How To Get Free Trips As A Travel Blogger

How To Get Free Trips As A Travel Blogger

How To Get Free Trips As A Travel Blogger

In 2019, I started getting small free trips through my travel blog. The occasional free tour, a scenic train ride through the mountains in Colorado, a stay in a hostel in Jerusalem…

But when 2020 rolled around, the amount of sponsored trips I received exploded. Why? I was quarantined at home like everyone else during the pandemic and used this time to perfect my media kit, my pitch and my blog. I had been neglecting some key components while traveling non-stop.

Have you ever tried writing constant blog posts, editing photos, posting daily on social media and partnering with brands – all while traveling full time in countries with spotty (or zero!) wi-fi? Let me tell you, it’s hard to keep up.

The pandemic provided a much needed break to just stay home and work! I made a lot of changes to my site by adding some useful plugins.

Read: TRAVEL BLOGGING: MY 5 FAVORITE PLUGINS TO INCREASE TRAFFIC

And as soon as things started opening back up, I immediately began pitching brands and landed over a dozen free trips.

Here were a few of my sponsored trips in 2020:

• BINDLESTIFF TOURS: AN EPIC, ALL-INCLUSIVE SOUTHWEST ROAD TRIP
• 3 DAY MINNESOTA NORTH SHORE ITINERARY WITH VOYAGER CAMPERVANS
• DANCING THE LAND FARMSTAY: A STUNNING MINNESOTA GLAMPING EXPERIENCE
• COVINGTON INN: SPEND THE NIGHT ON ST. PAUL’S HISTORIC TOWBOAT TURNED BED & BREAKFAST
• AUTHENTIC ITALIAN GONDOLA RIDES IN STILLWATER, MINNESOTA
• BOOK LOVERS YOU NEED TO STAY AT THIS LITERARY-THEMED BED AND BREAKFAST IN STILLWATER, MINNESOTA
• AURORA STAPLES INN- THE CHARMING BED AND BREAKFAST IN STILLWATER, MINNESOTA
• ZIPLINE IN MINNESOTA: CHECK OUT THE ADVENTUROUS COURSE AT KERFOOT CANOPY TOUR!
• GARDEN OF THE GODS JEEP TOUR WITH ADVENTURES OUT WEST
• GUNFLINT LODGE: YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE ULTIMATE MINNESOTA ADVENTURE

So how can you get these free trips as a travel blogger?? The biggest tip I can give you is that you must provide value.

Provide value

No one is going to send you on a free trip because *you* want to go. Travel blogging is a business and companies need to know what you are going to offer them.

When you are reaching out to a brand, you need to be thinking “how can I provide as much value for this company as possible?”

“Hi, I would love to come stay at your hotel because it looks sooo beautiful” isn’t going to cut it.

Give them a detailed outline of what exactly you can provide whether it’s XX amount of posts for your XX amount of followers or high quality images to be used on their social media and website. Outline a detailed plan. Will you include a Youtube video? How many people read your blog each month? How many Pinterest pins will you make advertising the blog post about their company? The more ways you can provide value to them, the more likely they are to say yes!

Build an audience

There are ways to travel for free if you don’t have or want a big social media following. Check out my ultimate guide to travel jobs around the world.

But if you’re a travel blogger hoping to score free trips, you do need an authentic following. (Brands can see if you’ve bought followers!) I started getting small sponsored things around 5,000 followers. But I didn’t land anything major until I hit 10,000 followers on Instagram. Pay attention to what posts do well and then create more content like that!

Gaining followers on Instagram nowadays is HARD. The travel blogging market is oversaturated and there are already thousands of existing accounts and blogs. The best way you’ll gain a following is to post high quality images so focus on photography!

You’ll also need to be networking and meeting people in person. Be active on the app and strive to provide value for the people following you. Never forget that they are following your account for their own reasons, it’s not really about you. So what can you provide them with so they stick around? Keep giving value.

Think of other skills you can offer if your audience is small

You need an audience if travel blogging is your goal. However, if you are trying to start by earning free trips think about what other skills you can offer!

When I went dog sledding in Sweden, I only had about 5k followers. But I was able to help them set up their Pinterest account, web site and provide photos for them to use on social media.

Is there a hostel you want to stay at that doesn’t have an Instagram yet? Offer to create it for them during your stay and post on it daily through the duration of your visit.

Are you a good writer? You could guest blog for a company in exchange for stay? Companies may need help running their social media, setting up their Pinterest or branching out into other platforms like Tiktok.

Check Workaway for positions that offer free stays for people who can help with web design, social media, photography etc.

Show proof of successful past collaborations

This is the single best thing you can do to secure sponsored trips. Once you have one successful sponsored trip, you need to be tracking your insights. How many impressions did the post get? How many times was the blog post reshared? Are you affiliate for the company? If so, how much money did you earn the brand?

There is no way around it, brands want to talk facts and figures. They want actual proof that you will be able to provide a return on their investment.

Track affiliate links

I did a partnership with TourRadar and they made me an affiliate. This means I get a small percent when people book a trip through my site at no additional cost to the buyer. Since partnering with TourRadar, I have sold nearly $20,000 in trips through my site for them. I am able to take a screenshot of this to provide proof for future brands that partnering with me is profitable. This has opened a lot of doors for me with other collaborations.

Want to get paid as a travel blogger?
Sign up for Travel Payouts and earn money when you refer and recommend hotels, tours etc.

Pitch companies until you get a yes

When you’re small and just starting out, you will need to be reaching out to companies. Some will ignore you. Some will say no. Keep pitching and reaching out!

Let me be clear: I’m not saying to pester or annoy companies but if you think you can realistically offer value to the company it’s worth a try! Start small (like a hostel or a day tour) and work your way up to a multiple day trip.

Big hotels get pitched by hundreds of “influencers” wanting free things. Most people get ignored. Try pitching brands from the angle of how you can help THEM.

Pitch in the off season

Pitching busy or popular places in the off season will greatly increase your chances. If you’re a small time blogger and you’re trying to get a sponsored stay at a hotel in the Florida Keys during March, they aren’t going to honor your request when there are thousands of spring breakers coming to pay full price for their rooms. While it’s great to be passionate and dedicated, don’t have unrealistic expectations about what a brand should give you when you’re starting out.

Do you think that if they invest you in, they will be able to recoup the cost of your trip AND MORE? If the answer is yes, then go ahead and pitch them.

Trying to pitch some place like Venice or Tulum? These destinations are totally oversaturated with bloggers trying to get free stays. The hotels have actual applications you fill out ot help weed out the thousands of requests they get. Start in lesser explored destinations and at lower price points.

You need a media kit

Your media kit is like a resume for a blogger. You can show stats about past partnerships with brands, how many followers you have, your engagement rate and more!

Screenshots of successful collabs are your best friend! After I partnered with Voyager Campervans, I followed up a few months later to check if any bookings had be made with my promo code “emilyrose40” which gives first time travelers $40 off. And sure enough, I had sold several thousand dollars worth with my booking code!

There is no such thing as a free trip, be prepared to work for it!

Honestly, we shouldn’t even be referring to sponsored trips as “free”. It’s more of a work exchange. You are providing skills and expertise in areas of social media, brand development, photography etc. It will probably take you many hours to write your blog posts, edit the photos, share the posts, reply to all the DMs and comments online about your trip… there is simply no way around it.

Trips are never free. But if you are passionate about the work and genuinely enjoy doing it, then it will be a job you love! (*most of the time … because even travel blogging which seems ultra-glamorous has its downsides)

If the company won’t give you a free trip, try getting a sponsored stay by bringing others

There are a lot of travel companies that will provide a free trip for the person who organizes the group and gets them to go.

If you’re in college and want a free spring break trip, you can get people to sign up for companies like GoBlue or STS Travel. If enough people sign up, your trip is free! Other companies like Stoke Travel offer similar things.

I wanted to go dog sledding in Minnesota. But instead of just pitching them a single trip, I decided to provide a lot of value by pitching them a collaboration to bring a group with me. Not only will I travel free but I’m providing a massive amount of sales to a wonderful local company. (Nearly $40,000 by the time I sold out 3 weekends!!!)

Only accept trips you would be willing to pay full price for and align with your audience

This is where things get tricky. I would never promote a trip I wouldn’t feel comfortable paying full price for myself.

In fact, I once accepted a sponsored tour in Paris and truthfully, the tour was terrible. I could not recommend it to my readers and feel good about it.

Even as you begin to accept sponsored or free trips, your focus must always be on your audience and giving them authentic, genuine reviews for the trips you take. Always let them know when it’s a sponsored trip and stay honest. If I do a trip that is really poorly done, I won’t write a review dragging the company through the mud but I will discuss my reasoning why with the company and respectfully decline to post about it.

Want to get paid as a travel blogger?
Sign up for Travel Payouts and earn money when you refer and recommend hotels, tours etc.

Under promise and over deliver

In a perfect world, a single collab with a brand turns into a longstanding partnership. Do a really good job and it will guarantee you future work. Brands also reach out and talk with one another. I had a really expensive hotel in Stillwater book me for a sponsored trip because they checked with past companies I had collaborated with and they all gave me a glowing review!

Tell the brand you’ll have the post up in a week and do it in 5 days instead. Say you’ll post two times on Instagram and then give them a third for free. End the contract with the brand feeling happy and content with the investment they’ve made. It’s a win/win situation if it goes well for everyone! You get more sponsored trips and they get more guests!

Travel blogging isn’t easy

It may seem like endless sunsets and drinks by the pool but traveling while blogging and traveling for fun are two totally different things. There is legitimate work to do. You may feel like sleeping in on a sponsored trip but the best lighting is at sunrise and you promised X amount of pictures in your contract. So set that alarm and get to work!

You will be hustling, rushing around and spending a lot of time in front of your laptop. That is the side of travel blogging you don’t actually see online.

Want to get paid as a travel blogger?
Sign up for Travel Payouts and earn money when you refer and recommend hotels, tours etc.

If you haven’t already, connect with me on Instagram! I would love to hear from you.
Come say hello or ask me any questions 🙂 Happy traveling!

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How To Get Free Trips As A Travel Blogger