Should I be a travel vlogger? 🛫

Do you have a passion for travel and a desire to share it with the world? If so, then becoming a travel vlogger may be the right path for you!

Travel vloggers create original video content about their travel experiences and share it with a wider audience via social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram.

Digital content creation is exploding, but can you really make a career out of it? Discover how to make travel vlogging your new side hustle or even full time job!

From the followers’ perspective, it may look like all glitz and glamor...

...but behind the scenes, there's a lot of hard work!

Successful travel vloggers continuously:

• Research and plan their next trip

• Document their adventures

• Edit hours of video footage

• Upload on a regular schedule

• Manage their social media presence

• Network with others in the industry

Don't worry, it's not just hard work. There are many benefits, too!

• Broaden your horizons — see the world, gain new perspectives

• Professional passion — it's a labor of love

• Freedom & flexibility — be your own boss, set your own hours

• Preserve memories — document all your travels digitally

• Creative outlet — produce artistic videos

• Connection — join the community of travelers and vloggers

• Inspiration — motivate others to explore the world, too!

Photo by Atikh Bana on Unsplash

The short answer is: maybe.

Let’s start with how travel vloggers make money:

• Advertising — run ads in your videos and get paid when viewers click on them

• Sponsorships —get free swag (and trips!) for promoting companies in your videos

• Fan funding — loyal followers may pay a subscription fee to access your bonus content

• Merchandising — promote your brand and make money by selling your own merch

• Affiliate marketing — when your followers buy products from the links in your posts, those companies give you a percentage

With so many ways to earn in this non-traditional job, it’s difficult to quantify average salaries. However, a recent survey of 29,000 social media video content creators found that:

• 37% make a full time income

• 28% earn a solid part time income

• 35% only make side hustle money

Let's break that down into actual money...

• full time = $2,500+ USD monthly

• part time = $500 - $2,500 USD monthly

• side hustle = < $500 USD monthly

• full time = $3,380+ CAD monthly

• part time = $675 - $3,380 CAD monthly

• side hustle = < $675 CAD monthly

Keep in mind that as an entrepreneur, it will take time and effort to build up to these earnings. Most professional vloggers recommend starting out as a side hustle and working towards full time, if that’s your goal.

You’ll love it if you're…

• Passionate about travel

• Independent and adaptable

• Creative and entertaining

• Open to sharing your life

• Disciplined and determined

• Excited to connect with people

Consider something else if you…

• Prefer predictability and stability

• Require a steady income

• Want to limit your social media use

• Don’t like being in front of the camera

• Place a high value on your privacy

• Prefer to stay inside your comfort zone

Think you might be better suited to travel blogging? Check out this Byte: Should I be a blogger?

Consider these potential travel vloggers:

Hannah: strong writer, loves travel, shy, artistic

Alex: adventurous, disorganized, problem-solver, large debts

Malik: creative, takes direction well, prefers order and routine

Zara: planner, open-minded, charismatic, resilient

If you've decided that travel vlogging is right for you, follow these steps to get started…