Comments on: Earn money writing for websites? Can you? Really? http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites.html Banter between travel writers, travel PRs and travel social media people Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:59:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jenny Woolf http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites.html/comment-page-1#comment-537 Jenny Woolf Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:05:33 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites-can-you-really.html#comment-537 Maybe one reason travel doesn't pay much online is that there's too much of it - too many websites, too many writers, too many pictures, no quality control, no guarantee of impartiality, too many wannabes, too hard to find what you need on Google, etc. etc. Lots of fun, but if I want to find out what a place is really like I go to the archives of the newspaper travel pages! That leaves the question of who reads the blogs or sites that make loads of money, and why? Some sites are specialists, and hence probably appeal to minorities. I don't think travel is a particularly popular subject in itself, (at least not if my experience of Suite 101 is anything to go by) but my guess is that blog popularity is not so much about the content of the blog as about whoever's hosting it - like a party. When there's enough of a buzz, people want to be there and join in, no matter what everyone's talking about. Jenny of www.jabberwock.co.uk Maybe one reason travel doesn't pay much online is that there's too much of it - too many websites, too many writers, too many pictures, no quality control, no guarantee of impartiality, too many wannabes, too hard to find what you need on Google, etc. etc.

Lots of fun, but if I want to find out what a place is really like I go to the archives of the newspaper travel pages!

That leaves the question of who reads the blogs or sites that make loads of money, and why? Some sites are specialists, and hence probably appeal to minorities. I don't think travel is a particularly popular subject in itself, (at least not if my experience of Suite 101 is anything to go by) but my guess is that blog popularity is not so much about the content of the blog as about whoever's hosting it - like a party. When there's enough of a buzz, people want to be there and join in, no matter what everyone's talking about.

Jenny of http://www.jabberwock.co.uk

]]> By: Andrew Farrand http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites.html/comment-page-1#comment-536 Andrew Farrand Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:06:01 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites-can-you-really.html#comment-536 Thanks, Jeremy, for the frank assessment (and also to Tim, for his Seven Myths of Being a Travel Writer) of the realities of online travel writing. I've had a much harder time than I expected making money from traveling and writing, and am starting to really reconsider my naive plans to "get paid to travel" - at the end of the day, there's a million other people out there just like me, with the same goal, and the travel editors and travel website owners know it. I'm not going to stop writing, but I've certainly revised my expectations for my own blog's success down to a more reasonable level. -Andrew of <a href="http://www.ibnibnbattuta.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.ibnibnbattuta.com</a> Thanks, Jeremy, for the frank assessment (and also to Tim, for his Seven Myths of Being a Travel Writer) of the realities of online travel writing.

I've had a much harder time than I expected making money from traveling and writing, and am starting to really reconsider my naive plans to "get paid to travel" - at the end of the day, there's a million other people out there just like me, with the same goal, and the travel editors and travel website owners know it.

I'm not going to stop writing, but I've certainly revised my expectations for my own blog's success down to a more reasonable level.

-Andrew of http://www.ibnibnbattuta.com

]]> By: Andy Graham of HoboTraveler.com http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites.html/comment-page-1#comment-535 Andy Graham of HoboTraveler.com Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:57:22 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites-can-you-really.html#comment-535 Sorry, I said the wrong data, added a 0, I earn about 10 dollars per 1000 visitors. Sorry, I said the wrong data, added a 0, I earn about 10 dollars per 1000 visitors.

]]> By: Jeremy Head http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites.html/comment-page-1#comment-534 Jeremy Head Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:02:13 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites-can-you-really.html#comment-534 Thanks for your comments guys... really great to have so much debate! @ David - really like your blog - anyone else thinking about being a travel writer have a look at it... lots of really pragmatic and real advice there. I will add you to my blog roll soon! @ Andy - thanks so much for offering some real data. very interesting. would you say that - as well as posting regularly and writing interesting struff - you have first mover advantage too? having been doing it for so long? And... are you planning to drop the RSS feeds then so people have to sign up for email? I subscribe to loads of RSS feeds using netvibes and I DO read lots of the posts. the challenge of course is to write a really attention-grabbing headline! I get avalanches of emails and very rarely open them all... so for me as a reader RSS works much much better Thanks for your comments guys... really great to have so much debate!
@ David - really like your blog - anyone else thinking about being a travel writer have a look at it... lots of really pragmatic and real advice there. I will add you to my blog roll soon!
@ Andy - thanks so much for offering some real data. very interesting. would you say that - as well as posting regularly and writing interesting struff - you have first mover advantage too? having been doing it for so long? And... are you planning to drop the RSS feeds then so people have to sign up for email? I subscribe to loads of RSS feeds using netvibes and I DO read lots of the posts. the challenge of course is to write a really attention-grabbing headline! I get avalanches of emails and very rarely open them all... so for me as a reader RSS works much much better

]]> By: Andy Graham of HoboTraveler.com http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites.html/comment-page-1#comment-533 Andy Graham of HoboTraveler.com Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:06:25 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/01/earn-money-writing-for-websites-can-you-really.html#comment-533 Hello Jeremy, this is interesting, a Blog post and some comments where people are honest. I started my Travel Blog in 2003 when I went to Iraq, I have posted over 4000 Blog post. A person earns about 10 U.S. Dollars per 10,000 visitors, so this is the measure writers need to know. I have traveled for over 10 years and visited 79 countries? I am on the sites of Forbes.com, New York Times, Guardian, About.com and Budget Travel, and about 1000 other sites as a Blog to read. If a person asked me today, can a person make money as a Travel Blogger, I would say NO. I know I am the 1 in 50,000 travel blogs that makes enough money to live and buy a house, and travel to Switzerland, the effective answer needs to be no, it is now pie in the sky. I have both a website and a Blog, and the Blog is my fun game. I am doing an experiment, this year I am going to run my subscribe by email readship up to about 40,000 readers. I find RSS feeds to work against me making money, it is like a bookmark, they just do not open the page and read, while an email in in the box. Check in on my site, and I will slowly comments on how I make money in this year, I cannot disclose much specific because of Terms of Service and other problems, but I can sure help. Thanks from Andy of HoboTraveler.com <a href="http://www.hobotraveler.com/blogger.html" rel="nofollow">Travel Blog</a> Hello Jeremy, this is interesting, a Blog post and some comments where people are honest. I started my Travel Blog in 2003 when I went to Iraq, I have posted over 4000 Blog post. A person earns about 10 U.S. Dollars per 10,000 visitors, so this is the measure writers need to know. I have traveled for over 10 years and visited 79 countries?

I am on the sites of Forbes.com, New York Times, Guardian, About.com and Budget Travel, and about 1000 other sites as a Blog to read.

If a person asked me today, can a person make money as a Travel Blogger, I would say NO. I know I am the 1 in 50,000 travel blogs that makes enough money to live and buy a house, and travel to Switzerland, the effective answer needs to be no, it is now pie in the sky.

I have both a website and a Blog, and the Blog is my fun game.

I am doing an experiment, this year I am going to run my subscribe by email readship up to about 40,000 readers. I find RSS feeds to work against me making money, it is like a bookmark, they just do not open the page and read, while an email in in the box.

Check in on my site, and I will slowly comments on how I make money in this year, I cannot disclose much specific because of Terms of Service and other problems, but I can sure help.
Thanks from Andy of HoboTraveler.com Travel Blog

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