Most new bloggers assume growth comes from going viral.

I certainly thought that was the only route to actually making money, let alone ‘making it big'.

Luckily, I learned a better way.

These days, when I tell people I’ve been a full-time travel blogger since 2019, they immediately assume Instagram fame, YouTube subscribers, or some viral TikTok.

But once you discover a better way… you can’t unsee it.

And you realize you don’t have to play the viral game at all.

Georgia Wright and her husband, Callum, have proven that same path works in 2025 (with their blog, First Step: Europe​), and today I get the pleasure of sharing their story with you.

Georgia didn’t have a huge audience, fancy equipment, or viral traffic when she started. But she did have focus, and the willingness to learn (arguably the most important ingredient of all).

She’s since grown her blog to 43,000 monthly sessions, built steady affiliate income, landed partnerships worth a third of her full-time salary, and is now preparing to leave a job she isn’t passionate about.

If you've ever dreamed of doing the same, this one's for you..

From Diary-Style Posts to a Thriving Blog

Back in 2023, Georgia had hit her breaking point with her day job.

She wanted to take a leap and move to New Zealand for a fresh start, but for Georgia, there was one non-negotiable..

..she wasn’t about to swap one call center job for another call center job.

She wanted freedom and flexibility, and the only way she saw that truly happening was by running her own business.

That’s when she stumbled on one of my free blogging workshops.

At the time, she did have a website, but it only had one blog post, and it was written like a diary entry. It was a good post, but not the kind of content other people were actively searching for on the internet.

During my free workshop, Georgia realized she couldn’t keep piecing things together alone.

If she wanted her blog to grow, she needed the right guidance and a proven framework.

So she went all in and purchased my program, Scale Your Travel Blog.

From there, everything shifted.

She narrowed her focus to what she knew best: helping first-time travelers experience Europe. Instead of diary-style updates, she started creating itineraries and destination guides.

She published blog posts consistently, and leaned on channels that compound like Google, Flipboard, and a tightly targeted Facebook group.

That shift is what turned her blog, First Step: Europe, from a single diary entry into a blog now read by more than 43,000 people a month.

💡 Laura's Tip:

I always say, diary-style posts are often the best posts you’ll ever write that no one will ever see.

If you want your blog to grow, you have to be seen and that only happens when your content is focused on the reader’s needs.

Shift the lens from your story to their journey, and your blog instantly becomes a resource people can actually find (and use).

Your personal stories and recommendations absolutely matter; they’re what make your blog unique. But the foundation of every post should be information-led, so your readers walk away with answers, not just anecdotes.

How She Grew From 7K to 43K Monthly Sessions

At the beginning of Georgia's blogging journey, she grew her site to around 7,000 monthly views.

Which is actually really great, but not nearly enough to qualify for higher level ad networks like Raptive or Mediavine.

For her, joining one of those networks wasn’t just a goal, it was the moment she knew she’d finally feel safe leaving her 9-5.

Determined to do just that, she made a few key changes:

1) She re-focused her site.

Georgia had launched a second blog about Disneyland Paris, but when it stalled, she shifted that content back under First Step: Europe.

This gave her site more topical authority and kept her energy focused in one place.

💡 Laura’s Tip:

I see this often. Once things start clicking, the temptation is to launch a second site is hard to resist (I've definitely been there, too 🙈).
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But splitting your attention between two blogs almost always delays success (unless your first site has been massively hit by an update).
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Pour your energy into one blog until it’s stable and earning consistently. Then think about branching out.

2) She committed to a sprint.

While working full time, she pushed herself to publish around six posts a week (which is seriously incredible 😱).

That burst of consistency created momentum fast. Every new post was another door for readers to find her, and the more doors she opened, the faster her traffic (and income potential) grew.

💡 Laura's Tip:

Double down on what’s already working. If one of your posts is pulling in 5,000 monthly sessions, study it.

Ask yourself: what made this post take off, and how can I create more like it?

For example, if “Things To Do in Sedona” is a hit, you could:

• Go vertical: write posts like “Day Trips From Sedona” or “Best Hikes in Sedona.”​
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• Go horizontal: write posts like “Things To Do in Jerome” or “Things To Do in Flagstaff.”

The fastest path to growth is rarely reinventing the wheel. DO WHAT WORKS!

3) She leaned on traffic sources that compound.

Google became her primary driver, but she was also smart and diversified with Flipboard and a tightly targeted Disneyland Paris Facebook group.

These channels gave her steady streams of readers without relying on virality.

4) She maintained what she already had.

Instead of only chasing new posts, Georgia kept her existing content fresh.

She refreshed older articles, made smart tweaks after Google updates, and those efforts paid off. Several posts were picked up by Google Discover, and even a single feature there gave her a noticeable boost in traffic.

That steady maintenance is a big reason her blog continues to hold strong, even after scaling back to just 1–2 new posts per week.

When Things Started To Snowball

For a long time, Georgia wasn’t sure blogging could ever replace her job. She knew the Raptive Rise threshold sat at around 50K pageviews a month (roughly 1,700 per day), and it felt completely out of reach.

But then it happened. Three days in a row, she hit 1,700.

And that's when she realized that her blogging dreams weren't so crazy after all (I remember this feeling VERY well from my own blogging journey).

Around the same time, she:

• Landed her first big partnership (worth about a third of her full-time salary)
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• Picked up freelance writing work for another travel blogger
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• Watched her ad revenue turn into something steady she could count on month over month

Ads vs. Affiliates: What’s Making More?

Along with sponsorships, Georgia also earns from ads and affiliates:

• Ads: The most reliable stream right now.
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  She’s with Journey, and while it’s not “quit your job” money on its own, it’s steady. That consistency has given her confidence as she works toward networks like Raptive Rise or Mediavine.​
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• Affiliates: A nice bonus, but much less predictable.
  • ​Stay22 has been her biggest win so far, bringing in thousands.
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    ​An Important Note: Cancellations happen. Sometimes the same person books three hotels for the same dates, and commissions vanish when they cancel.​
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  • ​Travelpayouts (for tours) is newer for her, with about $50 earned so far.

A Very Important Mindset Shift

Imposter syndrome doesn’t disappear overnight. Even as her traffic and income grew, Georgia sometimes wondered if it was really going to last.

But the evidence started stacking up, and so did the support from people around her.

When her parents (once skeptical) told her it might finally be time to quit her job and go all in, it felt like the moment her identity caught up with her results.

Now, she and Callum are planning a van renovation and an open-ended trip across Europe starting this spring.

Georgia will deepen her guides for first-time travelers, while Callum builds out an adventure travel section (he’s the adrenaline junkie in the family).

What started as one diary-style blog post is now on the verge of becoming their full-time life.

Ready For Your Own Success Story?

Georgia’s journey is proof that you don’t need viral traffic or a massive following to grow a blog that changes your life. What you do need is the right strategy, focus, and guidance.

That’s exactly what I teach inside Scale Your Travel Blog, the #1 travel blogging course and coaching program, and the same program Georgia joined when she was still figuring things out.

It's the same framework that’s helped thousands of bloggers grow their traffic and income.

Doors open again in January 2026, but you can join the waitlist now to be the first to know when enrollment opens:

👉 Click here to join the waitlist​

My baby girl will be having surgery this Wednesday, which means I’ll be a bit quieter in my inbox as we help her recover.

That said, I always love responses to these newsletters, so feel free to reply. Just know I might not answer as quickly as I usually do.

Thanks!

Have a great week,

Laura

P.S. If someone sent you this newsletter, and you want to receive more from me, click here to join 30,000+ bloggers already subscribed!​

Scale Your Travel Blog is currently CLOSED for enrollment until January 2026. To join our waitlist, please click here!​