Blog to Travel

At about $200, my monthly earnings for August did not set any records, however I did reach a new monthly high for Text Link Ads. I also received my first donation, thus opening the door to a new potential revenue stream. Like investing in stocks and a retirement plan, diversification is key.

Based on my experience thus far, some of my streams may only pay once a year (Google AdSense, which has a $100 threshold for payout), while others have become dependable monthly sources of income (Text Link Ads, $25 threshold).

Diversifying is akin to fishing with a net, instead of a fishing rod. You could be using the fanciest fishing rod in the world, yet you can still only catch one fish at a time! Improve your catch by adopting a net mentality.

I am excited to launch Blog to Travel today. The purpose of this site will be to track my web income from GoBackpacking.com, which includes a blog created to document my upcoming trip around the world. Along the way, I hope to share what I have learned about earning web income from a travel blog. Web income equals freedom - the freedom to work from anywhere you can reliably access the Internet.

Over the last 9 months, I’ve taught myself all about blogging from the ground up: culture, etiquette, search engine optimization (SEO), marketing, writing, WordPress design, advertising sales, and more. In less than a year, I have gone from earning $0 from my website, to an average of $180 per month. While this is still a bit shy of allowing me to sustain myself abroad, it is certainly enough to pad my budget in a meaningful way in countries such as India and Thailand.

There is a small, passionate, and growing group of independent travelers who are utilizing the Internet economy as a way to fund their lives abroad. It is a tantalizing thought, and may be easier than you think to achieve!