Hard life of travel bloggers
This article is for all non-travel bloggers which is most of you guys, my family, friends, many people on my facebook, my ex-school mates, my ex boyfriends and just the rest of you. In the following post you can find out more about how to earn money with a travel blog.
I want to make something clear in here. It is necessary, trust me!
When you look at my personal facebook or my crazy sexy fun traveler facebook fanpage , most of you just see all those thousands of photos where I am just showing off my bum each time at a different beach from around the world, or every month posting statuses ”hi from …” with a different town/country in them, or relaxing in a hammock wherever.
Yes, that is my life and it is true.
enjoying swimming pool in Totem Hotel Beach Resort in Costa Rica
I do visit all those places and I do so because I want to.
But you don’t know anything that is behind it all.
You don’t know what I have to do to be able to do all this.
Back home, in my home town Snina, the people just know I don’t live there because I travel. I have heard many stupid stories that people say, such as that my dad who is the owner of a pub Stupavska krcma back home is the person paying for all my trips.
To be honest I don’t care what people say about me back home. I learned to be resistant to all that bullshit (sorry for the expression!)
I do not care but it’s simply not fair at all.
Why?
Because I work my ass off online to earn money and keep traveling!
I won’t lie. I do wish it was my dad paying for my trips, it would be much easier for me and I could finally consider traveling as holidays, and not as work as I do now every day. It would be way easier …
It just hurts that people think I do nothing and just travel and get money from my parents.
Because that is so NOT true!
I won’t say they never pay for anything, but they only do when I am at home in Slovakia. Some food, road trips, or sauna here and there. However, hardly ever outside of my home country.
Actually, it is me who invites my mum on holidays or around Slovakia, to Italy or to all incusive holidays in Egypt.
It is me paying for all my trips outside Slovakia.
And for most of them in my home country, too.
This is the first thing I want you to understand when reading this article.
Now you are maybe asking where I get money for all my trips. And this is the second thing to make clear in here.
I do my best. Since March 2011, since I am officially unemployed (it was my own decision to quit cabin crew job), I have never worked manually. And I don’t think I will ever do again. That’s just not my thing.
But I do work.
I work online.
This is my work.
This website is my job.
Another 2 blogs We Travel Around the World and Fit when Traveling are my job, too.
And I make living doing other 7 secrets things.
working in an ice cream place in Cochabamba in Bolivia
Each time I meet new people when traveling and we get somehow to my travel blog, first they start making faces like ”What’s that?” … Then they ask me what I actually do for living.
Now I am the one with the faces ”I am telling you, the travel blog.”
Afterwards, they all say it is the best job ever even if they still do not understand it a bit! But I do agree.
Being a professional travel blogger is the best job in the world!
For me, travel blogging IS the best job in the world.
I am when and where I want to be, the biggest cliche, but so true! I have so much freedom.
I do what I want and when I want.
I decide when I work and for how long.
I am my own boss and that’s something to love, for sure!
But on the other hand, I am also the one who has to work.
Travel blogging is NOT easy.
Life of travel bloggers is anything but easy.
Sometimes I spend too much time on internet. Like now, I just sent 37 emails in the last 2 hours. And I have another 1,300 to reply to.
Yes, it takes a lot of time to build a website, a lot of time to build audience, a lot of time to write articles, a lot of time to deal with the photos and videos. And it takes time to get advertisers and sponsors. It all takes a huge amount of time. Way more than you could ever imagine!
Us, the travel bloggers, spend a lot of time online doing all these activities.
So if you think I am just here somewhere in the Caribbean lying at the beach and doing nothing, you are wrong. I may be at the beach, yes, for a couple of hours, but the end of the day when you all go partying or to bed, I am online working, answering emails, resizing photos and writing articles.
Yes, it is THE life that I chose… the life I want to live.
But it doesn’t mean I do nothing. If you ever happen to travel with me, then you know how much effort it all takes. So please don’t ask me when I am going to work again.
I do work more than most of you with 9 to 5 jobs. There are days when I am in front of my laptop for even 16 hours. There are also days when I work ”outside” taking photos, notes, videos and getting information and then at night I need to write it all down.
But at the same time I enjoy life where and when I want to be.
working in my deluxe suite in Palma Royal hotel in Panama a week before
When I wrote this article in May 2012, I was in an all inclusive 5 star hotel on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica for the first time since I started blogging – finally proper holidays after a year and a half! Then going back to Europe for a couple of months :)
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Comment@ The Guy:
This is such a nice comment! Really means a lot to me, many thanks :) Wish you luck with your blog too ;)
The Guy
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This article is a great insight to the real effort that goes into this blog and how you’ve managed to make it a great success. I can certainly learn from the efforts you’ve put in.
I just recently started my travel blog and I appreciate how long a period of time it can take to build up an audience.
You clearly do a good job and deserve your success. I can tell that by the way we keep coming back to read more about what you are doing.
Thanks for your honesty.
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Comment@ Dianne:
Dianne, I really appreciate your opinion as you know exactly how hard work it all takes :)
Dianne
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Great post! As a part-time blogger, I can appreciate the hard work that goes into it. When travelling, I’m the one crouched over the laptop while everyone else is sleeping, drinking, and relaxing. I’m usually up late writing, editing, resizing, sorting, and uploading. Phew! Well done YOU for making this a full time job! Brilliant!
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Dima’s Corner via Facebook:
Yeah … and obviously, we are not complaining it is us, right? :)
Dima's Corner via Facebook
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It’s a tough life, but someone’s gotta do it!
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Kyle:
I could not agree more with you, Kyle! I am not one of those people who do things that I don’t like and it’s the same with my job :)
Kyle
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Hey i’d trade working hard for something I love then not really working but being trapped doing something I don’t have my heart in. I know it’s hard but the compromise is worth it, as it clearly is for you.
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Traveling Ted:
You spend a lot of time on it, true, but it is worth it :)
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Ruben Vicente via Facebook:
Ruben, I am sure you will get thee soon as your photos are better than mine :) Good luck!
Traveling Ted
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There is a lot of cool benefits to this lifestyle, but you have to work hard to get to the point where you can make money and work harder to stay that way.
Ruben Vicente via Facebook
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Cool article =)
Having a full-time job and being a part-time photographer I know the struggle of not having some proper holidays, maybe a couple of hours on the weekend or something like that…
I admire your efforts and I try to do the same with my photography, but it’s still very difficult to earn enough to do just that. Maybe in a couple of years I’ll have a proper world exposure to do that.
Hope you continue your travels and enjoying our wonderful world =)
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Larissa:
Exactly, screw everyone that says what is not true … we work hard to make living with the blogs! I’m back to Slovakia now for most of the summer, if you want to visit ;)
Larissa
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You go, girl! Just came across your blog from Imperator – Cezar interviewed me as well :) I totally know how it feels for people to think my family is paying my travels around the world and it is the most frustrating feeling. We’ve worked for it and we’ve worked damn hard so – screw you guys haha
Keep up the great work and let me know when you make it back to Europe. I was just in Slovakia in February and dying to go back when it is warm!
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ joshua:
Thank you for your tip, never heard of that website before!
joshua
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I like this site. It think while travelling the partner is also important and its not easy to find friends every where and complete trust on them but i know a website called while travelling alonewhich help me making new friends while travelling and it was a real fun. Find people to: party, eat out, attend concerts, movies or sports events, explore the city or just a romantic date with the perfect stranger
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Monica Suma:
Hey Monica, so nice to hear all this from you! It took me around a year to get where I want and every month it is getting better ;) Good luck with everything!
Monica Suma
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Great post! I came to your website, through a friend of mine, fellow travel blogger, he interviewed you for his Imperator Travel. You are so right about how much work is needed in building a website, getting followers, etc, but you seem to be doing just fine! I congratulate you, and if I may ask, how long did it take you, with constant work and updating, to get an increasing number of views, followers and eventually sponsors? I write about travel, but also abt interior design and all things related to NYC, where I live (although originally Romanian). I love to write, and lately I have been spending a lot of time online and taking classes, trying to combine my passions with monetizing my blog, so I can be more flexible. I also write for Examiner about travel, check it out: https://www.examiner.com/world-travel-in-new-york/monica-suma
Keep up the good work!
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Michelle:
True, Michelle, I am happy too :)
Michelle
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Travel blogging IS a lot of work! I’m so happy you’re able to do something you love as a career! :)