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It’s been a battle at occasions however there was nonetheless some cash to be made in 2020.
This pandemic has been powerful for all of us within the blogosphere. From journey running a blog to vogue, way of life and wonder, we’ve all needed to adapt how we create content material and diversify our incomes.
In 2020 a number of my completely happy occasions had been spent within the kitchen!
It’s not all been doom and gloom although. Some niches have excelled throughout this bizarre outdated time of being instructed to remain indoors. For instance, I discovered myself visiting extra meals blogs in 2020 than ever earlier than. Cooking new dishes and consuming plenty of treats have been the principle methods I’ve stayed sane!
Journey running a blog took a fairly direct hit in March 2020. Because the world began to grind to a halt, I watched as my visitors dropped to lows I’d solely witnessed initially of my running a blog profession. It was devastating to see. This screenshot from my weblog analytics is tough to disregard. The orange was 2019, blue was 2020. 
The detailed journey guides I’d spent hours placing collectively had been not being looked for. Why would anybody want journey data for locations they couldn’t journey to? I wasn’t reserving any journeys… in reality, I barely left the south of England for the whole 12 months.
Properly, breaking information… my earnings have taken a giant outdated hit. I’ve at all times been sincere and upfront concerning the enterprise facet of running a blog. I discover posts like this actually helpful, they usually’ve helped me quite a bit alongside the best way. Scripting this has compelled me to face details, and likewise to understand what did work in 2020.
I’ve been busy going by way of my 2020 – 2021 enterprise accounts, and it’s been loopy to see the distinction in earnings to the earlier 12 months. Prepared for a little bit overview?
Journey Campaigns
Ballpark charges: From £1K – £5K
In a mean 12 months, nearly all of my revenue comes by way of journey campaigns for vacationer boards. These normally contain travelling to a vacation spot to create a mixture of video, weblog and social media content material.
For instance, final February I spent just a few days in Nuremberg showcasing why the town is a good choice for {couples} searching for a romantic getaway. In the summertime, I went to the Ribble Valley to shine a lightweight on a lovely but underrated a part of the UK.
These sort of journey campaigns are what I LOVE most about my job! I like travelling to new locations, working with a vacationer board to unfold their message in addition to my very own private opinion, and in flip encouraging my readers to actually comply with in my footsteps.
Engaged on a journey marketing campaign in Nuremberg – one of many principal methods I earn a living running a blog
So, let’s look again at 2020. What number of journey campaigns (involving precise journey!) did I work on?
It turns on the market had been 8 in whole, and most had been within the UK. Whereas in 2019 I labored on 14 and plenty of of these concerned weeks away in far off locations like Canada, Japan and Dominica.
Nevertheless, whereas journey campaigns dropped in quantity and charges, they didn’t disappear altogether. A number of happened pre-COVID and the remainder in August / September when guidelines relaxed. To be sincere, I’m fairly happy that there have been as many as 8 final 12 months. It’s fairly stunning contemplating it felt just like the 12 months was a little bit of a write off!
You’ll be able to learn extra juicy particulars about this facet of the enterprise in my running a blog appraisal of 2020.
Sponsored Campaigns
Ballpark charges: From £200 – £1500
Was it doable to earn a living running a blog in 2020? Nearly…
Regardless of a number of the bread and butter campaigns I really like engaged on being placed on maintain in 2020, a number of vacationer boards and types selected to adapt and discover fascinating methods to share their messages. As soon as the pandemic hit, these messages had been primarily of inspiration, and reminding those who there are some wonderful locations to ‘visit later’.
I used to be impressed that so many vacationer boards got here up with inventive methods to share their messaging, whereas we had been unable to journey to the vacation spot to create new content material. For instance, I actually loved working with the Icelandic Vacationer Board on their #Joyscrolling Instagram marketing campaign. They wished to remind those who whereas the web is stuffed with unfavorable information proper now, the cheeky Icelandics have at all times received a technique to make you smile, whether or not that’s by way of meals, comedy or music. They arrange a particular Joyscrolling microsite which was stuffed with escapist enjoyable!
A social media marketing campaign I labored on for out of doors model Columbia
I additionally actually loved repurposing content material from locations I’d visited earlier than. For instance, Germany Tourism invited me to host an Instagram takeover, sharing highlights from a few of my earlier journeys to the nation.
It’s encouraging to see vacationer boards persevering with to put money into influencer advertising to share their messages. It doesn’t appear like it’ll be stopping anytime quickly both. I’ve received just a few enjoyable sponsored campaigns launching within the subsequent few weeks (watch this area!) Till we are able to journey safely once more, it’s the subsequent finest technique to share tales, inspiration and provides individuals tangible choices of the place they will go to as soon as journey kicks off once more.
Promoting
Ballpark charges: From £145 – £2,000 per 30 days
My second greatest income stream is on-site promoting on my weblog. I joined advert community Mediavine 4 years in the past and haven’t appeared again. A number of the posts I write are unsponsored, simply issues I need to share (like this one!) I spend a number of my 12 months crafting posts that I hope might be helpful for travellers, however they gained’t essentially usher in any actual cash.
After I joined Mediavine I used to be so completely happy to lastly have a little bit little bit of passive revenue trickling in every month. Flash ahead 4 years and it now makes up a substantial chunk of my month-to-month revenue.
One of many 8 campaigns I labored on this 12 months was to 1066 Nation in England
Nevertheless, because the pandemic unfold from Asia to Europe and the US, I watched as visitors to my weblog posts plummeted. This immediately impacted my advert income. I watched because the funds that when lined my month-to-month lease, barely lined a weekly store.
I’ve at all times tried to ‘not put all my eggs in one basket’ and cut up my earnings throughout a number of sources. My hope was that if one stream nosedived I’d have a little bit of backup… however to be sincere nothing actually ready me for a pandemic that floor the world to a halt.
One optimistic in 2020 was that our second web site, the Great British Bucket List (launched initially of the 12 months) was accepted onto Mediavine, and has began to earn a little bit cash every month.
Journey Print Retailer
Ballpark charges: From £10 – £300 per 30 days
I’ve written a little bit about organising our Etsy enterprise, the Journey Print Retailer, and the method we went by way of to get it stay. It is a enterprise 100% born out of the pandemic. Macca and I had talked about setting one thing up in 2019, however we’d by no means have had time if we’d been on our typical hectic journey schedule. Swiftly, we had weeks caught at house, no work coming in, and a want to create one thing new.
The Journey Print Retailer on Etsy
We additionally wished to future-proof our revenue, and figured a web-based store could be one thing that we might proceed to run whether or not we had been travelling or not.
It’s not bringing in large cash but, but it surely’s rising month by month. I’m trying ahead to seeing the place it will get to in 2021!
Affiliate Earnings
Ballpark charges: From £100 – £1200
I earn small quantities when individuals e-book accommodations and excursions, or buy merchandise through ‘affiliate’ hyperlinks. These charges may be something from 1p to some hundred kilos (though that sort of quantity is uncommon!) I nonetheless keep in mind checking my reserving.com account in April (normally my prime affiliate) and discovering that 90% of the upcoming bookings had been cancelled. Pages and pages of crimson cancellations. There have been a whole bunch of them.
It was laborious to earn a living running a blog in 2020 as you possibly can see from these Reserving.com cancelled bookings
Nevertheless, whereas I spent most of 2020 caught at house, rigidly following authorities tips, some individuals had been nonetheless in a position to journey a bit. A number of nations had fewer restrictions or much less extreme lockdowns. This nonetheless equated to some small affiliate pay outs, however nothing in comparison with a typical 12 months.
Picture Gross sales
Ballpark charges: From £40 – £1500
That is fairly an fascinating space for me, as picture gross sales are completely unpredictable. I’ve offered a number of photographs over the previous couple of years to vacationer boards (to be used in advertising and social media) in addition to to publications for print e.g. magazines.
The sort of picture that is likely to be purchased for a advertising marketing campaign
It’s at all times enjoyable to get an electronic mail from somebody saying they’d like to purchase a photograph. I nonetheless battle to work out the price of a photograph that’s been sitting on my laborious drive for ages, but it surely’s good to point out the pictures some love!
Web site Design
Okay, so I’ve lined the plain components of my life, now it’s time to maneuver onto just a few random methods I earned cash in 2020.
I’m wholly self-taught on the subject of designing web sites. To be sincere, anybody with time on their fingers might construct one thing that appears okay! In March 2020, simply as issues had been beginning to go pear-shaped, I used to be commissioned to create a web site for a musician.
I completely beloved this venture! It got here simply because the s*** hit the fan, and it was enjoyable to deal with one thing for another person. It additionally jogged my memory that I’ve discovered quite a bit over my 5 or so years of journey running a blog. My internet design, social media and writing abilities are all transferable abilities which may turn out to be useful in a future life! 
Voiceovers
Ballpark charges: From £200 per job
One other cash earner which may come as a shock is my time moonlighting as a voiceover artist. If you recognize something about my former careers, you may know that I labored as a radio producer for Coronary heart FM for years. Throughout that point, I additionally dabbled in voiceovers.
In 2020, when the pandemic hit I made a decision to get again into it once more. I nonetheless had my Blue Yeti microphone (nonetheless one of many top-rated, years after I purchased it) which plugs immediately into my Macbook. I borrowed a voiceover stand from a pal to assist with the sound high quality. Then I signed as much as voices.com – the most effective websites for voiceover jobs.
Voices.com
A number of jobs are posted each single day. Voice over artists then report quick auditions and the consumer hires their favorite. To create a good sound I’d cocoon myself beneath towels or duvets, to attempt to remove echos and background noise. I’ve been a bit lax with auditioning recently, however I did get a bit of labor from it in 2020, and I’m aspiring to get again to it whereas I’m nonetheless caught at house.
Ebay & Fb Market
Ballpark charges: From £30
One man’s trash is one other man’s treasure… proper?! Properly, sure, it seems it’s! Over the summer time, I offered fairly just a few issues on eBay. Previous telephones, cameras, devices, books and extra. It was a revelation!
Have you ever received any devices you could possibly promote?
Probably the most weird issues I offered had been two utterly damaged cameras. One didn’t activate and had a lens that fell out should you flipped it over. It seems digicam sellers and menders purchase gadgets like this and break them down into components.
Okay, I didn’t earn big quantities, but it surely was all junk that was cluttering up our flat. Should you’re caught at house proper now and will do with just a few further pennies, I positively suggest doing a giant kind out and seeing when you have any gadgets that is likely to be value one thing.
In addition to eBay, I’ve offered just a few gadgets on Fb Market. The bonus with Fb is there aren’t any promoting charges deducted.
I’m not saying 2020 was a fantastic 12 months for enterprise, however I’ve realised that it wasn’t all dangerous. I’ve received a number of religion that when the vaccine has been distributed extra extensively, 2021 might develop into a fantastic 12 months, not just for work however for journey generally.
In all honesty, it’s not the cash or the roles that I miss. It’s the journey. The thrill of boarding a aircraft and flying someplace new. The tradition shocks, the brand new cuisines, the individuals. 2020 was powerful for a lot of causes, however not having the ability to do one thing I really like was one of many greatest challenges.. Fingers crossed issues return to regular within the subsequent 12 months.
Should you’re considering studying extra concerning the enterprise facet of running a blog, I’d suggest testing these posts:
From Journey Weblog To Enterprise: Suggestions, How I Earn A Residing (And How A lot Are We Speaking?)
My Running a blog Appraisal Of 2020
12 Issues I Want I’d Recognized After I Began My Journey Weblog
Blogger Press Journeys – The Lowdown
An Ode To Being A Journey Blogger
