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The Realities of Travel Blogging: Real Talk

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Oh wow! That’s my dream job! How amazing is that? OMG, you must be so rich!” This is the typical reaction I receive when I reveal that I am a travel blogger. It’s flattering, it truly is. But we all know how romanticized this career path can be on social networks. We also know that the realities of travel blogging are never the first thing to be discussed or shown there.  

The truth is, every time I’m presented with these questions, I vacillate about my answer. Insightfully, while reading the body language and facial expressions of the person in front of me, my default reaction is to smile it off. When, internally, I am begging to scream back YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH in my best Jack Nicholson impression.

Because the truth is, a peripatetic lifestyle isn’t what you would assume that it would be. And building a travel writing career while traveling full-time isn’t either. Let me enlighten you further on the realities of travel blogging with some real talk. 

The Realities of Travel Blogging Full-Time

Wrapping one’s mind around the realities of travel blogging means avoiding romanticism. After all, things never truly are what they seem. Gallivanting from airport lounges to junior suites, for example. Or a wardrobe boasting designer gowns for photo shoots at exotic temples may be the reality for some high-level influencers, but it isn’t the norm. 

Don’t get me wrong, my life as a freelance copywriter is amazing. I am living my dreams abroad, feeding my soul with the two things that bring childlike happiness into my life: storytelling and traveling. But first, let’s take a beat and discuss the realities of travel blogging from a travel blogger willing to be honest about it. So, let’s chat about what building, operating, and marketing a travel blog truly entails.

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What It Isn’t: The Realities of Travel Blogging

Let me clarify a few realities of travel blogging for you inquiring minds. First, I want to reiterate that I am building my travel blog. We all are! Even those that have the financial success you think you’re after. Why do I say that? Because the reality of travel blogging is that you’re always working on it.

Websites are like that. They require consistent modification, optimization, and attention. The days of posting something once and never looking at it again are long gone. If monetizing your website is the goal, that is. Which it should be if you weren’t approaching it from that angle. Websites cost money, so you might as well prioritize monetizing it vs. blogging for blogging’s sake. 

That being said, the truth of travel blogging is that you spend a ton of time behind the scenes. Checking and double-checking optimization while finding creative ways to tell the same story. What it isn’t is paid hotel stay after paid hotel stay and bragging about wealth online. The latter two things are plausible only when the time and effort have been applied. 

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a myriad of organization tools and software programs that exist to help manage these things, but many of them come at a cost. Thankfully, my organizational skills have made building my travel blog solo relatively manageable. 

What It Truly Is: The Realities of Travel Blogging

In one word, success as a travel blogger in a digital world comes to one thing, branding. This simple word, however, requires countless hours of dedication to the backend of things, the things people don’t see. 

For example, one of the realities of travel blogging is time management. I spend hours glued to my laptop or smartphone optimizing existing content, researching my ranking, and pivoting marketing campaigns. 

I also need to make time for content creation for my various social media outlets to market my products and services. Plus, more time is dedicated to engaging with my community of followers and networking in social groups to further my reach/connections in the industry to keep my blog (website) earning money.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a myriad of organization tools and software programs that exist to help manage these things, but many of them come at a cost. Thankfully, my organizational skills have made building my travel blog solo relatively manageable.

Are You Ready to Start Travel Blogging?

All this work happens in the in-between, but making time to create is my favorite part. And that’s because inspiring other women to get out there and go, even if that means traveling solo, is my passion. As a creative, finding an intriguing way to share my personal experiences with followers to motivate them to try solo traveling fills me with joy. 

What do you think about the realities of travel blogging? Share your thoughts with me in the comments of the blog. 

And if you find yourself still on the fence as a solo female about traveling, moving abroad, or building a career in digital marketing, know that you’re not alone. As an avid traveler with over 58 passport stamps and almost 10 years solo living abroad under her belt, I am poised to assist you. 

Get to the heart of your solo traveling deterrents on a 1-on-1 Strategic Solo Traveling Consultation with Meredith. Perfect for the first-time solo female traveler, solo female digital nomad, or anyone entertaining the idea of solo living abroad.

Let’s give your new travel blog something to stand for!

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10 Responses

  1. I appreciate your honesty as people need to know what to expect. You have achieved a lot in being able to travel blog full time. I look forward to reading more of your posts.

    1. Many thanks Leslie! I vacillated on whether or not this level of honesty would be helpful or harmful (like a deterrent) to those seeking the same lifestyle, but honesty won out! I’m glad to know it’s appreciated!

  2. Thank you for your insight. I must admit that even as a blogger myself, I find myself romanticizing the travel industry in the ways you’ve mentioned. I’m building the travel leg of my blog as well and I’m right where you are. Good luck with everything; see you at the top!

  3. Travel blogs do look like you just travel and post about it, but as a fellow blogger, I already knew there were behind the scenes things that make it happen. Thank you for sharing what it’s like for you.

    1. Simone I would love to hear if your shared my sentiments or if there are additional tips you’d like to share.

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As a global citizen with more than 57 passport stamps, my adventure mandatory, serial-expat existence offers intuitive insight into globetrotting as a solo Black, female.

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Bag Lady Meredith San Diego is always on the move! Completing her 57th country in 2022, where can you spot Meredith San Diego adventuring in 2023? Stay tuned to find out just where in the world is Meredith San Diego!