What do Travel bloggers do during COVID19?

Owning a travel blog during COVID19 is not the smartest way of income. And I mean that sarcastically. Travel bloggers suffer. Around me, I hear sighs and complaints about visitors numbers going down and with that monthly income.

Let me make sure at the beginning of this blog, that this article is NOT about those travel bloggers that copy-paste other peoples travel experience including photos and write from the kitchen table, pretending they have an awesome life. I could not care less about there income and worries. They are frauds and thieves.

Having that said, I do worry about some of my colleagues and co-writers. You have to be creative at the moment to keep numbers up in your stats. And without a lot to explore in the outdoors, that is hard.

Once again circumstances have proven us travel writers that putting all your eggs in one basket is not a wise thing to do, especially when you are a digital nomad.

With all the travel stops, lockdowns and limitations, safety risks and you name it, tourism is at it’s lowest. You have to rethink your strategy and come up with some pretty bright ideas to keep things going.

Besides that, you may also struggle with a lack of creativity due to circumstances. If you are anything like me, you may struggle with the limitations of freedom, I know I was. I felt like a restrained wild horse when Mexico shut down in March. And with beaches not open and tourism only at 30% of its capacity, at days I still am. It takes a lot of energy to accept the involuntary lockdown and to keep up creativity during those long boring day.

Lucky for me my blogs are not only about travel

A year ago I started blogging in 2 languages on LeavingHolland.com my (now Dutch) first website, which I started in 2014 in preparation of my digital nomad life.
When I decided to split the blog and use the Floating Coconut domain to transfer all my English blogs, I think I made a wise decision.

I now have 2 dedicated blogs, making life a little more complicated when it comes to writing and editing, but yet also less vulnerable. Lucky for me I did this just before the lockdown and I used the growing dissatisfaction of the Dutch people to promote the Dutch website with all its new content. I could follow trends and aim directly to the right peer group.

The website contains more or less the same content as this website does but focusses less on certain topics and more on moving abroad and running away from debts.

A very hot topic in a country where people struggle every month to get by

It does not yet have an international dating part, but that is because there is not much demand for such topics. I might add it later.

Why do I tell you this?

COVID19 or any setback might be a reason to stop for some, most of the travel bloggers I know depend heavily on their blogs and YouTube channel for income. But, like me, you have to be creative to survive.

I was creative enough to jump at the rising occasion to boost my Dutch website and focus more on other topics that people might be interested in, and saw growing visitors numbers instead of declining. 

And,  lucky for me, I did not have my eggs in 1 basket. I have a diversified my income source.

Not all my income depends on high visitor numbers and ad-revenue

I think now, more than ever it is time to change your strategy and find your entry to the new era.  Can you write no longer about tropical destinations or daring adventures, but address the future and sustainability of tourist for example?

• Advice people on how to take nice travel photos when everyone is wearing a facemask?
• Or to find a new point of interest for your followers and visitors?
• Are you as a travel blogger creative enough to survive the pandemic business-wise?

Some of you may know I answer a lot of questions on Fora and other websites, a free way to advertise without advertising. A few have asked me what travel bloggers do during a time of lockdown.
For me those websites are also a source of inspiration, to see what lives among people in the world and what would or could fit my website to write an article about. This topic is one of them.

So, what are some tips and ideas to rebrand your travel blog?

It is up to you if you want to re-brand or not, but I am sure that you felt your vulnerability during these last few months.

Have you re-branded already? Maybe it is nice to share your ideas and views in the comment.

If you haven’t here are some ideas to get your inspiration going:

• you can add a new category and fill it with articles, you will find cross matches with articles in the past to revive them
• you can address the changes in the travel industry, f.e. on cruises and in planes, busses etc.
• you can keep track of countries opening up and their rules in daily life
• you can write about the economical or environmental influence COVID19 has had on the tourism industry in general or in one country specifically, or more humane: on workers in the industry
• you can write throwback posts, and revive old posts
• or you can invent new products, for example, sell travel photos, online classes etc.

Are you getting any ideas already?