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There are so many travel blogging courses out there, it can be overwhelming knowing which one to pick! Since starting this blog, I’ve taken dozens of courses, and they are NOT all created equal.
In this post, I’m going to share the best travel blog courses that have actually helped turn my website and brand into a money-making machine that allows me to live my wildest dreams and travel the world full-time as a content creator.
Why you should invest in blogging courses
It seems like everyone and their dog has a travel blogging course these days. But, how much value can you really get out of one? Can’t you learn everything for free online?
These are all valid questions! When I started blogging, I wasn’t taking it that seriously and didn’t see the value in investing in a course.
I also had about 100 page views a month and even less income. I’m happy to say that those days are far behind me now, but it’s because I invested in the right blogging courses!
Being a successful travel blogger requires knowledge and skills in MANY different areas, from SEO to affiliate marketing to photography and managing brand partnerships.
My page views and income have skyrocketed since investing in the right travel blogging courses and tools. Not to mention getting paid to have once-in-a-lifetime experiences working with dream brands.
While I understand that as a brand new blogger, it may feel discouraging knowing the market is so saturated, there’s also a flip to this. Before, you were on your own if you started a blog.
There weren’t readily available courses you could take to learn the necessary skills. But now, there are so many successful bloggers making over six figures, and they are sharing their secrets!
Blogging is a skill. Like any skill, it requires time to learn. You can significantly speed that up by enrolling in a blogging course.
Yes, there is a ton of free information out there. But much of that information is incorrect, outdated, and confusing. Having all the information in one place from a reliable source is well worth the cost.
If you want to make money blogging, you need to treat it like a business. Do you know any successful businesses that had no money invested in them? Probably not.
Investing in myself and my blog is the best money I’ve spent on my business. And I say investment because I’ve already had that money spent come back to me 10x over. Now, I am able to travel the world full-time because of my blog, and work with brands and tourism boards that I used to dream about!
Although this isn’t a blog about blogging, I often get asked about this topic. I’ve invested A LOT of money into blogging courses (some regrettably), so I wanted to share the ones that are actually worth it.
What type of blogging courses should you invest in?
Before investing in a travel blogging course, you should think about the goals for your blog. If you want to earn money passively without worrying about social media, then you should focus on affiliate marketing and search engine optimization (SEO).
With proper SEO techniques, you can get hundreds of thousands of people visiting your blog every month without ever showing your face on Instagram (yes, really)!
Once you reach 50,000 sessions a month, you can apply for Mediavine, widely known as the best ad network for travel bloggers. I got accepted this year, and it’s been game-changer for me.
There are ad networks that you can join with fewer pageviews, but they aren’t nearly as good. I was with Ezoic before, and let’s just say I don’t miss them.
I would wait until you have at least 10,000 page views before adding ads to your site; the dollar amount you’ll earn won’t be worth the impact it will have on your site speed.
While waiting for your page views to increase (because SEO does take time), focus on creating targeted affiliate posts. I have posts with less than 200 page views a month that still generate monthly income because they are for such a specific buying intent.
If your goals are to work with brands and tourism boards, that can also be very lucrative – but is an entirely different beast of its own (and actually a lot of work – it’s not all pretty bathtub pics).
If you want to work with brands, you’ll need to have a heavy presence on social media, but more importantly, know how to pitch and negotiate with brands. Spoiler alert: I know influencers with less than 10k followers getting 5-figure deals.
Or maybe you want to be featured in the world’s top travel publications – there are courses for that too!
All of the above are part of my business! To be perfectly honest, had I just focused on one area, I’d probably be making more money than I am. But there’s also something to be said about having multiple streams of income – never put your eggs in one basket.
Overview of Recommended Courses
| Course | Category | More Info |
| Travel-Blog Prosperity | Blogging | Find out more |
| Travel-Blog Accelerator | Blogging | Find out more |
| SEO Roadmap | SEO | Find out more |
| Complete SEO Course | SEO | Find out more |
| Pinterest Traffic Explosion | Find out more | |
| Affiliate Marketing Superstars | Affiliate Marketing | Find out more |
| Pitching to Brands Masterclass | Brand Partnerships | Find out more |
Best general travel blogging courses
If you’re new to the blogging world and not sure where to start, a general blogging course that covers all these topics is a great way to get started.
That way, you can gain a better understanding of all the different ways you can make money from blogging and decide which ones you want to focus on further.
Here are the best general blogging courses that cover a range of topics.
Travel Blog Prosperity
by Jessie on a Journey
Travel Blog Prosperity is an in-depth blogging course taught by Jessie Festa, who runs two successful travel blogs: Jessie on a Journey and Epicure & Culture.
Travel Blog Prosperity goes far beyond what most travel blog courses teach you, covering everything you could want to know about building a brand and making money from blogging. I’ve written an in-depth review of the course and how it helped me become a full-time content creator.
Jessie walks you through all the fundamentals of setting up your blog, including branding, tech, design, affiliates, and SEO, but delves deeper into each topic.
I won’t list all the modules in detail, as there are currently over 30 different lessons available, with a new module added every month.
For example, she has dedicated modules for each social media platform. She even added a second module on Pinterest that was co-created by Anastasia Blogger, who receives hundreds of thousands of page views per month solely from Pinterest.
One topic I think Travel Blog Prosperity covers well, which some courses lack, is working with Brands and Tourism Boards. Jessie has done several successful paid campaigns with huge brands and has helped me get some.
There is an entire module on working with brands as a blogger (and getting paid), including some invaluable pitching templates that I have successfully used.
Travel Blog Prosperity also covers many topics that I don’t see covered in other blogging courses, such as legal issues, avoiding burnout, and creating e-books, podcasts, and online courses.
Click here to learn more about Travel Blog Prosperity!
I enjoy Jessie’s teaching style. She is a very ethical blogger, and all of the advice she provides is about building a genuine, sustainable business.
There aren’t any get-rich-quick schemes here but practical advice that will set up your blog for success in the long run. Another feature I love is that all the modules have video lessons and fillable workbooks.
Here are some other perks you get for being a member of the course:
- VIP opportunities: Every Monday, Jessie sends out five opportunities related to blogging. These could be a press-trip opportunity, sponsored posts, a remote job, etc. I have personally gotten press trips and sponsored posts because of these e-mails, which have more than covered the cost of what I have spent on the course. For example, my press trip to Malawi with Biosphere Expeditions.
- Private Facebook group to ask questions
- 3 Monthly Calls – There is a Q&A twice a month, plus one goal-setting workshop. I like these calls because there are usually only five or so people on the call, so you get all your questions answered and even get a chance to network with the other members.
- E-mails with tips – every once in a while, Jessie will send out an e-mail to members with a super helpful tip or resource
What I like least about this course is that you don’t get lifetime access. Travel Blog Prosperity has a monthly fee of $49 (there’s an option to pay yearly for $399, which is a significant saving and what I did). That said, I do think the course is worth the money.
As mentioned, I’ve gotten paid work from the VIP opportunities that far outweigh the cost of the course. The content is also extremely valuable.
You get immediate access to all the modules, and there’s no commitment. So if you join and decide it’s not for you, at least you’ve only paid for a month. You can get your first month for $9 using promo code EXPLOREWITHLORA
By Be My Travel Muse
While stuck at home during the pandemic, I was looking for a new blogging course to help me stay accountable. At the same time, Kristin from Be My Travel Muse launched a group coaching program called Travel Blog Accelerator.
I knew the course would have value since Kristin is one of the most successful solo female travel bloggers out there, and I also knew I liked her teaching style from the free lessons she did in her Facebook group.
Kristin’s course aims to help you find your own path to success in blogging, as there are many different ways.
We met 3-4 times a month in small groups via Zoom, with each month centered around a certain topic, including defining your niche, SEO, social media mastery, harnessing the power of video, monetization, time management, and taxes.
Every month she would bring on another successful travel blogger like Nomadic Matt or My Life’s A Travel Movie to interview them about their journey to blogging success which was so helpful. She also provided a monthly fillable journal which was great for staying focused!
She has since ended the coaching program and turned it into a self-learning style course at a lower price. The video modules inside the course are the same lessons we got, and it also includes interviews with bloggers and monthly journals.
While general blogging courses are extremely valuable for getting started, I have taken several additional courses to dive deeper into other areas of blogging, including SEO, Pinterest, affiliate marketing, working with brands, and freelance writing.
Best SEO course for bloggers
If you want consistently, exponentially growing traffic, then you need to learn SEO. It’s how I got accepted into Mediavine, and it’s where 90% of my traffic comes from.
Most bloggers (myself included) start off writing about whatever we want, only realizing years later that we need to actually be strategic in what we’re writing (at east, if you want to make money from your website).
It’s painful to go back and edit old posts, so if you take any advice from this post, it’s to learn SEO from the beginning. The best way to do that? A blogging SEO course.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is getting visitors to your website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine (aka Google, because it’s where 90% of searches are made).
SEO is the BEST way to get traffic to your website because it allows you to reach a wide and targeted audience. Millions of people are searching for topics that your blog posts probably answers, so wouldn’t you want them to find it?
SEO Road Map
If you’re looking for an SEO course designed with travel bloggers in mind, look no further than SEO Road Map by travel blogger Nina Clapperton of Nina Out and About. I just went through the course as a refresher, and it covers every detail of SEO you could want to know as a travel blogger.
Topics covered include site speed, keyword research strategies, competitor anon-page on page SEO, how to write SEO content, how to establish your authority, guide to internal linking, backlink strategies, and how to do a content audit (this is important as your blog ages).
Everything she teaches you are white-hat SEO techniques, which is what you want. Otherwise, you may get penalized by Google.
I will say that as an experienced blogger, I already knew the majority of the information, but if you’re just starting out, this is an excellent resource. There were even a few tricks I picked up from the course!
Nina’s sense of humor and adorable dog make comprehending SEO way more manageable (because it can be overwhelming at first). She breaks it down into a number of lessons no more than 20 minutes each, so you can do the course at your own pace. And as a bonus, she gives super helpful spreadsheet templates for tracking your work!
Complete SEO Course
By Goats on The Road
This was the first SEO course I took, back in 2019 when I started taking my blog seriously. I felt lost about SEO and then saw that Nick from Goats on the Road was launching the complete SEO course. It’s one of the most popular travel blogs (and a personal fave), so I knew I was in good hands.
After taking the Complete SEO course and implementing Nick’s advice, I saw my organic traffic double in just a month. This has only continued to increase every month, even though an algorithm update negatively affected most bloggers.
I also went through the course again when I started my niche website, and in just six months, it’s already earning income and increasing in page views every month. His techniques work!
Nick walks you through everything you need to know about SEO through online videos in the complete SEO course. From setting up your Google analytics, keyword research, to writing for SEO and more.
He also includes some helpful PDFs and spreadsheets that you can download for quick reference, including a monthly planner of tasks to do.
Plus, you get access to the private FB group where Nick often shares invaluable SEO tips, and you can ask questions. He’s since launched many other niche websites using techniques from the course and shares their progress as a case study, which has been so valuable to learn from.
Best Pinterest course for bloggers
Pinterest Traffic Explosion
Many bloggers out there get hundreds of thousands of page views just from Pinterest. I joined the platform just over a year ago, started to get some traffic, got excited, and then it stagnated for months. I kept hearing stories of people finding success on Pinterest, but I couldn’t seem to crack the code.
I then came across Pinterest Traffic Explosion in one of the blogging Facebook groups. I decided to give it a shot and am so happy because my Pinterest traffic is finally moving in the right direction.
The course is run by Shruti, who owns the travel blog Indian Girling. She went from 0 to 70k monthly page views in a year, almost all from Pinterest. This girl knows how to make a pin go viral.
Before Pinterest Traffic Explosion, I had less than 100k monthly views on Pinterest. Since the course, I have seen that number go up to 300k!
While I know Pinterest views are not the most important metric, I have noticed a correlating increase in traffic coming from Pinterest by about the same (3x). It’s my second biggest source of traffic next to SEO.
The course is broken down into seven modules, covering everything you need to know to create a solid Pinterest strategy, from Pinterest SEO to designing beautiful pins.
If you are brand new to Pinterest, a helpful Pinterest foundation module will walk you through setting up your account for success.
Best affiliate marketing course
Affiliate Marketing Superstars
When it comes to my blog’s income, ads and affiliate sales are my two biggest earners. Affiliate marketing is when you promote a product or service through an affiliate link, like I am doing with this affiliate marketing course. If you decide to enroll in it, I’ll get a small commission on the sale.
But affiliate marketing is not as simple as dropping a few links in a post; you need a strategy. I made almost no money from affiliates for the first two years of my blog because I didn’t have one. Now, it’s my second biggest source of revenue after ads.
I bought this course at the end of 2019 but then got busy with life moving to Barbados, and never got around to completing it. Then about a year later, I met the creator of the course, Leanne, at a travel blogging conference and she gave me a bunch of helpful advice (she’s also a lovely human).
That meeting inspired me to finish the course, and now I wish I had earlier because it is PACKED full of helpful strategies and resources that will help you become a master of affiliate marketing.
The best part about affiliate marketing is that it’s PASSIVE income, meaning even if you’re not working on your blog, you can still be earning money. If you want to make passive income blogging, you need to learn about affiliate marketing. It’s magical.
If you want to get a sense of Leanne’s teaching style first, you can check out her FREE 5-day e-mail course.
Best influencer marketing course
Pitching To Brands Masterclass
Yet another way to make money from your blog/social media channels is by working with brands and tourism boards. But honestly, influencer marketing is the wild west. There are micro-bloggers getting 4-figure deals and influencers with huge followings only getting comped products. The secret to making money? Pitching and negotiating.
Unless you have a massive following or are an authority in a specific niche, DO NOT expect brands to come to you. You need to go out and pitch them, and there’s an art to this.
I have never had much success getting paid brand deals, so I decided to enroll in the Pitching to Brands Masterclass by Sidewalker Daily. It’s been a complete game-changer. I’ve learned so much over the last few months, from making a media kit, pitching yourself, knowing what to charge, to negotiating with brands, and analyzing contracts.
If you’ve ever wondered how influencers make money or what to even charge, THIS is the course for you. It’s completely changed my perspective. Since joining, I pitched and negotiated my first 4-figure collaboration, so the course has already paid for itself.
Using this link, you’ll get access to the Pitching to Brands Masterclass AND complimentary access to the Negotiations + Contracts course – valued at $197.
Helpful Blogging Tools
Here are some other tools/resources that have helped my blog grow:
Keysearch – a fantastic tool for doing keyword research whixh is essential for SEO success. There are free tools to do this, but they are not nearly as accurate or useful as the information Keysearch can tell you. You can get 20% off your subscription to Keysearch by using coupon code KSDISC.
Ubersuggest – a free tool that give you insight into what your competitors are ranking for – great for keyword research.
Siteground Hosting. If you want to have your own website like this one, you need a hosting provider. I started with Hostgator and recently switched to Siteground after becoming increasingly frustrated with my website speed.
After switching to Siteground, my page speed became 3x faster, which helped with SEO. Siteground also has excellent live chat support; I never have to wait more than two minutes to talk to someone.
Tailwind – If Pinterest is a big part of your traffic strategy, then Tailwind will be your best friend. This tool allows you to schedule your pins in advance instead of manually doing it each day.
It’s important to stay active on the platform, which isn’t always possible if you’re traveling or busy with life. Being able to schedule my pins for weeks in advance with Tailwind has been a game-changer. Plus, Tailwind Tribes are great for increasing the reach of your pins.
Facebook Groups For Travel Bloggers
Facebook groups have been so helpful in my blogging journey. There is a Facebook group for just about everything regarding travel blogging, such as collaboration opportunities, link building, guest posts, and social media sharing.
Not only are Facebook groups great for networking and advice, but it provides a sense of community. If you are new to blogging, I highly recommend joining Facebook groups related to your niche. Here are some of my favorite Facebook Blogging Groups:
- Female Travel Bloggers
- Digital Nomad Wannabe
- Travel Collab Post Opportunities
- Travel Bloggers Guide to Pinterest
- Make Traffic Happen
Travel Blogging Conferences
In addition to taking blogging courses, attending travel blogging conferences and networking with other bloggers has made a huge impact in my business. I’ve written a seperate post about the best conferences for travel bloggers, but here’s a quick overview:
- TravelCon (run by Nomadic Matt, US-based)
- Traverse (UK based group, conference are in Europe)
- Women In Travel Summit (US and Europe)
- TBEX (all over the world)
- Propel (Small conference, have to apply and be selected to go)
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If you’re looking to take a travel blogger course, I hope this post could provide some insights on which one to choose. If you have any questions about the courses, just let me know in the comments below!
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Thank you for all this useful information. I just started a new blog and your guide motivates me to keep going. I love to travel Blogging and I want to see the world. You inspire me with your blog posts and pictures.
So happy to hear the blog inspires you! Keep blogging and traveling!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful information about travel