Is blogging still profitable in 2024?
What you should know about making money from blogging in 2024
Publishing your own content isn’t going to make you money quickly — but, it can make you money.
It just won’t be fast or easy.
There are plenty of SEO and blogging gurus out there who will tell you about how to make money off niche sites. They make it look easy, but — so many of them got burned in the Google algorithm updates that rolled out in late 2023 and early 2024.
This is the truth; there is no real shortcut to success.
Most people who look like quick successes have really been working on their skills for a long time before they hit upon the one thing that has shot them to success.
Even me, for example.
I make money off my travel blog (and scaled it from less than 1000 to more than 100,000 sessions in less than a year) but I already had a background in SEO and digital marketing.
If I was starting a blog from scratch, it would have taken much longer to see wins.
So, is it worth starting a travel blog in 2024? Can you make money off of self publishing?
The state of blogging in 2024
In some ways, blogging is harder than ever
If you’re planning on starting a travel blog, you need to keep in mind that a blog isn’t a diary. Although people used to write a lot about their personal experiences, now you need to write about your experiences in conjunction with useful information.
People use search engines to find the answers to questions they already have in mind; less so to find inspiration.
Instead, social media channels provide more inspiration.
That doesn’t mean that blogging is dead, it just means you need to understand the needs of your users, and what you can do with a website as a channel.
The reality of starting a travel blog to make money
Here’s what you need to know.
It’s going to take a long time to see progress. You can expect this to be at least one year of work before you start seeing significant traffic.
Consistent effort is the only way you will get anywhere. It’s not as easy as bashing out articles and waiting for money to come in. I am constantly evaluating and optimising my content — it’s not hands off and not passive, no matter what anyone says.
These are the reasons I love having a travel blog
I love being able to write what I want, in my authentic voice.
Having a blog can bring you more brand opportunities than just freelance writing for example.
It’s a great way to build a foundation for a business (although you have to think long term).
Here’s how to make money off a travel blog
The most common ways to make money off a travel blog is by activating ads, and including affiliate links.
There are lots of opinions out there on both of these tactics. I have had more success with ads but the truth is I hate having them on my website.
My longer term goals include building a brand that allows me to sell my own self-published work, such as travel guides and books.
Establishing a loyal audience is more important than making a buck.
Join an ad network and make money from display advertising.
Provide affiliate links to your audience.
Sell your own products.
Here are some monetisation strategies that I don’t use:
I don’t sell sponsored posts on my site, despite being approached to do exactly that.
I don’t sell links.
A quick note on ethics: The travel bloggers advertising ways to reach very high levels of income are often pushing tactics that aren’t really above board, at least for me. I’m personally not that comfortable recommending hotels or experiences I’m not familiar with, but there are bloggers that will create round ups of “the best hotels in X destination” just because they know they can make affiliate income this way. Never mind the fact they have never paid for a night’s accommodation in these places.
Sure, we all need to make an income. But I am trying to build my brand around integrity and honesty, and I know of some other travel bloggers doing the same thing.
There’s a lot of outdated advice out there (like, that Squarespace is bad for SEO and blogging — which I have proved completely wrong).
These are some of my best tips for starting a blog on Squarespace:
Just start. You’ll learn by doing, I can guarantee it. You’ll change your mind about your blog layout and style, which is totally okay — it’s all part of developing your unique style. You won’t get everything right from the get go, so let go of wanting perfection and be happy with being 80% there.
You’ll hone your ideal layout, voice, and learn what works by publishing content. There’s only so much learning and thinking you can do — most of the results you see will come from actually doing the thing (and I say this as a chronic overthinker).
Ignore the people who say Squarespace is bad for SEO, monetisation, or whatever else they like to say. A lot of bloggers follow the same templated advice just because that’s what has been kicking around the internet for years. My best tip; test everything yourself.
Save time where you can. It takes forever to learn the many skills you need to start a travel blog, so if you can save yourself time with templates, go for it.
If you found this helpful, you might also like to take a peek at my other tips on blogging on Squarespace:
