You may have examined a variety of solutions if you're wondering how to monetize a travel blog. Affiliate marketing, on the other hand, is by far the quickest method.
Affiliate marketing and travel blogging go hand in hand, and you won't have to modify the way you write or rearrange your site to make it work.
Affiliate marketing is ideal for monetizing a travel blog since it provides the following benefits:
- It's simple to set up – you can start making money from your blog entries in under an hour.
- Several well-known websites provide attractive commissions.
- People are always on the lookout for recommendations, and the industry lives on them.
How To Implement Affiliate Marketing On Your Travel Blog?
Affiliate marketing is essentially about recommending products for people to buy. It's most likely something you've already done a lot on your travel blog.
Affiliate marketing is a simple way to monetize your travel blog by getting paid a tiny commission for the recommendations you currently make.
It's the most common approach to make money from a travel blog because:
- Travel bloggers already make money by recommending things, so why not make money from it?
- People are actively seeking advice – it's how half of the “holiday creating” process works.
- Most significantly, it's unobtrusive – you won't have to make any changes to what you're already doing.
Content is king in a travel blog. That is something you should not modify.
Rather than plastering adverts and banners all over your site, affiliate marketing integrates itself into the content you're currently producing. It's also a good fit since people truly want to hear about your ideas.
Here are five methods to incorporate affiliate marketing into your blog without coming off as spammy:
1- Work product mentions in your blog posts
When writing travel-related blog entries, you'll almost always make recommendations for services and items that your readers should know about.
Check to see whether the firm offers an affiliate program if you find yourself giving a referral.
This is a good, simple strategy to gradually expand your affiliate marketing.
2- Monetize your past blog posts
Monetizing older blog posts is a terrific strategy to give your affiliate marketing a boost.
Older blog postings will be jam-packed with product and website suggestions, among other things. Use a product like ThirstyAffiliates Pro's Autolinker module to leverage those suggestions.
This tool allows you to enter keywords for your affiliate links, which are subsequently connected to your affiliate links in real-time. It's really simple.
There's no better method to immediately profit from all of your previous efforts.
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3- Sidebar graphics for high-level recommendations
Sidebar graphics and banners are still excellent ways to recommend high-end items and services that almost all travelers desire.
Consider insurance, booking websites, particular equipment, and other items that you frequently discuss. Graphics grab people's attention, and that interest may rapidly turn into commissions.
4- Roundup posts
Have you ever created an article with titles like “10 Best Backpacks to…” or “8 Family-Friendly Cruises You Should…”?
The modest roundup article is a very effective piece of content that ranks well and performs well on social media. You'll want to sprinkle a few affiliate links among those suggestions in an article that attracts so much attention.
It's also a good idea to go back and look at some of your older, popular roundup pieces to see if any of the topics you discuss there can be tied to an affiliate offer.
5- Deals
When discussing specific bargains, keep in mind that most of them will have an affiliate network in which you may participate.
During peak seasons, deals-related pieces (think “10 Romantic Getaways This Valentines Day…”) might generate significant purchases.
Second, having a dedicated and permanent “Deals” page on your website can assist you in gathering all of this information in one place where your visitors can quickly access it. Many travel bloggers say that these kinds of pages rapidly become their site's highest-earning pages.
22 Affiliate Programs For Travel
Travel Insurance
When it comes to suggestions, insurance is quite localized. So it's important to understand who your audience is and where they're coming from when it comes to your website.
The Geolocation module in ThirstyAffiliates Pro may reroute traffic to multiple affiliate URLs in real-time based on the visitor's location. When offering a more specialized travel insurance program to that specific tourist, this functionality comes in helpful.
If you're looking for affiliate programs to join, here are a few options based on your location:
- World Nomads Partner Program (Worldwide, covers 140+ countries)
- Travelex Insurance Services (US-focused – $17 per referral)
- AIG Travel Guard (US-focused – $16 per referral)
- DUInsure (Australia-focused – 11% on sales)
- GoCompare (UK-focused)
- Allianz Travel Insurance (Worldwide – $25 per sale)
Baggage & Travel Items
One of the key topics on your blog is most likely your traveler's kit. It's only natural to promote the goods you've found useful. After all, you have the expertise and anecdotes to back up the endorsement, and reviews are one of the most effective methods to boost affiliate revenue. Here are a few well-known travel affiliate programs.
- Amazon Associates Program (Huge selection of items, 4-12% per sale)
- Tortuga Backpacks (very popular backpack gear)
- Luggage Pros (8% on sales, US-based but ships worldwide)
- All Outdoor (6% on sales, UK-based)
Accommodations & Flights
There are a million and one hotel, travel, and comparison websites out there these days, all vying for a piece of the pie. Some of the biggest names in the industry offer ridiculously huge commissions.
Here are a handful of the industry's major players that you should join. All of these websites offer hotels, airlines, and other forms of lodging, and some even offer excursions and other activities.
- TripAdvisor (50% commission per sale or $2.50 per lead for inquiries)
- Booking.com (25% up to 40% per sale)
- Agoda (5% per sale)
- Wotif (1-8% per sale)
- Trivago
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Cruises
I mean, what's not to like about cruises? You board the ship, order your big adult beverage (typically delivered in a coconut shell), then sit back and relax as your every need is met.
As a travel writer and affiliate, you may market cruises on your blog as a wonderful high-ticket item.
To begin, look at these well-known firms, but keep in mind that there are a plethora of smaller operators and booking services to choose from. Many of the major sites I mentioned above in the section on flights and hotels also offer cruises.
- Cruise Direct (3% on sales)
- Royal Caribbean (4% on sales)
- Cruise Away ($10 per booking quote)
Tours
It's a terrific method to develop material for your travel blog by talking about excursions you've done on your vacations. It provides you with things to speak about, areas of interest, and a unique viewpoint on a city or place that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise if you were simply exploring on your own.
Affiliate programs for tours are a great opportunity to build on that suggestion and make money as an affiliate.
- Bookmundi
- TakeTours (3-5% on sales)
- ExperienceOz
- TourRadar (5% on sales)
- Urban Adventures (10% on confirmed bookings)
How Can You Make Sure Affiliate Marketing Is Still The Most Profitable Way To Make Money From Your Travel Blog?
Affiliate marketing and travel blogging are a natural fit. It's as though there are two sides to the same coin.
Here are a few general guidelines to help you make the most of affiliate marketing to monetize your website.
Always Make Genuine Personal Recommendations
This sector revolves around personal referrals.
Ask yourself whether you're truly happy suggesting this product or service when you make an affiliate referral.
Would you — or do you — make use of it?
Don't suggest it if the answer is no. If you make a recommendation just for the benefit of the kickback, people will see straight through it.
Use Story Telling
Storytelling is one of the most effective techniques to capture people's attention.
And the best part is that you can seamlessly include product recommendations into your tale while maintaining your journalistic integrity.
Only Recommend When It Makes Sense
Only propose items when they are appropriate.
If you're writing a blog article on travel gear and then throw in a recommendation for travel insurance out of nowhere, it'll seem entirely irrelevant.
Travel bloggers may easily pitch affiliate items that are related to the content topic at hand. As a result, there's no need to force offerings down people's throats. They're not going to enjoy it, and your conversion rate will decrease as a result.
Do You Use Affiliate Marketing For Your Travel Blog?
We'd be delighted to hear from you right now! Do you monetize your travel blog with affiliate marketing?
What types of offers have proven to be successful for you? Leave a comment in the box below.
