Creating travel content doesn’t just have to be a hobby. There are many avenues that you can use to turn it into a money-making side hustle or even a full-time job. As the creator economy continues to grow, the opportunities are endless for the things that you want to accomplish.
Whether you are a travel blogger or vlogger, a podcaster, or YouTuber, we’ll explain ten different monetization ideas that you can use to generate money.
1. Give personalized travel advice
A large reason your fans follow your travel content is their own wanderlust. You’re inspiring them to take the same trips and follow in your footsteps, but you’re not making it particularly easy to do so with your regular video content.
So why not offer your fans what they need the most if they want to travel on their own to places they’ve seen in your videos: personalized, premium advice. That could come in the form of written personalized itineraries, on-demand video advice, and more – all of course for a small fee.
What Is A Koji?
A Koji is a type of interactive media that can help you sell your products, downloads, services or premium content. To create a Koji, simply select a template and customize before sharing the unique URL on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp, or anywhere else!
2. Sell your travel plans and research notes
As an even easier variation of the above, think about the itineraries and note what you’re producing from your travels. If you’re like most travel vloggers, you’re creating a detailed, researched plan with the must-see places, must-eat restaurants, and so on.
Here’s the kicker: You’ve already created them, and they’re super valuable to those watching your videos! Offer them as paid downloadable files to your followers, who will now have access to a valuable resource that allows them to travel like you did, and saves them tons of time.
3. Run fundraisers to fund your next trips (and let fans decide where you go next!)
Not every trip is going to be a paid, all-inclusive press trip. Sometimes you have to splurge to visit that one remote island that you’ve always wanted to check out, and that’s OK. But here’s a secret: There’s one group of people that *also* want you to travel to even cooler places around the world and who have a very strong incentive to help you: Your fans!
Create fundraisers for your next travel targets and let your fans “boost” and fund them. Instead of a generic subscription fee or tip, they can contribute directly to your success and will feel even more connected with you. And if you have multiple fundraisers for other destinations going at the same time, fans have a way of influencing where you go next, a really exciting way for them to engage.
4. Unlockable extended vlogs and photo sets
When you’re editing your final travel video, you’re probably cutting a lot of footage for various reasons. The footage could be too long-winded (an hour at the beach), have copyright issues (copyrighted music playing in the background), or be too spicy for the gram!
All of these are prime examples of premium content your fans might be willing to pay for if they had the chance to. You could offer packages like…
- The extended fan cut (a twice as long version of the YouTube video)
- The real vibe version (no music or pixelated stuff – raw footage!)
- Behind-the-scenes photos and videos
Be creative, and find an angle that works for you!
5. Send your fans personalized postcards
What’s the most nostalgic, fun, and personal item to receive from someone traveling? A postcard! And why should your fans leave empty-handed?
Offer your fans a personalized postcard service for a small but meaningful fee. If they buy it, you’ll write them a cute postcard from your current location, which they’ll receive in the mailbox. It’s very easy for you to create in batches, feels super awesome as a fan, and doubles as an autograph. Everybody wins.
6. Showcase and sell your travel gear
If you’re a travel vlogger who regularly showcases the kind of geat you’re traveling with (think cameras, drones, backpacks, survival gear, etc.), your fans might be interested in buying the same.
Instead of listing the items in the descriptions of your videos, get a little more creative. Create a ‘shoppable look’, images of you wearing accessories with embedded links for a more visual buying experience.
7. Treat your fans with personalized, on-location video messages
For that really special touch, offer your fans the ability to receive a completely personalized, on-location video message from you. Make them exclusive by limiting yourself to say, an hour of messages in 5-minute blocks per destination, which results in 12 slots fans can book. Each fan will get a 5-minute video of you actually hanging out at the place you’re at, personalized to them.
8. Host a Q&A session that lets fans ask you about your travel experience
One of the best ways to engage with your fans is to give them a dedicated space to ask you all their questions about your travels, recommendations, gear, and tips.
If you are overloaded with questions, you can turn your forum into a VIP question booth and charge for your travel expertise.
9. Sell stunning, hi-res travel photo images and videos as prints or for commercial use
If you take photos on your adventures around the globe, you can sell some of your images to others for them to decorate their home with or use.
Create an online store where people can order prints from you, or you can zip some of your hi-res images up and sell them as a package for people to create digital art from or use as their phone and computer backgrounds.
10. Unlocked images and videos of your insider travel locations
Yes. There are places that you visit that make it onto Instagram, but there are probably dozens of other locations that you loved that you left unposted.
Luckily, you can use these images and videos to create a locked collection showcasing all of the additional places and attractions you experienced on your travels.
BONUS: Sell interactive travel guides, maps, and more
If you are looking to provide the highest quality resources for your fellow travelers, you can turn your existing travel guides into interactive multimedia content for your fans. Monetize your travel knowledge by making and selling interactive travel guides, maps, and planning services in a dedicated travel shop.
Interactive content provides a new and unique experience for travelers and helps you stand out from others who are selling guides.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many different ways for you to monetize your travel content as a creator. We encourage you to experiment to see which monetization ideas work best for you and your fans. And remember, there’s no right or wrong way to create content. Instead, it all comes down to your personality and what you want to give your audience.