In early 2022, I decided to host my first ever Travel Blogging Summit in Kyrgyzstan.

That’s when I met Emily Concannon, someone I didn't really know before, but quickly made an impression.

She messaged me before the trip and said:

“My dream is to be a full-time travel blogger. I’m coming to Kyrgyzstan because I need to figure out how to make this work. I’m not earning enough from my blog to cover my monthly bills.”

Shortly after the summit, Emily quit her job.

(I’ll be honest, I rarely suggest just quitting your job unless you’ve already replaced your income… but she was ready to bet on herself)

A few months later, she sent me an update that I’ll never forget:

“I started offering custom travel planning services through my blog… and I just had my first $10,000 month.”

😱 What in the...? 🧐

Emily wasn’t a travel agent, she wasn’t running ads, and most importantly, she didn’t have a massive audience.

But she found a way to monetize her blog fast by turning her readers into travel planning clients.

Important Note: Emily is hosting a free workshop on how to start, grow, and scale a travel planning business next week, August 26th, and you can save your seat here:

>> How To Turn Your Passion for Travel Into a Profitable Planning Business - Free Workshop Click Here!​

From Hobby Blog to Paid Clients

When Emily first started, she was doing everything right: publishing high-quality blog posts, optimizing for Google and Pinterest, adding affiliate links, all of it.

She was gaining traction, but not fast enough to match her goal of quitting her job.

So she paid attention to what her readers were actually asking for.

They kept emailing her things like:

• “Can you help us plan our honeymoon in Europe?”
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• “I’m trying to meet up with my son in Portugal, can you help me figure it out?”
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• “We want to backpack Southeast Asia but don’t know where to start.”

She realized people didn’t only want inspiration, they wanted hands-on help.

So she packaged her knowledge into a paid service, which became her custom itinerary planning business.

And suddenly, the same blog that wasn’t covering her bills started bringing in $8,000-$12,000 a month within a few months.

Why Travel Planning Works

When Emily launched her itinerary packages, here’s what her business looked like:

• Fewer than 500 monthly blog sessions
• Less than 1,000 followers on Instagram
• No YouTube channel or video content

But she didn't need a massive following.

She had her website, and a solution to a problem people were happy to pay for.

With travel planning, you don’t have to wait for ad revenue or affiliate commissions to (hopefully) show up. You’re creating immediate value by offering a service your readers are happy to pay for.

I’m all for affiliate and ad income (they’re a big part of my business), but your own products or services give you full control because every dollar you earn is yours.

Here’s what made Emily successful early on (even with a small audience):

• She paid attention to what readers were asking for.​
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  Most people create offers based on what they think their audience wants. They make assumptions rooted in their own experiences, which don’t always reflect what their readers are actually thinking or feeling.
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  Instead, look at what people are asking for, listen to what they need, then build your offer around that.
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• She created clear packages.​
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  She included a page on her blog that showed potential clients exactly what her services included, how much they cost, and how someone could hire her.
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  She also placed clear call-outs to her itinerary packages in all the obvious places on her blog (blog posts, about me page, home page, side bar, etc). She treated her blog like a storefront, and that made all the difference.
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• She focused on who she wanted to help.​
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  Niching down your services is essential. Emily knew she wanted to work with honeymooners and adventure travelers, so she created content that spoke directly to them.
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  That focus made it easy for the right people to find her, and even easier for them to book.
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• She built trust through blog content.​
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  ​Her posts were detailed, helpful, and written for people who were already in trip-planning mode.

And again, she built all of this starting with fewer than 500 monthly sessions.

She's sharing even more in her upcoming workshop, and speaking from experience, you do not want to miss it!

I started testing Emily’s strategies as a case study in summer 2023, and within 48 hours, I landed my first paid client. Two weeks later, I had to pause inquiries because I couldn’t keep up with the demand.

👉 Click here to sign-up for Emily's free workshop!​

Talk to you soon,

Laura

P.S. Scale Your Travel Blog is currently CLOSED for enrollment until January 2025.

​To join our waitlist, please click here!​