August 16, 2016 TnH Global 0

The truth about the lives of travel bloggers

If you thought that travel blogging is a dream job, then think again. Read on to find out the reality behind the seemingly exotic lives of travel bloggers.

Do you eat, sleep and drink travel? Do you love to share your stories of travel and adventure with the world? Are you passionate about encouraging and inspiring others to do the same?

If you love to travel and love to write, it’s indeed possible to turn your hobby into a career—as a professional travel blogger. When we think of travel blogging, the image that immediately comes to mind is that of exotic tropical beaches and five-star hotel rooms. Based on the endless list of cool things that travel bloggers are always up to, their globetrotting lives seem extremely awesome (and enviable!) from the outside.

But dig a little deeper and you will find that travel blogging isn’t exactly the ‘dream job’ that it’s made out to be—on the contrary, it’s actually quite a challenging gig whichever way you look at it.

There are professional travel bloggers of all kinds. Some are digital nomads who travel from place to place constantly working on the road. Then there are others who have a home base and return from trips to unpack and catch up on work. Being a full-time travel blogger means working long hours with no guarantees of a steady paycheck that you would find in a regular office job. It means taking responsibility for and running a business all by yourself regardless of your strengths and weaknesses. There’s also a lack of work-life balance, as travel can often be erratic and requires a lot of time commitment.

Moreover, saving money for travel becomes very important when you are a fulltime professional blogger. Most bloggers take a long time to earn a good income, which means that they are forced to stay at budget accommodation whenever they travel.

Further, since the profession is so new, blogging is still considered ‘new media’—it is changing and evolving every single day. And so, there is yet no clear cut answer for how to do it right. Similarly, there is no clear description for a travel blogger’s job in a given day, as the definition can vastly differ from one week to another.

Undoubtedly, it is a competitive space in which you have to make sure that you are a cut above the rest—so that companies are convinced enough to invest in sponsorships and funding for you. You need to constantly network with other travel bloggers and read everything you can about the industry. There is already a lot of general information available on the internet about what to see and do in a place. You need to share your own personal voice and opinion. And for that you need to be truthful, honest, and creative. You need to find your purpose and become an authority on something so that people trust what you say.

So do you want to be a travel blogger?

Remember that it’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea—so if you’re contemplating to live the life of a travel blogger, think again. It requires investing a tremendous amount of work, time and effort before you see any real returns or benefits. You have to keep at it and don’t give up. And of course, enjoy what you do.