Travel Writer’s Secret to Making Money from an Ad-Free Blog

Updated: Mar 28th, 2010

Travel writer David’s first blog was an ad free blog. Some people thought he was crazy for not monetizing his blog. As a travel writer, he knew he could make money from his writing. Through his research he found great blogs on the internet that did not run ads. He found out that some ads can actually make you lose money! The most important discovery was finding out that he could make a decent income without running ads on his blog.

Would you like to know the travel writer’s secret to making money from an ad-free travel writing blog? Keep reading to find out how it’s done!

According to an article on the blog Lost Art of Blogging: “I’ve waited about 6 months for my first adsense check a few years back, when I first started blogging. Yeah, 6 months for a meager $100. Don’t forget it’s a lot harder now, as opposed to, let’s say, 2-3 years back. I’ve heard a lot of people saying they’ve waited as much as 12 months for their adsense to cash in. Let’s look at the CPM model, too. At a normal CPM rate of $1 per thousand impressions, a blogger would need about 100k hits per month to make $100, which, let’s face it, is both not much at all and hard to achieve. A normal mid-trafficked blog has a few thousand impressions per day, working pass that requires a heck of a lot of work. Yeah, you can add multiple banners (leaderboards, skyscrapers, blocks etc.), but in the process you may risk over-flooding your blog with commercial ads.”

First, sign up with WordPress.com or Blogger for a FREE blog. Once you start blogging you will develop credibility for your niche travel market. If your blog is loaded with advertising, readers may question who you are writing for. Are you writing to educate and provide useful travel information to your readers? They may get the “feeling that you’re writing for the advertisers that are on your blog.

A blog is a great way to market your travel writing ability. You can make a page, call it Portfolio, and showcase your work. All you have to do is “pdf” your work or the alternative is to create a page for ebooks, travel guides, or magazine travel articles.

If you have a website dedicated to budget travel and your website receives a ton of traffic, consider writing an ebook. After all, you’re expert on the subject and your readers know it. When you are finished writing and proofing your ebook, sell it on your website.

Another ad-free technique is to ask for donations. Some travel writers may think this is “crazy talk,” but many people ask for donations to keep their blogs up and running. Appeal to your readers senses and if they appreciate your work they’ll be happy to help you out financially so you can keep your blog online. Check out Paypal, sign up today, and earn money tomorrow!

In conclusion, an ad-free blog can make you money. Your blog will be clean and fresh with pertinent travel information that your readers want to read. A focused reader is a happy reader who will be back for more!

Rebecca

About Amandah Blackwell 198 Articles

Amandah Blackwell is a creative, freelance and ghost writer for industries that include but are not limited to the arts & entertainment, travel, publishing, real estate, pets, personal and professional development, and much more.

Amandah's personal writing projects include screenplays, teleplays, YA, non-fiction, short stories, and poetry. 

You can find more of her writing at www.MisticCafe.com, savvywritingcareers.wordpress.com, and www.savvy-writer.com.

You can follow Amandah on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/savvy_writer

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