In the travel blogging niche, it takes more than just a love of adventure to really make it big and earn a living. This is due to the intense competition with big brands and other affiliate marketers. However, Sean Lau, the mastermind behind three super successful travel blogs – Living Out Lau, The Turkey Traveler, and Travel Thailand Together, managed to turn his passion for travel into a profitable online business, with a combined income of around $5,000 per month from things like affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and advertising.
In this in-depth article, we're going to take a close look at Sean's story. We're going to dive deep into how he's achieved this level of success and uncover the secrets behind it. We'll also explore the valuable lessons he's learned along the way that could help other aspiring travel bloggers find their own path to making money online.
If you're interested in starting a travel blog or taking your existing one to the next level, this is an article you won't want to miss. Sean has really cracked the code when it comes to turning wanderlust into a profitable online business.
Sean Lau
Getting started
Even though Sean Lau had a degree in civil engineering, which was pointing him towards a career in construction, he just couldn't resist the call of exploring the world. So in a bold move, he traded in his hard hat and construction gear for a backpack, setting out with $20,000 in his bank account, but with a huge appetite for adventure.
As Sean traveled to all kinds of amazing places, from the towering mountains of the Andes to the eerie abandoned sites in Chernobyl, he started writing about his experiences on his first travel blog called Living Out Lau. But he quickly found out that building a successful travel blog was a lot harder than he expected.
It wasn't until he randomly met some experienced travel bloggers during a trip to a small town in Guatemala that Sean finally got the knowledge and tools he needed to turn his passion for travel into a real, money-making business.
The turning point
The bloggers Sean met in Guatemala were kind enough to share their expertise and insider knowledge with Sean. He soaked it all up like a sponge, eager to learn.
Once Sean started putting their strategies into practice on his own blog, Living Out Lau, the results were pretty incredible. His blog started gaining a lot more traction and building up a solid audience. It even qualified to join the Mediavine advertising network, which was a big milestone.
Encouraged by this initial traction, Sean decided to expand his travel blogging empire even further. He launched two new niche blogs - The Turkey Traveler and Travel Thailand Together. These were inspired by his deep passion and firsthand experiences exploring those fascinating countries.
The growth trajectory of each blog has been unique, reflecting the varying amounts of time and effort Sean has been able to dedicate to content creation.
Living Out Lau, his first and most established blog, reached 50,000 monthly sessions after 3 years of consistent effort.
The Turkey Traveler, on the other hand, hit 100,000 monthly sessions within just 9 months, thanks in part to Sean's growing expertise in SEO and content optimization.
Travel Thailand Together, the newest addition to his portfolio, has seen steady growth, reaching 30,000 monthly sessions in its first year.
“Currently, Living Out Lau gets just under 100k sessions per month. The Turkey site used to get over 100k per month, but now dropped down to about 30k a month because of the HCU. The Thailand site gets about 30k per month and, like my original blog, was not affected by the update.” Sean Lau says.
Revenue
One of the most impressive things about Sean Lau's success is how much money he's able to consistently make from his travel blogs. Between his three websites, he's pulling in around $5,000 per month, which is pretty amazing after surviving the recent Google HCU update. Before that, his revenue was in the low 5-figure range.
Sean's income comes from a few different sources. First, he does a lot of affiliate marketing - he partners with relevant brands and promotes their products or services to his engaged audience, earning commissions when people buy through his special links. This works really well for travel-related stuff like luggage, gear, and accommodations.
He also makes a good amount of money from sponsorships. Sean collaborates with all kinds of travel companies, tourism boards, and other brands that fit with his niche. They'll pay him to do sponsored blog posts, social media promotions, branded videos, product reviews, and more. These sponsorship deals are a solid revenue stream.
On top of that, Sean monetizes his blog traffic by displaying ads from networks like Mediavine and AdThrive. As his sites have grown and become more authoritative, he's been able to command higher ad rates and optimize the ad placements to maximize his earnings.
It took Sean around 4 years to build up to his current income level, and it hasn't always been smooth sailing. Some months he's made 5-figure sums, while other months have been more modest. But through it all, Sean's stayed committed to creating high-quality content and building strong relationships with his audience. That authenticity and transparency has been key to his long-term success.
Overcoming challenges
Sean's path as a travel blogger hasn't always been smooth sailing. The online space is constantly changing, with things like search engine algorithms and user trends always evolving. Sean has had to stay on top of all of that and adapt his strategies to make sure his content stays visible and relevant.
One big challenge has been search engine optimization (SEO). Sean has had to get really savvy about optimizing his blogs to perform well in search results. It's an ongoing process of learning and refining his approach.
Another challenge has been building a solid team to help him. Finding the right virtual assistants who have the perfect mix of skills, strong work ethic, and genuine passion for the travel blogging business has been tough. But getting the right people on board has been important to Sean's success.
Diversifying income streams
One of the key lessons Sean has learned throughout his journey is the importance of diversification. Rather than relying solely on one traffic source or revenue stream, he has embraced a multi-faceted approach.
By leveraging a mix of affiliates, sponsorships, and advertising, Sean has built a resilient business model that can withstand the ups and downs of the online world. His three blogs, each catering to a specific niche, have allowed him to tap into different audiences and opportunities, further solidifying his position as a travel authority.
Mastering SEO
At the heart of Sean's success lies his mastery of search engine optimization. Recognizing the immense potential of organic traffic, Sean has honed his SEO skills to ensure his content ranks highly in search engine results pages (SERPs). From conducting thorough keyword research to building a strong backlink profile, Sean leaves no stone unturned in his quest for online visibility. He emphasizes the importance of creating valuable, informative content that resonates with his target audience, understanding that the key to long-term success lies in providing genuine value to his readers.
The power of expired domains
One of Sean's most valuable insights revolves around the strategic use of expired domains. By purchasing an expired domain with pre-existing authority and backlinks, Sean was able to accelerate the growth of The Turkey Traveler, achieving remarkable results in a short span of time.
This clever approach has given him a competitive edge, allowing his content to rank quickly and attract a significant volume of organic traffic. Sean's success with expired domains serves as a testament to the power of thinking outside the box and leveraging unconventional strategies to gain a foothold in a crowded online space.
Content creation and outsourcing
Across Sean's three blogs, Sean has an impressive library of content, with approximately 270 posts on Living Out Lau, 160 on The Turkey Traveler, and 80 on Travel Thailand Together. However, as his travel blogs have gotten bigger, there's been a growing demand for tons of new, high-quality content. To keep up with that demand, Sean has developed a really efficient process for creating content.
Here's how it works - Sean comes up with topic ideas and gives clear guidance to his team of talented writers. The writers then craft engaging, captivating articles based on Sean's direction. After that, Sean personally edits the content to make sure it meets his high standards.
Finally, Sean's virtual assistant takes care of actually publishing the content on the blogs. By outsourcing some of those tasks, Sean has been able to scale up his business while still maintaining the quality of his writing and blog posts.
Backlinks
In addition to creating great content, Sean knows that building high-quality backlinks is really important for improving his blogs' rankings in search engines and increasing their overall authority.
One of the main ways he focuses on getting these valuable backlinks is by doing guest posts on other popular travel blogs. By contributing original, well-written content to other websites in his niche, he's able to get his blog in front of new audiences while also securing those important backlinks.
Sean is strategic about which blogs he targets for guest posting - he goes after the ones that have a strong reputation and a dedicated following in the travel community.
Another effective link-building strategy Sean uses is taking advantage of services like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and SourceBottle. These connect him with journalists and content creators who are looking for expert sources. This gives Sean opportunities to share his travel knowledge and experiences, which can then lead to mentions and backlinks from high-authority publications.
Sean has also tried using link-building agencies that offer three-way link exchanges. But he's found that the quality of the websites provided through those services can be hit-or-miss. In some cases, the links he gets that way can actually end up hurting his search rankings, since search engines are getting better at identifying unnatural linking patterns.
Email marketing and passive growth
A big part of Sean's success has been his ability to build and engage an audience through email marketing. He admits that he didn't put enough focus on growing his email list early on, but he's seen firsthand how powerful it can be to have a dedicated group of subscribers who are eager to read his content and act on his recommendations.
For his The Turkey Traveler blog, Sean uses an email management tool called Grow CRM. This helps him create eye-catching sign-up forms and pages that encourage visitors to join his email list, usually by offering them exclusive content or special offers.
Sean's other blog, Living Out Lau, has a smaller email list since he didn't prioritize building it in the beginning. But once his "Travel Thailand Together" blog reaches 50,000 monthly visitors, he plans to implement a similar email marketing strategy there. He believes that the time and effort required to maintain an email list will be worth it because of the potential benefits.
The key point is that email marketing has been a critical part of Sean's success - having an engaged group of subscribers who look forward to his content and offers has been a major driver of his business. And he's learned that it's important to focus on building that email list from the very beginning.
Continuous learning and adaptation
A big reason for Sean's success as a travel blogger has been his constant drive to learn and adapt.
Sean is always hungry to gain new knowledge. He seeks out resources and connects with other bloggers through online communities, especially SEO Facebook groups. That allows him to soak up all kinds of valuable insights and stay on top of the latest trends and strategies in the industry.
But Sean doesn't just blindly accept any advice he gets. He emphasizes the importance of critical thinking. He encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to carefully evaluate the guidance they receive and do their own research before trying out any new tactics.
This approach of continuous learning and adaptation has served Sean really well. He's constantly evolving and refining his strategies to keep up with the ever-changing digital landscape. And that flexibility and openness to new ideas has been a big part of what has allowed him to build such a successful travel blogging business.
So Sean is always striving to expand his knowledge and skills. But he also has the discernment to think critically about what he learns and figure out what will actually work best for his own unique situation and goals.
The mindset of a successful entrepreneur
Throughout his journey, Sean has cultivated a resilient and growth-oriented mindset. He views failure not as a setback, but as an opportunity for learning and improvement. By reframing his relationship with failure, Sean has been able to approach challenges with a sense of curiosity and determination, always seeking new ways to overcome obstacles and achieve his goals.
He stresses the importance of self-care, recognizing that the demands of entrepreneurship can take a toll on one's mental and physical well-being.
Advice for aspiring travel bloggers
For those looking to follow in Sean's footsteps, he offers some advice. Start by defining a clear goal and creating an actionable plan to achieve it. Seek out mentors and resources to accelerate your learning curve, but remain flexible and adaptable in the face of change.
Embrace failure as a necessary part of the journey, and use it as a catalyst for growth and improvement. Above all, prioritize self-care and maintain a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout and ensure long-term success.
I think that this sum is enough for travelling
