The allure of the travel content creator life - exploring exotic destinations, capturing stunning visuals, and sharing your adventures with the world - is undeniably attractive. Every content creator wants to live that life but how do you turn that dream into reality?

This comprehensive guide will equip you with the 10 essential steps to become a successful travel content creator, taking you from local explorations to international collaborations.

Who is a Travel Content Creator?

A travel content creator is a storyteller who uses various media platforms like blogs, YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, and more, to share their travel experiences with a dedicated audience. They create engaging content that informs, inspires, and entertains viewers, offering valuable insights and recommendations.

Travel Content Creator vs Travel Influencer

While the terms are often used interchangeably, there's a subtle distinction. Travel influencers typically have a larger, more established following and leverage their influence to promote brands and destinations for a fee. Travel content creators, on the other hand, may still be building their audience and focus more on creating organic content that resonates with their niche.

The 10-Step Guide to Becoming a Travel Content Creator:

Step 1: Start Small, Start Local

Don't let limited funds hold you back. Begin by exploring your own city or region. Visit local hotels, historical sites, and hidden gems. Capture your experiences through engaging photos, videos, and blog posts. This local focus allows you to hone your skills, build a portfolio, and understand your audience's preferences.

Step 2: Curate Your Content Portfolio

Showcase your local travel content strategically. Create a website or online portfolio that features your best work. Include metrics like views, comments, and shares to demonstrate audience engagement. Remember, even moderate engagement can be impressive, especially for a new creator.

Step 3: Pitch to Local Businesses

Once you have a solid portfolio, approach local businesses in the hospitality and tourism sectors. Pitch them content creation services in exchange for a fee or a complimentary stay/experience. Highlight the benefits of collaborating with you, including your growing audience and ability to showcase their offerings to a wider demographic.

Step 4: Deliver Exceptional Value

First impressions matter. When working with local partners, deliver content that exceeds expectations. Whether it's a classic review-style video, a dreamy travel vlog, or a "day in my life" exploration. If you don't get the tone of the video right, it may become difficult to get right when you’re editing as you need to shoot the video in a way that tells the story you want to tell. If you deliver great quality, great content, and exceptional storytelling, it lays the groundwork for repeat collaborations and higher compensation. Do this process over and over again until you find a smooth system for pitching to businesses and helping them tell their story online.

Step 5: Take Flight: Book Your First International Trip

Many African countries offer visa-free travel for Nigerians; Research these destinations and choose your first international trip. You can leverage the income from local collaborations to fund it, and research boutique hotels, and tourist attractions that might benefit from increased exposure. Offer to create content in exchange for a free stay or discounted experiences. This first international trip is very important as it ultimately helps you to start building an international audience that you can leverage as you grow.

Step 6: Building an International Audience

Your first big international trip may not pay you as you need to prove that you have an international audience to be taken seriously by international brands so it's important to reduce your expectations. However, lots of these brands will be happy to use your content for THEIR social media as user-generated content so this is how your pitch should be tailored. Shift your pitch to focus on how you can help them create great content for their social media while also introducing their hotel/attraction to a new African audience enthusiastic about travel and making travel plans.

Step 7: Diversifying Your Income Streams

While brand collaborations are crucial, explore other income streams.

Consider affiliate marketing for travel-related products you genuinely recommend. Offer exclusive paid content like travel guides or in-depth destination breakdowns. You need money to travel and so you must create other valuable ways to earn it once you have started building a reasonable audience. My advice here is not to compromise your brand image for fleeting gains. Only promote products you trust, do not lie to your audience, and only offer them the best value, You cannot give 10% and expect 100% results.

Step 8: Scale Up for Success

As your travel content career flourishes, establish a standardized rate card outlining your fees for various services. Create a wishlist of travel destinations and proactively reach out to potential partners in those locations (even the most successful travel content creators still have to pitch). Plan your itineraries, secure necessary visas, and keep your audience excited about your upcoming adventures.

Step 9: Maintain Your Authenticity

Maintain authenticity. Do not lose your unique creative edge to trends and brand deals. Always remember who you are and don't get lost trying to be like everyone else. Some businesses may want you to create your content in a certain way that disagrees with your creative vision. Learn to push back and reject these types of collaborations that make you uncomfortable and deviate from the content that your followers love. If you lose yourself, it will be hard to maintain the type of originality that can achieve long-term success.

Step 10: Embrace Continuous Learning

Like all things, travel content creation has its own trends come and go. New platforms emerge, audience preferences shift, and travel trends change (eg: pre-covid vs post covid). To stay ahead of the curve, commit to continuous learning.

• Stay updated on industry trends: Follow travel blogs, attend industry conferences, and network with other travel content creators. This keeps you informed about the latest trends and allows you to adapt your content strategy accordingly.

  
  

• Develop new skills: Consider taking online courses or workshops to hone your photography, videography, editing, or social media marketing skills. Mastering these skills will elevate your content quality and make you a more attractive collaborator for brands.

  
  

• Experiment with new formats: Don't be afraid to experiment with different content formats. Try live streaming your travels, creating travel guides in e-book format, or launching a travel podcast. This experimentation keeps your content fresh and engages your audience in new ways.

The Tools You Need to Get Started as a Travel Content Creator

• Smartphone with a good camera: You need a lot of fancy gadgets or even a professional camera. Today's smartphones are powerful enough to capture high-quality photos and videos. Utilize it until you have enough income to purchase a camera

  
  

• Editing software: Invest in user-friendly editing software like Capcut or Canva Pro to enhance your visuals.

  
  

• Travel essentials: A portable tripod, microphone, and external battery pack can significantly improve your content creation experience.

Building a Supportive Community

Travel content creation can be a rewarding but solitary journey. Building a supportive community of fellow travel creators can be a source of inspiration, collaboration, and invaluable advice.

• Connect with other travel creators: Join online communities, attend industry events, and collaborate with other content creators on projects. This fosters a sense of belonging, allows you to share experiences, and opens doors to new opportunities.

  
  

• Engage with your audience: Respond to comments, answer questions, and actively participate in discussions with your audience. This builds loyalty, fosters a sense of community, and provides valuable insights into your audience's preferences.

  
  

• Give back to the travel community: Share your knowledge and expertise by offering workshops, mentoring aspiring travel creators, or creating free downloadable resources. This establishes you as a thought leader and positions you for future success.

Get started on your journey to become a successful travel content creator with Creatuuls.