I used to think travel blogging was only for influencers with inside connections or tech wizards who knew how to build websites in their sleep.
But in 2022, I started from scratch with zero experience, no clue what I was doing. Thanks to one smart move, I avoided the rookie mistakes that derail so many beginners.
I took a course.
Now, after testing several blogging programs first-hand, I’m sharing the courses that actually helped me grow, avoid burnout, and start earning.
If you’re dreaming of turning your travels into income, or even just a smart side hustle, these are the blogging courses worth your time:
- Scale Your Travel Blog to Six Figures
- Travel Blog Prosperity
- Profitable Part-Time Blogger
Let’s take a closer look at these courses so you can decide which one is best for you. Later on, I’ll tell you about a great free option.
Best Travel Blogging Courses
There are literally hundreds of courses on blogging. The problem is many of them are just out for your money and don’t offer a lot of real help.
There are also bloggers who will recommend courses just to get you to buy them so they can get a commission.
I’m only going to recommend the courses that I know for a fact are fantastic. Sure, I get a commission on these courses, but I’d recommend them anyway because they truly are amazing.
Note: I’m going to be throwing out a lot of blogging terms. I explain them later on, but if you want to read them first, jump to that section.
1. Scale Your Travel Blog to Six Figures
I started my blog with Scale Your Travel Blog to Six Figures and I’m so glad I did. I can recommend it with 100% confidence.
Laura Peters Abalos is the mastermind behind the course. She’s amazing. She’s making well over six figures with her own blog (Mike and Laura Travel).
Scale Your Travel Blog (SYTB) is very, very thorough. It walks you through every single step, including all the settings you should have when you set up your website.
The course is constantly being updated, so it’s always current and relevant. The blogging world is changing all the time, so this is important.
Here’s a rundown of what you’ll get:
- A Step-by-Step Guide: The course includes 10 detailed modules, plus over 10 bonus lessons. These cover everything from SEO strategies tailored for travel blogs to affiliate marketing and email marketing practices.
- Community Support: Access to a Facebook Mastermind group allows you to quickly get answers to your questions, network with fellow bloggers, and even find job opportunities. Regular Q&As and group coaching sessions provide additional support and learning opportunities. This community is so helpful and supportive. I can’t blog without it.
- Practical Tools: You’ll receive a two-part site audit, keyword research assistance to help you find topics that attract readers, blog post outlines for SEO, and blog post reviews to ensure you’re on the right track.
- Real Results: The course promises to teach you how to grow your blog’s readership and income more effectively than traditional methods. It’s not about overnight success but about building a sustainable, income-generating blog.
I can’t recommend SYTB strongly enough. It’s the reason I’ve been able to be successful as a blogger.
It’s not cheap. But it’s still a great value for all you get.
2. Scale Your Travel Blog – Course & Community Only
Scale Your Travel Blog now offers a less expensive option. You can get the course only without personalized coaching and other tools.
What’s Included?
- Lifetime Access to the Course: You’ll get lifetime access to over 50 lessons, plus bonuses. These lessons cover everything from setting up your blog correctly to mastering SEO, affiliate marketing, and email marketing strategies.
- Templates and Discounts: Alongside the educational content, you’ll receive templates for things like blog post outlines and reviews, as well as discounts on blogging tools to help you implement what you learn.
- Facebook Mastermind Group: Even with the course-only option, you’re not left to figure things out on your own. You’ll have lifetime access to a Facebook group where you can ask questions, connect with other bloggers, and find collaboration opportunities.
If you start with the course only you can always upgrade to receive the extra personalized assistance.
3. Travel Blog Prosperity
If you’re serious about growing your travel blog, Jessie Festa’s Travel Blog Prosperity is a great option. This membership course, priced at $49/month, offers a comprehensive approach to monetizing and scaling your blog.
Best of all, you can get a $9 trial month with the code DNAAD.
Technically, the course is not open to new students now. However, you can use my special link and enroll now.
The program includes live coaching, workshops, and a supportive community. There is so much information provided. I counted over 100 individual lessons.
Whether you’re just starting or refining your strategy, Jessie’s expertise and personalized guidance make this program an excellent investment for any travel blogger.
What Makes It Stand Out?
Travel Blog Prosperity is a comprehensive membership course designed to help travel bloggers turn their passion into a profitable business.
What sets this course apart is the cost. Instead of paying thousands of dollars upfront, you pay a membership fee of $49 per month. And the content you get is worth so much more than that!
Jessie shares her personal strategies that helped her build a six-figure blog. The course also includes live coaching, workshops, and personalized support through a private Facebook group.
Course Highlights
- Core Curriculum: Covers everything from setting up your blog to earning consistent income, with over 100 lessons available.
- Live Strategy Workshops: Monthly workshops with replays, focusing on various essential blogging topics.
- Weekly Blogger Opportunities: Access to paid opportunities sent out via weekly emails.
- Live Group Coaching: Direct access to personalized help and advice.
- Premium Support: Includes a private Facebook group and direct email support.
- Bonus Events: Quarterly site audits, developer Q&As, and co-working sessions.
Who’s It For?
Travel Blog Prosperity is ideal for both aspiring bloggers and those already established who want to take their blogs to the next level.
It’s perfect for bloggers who prefer a pay-as-you-go approach rather than committing to an expensive upfront course.
The program is best suited for those willing to put in the work and dedication needed to grow their blogs.
I have also written a longer, more in-depth review of Travel Blog Prosperity. You can find it here.
Be sure to use my code “DNAAD” to get your first month for only $9.
4. Profitable Part-Time Blogger
Profitable Part-Time Blogger is a course by Nina Clapperton of She Knows SEO. Nina is great. I hired her for some one-on-one coaching and she changed my life. She truly knows her stuff.
Disclaimer: I have not taken this course myself. I have, however, taken several of Nina’s other courses, and I know how great she is. Nina’s courses all have so much value for the price. I’ve never seen anyone give away so much for free.
The Profitable Part-Time Blogger is a comprehensive course designed to take your travel blog from a hobby to a significant income source, potentially making $30k a month.
It’s a practical, action-oriented guide that shows you the exact steps to achieve success in blogging, specifically tailored for those with a busy lifestyle.
What Makes It Stand Out?
- Real Results: Nina shares her personal success story, including making $31.5k in a single month and consistently hitting $20-30k in several months of 2023. She attributes this success to the strategies outlined in the PPTB course.
- Actionable Strategies: This course is all about action. It’s designed to teach you what to do and when to do it, ensuring you’re not wasting time on ineffective methods. Each strategy is accompanied by an immediate action step for implementation.
- Up-to-Date Content: The SEO landscape is always changing, and PPTB keeps you updated with the latest trends and strategies. The course is continuously updated, ensuring you always have the most current information.
Course Highlights
- Micro-Lessons: Short, digestible lessons under 15 minutes each, perfect for learning on the go.
- Comprehensive Coverage: From beginner to advanced SEO topics, the course covers everything you need to build your blog traffic and passive income.
- Unique Keyword Strategies: Learn to find keywords using methods not taught anywhere else.
- Private Facebook Group: An active community where Nina regularly shares new case studies and bonus guest post opportunities.
Who’s It For?
The Profitable Part-Time Blogger is ideal for bloggers at any stage of their journey, whether you’re just starting out or looking to significantly increase your income.
Like I said, I didn’t take this course myself. I have heard glowing reviews from people in her free Facebook group, SEO For Bloggers (which you should join regardless. It’s separate from the one you get access to when you buy her course).
I did take Nina’s course Six Months to 50K Sessions. It’s not as thorough, but an okay place to start. Nina walks you through setting up your site and gives a great overview of how to get 50,000 sessions each month.
Why 50,000? Because that’s the minimum amount of traffic you need to join a premium ad platform. It’s the “magic number” for bloggers.
Nina has a ton of other small courses too. I’ve taken many of them and they’ve all been fantastic. I’ve also bought her spreadsheets and blog templates. You can see all her stuff here.
Best Free Blogging Course
You do have some free options to get started blogging. I only recommend one – Scale Your Travel Blog’s free masterclass.
I’m not gonna lie, the masterclass is designed to get you to buy the bigger course. But it still gives you a TON of free information on blogging. It’s the best place to start to make sure blogging is for you before you commit.
Why You Should Invest in a Travel Blogging Course
Blogging is hard. Making money at it is harder. The internet is filled with outdated info, conflicting advice, and bloggers who’ve spent years doing things the hard way (ask me how I know).
I’ve seen so many people in blogging groups say they wish they’d invested in a course sooner instead of wasting time spinning their wheels. Some even have to scrap everything and start over because they set their sites up wrong.
If you’re serious about turning a blog into a business, invest in a solid course early on. It’ll save you months (or years) of frustration.
How to Choose the Best Travel Blogging Course for You
People learn differently. You need a course that makes sense for your learning style.
Start with Scale Your Travel Blog’s free masterclass. See if you like Laura’s style.
Then sign up for your $9 intro month for Travel Blog Prosperity. (You need code “DNAAD” to get the deal.) See what you think of Jessie and the information in the course.
Also, join Nina’s free Facebook group. You don’t need to buy anything to be in her free group. And you should be in the group regardless. It’s a gold mine!
Read through the zillions of comments by her students saying how great she is. Also, check out her website, She Knows SEO, and get her freebies.
And watch Nina’s YouTube videos to see how you like her style. She gives away a ton of information on YouTube.
Travel Blogging 101
Wondering what these terms mean that I keep throwing around? Here’s a quick blogging glossary:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization): The practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.
- Affiliate Marketing: A marketing arrangement by which an online retailer pays commission to an external website for traffic or sales generated from its referrals.
- Site Audit: An examination of a website to improve its visibility in search engines. This can include reviewing the website’s structure, content, and backlinks.
- Keyword Research: The process of finding and analyzing actual search terms that people enter into search engines. The insight you get into these search terms can help inform your content strategy as well as your larger marketing strategy.
- Blog Post Outlines: A plan or template for a blog post that helps ensure it is well-structured, covers all necessary points, and is optimized for SEO.
- Premium Ad Platform: An advertising platform that offers higher revenue for ads placed on your website, often requiring a minimum amount of traffic to join.
- Sessions: A measure of traffic on a website, representing a group of interactions one user takes within a given time frame on a website.
Should You Start a Blog?
Deciding to start a blog is a significant step that can open up a world of opportunities, especially if you want to embrace the digital nomad lifestyle.
However, like any venture, it comes with its own set of pros and cons. Here’s what you need to consider:
Pros of Blogging
- Flexibility: Blogging offers the ultimate flexibility in terms of work hours and location. As long as you have internet access, you can work from anywhere in the world, making it an ideal choice for aspiring digital nomads.
- Creative Outlet: It allows you to express yourself, share your passions, and connect with like-minded individuals. Whether it’s travel, fashion, food, or any other interest, blogging gives you a platform to voice your unique perspective.
- Potential Income: Successful blogs can generate significant income through various channels like affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and advertisements. This financial aspect can support a nomadic lifestyle, allowing you to explore the world while earning.
Cons of Blogging
- Time Investment: Building a successful blog doesn’t happen overnight. It requires consistent effort, patience, and dedication. The initial phase can be particularly challenging as you’re establishing your online presence and audience.
- Income Variability: While blogging can be lucrative, it takes time to start making money. Income can also be inconsistent, especially in the beginning, which might be challenging for those relying on it as their primary source of income.
- Technical Challenges: Setting up and maintaining a blog involves a learning curve, including understanding web hosting, content management systems, and SEO best practices. These technical aspects can be daunting for beginners.
- Competition: The digital space is crowded, and standing out requires not just great content but also strategic marketing and SEO efforts to attract and retain an audience.
Equipment Needed to Be a Blogger
To start your blogging journey, you’ll need a few essential tools:
- Laptop or Computer: The backbone of your blogging setup, necessary for writing posts, editing photos, and managing your site.
- Smartphone or Camera: High-quality images are crucial for engaging blog posts, especially in travel blogging.
- Reliable Internet Connection: Essential for publishing content, research, and staying connected with your audience.
- Blogging Platform and Hosting: WordPress is the best platform for blogs. I use and recommend Lyrical for hosting.
- SEO and Analytics Tools: To optimize your content and track your blog’s performance. Keysearch is the best for research. Many analytic tools are free with your WordPress site.
Frequently Asked Questions: Travel Blogging Courses
How much do travel bloggers make?
Travel bloggers’ income varies widely, ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars monthly, depending on factors like blog traffic, monetization strategies (e.g., affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, ads), and the blogger’s dedication to growing their site.
How do bloggers make money?
Bloggers make money through various channels, including affiliate marketing, sponsored content, advertisements, selling digital products or services, and memberships.
How much does it cost to start a travel blog?
Not including training, starting a travel blog can cost as little as $100 to $200 for the first year, covering basic web hosting, a domain name, and a simple theme. Costs can increase with premium themes, plugins, and additional tools for growth and monetization.
Do I need to take a course to start a travel blog?
Taking a course isn’t mandatory to start a travel blog, but it will accelerate your learning, help avoid common pitfalls, and provide strategies for growth and monetization. It’s highly recommended if you want to quickly advance your blogging skills and business.
How easy is it to have a career in travel blogging?
Building a career in travel blogging requires significant time, effort, and dedication. Success doesn’t come overnight; it involves mastering SEO, content creation, and monetization strategies. While challenging, it’s achievable with persistence and a willingness to learn and adapt.
Can I start a travel blog without traveling?
Wrap-Up: Best Travel Blogging Courses
While the path to becoming a successful travel blogger involves learning curves and dedication, the rewards of sharing your adventures and insights with the world can be immense.
To truly unlock the potential of your travel blog and accelerate your path to success, consider starting with a structured learning approach.
The Scale Your Travel Blog free masterclass is an excellent first step. It offers a solid foundation and a glimpse into the comprehensive strategies needed to thrive in the blogging world.
Also, get your $9 month of Travel Blog Prosperity to see how you like it. (Use code “DNAAD.”)
From there, you can make an informed decision on which in-depth course aligns best with your goals and learning style.
Investing in your education through one of these courses can significantly shorten your learning curve, helping you avoid common pitfalls and propel your blog to new heights.
Ladies, join my free, private Facebook group, Women Over 50 Digital Nomads. It’s a safe place to connect, learn, and thrive as a digital nomad. You don’t need to be over 50 but you do need to be a woman.
