabin called the Infinite Veranda that many vloggers in the cruise space said they hated — which caused a lot of anxiety in people who had booked this type of cabin.

When I booked it, I actually ended up loving it. And while I did end up making a positive review video of the cabin, in the thumbnail I showed myself looking nervous and had the text “Worst Balcony Cabin?” to evoke curiosity on topic I knew was on my audience’s mind.

9. Of course, visibility is important for seeing results with YouTube. What things can creators do to help their YouTube videos get seen by more people?

Leverage your existing audience

One way to get seen on YouTube that many creators aren’t doing is to promote your videos to your existing audience elsewhere. For instance, maybe you’ve grown an email list or have a TikTok following. Let those people know about your videos.

Not only that, but do it in a way that is enticing — such as by having the subject line of your email be something that your video is about so that you lead people into that video.

And try to this right after publishing your video, so that you get eyes and engagement on it quickly and then YouTube hopefully shares it with more people directly on the platform.

Embed your YouTube videos in blog posts

Another way to get your YouTube videos seen is to embed them into relevant blog posts — especially ones that drive a lot of traffic.

Create engaging videos

Beyond that, YouTube will share videos on the platform that are engaging that people are clicking on, so doing as much as possible to create videos with an enticing title and thumbnail that get people to click — as well as engaging content that people continue to watch — is going to help get your videos shown to more people.

Other ideas

A few other ideas include sharing your videos on Pinterest, cross-promoting videos with other creators, and growing through collaboration by co-creating videos with other creators — such as co-hosting a YouTube live.

10. What are some of the biggest mistakes you see new creators on YouTube make?

Vlogging without a purpose

I’ve seen many people vlog, simply with the idea of sharing what they’re doing in a day. The problem is if you don’t already have an audience that you know is interested in that style of content, it’s a hard way to grow an audience on YouTube.

If you do vlog, I recommend just making sure there is a point or a goal with the video. What will viewers really get out of it?

Being inconsistent

Even creating one video per week will help you get better. Automatically, there will be more videos that are out there on the platform for YouTube to share.

Additionally, when a video does get some traction, people will have other videos on the channel to watch.

As people watch more of your videos, you’ll also have more insights and analytics to work with in guiding your content plan and channel direction based on what people like.

Plus, as you create more and more videos, you’ll hone your craft and become a better YouTuber.

Copying other people

While I think it’s really smart to get inspiration from other people, it’s also important to develop your own style and personality on YouTube.

One of the best ways to stand out on YouTube and grow a community is really to be your authentic self and allow people to connect with you.

11. What are some of the top strategies you’ve used to grow on YouTube?

Create videos for your audience

One top YouTube strategy is to find topics that your audience is truly researching and that they want to know about. Personally, I’m always trying to think about things from a cruiser’s perspective and answer their questions.

Show your personality

Going back to being your authentic self, it’s also important to show off your personality. I even try to show off some of my quirky personality traits.

Also, in my case, I’m a woman of a certain age, so even talking from that perspective you do get more of a community that relates to you in that way.

Create engaging YouTube titles & thumbnails

I know we mentioned this already, but it’s really important. It’s something I’ve really focused on because I’ve seen how they’ve improved how many people click on my videos and the growth of my YouTube channel.

Just get started

Above all else, the most important thing is to just start. It’s okay if your videos aren’t perfect.

Just begin, and then improve little by little over time. That might mean improving your delivery a bit, capturing better b-roll, or fine-tuning the topics you cover to showcase your blog brand.

Over time, you’ll get better and better at YouTube.

12. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom on how to run a successful YouTube channel! Before we sign off, can you let everyone know where they can find you?

• Website
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Instagram

Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to start using YouTube as a tool to grow your blogging business.

Don’t forget to grab access to my free resource library for bloggers. There are a ton of social media resources in there.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time businesses.

Happy blogging!

Be A Guest On The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast

If you have actionable strategies to share to help bloggers grow their traffic, community, and income, as well as create profitable and healthy online businesses, I’d love to hear from you!

Note that interview episodes will also be livestreamed on YouTube, so guests need to be comfortable on camera and should have access to headphones, a microphone (or headphones with a microphone), a strong internet connection, and nice lighting (such as studio lighting or a room where you can sit in front of a window).

Please click here to fill out the podcast guest application form.

Stay In The Loop

Do you want to get notified when new episodes publish?

Interested in hearing about opportunities to join livestreamed podcast interviews so you can engage, ask questions, and turn your blog into a profitable business more easily?

Then make sure to opt-in for podcast email notifications sent to your inbox!

You can do that by clicking here.

What tips would you add to this YouTube for bloggers guide?

How long does it take to make money blogging?

If you’re focused and determined, you can monetize your blog in one year or less.

That being said, it isn’t as simple as writing more content or taking better photographs.

So what does it take to become a professional blogger?

Keep reading to hear powerful advice from 20 creators living full-time off their websites. Below, they share the strategies that truly helped them turn their blogs into full-time businesses – so that you can do it too!

Psst, don’t forget to pin this post for later!

Start Making Money From Your Blog Faster

Want to grow your blogging income quicker?

Make sure to grab access to my free Travel Blogger Resource Library.

It contains 45+ printables, video tutorials, mini masterclasses, and implementation workbooks to help you turn your blog into a profitable business sooner rather than later.

Bonus:

You’ll also be added to my email list where I share blogging strategies, opportunities for bloggers, free webinars, and more!

How Long Does It Take Make Money Blogging?

If you’ve been wondering “how long does it take for a blog to make money?”, I have good news!

You can absolutely start making money through your blog within a year, as long as you have a strategy in place.

Consider the end goal with your blog, and then work backward to pinpoint what steps you need to take to get there.

From there, create a schedule to make that happen, including monthly check-ins with yourself to make sure you’re on track for success.

How Much Time Does A Blog Take?

You can put as little or as much time into your blog as you’d like, though realize the more focused time and energy you put into your blogging business, the faster you’ll likely become profitable.

Personally, I work full-time on my blog — as in, about 40 hours per week.

How To Start A Blog And Make Money – Essential Steps

If you want to make money blogging, there are a few important things you need to do:

Choose a good host. If you’re going to spend money on one thing, make it your host. If you’re on a budget, SiteGround and Bluehost are popular options. Personally, I use a premium host called Flywheel.

Choose a theme that offers support. I recommend perusing a marketplace like Envato Marketplace and paying for your theme, as free themes often don’t come with customer service.

Connect your site with Google Analytics & Google Search Console. This way you can monitor your blog stats.

Have a plan for keeping your site speedy and healthy. Slow site speed can hurt your blog growth and profitability, so using a tool like WP Rocket can help you keep things running fast and efficiently — which your blog visitors will appreciate.

Grab your social media handles. This includes for channels you’re not sure you’ll actively post on. This way nobody else can take them!

Sign up for email marketing software. Mailerlite allows you to get started building your email list for free. Alternatively, you can try a month of ConvertKit, a robust email marketing platform made specifically for bloggers and creators, for free.

Pinpoint a traffic-generating strategy. Along with using a tool like Keysearch to help your travel blog post ideas rank in Google, Pinterest can drive major traffic to your website — and it doesn’t need to be time-consuming either.

Here is a quick tutorial showing how I use Keysearch to find keywords I can actually rank in Google for. You can click here and use code “JESSIEONAJOURNEY” for 20% off!

Personally, I love Tailwind for pre-scheduling pins at the best times. Plus, the platform has numerous features, like Looping and Tribes, to help get your pins seen. Note: My referral link gets you $30 off Tailwind!

I recommend also checking out this guide to growing a blogging business as well as my favorite WordPress plugins and tools.

Create a content plan. I recommend creating a blog content calendar and filling it with blog post topics that will excite your audience. This strategy on how to plan a year of content in 1 week can help you save time, too.

Speaking of saving time, one of the fastest ways to come up with these is to use a tool like Jasper AI, which utilizes artificial intelligence to help you quickly and easily come up with topic ideas, create article outlines, and even draft content. You can click here for a 10,000-word free trial of Jasper.

Update posts for SEO. Along with creating new SEO-friendly content, you should revamp already-published posts. This is an important part of any blogging schedule. To do this, you can use data from Google Search Console, or you can have a tool like Surfer SEO do the research for you.

Simply pop a blog post link into the tool, and it will tell you how to score quick wins and find missed SEO opportunities. It’s truly like hiring an SEO expert to look over your content and tell you exactly what looks good and what you should change to rank higher in search results and grow your organic traffic.

Here is a quick tutorial of the tool:

How Does A Blog Make Money?

If you’re curious how to make a profitable blog, I share a step-by-step strategy for becoming a full-time blogger in this video — including my favorite blog monetization strategies:

Prefer audio learning?

I also have a podcast for bloggers that teaches all kinds of growth and monetization strategies as well as a free workshop on how to make money as a travel blogger that teaches 10 powerful tactics.

Learn, and then continue reading the blogging tips below.

20 Tips For Taking Your Blog Full-Time In One Year

The answer to “how quickly can you monetize a blog?” truly depends on the effort you put in and the money making strategies you utilize. Follow these tips on how to start a profitable blog from successful bloggers to set yourself up for success!

1.  Grow a well-nurtured email list  

Email marketing for bloggers is a topic I’m extremely passionate about, though I’ve noticed it often gets overlooked by those just starting out.

Your email list is comprised of your most dedicated fans; the ones who can’t wait to hear from you, read your content, watch your videos, and more. That’s why it’s also smart to have a lead nurturing funnel set up to welcome new subscribers.

But how do you actually get people onto your list?

By offering value-packed opt-in freebies that help your community solve a problem quickly and give them a taste of your expertise.

Note that it’s first helpful to:

• Have a solid mission statement so you know who you help and how. A template you can use is “I help [group of people] do [how you help].”
• Know what products/services — either your own or those created by affiliate partners — you’ll eventually pitch.

Knowing these two things allows you to create an opt-in freebie that truly serves your audience and attracts the people who would truly benefit from your product.

My free profitable blogging workshop dives deep into this powerful strategy, as does my free travel blogging course.

Moreover, understanding your strengths can really help you take your blog full-time within a year.

If you’re not sure where your skills lay, take my free blogger personality quiz and uncover your travel blogging superpower!

Your results will also share some helpful tips for utilizing your unique talents to grow your blogging business.

-Jessie Festa, Jessie on a Journey

2. Commit to your blog from the start

I’ve been blogging full-time for seven years now and my biggest tip is to commit.

So many people fail because they don’t go all in.

They are hesitating in some way and aren’t giving enough time to their blog.

If you really want to make money from blogging, you’ve got to fully commit, put in the time, and go full speed ahead.

-Kristin Addis, Be My Travel Muse

3. Remember that it’s not about you

4. Pick a niche for your blog and stick to it

5. Focus on evergreen blog content

I’m not saying don’t post on the popular trends, though I recommend putting more effort into the forever posts. You can even create a blog content calendar to stay organized!”

6. Be strategic on every decision

8. Establish a target audience

9. Engage with other bloggers

10. Create a plan that works for you

11. Find power in the word “no”

12. Create a content schedule

13. Outsource mundane tasks

I was very skeptical about being able to take my website to full-time within a single year, but I’m happy to report that nine months into my journey, I’ve done so.

I think my best tip to encourage others to become a full-time blogger in a year is that if you’re short on time like me, you need to be willing to outsource mundane tasks to be successful.

Things such as editing content, posting content, article research, and finding/creating images can all be outsourced to someone for a nominal fee.

While I still focus a lot of my time on deciding what content to write and creating the content itself, I’d much rather put my energy into that because it’s what really moves the needle in my business and has allowed me to create positive momentum for my website moving forward.”

-Ron from Prison Insight

14. Find your niche keywords

So many bloggers focus on metrics like Domain Authority and pageviews, but there’s only one thing that really matters if you want to take your blog full time:

Money.

I learned early on that earning meaningful passive income from a website doesn’t require a huge number of page views.

Instead, the most important aspect to focus on to make a profit from blogging is finding “buying keywords” that are fairly low competition and writing about them well.

Even if they are low volume, very niche keywords — often referred to as “long-tail keywords” as they tend to be three or more words long — can still be worth writing about if you think that you can quickly get to the first page of Google with a readership made of eager buyers just looking for your expertise!”

-Melissa from Travel Car Seat Mom

15. Focus on your strengths

Blogging is such an all-encompassing job that you can go crazy making to-do lists and trying to focus on 100 things at once.

But instead of spreading yourself too thin by splitting your time between writing content, producing YouTube videos, mastering Instagram and growing your Facebook, slow down!

Focus on one platform that you love until you have it under control before attempting to do everything.

-Katie & Ben from Two Wandering Soles

16. Attend local expos

-Tina Pik, Hangry By Nature

17. Focus on link-building

Many websites don’t focus on link building enough, even though it’s one of the things which can make or break your success.

A link profile is one of the most important ranking factors for search engines, as a website with more links from high-quality sources is more credible.

Essentially, it says that other websites trust your content; however, it’s very important to avoid black hat tactics such as buying links because search engines can easily penalize you and stop showing your website in search results at all.

So what are the best white hat strategies for link building?

The most popular tactic is guest posting — where you write an article for a high-quality website in exchange for a link to your site.

Another very good strategy is creating infographics.

People like to share them and use them in their own posts. Therefore if you create a great infographic, you can get a ton of backlinks even without your outreach.

Finally, sharing often on social media can be very effective. Many times someone likes your post and uses part of it in their own article with link credit to your site.

Link building is helping us continuously. Our rankings and traffic are steadily increasing and link building is one of the big reasons for that. It’s definitely an important part of our content promotion. In fact, we credit our first guest post on a high domain authority site is one of the factors that kickstarted our success.

-Matěj Halouska, Czech the World

18. Create “Cornerstone Content”

Becoming a full-time blogger in just one year? Is it really possible these days, with such fierce competition and an oversaturated market?

The good news is that, based on my seven years of experience blogging as a business, the answer is absolutely yes.

The “not-so-good” news?

It’s not easy, though it’s easier with some guidance.

My biggest tip for you is to focus on creating “Cornerstone Content” — as in, your best articles; typically in-depth guides full of useful information about a topic you are considered an expert on. Here is an example.

These will be the posts you always refer to from your other content, and that are more likely to be cited by other websites and blogs — and possibly even large online publications — to bring the majority of your traffic.

Personally, I didn’t take my blog very seriously when I first started; however, in 2012, after taking a number of online blogging courses and reading helpful guides, I learned about the importance of using keywords in your content to help it rank.

In just one year I had 950% more users and 820% more sessions compared to the previous year.

While this massive spike in traffic didn’t lead to full-time income right away, it did once I realized I could monetize it through adding affiliate links to popular posts (again, that Cornerstone Content!). So if you want to make a nice blog income after 1 year, definitely focus on cornerstone content sooner than I did!

Just make sure when using affiliate links to always disclose that you have done so to keep an open and honest relationship with your readers.

-Clelia Mattana, Keep Calm And Travel

19. Don’t write for social media

Many newbie bloggers have an expectation that one of their posts will go viral on social media, but the chances of that are very slim and even if it happens, it has little long-term effects.

Instead, focus on writing quality evergreen content that people search for and which has the likelihood of serving as a building block for future content discovery on search engines. It should be more about the reader rather than about you, which also means it will be relevant for a larger audience.

Personally, when I visit a destination I’ll usually work on a few types of content:

• Bog posts featuring personal experiences and impressions
• In-depth travel guides
• “Snack-bite” listicles that are easy-reads such as a “top 10 list”

I once spent several months living and traveling in the Hawaiian islands. From this trip, I published multiple blog posts and a series of travel guides. The blog posts were read by hundreds in conjunction with their publishing, but the travel guides are read every month by thousands of readers in a consistent and predictable manner — 30x compared to readers of the “social media-oriented” content!

Pro tip:

When you create your content I recommend writing for people like yourself.

It might sound like a cliche, but don’t try to be who you’re not. As a traveler, I personally like to read in-depth guides that go into great detail.

So as a publisher, I write this exact content, understanding that there are lots of other travelers like me “out there” who will discover, consume and share my content because it is relevant to them.

-Avichai Ben Tzur, X Days In Y

20. Focus on Pinterest

When I discovered Pinterest in January of 2018 I read blogs and signed up to free email courses on how to use it effectively.

Pinterest is a massive search engine. When people are Googling ideas and tips, quite often a Pinterest result will be on the first page.

Pinterest isn’t just about crafts and baking, either. It’s a gold mine for people who want to drive traffic to their blog.

The key to success on Pinterest is to pin engaging images that make people want to save, repin, and click.

I pin about 30 times a day — mostly my own content, but in the beginning you’ll need to pin other people’s pins not only to grow your followers but to keep Pinterest happy.

Each pin I create either goes to a blog post or one of my products.

You can also use Pinterest for affiliate marketing as long as you disclose that the pin is an affiliate pin. It’s important to play by all the rules.

Today, 90% of my traffic comes from Pinterest, which has helped me increase my product and affiliate income as well as my ad earnings!

-Iva Ursano, Amazing Me Movement

Invite: How To Make Money As A Travel Blogger [Free Workshop]

While we’re on the topic of blog monetization, I’d love to invite you to my free workshop: 10 Powerful Ways To Make Money Travel Blogging.

During the 60-minute on-demand workshop, you’ll learn:

• Myths related to monetizing a blog (that may be holding you back!)
• Strategies for creating profitable content (so those blog posts, emails & social shares lead to income!)
• Tips for earning recurring passive revenue as a blogger (so your income grows even when you’re away from your laptop!)
• How to create products that you know your audience will buy (so you don’t waste your time!)
• Advice for growing your affiliate income (with a strategy that truly works!)
• And more!

Plus, your free ticket to this actionable workshop also includes a Q&A, limited-time replay, and special bonuses.

Click here to grab your seat in the free travel blog monetization workshop.

How to Make Money Blogging FAQs

If you’re still wondering, “how long does it take to monetize a blog?”, I hope these questions can help give you some clarity!

Q) How fast can you make money blogging?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer as it depends on your monetization strategy and how much time you’re able to dedicate to your blog. Some blogs are able to make some affiliate income within a few months but setting yourself a goal of a year is more realistic.

Q) How long does it take to make money from a blog?

Again, this will depend on factors like the niche you choose, how you decide to monetize, how you decide to get traffic (niche keywords with SEO is a good place to start), and how much time you dedicate to the blog. If you follow the advice in this post and treat your blog like a business with a steady content creation strategy, you can likely make money within a year.

Q) How do bloggers make money?

Some ways bloggers make money include affiliate marketing, ad networks (like Mediavine), and brand partnerships. Creating digital products and courses is another great way to earn income from your blog.

How long does it take to make money blogging? 

Leave your own tips for taking your blog full-time within a year below!

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