This is a guest post by Lisa Egle who runs the travel blog Chicky Bus. Lisa approached me here on TBC to see if the travel blog community can help her decide if she should try to monetize here blog, and if so, how best to approach it.
Come on, how can you not help me???
I think this is a great chance for us all to learn as I know many (if not most) of us have faced this question about monetizing. Lisa is very brave to open up her site completely to all of us and see what is going on traffic wise. Many of us have a piece of the monetizion puzzle and this is a great opportunity to help out each other in the comments. I will also post a follow up article with all the comments organized along with my own thoughts.
Time To Monetize?
When I started my travel blog–Chicky Bus—approximately one year ago, I had two primary goals: sharing my travel stories, tips and photos with others while building a social media platform to help me publish/sell my travel memoirs, once completed.
“Monetizing” my site—with ads, widgets, affiliate sales, etc.—was not high on the list although, admittedly, it was in the back of my mind.
Now, one year later, the monetary possibilities have grown in importance and moved up on the priority list. I recognize the value of what I do/see the engagement, put in a lot of time/energy and have seen my “numbers” improving. I’ve also spent not just time but money on my site for: a premium theme builder, webhost fees, a social media consultant, a web developer and some paid plug-ins. I’d love to see a return on my investment.
Before I ask my questions and we conduct our “case study,” here’s some background on my site:
Background
Site Name/Tagline: Chicky Bus: Finding yourself off the beaten path.
How it appears on Google: Chicky Bus: Travel tips, spirituality and humor.
Age of Site: 1 year, 1 month
Domain Name: I chose the domain name, www.chickybus.com, because it’s memorable, the backbone of the overall concept and thus, “brandable.” Early on, I opted to do this versus choosing a “discoverable” name, one that would be found in simple searches about travel—eg, “solo travel” and “female adventure travel”. I do, of course, use these and many other “key words” in certain posts.
Concept
Chicky Bus aims to take readers “off-the-beaten path and into the moment—to a place of self-discovery”—via tales, tips, photos and more. This reflects the theme of the book I recently completed and works the same way; readers/”passengers” are taken on the bus for trips/”rides” to 5 continents around the world, which entertain and lead to introspection and hopefully, inspire healthy risk-taking and more in-the-moment “authentic travel.”
Target Audience
The site is geared to anyone, male or female, with an interest in travel/cultural experiences and photography:
· independent travelers (solo/couples) who travel internationally and in the US
· travelers who generally take tours and wonder what it’s like to get off the beaten path
· people considering their first trip
· students and professors interested in cultural exchange/world politics
· anyone interested in personal growth (living in the moment, taking risks, etc.) and open to the idea of it happening via travel
Actual Audience
According to Alexa statistics, my site’s audience “tends to be childless; they are also disproportionately highly educated women between the ages of 25 and 45 who browse from home and have incomes under $100,000.”
Visitors
Visitors to the site spend approximately 44 seconds on each page view and a total of seven minutes on the site during each visit. Search engines refer approximately 10% of visits. (Note: this is also per Alexa and some of it differs from what Google’s metrics said.)
My Numbers
Alexa Ranking: 146,280 worldwide (42,532 US and 57,281 in the UK)
Google Page Rank: 3
Google Analytics: Approximately 3250 visitors (75% new) per month, of whom about 2530 are “absolute/unique”; 5676 page views in the past month; time on site varies.
Twitter Followers—3000 followers
Klout Score: 63
*I realize that there are mixed reviews re: the validity/value of some of these numbers and metrics; however, since they’re what many people use, I’ve listed them. What I do know is that those visiting my site tend to be loyal, interested and highly engaged.
Monetize Now or Later?
Last month, Virgin Atlantic (via a marketing company) approached me about running a search widget on my site and I agreed to it. It’s a start, but I’d like to see more money coming in.
I’ve been approached by other companies, those less well-known, and haven’t been sure what to do. Some of them seem spammy and not worth my time. I recently set up an advertising page to show which options are available.
So, my question to you—those already making money—is…is it time for me to really monetize or not? Is my site the kind that’s appropriate for this? Are my “numbers” high enough? And if so, which types of situations will bring in the most money without creating a lot more work for me?
The challenge here, of course, is time. I’ve finished writing my book and am considering publishing options. Meanwhile, I’m a full-time ESL professor and have a busy life. Of course, like many of my travel blogger peers, I’m a bit of a social media/Internet addict and, at times, feel burnt out.
My Questions
Here are some of the things I’d like advice about—and to see demystified if possible. And if it helps to share links to lists, articles, etc, if relevant, please do so. Without further ado, here are my questions:
1. Affiliate links: Are they worth it?
I recently bought some slashproof travel gear that I thought was excellent. Is it worth writing a post about it and using affiliate marketing to try to earn commission? Is it worth the time/energy? I am sure that other travelers would benefit from the post, but would they click and buy?
2. Advertising: What’s the best approach?
Do I, the travel blogger, pursue it? Look at other bloggers’ sites and see who they have as “sponsors” and if their “numbers” and niche are similar, approach that particular advertiser? Or do I wait to be approached by the advertisers themselves? And if/when that happens, how do I know whom to trust?
And if they are legit, how much should I charge? How long should I commit for? How do I re-negotiate for a higher rate? And what about homepage versus single-post page versus sitewide? Are there different prices for each option?
Anyone out there have a form or rate sheet to share that they give to advertisers to show the options/pricing structure?
3. Sponsored vs paid guest posts: One or both?
Every once in a while, I see that a traveler blogger’s post was sponsored by someone else; at the bottom, there’s a link to a travel-related company. I wonder how much they were paid to include this link.
Other times, I see a post that the blogger allowed someone else to write—and obviously got paid for, too. The writing quality (and number of comments) is generally low or simply awkward sounding; sometimes the post seems out of place and, on occasion, compromises the integrity of the site in some way.
In my case, I’m more comfortable with allowing for the former situation versus the latter. Also, I’d even consider writing a “targeted post”—one that the advertiser wants to run that includes a link. This, however, would cost a lot since it would really be labor-intensive.
What’s a good/basic protocol for each of the scenarios? How much can/should one charge?
4. Press Trips: “It’s complicated,” right? Or not?
As a former reporter, I find the idea of a press trip a bit perplexing and wonder how it really works. What specifically do “they” (eg–the agency, tourism council, etc.) pay for—airfare, transportation, tours, etc? Some of it? All of it?
And what about compensation? Do you get paid, too? If so, what is it fair to ask for? And what happens if the trip doesn’t go well? How do you handle writing about it? Is there any sort of conflict of interest?
What about income tax (if you’re not a permanent digital nomad)? Must you claim the “free trip” (and what it would have cost) as income? Do you have to pay sales tax on it based on the rate mandated by the state in which you live?
Final Question: How Do I Monetize Without Losing Sight of My Original Goals?
These are some of the monetization situations I’ve been wondering about and would love to know your thoughts re: my particular “case.” As you can see, if I pursue monetization, I’d like to work “smart” versus “hard.”) The question is–how do I manage it all without losing sight of my primary goals—providing quality content to readers, maintaining my social media platform and getting my book published?
Bio: Lisa Egle, founder/owner of www.chickybus.com, is an independent traveler and an ESL professor at a 2-year college. She recently finished her travel memoirs, a collection of short stories about her experiences on 5 continents around the world. She’s done everything from (unintentionally) eating dog in China to being proposed to on a chicken bus and recently, meeting a Colombian hermit in Lebanon. Her travel philosophy (and the concept of her site) is “travel off the beaten path and into the moment–to a place of self-discovery.”
Links:
So what do all of your smart travel bloggers things about Chicky Bus’ situation? Leave your comments below and let’s figure out this monetization issue!
About Todd Wassel
There’s not much hard advice I can give as I’ve only just started to take my blog seriously and although I’ve meant to monetise it, have not seriously concentrated on doing so.
However, a point about paid guest posts. More often than not, marketing agencies say they will provide you “quality” content for their links and when they do submit the piece, it’s such total rubbish I have to heavily edit it so that in the end, I end up almost writing the whole piece anyway. So, now I prefer to have anchor text with links in a post I write and adjust for their link instead of having submitted paid guest post. And yes, you’re right, it impacts on the integrity of your site if you have rubbish pieces when your own posts are of real quality.
As to affiliate links, I’ve just started looking into that and I see no reason why you should not write a targeted piece to promote your affiliate if this piece is of real help to your readers for example my piece on the cheapest train ticket in Germany http://easyhiker.co.uk/getting-cheapest-train-tickets-in-germany/ where at the end of the post I stated that my site is an affiliate of the Deutsche Bahn.
I believe I read the advice in this same forum that being upfront and honest about your affiliation to a product could be more positively viewed and help in earning from it from readers than having the readers find out in another way about it.
I’ve done only one press trip and hand on heart, I would not accept one if I’m not interested in the destination, free or not. How can I promote something that I would not or will never have considered doing otherwise? Just because it was free?
I’m also preparing to approach advertisers directly but am a bit timid about. But it has to be done.
Awaiting some advice from other bloggers on this.
Michael recently posted..Easy Hiking Is Adventure For Beginners
Hi, Michael. Sounds like we’re in a similar situation and at the same point. Glad you mentioned the press trip. I think that what you said makes a lot of sense. If someone offered me a trip to place I’m not interested it, I wouldn’t be able to do it. It wouldn’t feel right. And that, I’m sure, would come through in the post. Meanwhile, I’m wondering how being an affiliate of Deutsche Bahn has been going for you. Is it a setup where if the person clicks and buys, you receive a commission? Has that been happening? I hope so!
Like you, I look forward to learning more about the next steps in this process. Thanks for sharing your take, by the way!
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Finished Writing My Book! What’s It About and What’s Next?
Very very interested to see the responses to this. Will watch and see. I am only 3 months in and didn’t even realise people made money talking about their lives (I am still shocked people read what I write). So while its not a priority at the moment, it would be cool to earn enough for a dinner once in awhile when we are on the road. Look forward to hearing more.
Cole @ FourJandals recently posted..Ice Climbing in the UK
I was recently offered a press trip and the person I spoke to offered me free accommodation for a week and 800 Euros for everything else, including the actual article writing. With transportation, food and other costs taken into consideration, I would have still made a small profit, but frankly, since I’m not a full time blogger and work part time (so no paid leave) I would have lost all my ‘normal’ money if I had accepted and taken a week off. While travelling is my passion, you still have to consider money issues.
As for guest posts and compromising your website…you should definitely make sure you can edit guest posts. However, if you dislose that you were paid to put the post up, I see nothing wrong with it if it’s travel related. Bloggers, as you said, often spend considerable money on their websites, and they need to try and get the money back. As long as the blog is not swamped with guestposts, I don’t mind.
Denise recently posted..10 things to do in Zurich: Visit the museums, and not just on rainy days
Thanks, Denise. I understand why you turned down that trip. It makes sense to me.
As for guest posts…I hear you. I’m OK with other bloggers writing them–or perhaps a company sponsoring one that I wrote. I won’t, however, allow a company to write one for me.
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Finished Writing My Book! What’s It About and What’s Next?
I agree with you, Lisa, re: company written posts. I’ve turned down a few offers, as well as companies who want a non-disclosed link within the content of my posts. Besides being sneaky and unethical, it’s also against FTC guidelines (not that the rules would bother me much if I totally disagreed with them!). It can be hard to turn down money, but then I remind myself how I feel when I read a post and it’s got a bunch of spammy, undisclosed links in it.
Now that I’ve clarified the issues of type of material accepted plus disclosure, I’m also pondering the “nofollow”/”dofollow” aspect of linking, as that can have an impact on your PR. The importance of PR is allegedly in decline, but many agencies still seem to use it as a measurement, so…?
TourAbsurd recently posted..Beautiful Activities on Tenerife
Without getting too deep,
- YOUR PRODUCT: If you have a personal brand and a personal product that your brand conscious readers will be interested in, I’d focus on that as the monetization strategy.
- AFFILIATES: If you believe in a third party product enough to be compelled to write about it, do it! long sell product links are a great heritage to have deep in your site or splashed on the front page. As your site grows, they will generate. I’d recommend being hyper-honest and up front in telling your dedicated readers how affiliate links support your site.
- BANNERS: I’d avoid the pollution of paid guest posts, click through adds and loosely-related banner adds until your numbers are a bit higher (Todd, jump in with numbers thoughts).
If your audience is tuning in because of you, provide more of you and imbibe everything with your voice. A blog is a great pre-hype and launch platform for books and other info-products. (See Todd’s site with its flashy book hype). If you have 3000 dedicated readers, 20% of whom will buy a $12 book or e-book from which you make $7, you’ve got a $4200 product launch. Create 4 launch-able products per year and you’ve got your travel budget (if you can travel like Wandering Earl)
But either way, you’ve got the magic part down: Persistence. If you wake up and take three swings at a tree every day, eventually, the tree will come down.
Site looks great BTW. Keep at it (without burning out)
~Sage
Sage recently posted..Sage Walks the West Highland Way: Day 1 of 5
Sage–thanks so much for your insights and ideas–and feedback re: my site, too! You make a lot of great points, which I’ll keep in mind. I may do the affiliate post because I really did have a great experience with the slashproof gear and think it’s worth it. It helped me feel safer on overnight buses, etc. and leaving things in my room. Re: a “product”….that makes a lot of sense. In my case, it’s the book I’ve written and possibly t-shirts and other items with the logo.
I also look forward to Todd’s response. Meanwhile, thanks so much for jumping in!
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Finished Writing My Book! What’s It About and What’s Next?
Hi Lisa,
Great questions. Exactly what I’d like to know, too. So,I’ll be reading other people’s responses.
The only advice/tips I can give are these:
* I learned answers to a lot of these Qs here on the TBC forums. I just read through ALL of them. You can learn a lot in there.
* TBC’s article on Advertising Survey Round-up is really helpful for ad prices, esp. pt 1.
* ThePlanetD has a great post on Press Trips- what to expect, what to ask for, what you really need as a blogger to get your job for them done properly, etc.
Sorry I have no more personal experience to toss in… I’m waiting to hear what others who ahve monetized have t say…
Lash recently posted..PHOTO GALLERY: BRAZIL AMAZON
Lash–Great idea to read through all of the posts here on TBC. I’ve read some and need to find time to read more. Of those I’ve seen, all have been excellent!
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Finished Writing My Book! What’s It About and What’s Next?
Unfortunately, I have little to add Lisa, save my kudos for being so open about it all (so refreshing), plus… just my own .02 on “monetizing” one’s LIFE, to help feed one’s wanderlust passion.
There are many ways to fund a wanderlust lifestyle (my own, was to start my own adventure travel company for 20+ years), and blogging is just one of them (and, I believe, possibly the most labor intensive in relation to the return on investment.) Nonetheless, though I’m now retired (well, if you don’t count soon to be skipping off to Southeast Asia to be an expat and teach EFL in Vietnam), I too have a fledgling travel blog (likewise for about a year), and…
Though I honestly have little desire to put in the hours ‘n hours of time that it takes to build a following (i.e. boost those infernal “numbers”), as a die-hard entrepreneur, I’m ever fascinated with learning the nuts ‘n bolts (not to mention the pros ‘n cons) of “monetizing it.
From what little I’ve gleaned (as an avid travel blog consumer), I’d say those insufferable “guest posts” are the worst/quickest way to lose your hard-earned readers. Leastwise they seem to all be of uniformly poor quality and/or – at the very least, clearly out of place and worse – so very out of “voice” of YOU the most precious asset of a blogger.
That and… if you do opt to (hopefully at least write the post yourself) a “sponsored post”, please don’t tuck the blurb/link to your employer waaaaay down there at the base of your post, but rather, man-up and tell your loyal readers up front/up top that the FOLLOWING is sponsored blather. (otherwise you risk having your precious readers feeling a tad duped when they get to the end.)
Also, (from my own experience as a past tour operator with tons of offers of “fam” trips, a.k.a. “press trips”), suffice most such offers are vastly overrated. Fine if they happen to be for a destination you lust after (and airfare is included), but if you’re a seriously free-spirited, off-the-beaten-path soul like me, it isn’t worth it (unless… you can add an extra week or three to explore the destination on your own.)
As I said, not much I can contribute to your quest for answers on monetizing your blog, but I’d say you’re on the right track with using it as a springboard for (what no doubt promises to be) your wondrous travel memoirs book. And even smarter for opening up the discussion to learn from fellow travel bloggers. I look forward to reading the comments here.
Dyanne@TravelnLass recently posted..Eating Live Cobra: What I WON’T be doing in Hanoi soon…
Great advice, Dyanne! I totally agree with you re: those ‘guest posts’. I won’t do those since I don’t like seeing them on others’ sites, etc. As for the sponsorship option, what you said makes sense–putting the info up front. Do you mean in cases where the post (I’ve written has an angle related to the company)?
Would it be OK to put the link at the end if the company had zero say in the topic? I have a situation where a company is interested in having a link at the end, but…they would have no involvement in the post. In other words, I’d write whatever I’d write anyway and then they’d get the link. Would that be wrong to place at the bottom?
Anyway, thanks for your ideas and kind words re: my book–appreciate it!
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Finished Writing My Book! What’s It About and What’s Next?
Re: “Would it be OK…” I think the bottom line here is “remuneration”, paid, reward, rubles and/or perks passing hands, whatever you want to call it. If you were paid (even a pittance) in dong or free goods, no matter – the net effect is the same. I mean, all well and good if you can truly not be influenced when someone’s paying for your mots. But regardless, paid is paid, and most of us view any such posts with a pinch of salt.
Some may not care if you state your ruble confession bottom or top (or not at all), but there’s plenty who will feel duped, or at least a little foolish, when they find out – at the end – that what they’ve been reading wasn’t necessarily wholly from the heart. So I say, no matter – put your ruble confession straight up top, always. There’s ways you can make the confession playful and even fun. And trust that your readers will, if anything – give you extra points for your refreshing honesty and integrity.
Besides, (speaking of “honesty”) if you honestly feel that the freebies/pennies did not – even a smidge – color your words, then what’s the harm in being totally transparent about it and saying so straight up front?
Dyanne@TravelnLass recently posted..Eating Live Cobra: What I WON’T be doing in Hanoi soon…
Points well-taken, Dyanne. Thank you! I will keep it all in mind as I move ahead with this–if I do, that is. Honesty + transparency = the best policy. Appreciate that you took the time to come back and say/share more!
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Coming Back to Life at the Dead Sea
I disagree that the link needs to be at the beginning if the sponsor had nothing to do with the content. They are paying you to write what you would have written already. They want a connection with your material — great! That doesn’t mean they rate space near the headline. If you set the link to “dofollow” they get the juice, regardless. If a reader is loyal and interested enough to finish the article, then folks who do see the link are probably more likely to click on it, rather than say, StumbleUpon users with 10s attention spans who won’t bring traffic anyway. Also consider how distracting it is from a visual standpoint. I expect there to be additional info about authors, resources, sponsors, etc. at the end. I don’t need all the editorial stuff at the start. I just want to know if it’s a topic in which I am interested. My opinion.
TourAbsurd recently posted..Beautiful Activities on Tenerife
What great questions! I have always been wondering about the same things. I tried monetizing my site with affiliates and google adsense. Its been four months since I did, and I have made nothing through affiliates and $1.86 on google adsense LOL… I laughed so hard when I saw my earnings. I could be doing this all wrong .. In terms of press trips.. I was offered one and it was so badly planned I walked out. The second time I came across a press trip, I had to purchase my own flight tickets and it was just too expensive to do so… So I backed down. I hope to learn more about monetizing my blog soon! Am going to keep a look out on the answers here. I am trying to grow my twitter account… Do you have any advice on how to increase followers?
Rosemarie John recently posted..Coffee & Toast Malaysian Style – Where to Have It?
Hi Everyone, it is great to see so many people weighing in and giving advice! Monetization is understandably one of the more popular topics when it comes to blogs. The how, what, when, how MUCH are all very interesting to people. So, here are my thoughts on Lisa’s specific case. It may be different for other bloggers with different goals.
Lisa, your biggest asset is your brand and your products. You have already taken the first step towards monetization by creating your blog to help build your platform to get your book published. This is actually the exact reason I turned Todd’s Wanderings over to the world rather than keeping it a family secret. Developing your own products and selling them through your website (either directly, or indirectly by promoting them to your fans) is a very solid blog monetization strategy. It is actually one the more lucrative as well. Of course your mileage may vary depending on your product and it’s potential target market size.
So for me, your next step should be to increase your traffic and readership stats. Regardless of how you publish your book, your earnings will be tied to your loyal readers (see Sage’s comments above). The higher the number of people who like your writing, the more people will be willing to buy your writing. Building traffic is a bit of a different topic (and very large as well) but my suggestion is that you hit the digital pavement and get your guest posts into the hands of sites that will be interested in your book’s topic. That way you not only get increased readers coming in but you also have established relationships with other bloggers who may be willing to review or sell your book through affiliate sales.
In terms of your traffic numbers, I am not going to comment on how off the mark Alexa is
But in general I think that you have a small but steady stream of visitors. What you didn’t mention was how many of them are subscribed to an RSS or an e-mail list. For selling your own products you will want ways to contact you readers to let them know what you have to offer.
Affiliate sales. With your traffic numbers I don’t see this being a huge seller for you. If you can target the products closely to your audience you will have a better chance. But with 3,000 + people coming each month the amount of click throughs and buys will be low. But if you like a product and you recommend it to your friends and family then go for it. I earn anywhere from $0 in affiliate sales to $300 per month depending. I’m planning on upping my affiliate links in the coming weeks as an experiment on my more popular posts.
Ads, banners, follow links. This is something that many bloggers have the best success with. The company you sealed the deal with on your current advertising has other travel clients (I know because I work with Icrossing) and you can always pitch and ask them for more business. This is an easy way to cover basic costs and earn some investment money. However, just remember that dofollow link selling is against google terms of service, If they find you out then you risk the ranking of your site and thus the way you are able to sell your own products.
Sponsored posts (see above for my same warning). Personally I do not like it when someone sells a post and has is written by an outside writer. I know many popular blogs that do this and I think it is wrong. You read a post thinking it was their journey and at the end it was written by some faceless copywriter. I don’t mind people earning money this way, but they are not the type of sites I follow or read personally. For generic sites this a great business model. You get information about a specific destination and your visitors are most likely only coming through google search for specific information. But if you are trying to build a personal brand I think this is the wrong way to go. I have not even allow guest posts on my site (Todd’s Wanderings that is) because it is such a personal brand. I’m trying to figure out a way to create a less personalized section for other contributors but I haven’t thought of a good way yet.
For me, quality to the reader should be first and foremost. But quality geared towards you selling something. For you Lisa, I think that is selling your own products. You can branch out into affiliate says on products you like and can recommend (but be upfront that you earn something). You can even put in google adsense. Many people hate it as they think it ruins the purity of a website. For me this is less of an issue. Ads are everywhere on the web. If the content is useful, compelling, and interesting I can overlook ads. I use them on Todd’s Wanderiings and pull in a whopping average of $200/year. Is it great? NO. But it pays for hosting and other things.
So feel free to take my suggestions with a grain of salt, but I think I am very much in your shoes in terms of original goals. I still intend to sell my own products, my memoir and other books. But by building up the traffic on my site (anywhere between 10,000-14,000 per month at the moment) and targeting specific affiliate deals and ad deals I make an average of $1,200/month on my site. I’ll chime in with more specifics as the comments role in.
Todd–Thanks so much for the opportunity to guest post here and for the fantastic advice! I totally agree with you re: my traffic numbers. Although those who follow me and interact on the site are return visitors and very loyal/interested ones, I need to increase the overall traffic to my site.
So, based on our case study results, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ve got some ideas for articles for Matador Network and Huff Post, etc. I just need to reach out to them and see if they’re interested. I think this would help my numbers. I also need to work on StumbleUpon. Sometimes it works great for me; other times, it doesn’t. I wish I could get to the bottom of that.
As for ads, etc…perhaps I’ll speak to iCrossing and learn more re: their other clients. Maybe I’ll write about slashproof gear and have an affiliate link. But my main focus will be on:
–maintaining the quality writing/photos, etc. that I share on my site
–increasing traffic by writing for other sites
–putting the final touches on my book–my product–and getting it out there as soon as I can
I’m glad I wrote this post. I learned a lot–and especially that some projects would not benefit my site (and potentially waste my time). That’s great because now I can focus on the right ones–those that will help me the most.
Thanks, Todd–and everyone else!
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Coming Back to Life at the Dead Sea
It´s 7.40 am and my eyes aren´t even alive yet, but somehow I followed your links and ended up here. Thank you for writing this, I am in the middle of building my site, got great input from all comments posted here. Thank you, from a still tired guy in Portugal
What a very interesting topic and one that we wrestle with all the time. Thank you for this!
I had an interesting chat with one of the Tourism reps on this the other day. Her advice to me, is you don’t want to become a paid advertisement, as the value in what we do is storytelling. She recommended to me that we work with various Tourism Agencies in the capacity that they cover our expenses, but don’t pay for the content, because then it becomes an ad.
So how do we monetize then? I am not a fan of ads all over the place, so we have been looking to site sponsors and brand placement within our stories.
As for Press Trips, we are offered them, but usually we opt for personally planned packages specifically for us, because much of our storytelling takes places off the beaten and with the people we meet in our travels.
I did run in to an online magazine at a travel event the other day and they ran their office predominantly on ad sales, to the extent that they were hiring a sales person.
Will continue to return to read others comments here, as this is very much a topic we are constantly discussing our approach on.
~ Emme
Emme Rogers recently posted..Would You Do It To Live the Whistler Dream?
Thank you, Emme. This is great info! I like what you said re: the press trips. A customized trip of sorts that would allow for the maximum interaction with locals, etc. would work best for me, too. My site’s primary focus is on that type of scenario, so it would make sense to do it that way. I will keep that in mind as I possibly negotiate a press trip to East Africa in the future.
PS: Do you pay your own airfare when you go on a sponsored trip? It seems to me that most do, but I’d like to be sure so that I don’t ask for something that’s not appropriate.
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Coming Back to Life at the Dead Sea
Very interesting topic! I too have been wondering when is the right time to monetize and then how to do it. The comments above have been very informative and helpful. Thank you for being bold enough for those of us that have been wondering in silence
Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista recently posted..Ugly History in Budapest
Thanks, Debbie. Glad you found it interesting/useful. Well, thanks to Todd, too! Anyway, I’m glad that my putting all the info out there helped make this analysis possible!
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Coming Back to Life at the Dead Sea
What a very interesting topic and one that we wrestle with all the time. Thank you for this!
There are many ways to fund a wanderlust lifestyle and blogging is just one of them. I have some knowledge about it. If you have a personal brand and a personal product that your brand conscious readers will be interested in, I’d focus on that as the magnetization strategy.
If you believe in a third party product enough to be compelled to write about it, do it! long sell product links are a great heritage to have deep in your site or splashed on the front page. As your site grows, they will generate. I’d recommend being hyper-honest and up front in telling your dedicated readers how affiliate links support your site.
I’d avoid the pollution of paid guest posts, click through adds and loosely-related banner adds until your numbers are a bit higher.
Thanks. In my case, the product will be my book. Also, I may consider the product review scenario–especially of the slash-proof gear, which I feel pretty strongly about. Thanks for sharing your ideas!
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Coming Back to Life at the Dead Sea
Interesting article and great advice. For me, it hasn’t been a case of whether to monetize. I’ve been into the idea since the beginning, I’m just waiting for offers!
Scott – Quirky Travel Guy recently posted..Checking out the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock
Personally, I am really not annoyed by guest posting. If I know a blog and blogger really well, I can instantly understand which posts have been written by someone else, even before reading the disclaimer, and I am sure that all you bloggers out there do too. When I notice such a post, I simply ignore it. I don’t feel anger towards the blogger because I know he or she needs to pay for expenses, and since no one will donate money to a blogger who blogs for free, ads are the only way to get money for travelling. I do, however, think that such guest posts should be written generally, not with an ‘I’ of a copywriter.
I have also written sponsored posts which were completely and whole-heartedly in my own personal voice, despite the added sponsored link in it. I really don’t know why so many bloggers feel offended with guest and sponsored posts. It’s like quiting reading your favourite magazine because there are ads in it…
Denise recently posted..10 things to do in Zurich: Visit the museums, and not just on rainy days
Hi
When it comes to monetising there are many different options, but here are some things to be aware of:
1. Offering sponsored posts – set strict guidelines, don’t let insurance seo’s fill your site with cheap travel insurance articles. Make sure that the website you are linking to is relevant to your audience e.g. a post on cheap travel destinations from a jobs site is not great. You should care about the sites you link out to as much as the sites that link to you
2. Offering guest posts – dont charge for it, but offer these to companies/bloggers you believe in – see if you can get a guest post on their site in return – this will only help you and its a nice way to build relationships with companies that aren’t big corporates
3. Let people do giveaways – it might not earn you money, but you will be able to offer something useful to your audience and you may get additional mentions which then will get you noticed, which in turn may bring you additional advertising
4. Consider ebooks – people find these useful, and a lot of people are charging for these
5. Look into vigilinks and skimlinks for affiliate linking
6. If you are going to add loads of affiliate links think about a solution like this http://yoast.com/affiliate-links-and-seo/ Google is dinging sites with a lot of affiliate links with its Panda update – be careful here
7. Adopt the idea of karma, if you can help someone out with the long term view that they can help you out then go for it. It doesn’t always have to be about cold hard cash.
Kerry–Thanks so much for this info. It’s really good!
Lisa @chickybus recently posted..Coming Back to Life at the Dead Sea
Not sure why, but one year into blogging for my travel site travelmemo.com offers for paid guest posts started to pour in.
Not sure whether large travel sites got scared by Google Panda but now they seem to implement their link building strategies via smaller and independent travel blogs. We look more unsuspicious than large but efficient link farms in front of the Google spiders it seems…
So I’m starting to publish paid guest posts. Some (so far not so good ones) are provided, some other I compile myself (which I prefer). The rates vary accordingly between 120 and 150$ depending on the process (who provides the content) and what industry the client is in. I will publish my first article for a gaming website shortly. Will have to watch closely how that goes, usually you don’t want to get close of those guys
Walter recently posted..Top Round Trips For Couples by Cheap Car Hire
Hello@all
After finally reading all posts here, how small do I feel with my little site. Just like to go to the beach and never see my laptop again. But then, years ago, after and in between all my travels, I had this idea for a site, which I finally started.
My problem? I have a site which I hope nobody has to ever use! I am in the middle of building it, adding links, doing a touch here and there. Does not look good, but my goal is to help.
Any ideas about how to make just enough to cover the costs? I have been looking through so many offers of banners and else, but the affiliates I want for my site are hard to find.
Be safe…