Welcome to my first travel blog income report, where I outline the realities of travel blogging in 2021 amid a global pandemic (that doesn’t really work in my favour).
Firstly, I began my blogging journey at the end of April 2021, specifically the 25th. It was the first post that I was putting out to the online world, and it made me super nervous to publish my first piece of written content.
Nonetheless, over the last six months, it’s fair to say that I’ve learnt so much, and it’s been an incredible introduction to the blogging world. As of now (5th October 2021), I have 50 published posts and aim to put out another 50 before the end of the year; It’s a huge goal, but I now have a writing style and feel confident creating written content.
As for the future, I’d like to publish quarterly blogging income reports, so stay tuned for that as that will be taking off next year.
Therefore, looking forward to 2022 and into the future, I’m sure I’ll see an increase in traffic as a bit of normalcy returns to our daily lives. With that being said, I’ve considered my low traffic flow with hopes of it increasing over the following months.
Finally, continue reading my travel blog income report to discover the reality of starting a blog in 2021. And I hope this gives you more insight into travel blogging. Then you can decide if it’s the right fit for you. Lastly, I’ll let you in on all of my current expenses, and the services that I recommend. So, continue reading to find out more.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that I may earn a small commission on purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. Moreover, you can read my full affiliate disclosure here.
Travel Blogging Advice
Another part of this travel blog income report is to include some advice from my experience thus far. Moreover, this keeps everything transparent as I let you in on the highlights and the downfalls of starting a travel blog in 2021.
Firstly, travel blogging takes a lot of work with many, many hours. It’s not the kind of business venture to begin if you have no free time. And, this goes for all types of blogging, not just the travel sector.
Secondly, you will go a long time without payment. So, if getting paid is your goal, and you want to make full-time blogging your way of life, be prepared to wait. Therefore, blogging is not a get rich quick type of business investment. And, many writers are weeded out within the first year or so of blogging.
Thirdly, just like any business, you will need to invest money. And, keep in mind that this figure varies widely depending on how much you want to invest, hiring writers, blog designers and much more. So, keep these figures in mind and do some research before starting your own blog.
Finally, if you don’t enjoy writing and doing research, don’t bother starting a blog. Considering, you will be shocked at just how much time it actually takes to create these kinds of posts and how much effort they require.
To give an example, I spend around an average of 6 hours writing a post. However, some can take up to 12 hours, and the odd few take as little as 2-3 hours.
Read more: How to Start a Travel Blog in 2021: Make Money Blogging
Travel Blog Income Report
Income for September 2021: $0
Yep, you read that right; A complete total of $0. Now, I’ll let you know that I’m not upset or worried about seeing that number, as it’s an entirely normal blogging process.
Considering blogging isn’t a get rich quick kind of process, it takes many gruelling months (sometimes even years) to see any signs of a paycheck. And, as I was talking about earlier, the travel blogging world has taken a major hit with the pandemic.
Therefore, if you’re also starting, take note of this travel blog income report to avoid being discouraged.
Expenses for September 2021: $200.93
I’ve added a complete total of my expenses from the start of my journey in April. And, I’ll go ahead and break it all down for you so that you can see where I’ve spent the money.
- Canva: $9 one-off payment
- WP Rocket: $60 / year subscription
- Theme Forest, Salient Theme: $87.90 one-off payment
- Bluehost domain registration and privacy + protection: $44.03 / year subscription
Furthermore, not included in this expense list is my domain hosting platform from Bluehost. Moreover, this cost me a total of $147.32 in June 2020. However, I failed to start my blog in 2020 and proceeded to start it roughly ten months later. Therefore, I wasted almost $50 as I did very little with my blog in this duration.
Additionally, I do not include any travel-related, camera or Instagram expenses within my blog fees. Those are completely separated and take up a different part of my business.
Finally, I aim to put more money into this business into the future, but for now, this is just a starting ground and is an easy way to begin.
My net income for April to September is: -$200.93
The Best Blog Purchases
Out of all of the blog-related expenses, there are a couple that I would absolutely recommend. Firstly, I love my Salient theme as it’s easily customisable and one of the highest-rated themes from Theme Forest.
Secondly, I was shocked at the instant effect of purchasing and activating the WP Rocket plugin. My page speed was averaging at a score of 50-60. However, once obtaining the plugin, it shot up to the 90s. Finally, this is a significant improvement for my blog and will ensure new users of my blog have an optimal and fast experience.
Thirdly, I enjoy using Canva Pro for creating all types of blog-related imagery and media. Moreover, I’ve even used it to design my logo. Furthermore, Canva offers the Pro version for $17.99AUD/Month with a 30-day free trial. Therefore, take advantage of the free trial with this link to see if you enjoy the platform.
Finally, to give you an idea of some of the possibilities on Canva, I’ve included a screenshot of some of the templates.
Goals for the Rest of the Year
I strongly believe that goal setting is a crucial part of any business. And while I still have plenty of work to do in setting up my blog and writing more posts, I have a few goals that I’d like to achieve before the end of the year.
- Publish a total of 100 posts
- Earn $5 from my blog
- 20,000 blog impressions with clicks on the rise
- Focus on increasing my email list
Blog Traffic and Impressions
From April 25th – September 30th 2021
From the traffic I receive, 9.1% of my visitors are returning to my travel blog. Moreover, this is great to see as people are willing to come back to my website to discover new posts from me.
Nonetheless, I have a total of 159 new users. Besides, this is a considerable number to see when just starting as I have plenty more to achieve and lots of room for growth.
Monthly Blog Traffic:
April: 64 page views
May: 46 page views
June: 41 page views
July: 45 page views
August: 57 page views
September: 78 page views
Finally, it’s understandable to see these kinds of metrics for my page views considering the majority of this timeframe, a lot of Australia was experiencing lockdowns.
Therefore, leaving people with no need to travel (and read travel blogs). However, we are now coming into Summer, so I expect to see an increase in traffic as more people begin moving around for the holiday season.
How You Can Support My Travel Blog
There are various ways in which you can support my travel blog. Firstly, the best way to support this blog is to read my entire posts, leave a comment at the end and subscribe to my email list for future updates.
Additionally, you can follow my journey over on Instagram. I do my best to post a few times a week with engaging and visually pleasing photos and videos.
Finally, thank you for the support on this post. I can’t wait to see where the future takes us!
Wrapping Up
To sum up, blogging is hard. And, making money online is even harder. Although, all in all, I’ve loved the journey so far and feel like I’m only on the tip of the iceberg into my travel blogging journey.
Besides, I know there are many years of hard work to come, though I’m determined and feel as though I’ve unearthed a true passion of mine.
Have you recently discovered the online world of travel blogging? What do you think of this travel blog income report? Is this the kind of niche you want to get into?
Read more:
60 Travel Blog Post Ideas: Travel Blogging Guide
30 Travel Quotes: With Images
