How To Make Money Blogging About Travel In 6 Simple Steps

As a travel blogging coach, these 6 steps are the crux of my teaching philosophy. I don't just want my students to get more followers and readers; I want them to understand how follower growth can lead to community and profits. *FREE* 5-day profitable blogging email course: http://jessieonajourney.com/free-profitable-blogging-email-course *FREE* blog posts on travel blogging: jessieonajourney.com/tag/blogging What I've noticed with a lot of the other classes out there is that they focus solely on how to grow a following. And yes, this is super important. But what I want for you, is to understand how to turn that following in to a sustainable, profitable business. Step #1: Find a narrow niche that also has a mission that helps people. So, think about this statement. I help [group of people] do [how do you help them]. Consider what topics people often seek your expertise in. Or, if you don't know, call up five friends and say, hey, what do you see me as an expert in? What kinds of questions would you come to me for help on? Step #2: Do a niche audit. So you have your niche, identify the popular blogs in that niche, and create a pro, con list. What do you love about these blogs in terms of the content, in terms of the user experience, in terms of the design? And what don't you like. Consider if there is a medium being left out, like video. Or a point of view being left out. Is there a demographic that's not included in this niche? Really pinpoint where there's a gap. Step #3: Get very specific about who you can help, particularly their problems and pain points. How do you define these problems and pain points? Head over to forum sites like Quora, or Reddit, or Yahoo and find a forum that relates to your niche. Step #4: Now you're going to want to create an amazing, free opt-in -- a free gift for people when they subscribe to your email-mail list. Okay. So you've got your amazing, helpful, free blog content. You've got your awesome social media shares, which should also be fulfilling that mission of helping your target audience. Now, you want to further help them through this freebie. Now, right now, I want you to start thinking about what you'll create for your opt in freebie, but don't create it yet, because I want you to really think about step five beforehand. Step #5: Come up with a product that further helps your audience beyond that awesome free content and that awesome free email-mail opt-in, for instance, courses and tours. Tip: You opt-in freebie should be a natural segue to your product or service. So, if your product is a travel hacking course, maybe your opt in incentive is a travel hacking checklist. You know that someone that opted in to that checklist will have the interest. Step #6: Nurture your community (and eventually pitch them your product). What I recommend is sending out an incredibly helpful, valuable email-mail once per week to your community, so you stay at the front of their mind. Final tip: Think about what you already know about your business. Maybe you already know what product you want, or you already know your niche, and then build out from there.