How to Get Travel Sponsorships and Earn Money as a Travel Blogger

Do you work as a travel blogger or a social media influencer? Do you want to learn how to get your blog sponsored and how to locate brands and corporations to collaborate with? Everyone seems to be attempting to sell the idea of free travel around the world, sleeping in luxury hotels, or promising to share their secrets to getting free items as a blogger these days. While it is entirely conceivable, it is not simple, and nothing, and I repeat, nothing, comes for free!

So, if you’re a blogger wondering how to earn sponsored posts for your blog, in this piece, I’ll offer my skills and expertise as someone who has made blogging my full-time job. And if you think it’s impossible to figure out how to get sponsored as a blogger, don’t worry. I’ve been there. I recall how disappointing it felt to be repeatedly rejected or ignored after hours of emailing people only to be rejected or simply ignored!

As a blogger, here’s how to get sponsored

Becoming a blogger is not easy, and it requires a lot of hard work and attention. So if you’re trying to make quick money or get a few free nights in friendly hotels, this certainly isn’t the job for you. There are many more efficient and easier ways to make money than this! If you’re in it for the long haul and willing to put in the effort now to enjoy the benefits afterward, keep reading for my guide on how to get sponsored for blogging.

Before You Become a Sponsored Blogger, Consider These Points

Please look at your blog and all of your social media outlets before we go any further. Also, be truthful in your response to this question.

Is my site of sufficient quality to attract sponsored posts?

If you’re unsure or believe you can do better, try the following:

Have a few friends check at your work and provide criticism.
Run your website through https://nibbler.silktide.com/, which will provide you with a report grading your site on a scale of one to ten on several criteria.
Run a free Website Speed Test if you suspect your site is running slowly. Remember that the speed of your website is determined by your hosting provider. Low-Speed Test results may be a clue that you need better web hosting in such a scenario.

If you still need to work on your blog after all of that, go ahead and do it. If you’re aware that your blog needs a total redesign, enroll in a course to get guidance through the process and keep you on track. This post is based on classes that I have personally completed and recommend.

ARE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES STRONG, BRANDED, AND PRESENTING WHAT YOU DO?

Follow the below some important points:

• Consistency—does your profile and cover photos match? What do you think of your description? Is it well-structured and keyword-rich?

• Do you update all of your live channels on a regular basis? Close those social media account if you haven’t used them in a while. Nothing is more damaging than an abandoned account; it causes brands to distrust you. It’s preferable to not have an account than to have one that has been abandoned.

DO YOU HAVE LARGE FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

You may have a large number of Instagram followers. Are that followers active? This is possibly more essential than your quantity of followers. For example, if you have 40k Instagram followers but only get 100 likes and no comments, this is a red flag to brands.
If your social network profiles aren’t up to par, take some time to improve them before moving on.
If you’re satisfied with your blog and social media outlets, you should examine your content.

ARE YOU ABLE TO SHOW WHAT YOU CAN DO?

It’s important to share examples of your work to send to brands when reaching out to them. If you’re pitching a hotel review, for example, you should be able to provide them with a hotel review you’ve previously written. A product review, a tour review, and so on is all examples of this.

These initial reviews might have to be done on your own dime. However, having high-quality reviews with attractive visuals and a reasonable level of interaction to send with your pitch is critical for helping to develop trust and demonstrate the quality of your work. Take a look at this post if you need some assistance putting together the ideal pitch.

DO YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE?

Know Google Analytics

I count all of my data stars from all of my social media networks and Google Analytics on a weekly basis. In addition to monitoring my views and users, I keep track of their gender, age, and country of origin. To pitch to brands and companies, you must first understand who your target market is.

Even more significant, you must know and verify that your audience is their potential clients!
I’ve been on both ends, as a travel influencer and as the marketing director for a tour business, and I can’t tell you how many travel bloggers I’ve turned down for sponsored tours because of this.
If you’re a budget traveler who specializes in backpacking and budget travel, pitching luxury resorts and spas to a demographic of 18-25-year-old men is a waste of time.
Know your target market, be practical, and only contact organizations that will complement your brand and appeal to your target market.

ARE YOU EQUIPPED WITH A MEDIA KIT?

If you’re wondering how to become recognized as a blogger, a well-designed media kit will be really beneficial.
I always requested this from every blogger who approached me as a marketing manager for tour business. If I didn’t get one, it indicated that they weren’t professional, which was a major red flag. It also made deciding whether or not we wanted to work with someone much easy for me. You can read an entire piece about developing a blogger’s media kit here.

Your media kit should sell you on the following points:

Who are you?
What is your goal?
Who is your target audience?
How far can you go?

You should be able to update it rapidly when your social reach shifts. This, however, is your calling card and the key to making you appear professional. Check that it’s a PDF and that it’s not a large file if it contains images.

Once you have your blogger media kit, you must look through it and identify the companies and brands with whom you wish to collaborate. After that, try to maintain all details on a spreadsheet with as much detail as possible.

I never send mass emails, and you should not either. I always personalize it for each firm, making sure to include some information about the company that I discovered on their website.
People can tell when you’re just trying your luck and sending out emails in bulk. Personalizing each email takes a bit more work, but it makes a difference and increases the likelihood of positive answers. I always follow up three to four days later to just update your email and remind them of your offer.

How to Get Travel Sponsored

Isn’t getting sponsored vacation for travel bloggers the ultimate goal? Well, not always, so before you start pitching for sponsored trips, consider some of the ramifications for your blog.
When you accept something in exchange for a review, you leave yourself up to accusations of partiality or selling out. If you receive a free hotel stay, it is expected that you write an excellent review regardless of your experience. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it or that you can’t do it ethically; you simply need to be careful about how you interact with individuals and provide these sponsored suggestions to your audience in a transparent manner.
To become a successful travel blogger, always try to build trust with your end-user. People who read your blog need to feel that they can trust you to provide solid advice; violate that trust, and it’s challenging to regain.

So if you accept travel sponsored, then try to follow the below tips:

When you’re in the negotiation stage of cooperation, make it plain to the company you’re working with that you want to provide an honest evaluation. For clarity, I like to include a statement like this: ‘Negative Reviews: If I have a poor experience with you and plan to include it in my review, I will share my write-up with you before posting so that you can submit a statement that I will publish alongside any adverse comments to provide your perspective. ‘ This is something I have yet to have to do, but it establishes from the start that I will be truthful.

Do your research. Before committing to collaborate with anyone, make sure they are a quality firm that you are delighted to share with your audience. This can assist you in avoiding a circumstance in which you may be required to submit a negative review later!

Is it genuinely worthwhile? Personally, I hardly ever work with lodging providers. Unless I’m staying in $500-per-night luxury hotels, it’s not worth all of the effort I have to put in to obtain the stay and then write the review. Hotels costing $500 per night are fantastic, but my audience isn’t going to spend that much money on lodging, so that it wouldn’t be a good deal for the hotel or me.

Conclusion

Examine all of your social media platforms to ensure that they are consistent, that you have high interaction, and that you post on a regular basis.
Ensure that you have compelling examples of your work to send out.
Understand your target audience.
Only pitch to firms that are a good fit for your audience and brand.
Create your media pack or get an expert to do it for you.
Make a spreadsheet with information on all the brands and businesses you wish to approach.
Use a template pitch, but make sure to customize each email.
As a professional, you should never ask for anything for ‘free.’ This is a professional service exchange.
Always send a follow-up email if no response is received in 3-4 days.