The Business of Travel Blogging – Matt Kepnes

The Business of Travel Blogging – Matt Kepnes

My name is Matthew Kepnes and I’ve been running the website Nomadic Matt since 2008. Like you, I didn’t know where to begin or have any technical skills. I had no background in writing, technology, or marketing. I just knew I liked to travel – and wanted to find a way to keep doing it.
Now, eleven years later, my website has become the top travel blog in the world, with over 1.3 million visitors per month, a 280,000+ person email list, seven employees, and revenue in the high six figures. I wrote a New York Times bestseller and even started a conference.
Online we all start at zero.
I know exactly where you are because I’ve been there too.
There is a seemingly endless pool of travel blogs out there.
Each day, it seems hundreds of people think, “Hey, I travel, so I’m going to start a blog and try to make a living out of this.”
But, while there are plenty of blogs, there are not a lot of well-run blogs — which gives you the opportunity to leap past your competition and create something big and influential that stands the test of time.
Imagine being able to share your travel tips, set your own schedule, travel wherever (and whenever) you want, inspire others – and get paid to do it.
I created this course because I firmly believe there is plenty of room for new, quality blogs. There is never a bad time to create something awesome.
This course gives you everything I know about blogging.
It is your toolkit to success.

The Brutal Truth Why Most Bloggers Fail
Most bloggers fail because they give up.
They expect great riches and fame right away, and when it doesn’t happen, they blame “the system”, throw up their hands, and give up. They say “I can’t” instead of “What can I do today that will make this website a little better than everyone else’s?”
People find reasons to quit. They blame a lack of time or technical skills.
I see it all the time.
People with great ideas but without the support system they need.
Because I had teachers who helped me put the pieces together and support me when I was ready to give up.
Success is more than just finding information online. It’s about knowing how to put it together, having the right mindset, and knowing how to create a strategy.
It’s about not being like everyone else and quitting.
I know how hard it can be to blog on your own and feel no one can understand you or offer you help. I know all about the mental game of blogging.
When you sign up for this course, I’m going to give you personal advice and feedback throughout this course.
I’m going to be your mentor. I will be there to answer questions, provide encouragement, and read your work.
Moreover, we have a community of thousands of students in our Facebook group to help you too. You are only strong as your network – and with this course, you’ll get a network of thousands to lift you up and keep you going.

This 10-week program will help you:

Start your blog right away
Master the technical skills you need for success
Create a lasting brand that people will remember
Write content people want to read and share
Optimize your website and rank high in search engines
Crush it on social media so you can gain thousands of followers
Get press coverage and become a source for writers
Grow your email list
Make enough money to support yourself!

You’ll go behind the scenes of how I run my website with video tutorials, screenshots, and step-by-step breakdowns that will help you leap past the thousands of other blogs out there.
With monthly webinars, Q&As, and tech support, I’ll guide you through the process, answer any questions, and be there to support you every step of the way.
I’m not here to take your money and just say, “OK, here’s the information. Have fun!” I am here to be your mentor and walk you through the entire blogging process.
Think of me as your training wheels.
This program is built to help you avoid the rookie mistakes that cause most people to fail by getting you to take consistent action and turn your blog into a profitable business that makes a difference.

What’s in This Course? Here’s Our Syllabus!

Week 1: Setting Up & Getting Started

— How to install, set up, and optimize your website

— The story of Nomadic Matt: lessons and failures

— Decide the perfect blog name and niche
Week 2: Building a Brand

— How to create your brand and strategy

— How to design a beautiful website (with examples)
Week 3: Writing & Content Creation

— How to write engaging content

— Self-edit like a professional (and grammar dos and don’ts)

— How to write viral content (and promote it properly)
Week 4: Social Media Success

— Succeed on social media and grow your community
Week 5: Networking

— How to successfully network with bloggers and get featured on larger websites as well as major media

Week 6: Mastering Search

— How to make your site SEO friendly & rank high in Google

— Advanced SEO techniques
Week 7: Newsletters

— How to set up newsletters & get sign-ups

— What content to include in your newsletter

— How to sell products in your newsletter
Week 8: Affiliate Marketing

— How to master affiliate marketing without selling out
Week 9: Creating Your Own Products

— How to create and sell digital products
Week 10: Partnering with Brands

— Work with PR and brands and tourism boards the right way

3 Excuses That Hold People Back
Have you ever said any of the following:
“I don’t have enough time.”
There’s never going to be a moment when you have enough time. If you wait for the perfect moment to start your blog, you’ll be waiting forever. And always be wondering “what if…”
Our lives seem to become busier each day. “There’s never enough time!” we scream. When you sign up for this course, one of the first things we teach you is time management. I show you the techniques I’ve learned over the years to balance my schedule and life so you can stop saying “there’s not enough time.”
“I don’t have a lot of money, and this course costs a lot.”
For a new blogger, spending a couple hundred dollars on a course is not the easiest thing in the world. I remember when I started blogging and was making zero money. But what is your time worth? If you don’t have a lot of time, probably a lot. Would you rather waste it, or pay to get the right information so you can save time, work smarter, and start earning quicker?
Everything has an opportunity cost, including your limited time. You could spend weeks and months learning this on your own, breaking your website, and beating your head against the wall, wondering why no one is reading and why you aren’t making more. Or you can take a deep breath, purchase this course, avoid all of that, and let me help you make 10x more money than this course costs.
“There’s free information online.”
If all someone needed was the information, wouldn’t everyone be a wild success? Why would we need doctors when we have WebMD? Mechanics when we have YouTube? Universities when you have a podcast? I could read a book on gardening, but that doesn’t mean I’d be a world-class gardener.
No, you need more than information. You need someone who can make sense of that information. Someone who can guide you, answer your questions, give advice, help you problem-solve and distill all this information, and speed up your success.
I spend hours each day reading, digesting, collecting, and testing the best material — and discarding the worst — on earning more. It would take you thousands of hours to replicate what I’ve done. There’s been a lot of trial and error that has gotten me where I am today. And I didn’t do it myself. I had mentors. I had people help me figure out what was useful. No one rises to the top alone.
If you’re a time-starved person, spending weeks or months sorting through the free information online is not the best use of your time — and it’s going to cause you to make lots of mistakes. Wouldn’t you rather cut to the chase so you don’t waste your time?