I’ve seen a number of travel blogs from various countries and with different personalities. When you read their ‘About Me’ page, most of them resigned from their corporate jobs to pursue their love for traveling. In the Philippines alone, i can pinpoint some travel bloggers who bravely sent that resignation letter and constantly updates their blogs in order to keep the online earnings coming.
Being a travel blogger is NOT as easy as it looks like. Admittedly though, I am not yet a hardcore travel blogger. I even consider myself lazy because I’ve been to a number of trips last year, but I haven’t blogged half of it. I took a lot of pictures, but they’re not yet arranged in my hard drive. I admire those travel bloggers who can blog their experiences right away. I can do that, but in my current state, I’d rather enjoy the moment first then blog on later. I wouldn’t like to lose that goal to travel for myself and not for the blog.
Why do some travel bloggers resign from their jobs? It’s not always about the money – Time is a big factor. Most of us wouldn’t want to excuse from work or submit too much sick/vacation leaves. If you are dedicated and you are willing to exert extra effort by writing and accepting other freelance gigs, then you can be a Digital Entrepreneur.
Based from what I’ve observed, travel bloggers usually work during their travels. How is that even possible? Time management is a skill a digital entrepreneur needs to practice in order to succeed. Aside from blog earnings (through Adsense, Affiliate Programs, Direct Adverts etc.), most of them also take VA Tasks (Virtual Assistant) through Freelance website listings. There are some who would rather be minimalists and they chose to sell most of their properties. There are free classifieds available online where you can post some items you would like to buy/sell. You can look for part-time jobs too!
Working while traveling can be tiring and stressful. Instead of enjoying your vacation, you are tempted to update your blog or take freelance tasks just to support your basic and traveling needs. If you want to explore the world on your own, you have to work hard for it. In order to put more quality contents to your blog, you have to travel harder.
Hey Mica,
Indeed, time management is a skill you need to have if you want to work while traveling. I know you can do that too! It gets hard when your heart is not in it. Luckily for me, even before the whole travel blogger thing came about, even before I became a virtual assistant, I was already traveling and scrapbooking my travels (you’ve seen my scrapbooks before, right?). When blogging was introduced to me by Peter in 2005 (thru friendster then i.ph), I started blogging about my travels. Maybe that’s why it became natural and easy for me. And wherever your heart is, whatever you desire the most, you’ll be given lots of it. Now, I’m just happy I am where I am . And maybe it’s time to make new dreams. Truth be told, I don’t really earn much from my blogs. Maybe you can teach me the way Jhez taught you before. I just blog coz I love sharing my life online. Perhaps, I should start earning big from it too and explore that side of being a digital entrepreneur. 🙂 Cheers! 🙂
I agree! I think i can do that too. Actually, i signed up with i.ph because of you hehe i really admire your writing skills and teh pictures! 😀 I do hope though that you monetize your blog rin. Pambili rin ng maraming swimsuits 😛 Miss you 🙂
“travel for myself and not for the blog” -> AGREE!!! But of course dapat may balance yan. I’m still trying to strike that balance. I have so many photos in my hard drive that have yet to be posted and/or printed and shared 🙁
Hay, grabe. Saludo talaga ako sa travel bloggers—both full-time or hobbyists na consistent mag-blog about their travels.
I salute them talaga. Discipline ftw!
Ouch! hehehe kakaresign ko lang… hehehe I resigned to pursue my passion about photography plus I love to travel. Now I have the time to write about my previous travels and the new ones I make… yun nga lang I need to learn what you said on your blog… pwede pala yung ganun….. =)
ian dela pena
http://www.facebook.com/iandpPhotography
http://www.dreamsofabrownman.blogspot.com
Hi Ian! Yup, pwede 🙂 Start applying with Adsense muna and Nuffnang also 🙂
work hard, travel harder — mo motto. hehehe pero hindi pa naman ako hardcore travel blogger… you may want to change the color of your font, mahirap kasi basahin yung content. 🙂 more power!
Thanks for the comment! Mukhang ok naman yung color ng font kapag fully loaded na yung site 🙂
the virtual assistant job is really tempting. i’ve heard the pay is good daw. stable bang career yun?
It depends on the client and the contract. Usually, the clients are US based so you need to adjust with their time zone. It is perfect for night persons and if you want to work at the comfort of your own home. I made a short film about a VA two years ago 😀
Mas masaya siguro kung sadyang mayaman na lang ang mga travellers para di na kelangan mag-trabaho haha =P
hahaha! i love that line. “Travel Harder!”
This is so true.
I love hotels, especially luxury 5 star hotels. I also like taking photos and loved to show them, but most of my friends and family just weren’t interested in looking at hotel pics.
So I decided to start reviewing the hotels and started my blog, posting pictures and my thoughts on each hotel.
While it is like a dream, I do find it pretty hard to relax now in ANY hotel as I feel I must always be evaluating everything. It’s hard to relax and just enjoy myself anymore. Also I can’t stay more than one night in any hotel as I feel that it is a waste not to stay in as many hotels and get as many photos as possible.
Global nomads definitely have to travel harder! There’s nothing more pleasuring than seeing the beauty God gave our country and the whole world! AMAZING!