THE BEST TRAVEL BLOGGING COURSES – BASED ON PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

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Are you planning to start a travel blog and looking for the best travel blogging course? Or, you are not even sure if you need one? Then read this article about my experiences and suggestions that help you understand what these blogging courses can offer you. These are adaptable even if you have a non-travel-related travel blog. However, the creators all achieved full-time income through travel blogs which give extra trust in their lecture if you also want to start a travel blog. I’m still on my way to making a full-time income from blogging, but I was a student of all these courses, and thanks to some of the best travel blogging courses, I have a clear view now of what and how I want to achieve.  

I had plenty of doubts and an absolute lack of information at the beginning on how to make money with travel blogs. I’m an international tour guide, and I love solo female traveling, and travel blogging was the obvious choice for me. 

But can you still make money on travel blogging?

The answer is yes, you can make money, but you have to be strategic, learn how to find your niche, discover what your clients want from you and create something that stands out.  

There are tons of travel blogs, so I was wondering if there is any point in doing that. Almost everybody who travels seems to want to become a travel blogger or influencer. Plus, the pandemic crushed the whole tourism branch, which makes you think it is a vulnerable niche.  

Setting up a travel blog that brings money is much harder than before when blogging was new. 

Ten years ago, it was easy to rank on google, but now you must stand out among millions of blogs. Only a fraction of bloggers earns a full-time income from their blogs. 

Wait! Do you really need to complete a travel blogging course?

Well, it depends on your purpose with your blog. If you want to do it as a hobby, don’t waste your money on it. However, if you aim to make extra money or a full-time living from your travel blog, my answer is: Absolutely!

When I came up with the idea of having a travel blog during the pandemic, I started to watch tons of YouTube videos and read countless articles about blogging. There is a lot of useful information on the internet and YouTube about how to set up a blog, grow your traffic, manage your social media, write SEO-focused blog posts, collaborate with other bloggers, do affiliate marketing, and literally everything that you want to know. So, you probably think, why spend extra money if you find all the information free of cost? 

However, even if probably all the necessary information is available broken into short videos and blog posts about each topic, you can easily get overwhelmed and confused by not having a complete overview of what steps come after what. And if you miss some important things on the way or if you are not strategic about your blog, you can easily end up giving it up before seeing any success.  

This is what happened to me. I soon realized that travel blogging requires immense work and continuous learning, much more than you would imagine from the outside. There is massive competition with millions of blogs, and unless you learn how to find your “Blue Ocean” and stand out from the other blogs by making the right steps in the proper order, you only remain frustrated without any results. And you end up wasting so much time, especially if you are not tech-savvy, like me. You may have friends who know something about websites but believe me, I had to change everything I was recommended to do when I followed the courses, and I learned more about that. 

One of the main reasons I did not progress with my blog was that I didn’t know what to work on, and I was jumping from one thing to the other without making real progress. Also, I lacked the basics, I was not clear with my goal and my audience. Do not expect any result without being 100% clear about what you do and understanding your audience. 

Even with the clear guidance of experts, it is a hard work, especially if you are doing it alone. Blogging is a long-time project, and immediate success simply does not exist.

Your ultimate goal is to make money faster, for which you need a strategy and investment. Setting up and operating a profitable blog is not free of cost. The free-of-cost platforms have limitations, and you need to switch to payable plans if you consider your blog a business. 

Therefore, once you decide you are ready to climb the iceberg, I 100% recommend spending money on travel blogging courses, even if they are not especially cheap. I learned so much from the ones I took that I never regretted the money spent on them. But some are still better than others, which I will share with you now.

The main benefits of the best travel blogging courses

– Step-by-step guidance to turn your passion into a moneymaking machine. It sets you on a clear path that you follow instead of reinventing the wheel. 

– The best travel blogging courses help you have the right mindset to succeed, which is one of the most crucial factors.

– You can use the experience of the course creators, who developed the best practice after having already tested all the tools and procedures, saving a lot of energy and time. 

– Joining a course comes with a travel blogging community where you can ask any questions when you get stuck with technical or strategic issues (and you will). Being surrounded by like-minded people keeps you motivated, and collaboration with other bloggers is essential for success. Blogging is not a lonely work like most people think. Being surrounded by like-minded people is essential to change your mindset and not getting discouraged by your surroundings, eliminating your fears, and having a successful attitude. 

– In most cases, you have lifetime access to the course material that you can look up any time later. 

– You get informed about constant updates on new tools and trends that are worth implementing.

– Learn how to focus on the right thing and work smarter, not harder, to see results. 

– Through a comprehensive travel blogging course, you get equipped with many new skills in the end that you can use or even get paid gigs elsewhere. The future belongs to those who learn! 

If you still have doubts, these courses have a money-back guarantee!

For that, my most important advice is to take a blogging course!

Recommended travel blogging courses

There are several courses on the market, and here I want to share my experiences with the ones I completed. When searching for the best travel blogging course, I first came across Matthew Kepnes’s Superstar blogging, which seemed the most popular and best travel blogging course. 

Later I bumped into the Blogging Fast Lane Accelerator travel blogging course, which is now my ultimate recommendation for those starting from zero to master the business of blogging. Therefore, I give the most detailed review of this course. 

 Since none of the above courses met my expectations concerning Pinterest strategy, I took the “Pinterest Avalanche Course” from Create and Go.   

I also recommend Jessie on a Journey’s blogging courses created around different blog-related topics. Check out her free blogging resources and profitable travel blogging podcast, which are of immense value to building my blog. 

And now, I will give you my honest review of the comprehensive and other supplementary courses and all you need to know before deciding which is the best travel blogging course for you. 

1. Superstar Blogging from Matthew Kepnes (a.k.a. Nomadic Matt)

Who is the course creator?

When talking about blogging courses, Nomadic Matt’s name definitely comes up. He is one of the most well-known and successful travel bloggers who has been running his “Nomadic Matt travel blog” since 2008, where he gives travel tips for independent travelers on a low budget. He published two books, one of which is “How to Travel the World on $50 a Day” and became a New York Times bestseller. Now, he works with a small team, and his blogging course, Superstar Blogging, was one of the first and most reputed travel blogging courses.

I came across his name and achievements when I realized I could not make real progress without a structured course and mentorship. His course had several positive feedbacks, and one of my favorite bloggers (Against the Compass) was also one of his students. 

It was the first blogging-related course I took that cost me 399€. I was hesitant to spend that money, but this still seemed to be cost-efficient after my research.

Nomadic Matt closed the Superstar Blogging course lately, but he still offers two courses:

– How to become a travel writer

– The business of blogging 

The latter corresponds with the former Superstar Blogging; however, the price is significantly less (99$).

Overview of the course

His course contains eight sections:

Section 1: Setting up and getting started

This includes tips on finding a perfect blog name, buying a domain and hosting, using WordPress, installing a Theme and the necessary plugins, and setting up your email account, Google Analytics and Search Console.  

Section 2: Building a Brand

Here you learn about how to consider your blog as a brand, how to choose a profitable niche, the basics of designing your website, and how to maximize your efficiency. 

Section 3: Writing Content

Although Nomadic Matt has a separate course on travel writing, the blogging course also includes a section about how to write engaging and viral content, improve your writing skills and come up with catching blog post titles. It also gives tips on grammar do’s and don’ts and writing resources.  

Section 4: Mastering Social Media & Networking

The Section about Social Media gives an overview of the platforms that can be useful for travel bloggers and tips on how to succeed. Here you learn how to collaborate with other travel bloggers, pitch guest posts and get media attention. 

Section 5: SEO

Knowing the basics of SEO is crucial for travel bloggers. Here you get tips on what helps to rank higher on Google, including the best tools and updating old content. 

Section 6: Newsletters

Newsletters are the most efficient way to increase the number of your subscribers and grow your affiliate income. In this section, you learn how to set up Newsletters with different email marketing software, what to write to your audience, and other valuable tips on setting up an efficient email marketing strategy. 

Section 7: Monetizing Your Blog

Learn how to monetize your blog through affiliate marketing and digital products, create a sales page, market your products and publish a book on Amazon. As mentioned above, Nomadic Matt is the author of the New York Times bestseller, “How to Travel the World on $50 a Day”. 

Section 8: Partnering with Brands, PR Agencies, & More

Partnering with brands is one of the ways to earn money for travel bloggers. There are plenty of things to know, from how to pitch a brand with a professional Media kit to what to expect from such collaboration. Apart from paid content, you also learn about other monetization methods.

Conclusion

Pros

1. It gives tons of useful technical and strategic information about blogging for beginners

You learn so much about setting up a blog, writing engaging content, and monetizing it. In the end, you feel you learned so much from this course. 

2. Ask any time technical and strategic-related questions  

There is a platform where you get answers to your technical and strategic-related questions if you get stuck. Also, you can collaborate with other travel bloggers for mutual benefit.  

Cons

1. There is no free bootcamp available

There is no free bootcamp available before actually purchasing the course, like at Fastlane Blogging Accelerator that would help you decide on whether if it is really something for you.

2. Some topics are not detailed enough

Some topics only outlined the basics and would deserve a deeper elaboration (like Pinterest). All successful bloggers, including Nomadic Matt, describe it as the number one social media platform for new bloggers when their website is not well-established. However, there is so much more to know about that, and I had to take an extra course.

3. Almost entirely text-based

It is almost 100% text based. Interviews are only occasionally included. Taking a class in a video format makes it so much easier to digest.  For that reason too, the “Fastlane Blogging Accelerator” blogging course (find my detailed review below) gave me a much better experience, where all the lessons were available in both written and video format.

4. No Facebook Group for collaboration

Also, a Facebook group for the participants would be much more efficient than the collaboration platform created inside the course. 

5. Harder to understand for non-native speakers

One more thing. It may not be a problem for you, but for me, as a non-native speaker, Nomadic Matt’s speaking style demanded much more attention when watching some of his videos.

Only 30-day money back guarantee.

Price

It cost me 399$.

The new Business of Blogging course that replaces the Superstar Blogging costs 99$. 

Overall opinion

It gives tons of helpful information that helps you start your blog, but not the best travel blogging course. 

2. Fastlane Blogging Accelerator – my top recommendation

Who are the course creators?

Anna and Tom, a lovely couple, are the creators of this course and the owners of “Adventure in You”, a Six-figure adventure travel blog. 

It may seem unimportant, but their personalities and teaching styles were partly the reason why I purchased the course after participating in their 4-day free blogging course. Also, because they shared so much free information, I was sure their paid course would be of immense help. They are extremely dedicated to helping other bloggers change their lives by creating a profitable blog.

Their story is truly inspiring. Tom is from the UK, but Anna is not a native English speaker. She came from the Philippines and was toiling for an extremely low salary. She didn’t have the ideal circumstances to build a business. Her example shows that even if conditions are not perfect, it is possible to do that.  

Overview of the course

This eight-week course is your step-by-step blueprint to help you profit from your passions by building an affiliate machine and looking at your blog as a business.

They don’t try to sugarcoat the whole blogging procedure. Instead, they tell you honestly in the beginning that this is hard work with pain, comparing it to climbing an iceberg. The system works, but your results depend on if you put the hard work in. 

Adventure in You is a travel blog with a focus on adventures around the world, but its principles are applicable to any other blog theme. 

The Fastlane Blogging Accelerator program provides clear guidance on the next step to take and shows you how to build a profitable business and achieve freedom. They already did the hard work, and their 6-figure blog success is a proof of that. They tested what works and what does not. So, you can benefit from their experience and knowledge, saving time, energy, and money. I especially appreciate the focus on having the proper attitude and mindset and getting motivation bumps on the way. They even teach you how to raise the money to be able to pay for this course so that it hurts less.

The course is made up of an Introduction + 4 modules

When you buy the course, you should first join the Fastlane Bloggers’ Facebook group created for its students and introduce yourself. 

Every module has a “Resources” section with related downloadable cheat sheets that you can fill out directly online. 

Apart from the basic modules, there are bonus lessons on specific topics (WordPress technical stuff, Pinterest, blog branding, etc.) 

Anna and Tom explain the whole procedure of how you can reach your affiliate machine in 90 days. Of course, the results differ for beginners and those who already have a blog. They teach you the essentials to set up your blog strategically that is suitable for making money.

They even prepare you to change your mindset, stay motivated and never give up. 

This is probably the best travel blogging course, and they are so confident that it helps their students that they offer a 90-day-refund on the course provided that you completed the Pit stops.  

Module 1: Funnel Foundation

In Modul 1, they teach you to look at your blog as a funnel. It means that instead of writing random content, you learn how to build the foundations of your blog. It is essential as only good foundations can lead to results. 

It starts with having the right mindset and being clear with your purpose, goals and motivation. Your business mindset differentiates you from a hobby blogger. This will influence your daily steps and ensure you produce the best content. You need to strive for success and replace doubts with success mantras. Visualize your goals and move towards them. Understand that the work you invest in will lead to a compound effect. 

Setting up a blogging business starts with specifying your financial goals, your audience, your perfect day, and even what you will do with the income you generate with your blog. Setting smart, measurable, and realistic goals are essential in the beginning.  

In this module, you learn about time blocking, i.e., dividing your daily tasks into blocks you try to stick to.

You also get advice on plenty of things like how to: 

 -stay focused on your tasks with work management tools like Asana

– identify your “blue ocean”

– find a unique niche

– find your ideal audience

– avoid the “social media trap”

– keep your emails organized 

– outsource tasks to a virtual assistant.  

Following these steps already puts you ahead of most other bloggers. 

Fastlane bloggers learn how to identify their superpower (what they are good at) and what they are passionate about, which puts them in an energetic and extremely focused flow state and keeps them going in the long run without burnout. If you only chase a lucrative topic ignoring your passion, it is hard to succeed.  

Module 2: Affiliate mastery

You can download an affiliate disclaimer template that you can use for your website and a list of affiliate partners according to different branches (fashion, travel, tech, etc.).

This module explains the basics of affiliate and passive income, how to join affiliate programs directly or through affiliate platforms, and how to apply them successfully.

Here you learn about a successful affiliate marketing strategy that helps you generate passive income.

There are plenty of things to know about affiliate marketing, including the disclosure of affiliate, do-follow and no-follow links. A downloadable cheat sheet helps keep track of your affiliate programs, which can be confusing after joining several programs with different conditions.

They also help you align your affiliate marketing strategy with understanding the user intent and different article types and optimize your articles for click-throughs.

You also get tips on how to monetize your blog in the right way through ads.

Module 3: Drive traffic to your blog

This module focuses on driving traffic to your blog Search Omnipresence, which is crucial to get ranked on Google. Apart from that, you learn about the countless factors that improve your blog’s visibility in search engines.

You have to learn how to create truly valuable content that is better than that of the competitors to use free or paid keyword research tools to find keywords that are easy to rank for to see results.  

Anna and Tom show step-by-step how to apply on-site SEO by optimizing your blog posts and strategically creating them with interlinking. They also explain the other factors that influence your Google ranking, like website speed and size of images, and create a blogging calendar to help you be effective, more productive, and less overwhelmed.

Of course, they provide a fillable cheat sheet for that.

Module 4: Trust marketing

The last module walks you through how to build an engaged community by delivering extra value, plus how to automate this strategy and turn on your machine. Email automation helps build trust and increase affiliate income.

But how to set up your pop-ups and email subscription templates? How to attract subscribers to your email list, and what to write them in your emails?

Here you will learn about the secret of creating an irresistible value gift with Canva that will help you grow your audience.

Anna and Tom already experimented with the optimal timing of pop-ups and tried different types of email marketing services.

They also give you tips and examples on how to come up with catching emails.

Bonus modules

Apart from the four main modules, there are some bonus modules on

–       how to set up your blog and create the legal pages (Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Affiliate Disclosure)

–       how to use WordPress (essential plugins to install, create links, use Gutenberg editor, connect your blog to Google Analytics, create posts, categories, pages and upload images, create a sidebar, edit the footer to add a disclaimer, etc.)

–       Blog branding Kickstarter pack (how to edit images, and set up the brand strategy for your blog)

–       Pinterest explosion course

–       Time hacking strategies

–       Business of Blogging templates and resources

–       Live Q&A

–       Blogging Fastlane Case Studies

Pros of Fastlane Blogging Accelerator Course

1. Clear, easy-to-follow instructions for beginners

The course is designed for complete beginners for non-tech-savvy. Being one of them, I loved that every small step was clearly explained through video and written form. But the course has so much information that it is useful for those who have already started their blog but want to see more results and be strategic. 

2. Super helpful Facebook group for course participants

You get access to a very supportive Facebook group with like-minded students. It is a perfect tool for brainstorming and to get immediate help from Anna and Tom, who answer all your questions. The community is very supportive, even if you only need some extra motivation. The atmosphere is so friendly and human.  

3. Downloadable cheat sheets

They created several blog-related manuals that help you get clear with your “Blue Ocean”, the roadmap with the milestones that give you a long-term plan about what to do even after finishing the course, whether you are a beginner or somebody with an existing blog. This sets you pit stops after each module and tells you clearly what you need to achieve in the next couple of months. 

4. Lifetime access to the course

It is so helpful that I can look it up whenever I want and use it when I decide to have a second blog. It always remains yours. 

5. Video and text based education

It is much easier to digest loads of information through videos rather than only having written text in front of you. I really missed that at the Superstar blogging course. 

6. Immediate help from the library

If you need support, the library of supporting material contains answers to the questions often asked by students. If you still don’t find the answer, you can ask directly in an email or the Facebook Group. 

7. Focus on creating the right mindset and maintaining motivation

Having the right attitude is often underestimated, although it is the key to success. Anna and Tom not only teach you the technical and strategic aspects of blogging but help you set smart goals that will keep you motivated in the long term. Their motivational bump sections are excellent for getting over the roadblocks on the way. They also teach the importance of celebrating wins and keeping a positive attitude.  

Cons of the Fastlane Blogging Accelerator Course

Pinterest section is not detailed anough

Although they describe Pinterest as a crucial social media platform to attract traffic, apart from the basics, I still lacked a deeper understanding of how Pinterest works. So, I decided to invest in Create and Go’s “Pinterest traffic avalanche” course.

This is a travel course that I can absolutely recommend as I can hardly find any cons. I am very satisfied with it and looked it up regularly until now to refresh my knowledge, and I still benefit from the help through the Facebook group to get help when needed. 

This is probably the best (travel) blogging course you can find now.

Sign up for the free blogging bootcamp to see if it is for you

Price

I paid 497$ when I purchased the course, which was a discounted price, and it was 100% worth it. The actual price may be different depending on seasonal discounts.

Sign up for their free webinar

3. Jessie on a Journey – my other top recommendation

Jessie has been blogging for over ten years and has tons of useful information on her site. She also has a travel blogging course that I did not take, as I already had done Nomadic Matt’s Superstar Blogging and the Fastlane Blogging Accelerator. However, I signed up for all her newsletters to access the free travel blogging library and listened to all her travel blogging podcast episodes. 

These are just some examples, but she has a series of other downloadable cheat sheets, workbooks, and printables that help you build a successful blog, for instance, about how to:

– create a blog post 

– successfully brand your blog

– craft your blog’s business plan worksheet

– use freebies and monetize your blog posts with a step-by-step workbook

– land paid press trips

– monetize our blog with online courses  

You can download workbooks about social media strategy, profitable affiliate posts, and travel blogging secrets. 

Her travel blogging podcast is equally valuable. The episodes are short and focus on giving ready-to-apply pieces of advice, for example:

– How to make money with affiliate marketing as a travel blogger

– How to improve your mindset for success

– How to make money with webinars (do’s and don’ts)

– How to map out and crush your blogging goals

– How to improve your creative storytelling skills

– Clever ways to boost your travel blogging income  

These are just some examples of her free resources. Until now, I signed up for free workshops and webinars and downloaded her cheat sheets, and I regularly get honestly helpful tips through her emails. 

Check out Jessie’s other extremely valuable freebies, from workbooks to boot camps and webinars.

Courses of Jessie on a Journey

Jessie offers several smaller and more comprehensive courses.

I took the courses on:

– How to start a tour company in your own backyard

– 30-day blog profit calendar 

– Brand pitch bundle

These courses were absolutely worth the money. 

Check out all the courses

Travel Blog Prosperity Membership – the signature course

Jessie’s signature membership-based course is Travel Blogging Prosperity which teaches you everything you need to turn your blog into a profitable business. In total, over $5,000 in courses + bonuses are included in the membership.

Great news! Technically, doors are closed, but I’ve got a special code to get you backdoor access.

COUPON CODE: AGNES9

Plus, with this coupon code, you get your first month for just $9. After that, it’s $49/month to stay a member, and you can cancel at any time – even before the trial month is over. Because of that, there is no money-back guarantee for this.

For the monthly subscription fee, you get access to the following:

· 15-minute onboarding call. 

· 59+ premium blogging courses

· 21+ workshops

· Strategy roadmap 

· 1 monthly goal-setting workshop. 

· 2 monthly live Q&A calls. 

· Quarterly live calls & events

· 5 weekly paid blogger opportunities

· Course bonuses.

There is over $2k in the course bonus material, from brand pitch templates to email

writing prompts to engaging Instagram Story templates.

Here you will find the list of all her courses.

I enormously benefited from her free travel resources and the short courses I took. Jessie has gained vast knowledge over the last years as a travel blogger, speaker, tour organizer, and podcaster. 

Signing up for her Travel Blog Prosperity Membership program will help you learn how to make a profitable blog with tons of tips on how to grow.

4. Create and go – Alex and Lauren

I mentioned a couple of times above that the Pinterest classes of the travel blogging courses were insufficient, so I searched for a specific Pinterest class. This is how I came across Alex and Lauren from Create and Go and their Pinterest Avalanche course. 

Who are the creators?

Alex and Lauren turned their two blogs into a million-dollar online business. Now they teach others how to do the same. 

It is designed for beginners, starting from how Pinterest works, creating an account, making a profile, and creating boards. So don’t worry if you never used Pinterest before. However, later it dives deeper into the Pinterest strategy that can be useful for also those already familiar with this social media platform.  

The courses include sections about how to:

• make Pinterest pins stand out
• use SEO on Pinterest
• create trending contents
• create catchy pins in Canva
• create curiosity with your pins
• the best practices
• check analytics to know which pin is performing the best and how to interpret the numbers
• automatize your pinning with Tailwind and a complete introduction to the use of Tailwind

The course has valuable tips on growing your email list with a perfect email strategy. 

I’m still at the beginning of building a strong presence on Pinterest and making time for that, but the course was sufficient to understand what I must do to succeed.

The Pinterest course is taught by Lauren, who is sympathetic and has a great teaching style.

I’m convinced after the Pinterest class that their other courses are also worth the investment:  

Launch your Blog business (about setting up your website, attracting an audience, and lie down the foundations to monetize it) 

Six-figure course creator

SEO Blueprint for bloggers (to understand SEO)

Pinterest traffic avalanche (see the review above)

Blog Biz Bundle: you get access to 4 courses at the same time (Launch your blog business, SEO blueprint for blogger, Pinterest traffic avalanche, the Six-figure course creator) for a one-time payment of 797€.     

Conclusion

I hope this post based on my personal experiences helps you choose the best travel blogging course. There are probably many others out there, but these are the ones I can give an honest review of. One thing is sure: Success only works with investing in yourself. But there are tons of blogging courses, and you can easily run into something that is a waste of money. I created this content to help you understand what a travel blogging course looks like and how to choose the best one.

You need mentors and a community if you are serious about blogging and converting your passion into profit. And this is exactly what you get from the blogging course. Otherwise, you can end up exhausted without any results. You can benefit so much that you do not regret a penny of them if you choose well. For a new blogger, it takes time to rank on Google. It is important to be patient to see results, but you know what you do by completing a travel blogging course. And this makes the difference.