Like a number of journey bloggers, Megan Starr has all the time had a ardour for journey. However Megan isn’t like most journey bloggers.
Fourteen years in the past, she packed up her issues, left her residence state of Virginia, and moved to Norway. That turned her residence base for touring, and she or he began a journey weblog known as Megan Starr to doc her adventures however had no intentions of ever turning it into an precise enterprise.
Initially, it was a former USSR nation weblog, and she or he additionally wrote extensively about touring to locations like Kazakhstan, Romania, Armenia, and Croatia.
When she lastly realized she might flip it right into a enterprise, issues actually took off.
Right this moment, she has expanded her portfolio to 4 journey blogs, will get over 7 million periods per 12 months, and can shut out 2023 with an earnings of over $700k.
Maintain studying to search out out:
- What websites she created and why she began them
- The place her earnings comes from
- Her fundamental advertising and marketing methods
- Her ideas on Search engine optimization
- Her strategy to key phrase analysis
- How she builds hyperlinks
- Her content material creation course of
- Her strategy to electronic mail lists
- The assets and instruments she makes use of
- The most important problem she’s confronted
- Her biggest accomplishment
- Her fundamental mistake
- The recommendation she would give to different entrepreneurs
Meet Megan Starr
I’m Megan, a blogger and digital marketer from Richmond, Virginia (however residing in Europe for the final 14 years).
Rising up, I used to be all the time enthusiastic about journey and you could possibly catch me sitting within the again nook of the library studying journey guidebooks about Scandinavia and different locations that appeared fairly far-flung to me on the time.
I performed faculty basketball for some time, acquired my diploma, after which ended up in Ohio earlier than selecting up and shifting to Bergen, Norway.
And, all these years later, I’m nonetheless on this facet of the pond! I’ve a visa and house that ties me to Frankfurt, Germany… however I purchased a home final 12 months in Rovaniemi, Finland, so I’m there very often, too.
I celebrated my fortieth birthday this 12 months (it feels bizarre writing that!), have a companion (he’s British), and am child-free by selection. However, I do plan to undertake one other canine sooner or later if issues work out.
Why She Created Her Websites
I created my weblog about two years earlier than shifting to Norway… so roughly 16 years in the past! It was a way of life weblog at first after which form of transitioned into an expat and journey weblog as soon as I moved overseas.
It was simply me on the time.
I feel I’m one of many few bloggers who really blogged out of ardour and as a interest with no intentions of monetizing it.
Norway was so costly once I lived there, so I discovered myself in former Soviet international locations within the east as a result of the Norwegian kroner went quite a bit additional there.
So, I began running a blog about this a part of the world and had grown a fairly viewers round my rambles.
I used to be the primary blogger to actually write about Abkhazia, loads of Ukrainian locations, Belarus, and many others. with on-going return journeys and constant content material. I combined this content material with Norway guides and expat rants.
In 2017, I used to be with out a Schengen visa and doing 3 months stints in locations like Bulgaria, Romania, Armenia, Croatia, and Kazakhstan.
I made a decision to monetize my website with adverts simply to offer myself a buffer since I used to be residing out of accommodations, hostels, and Airbnbs.
As soon as I monetized the weblog, I used to be capable of make it a full-time job immediately as I had unknowingly constructed up site visitors through the years when doing it merely as a interest. My first (and solely) advert community has been Mediavine. I’m of their Mediavine Professional for 2 of my websites.
Aram joined in 2018 and we began an Armenia journey website, Absolute Armenia, as he’s Armenian. It’s centered on tourism growth within the nation.
A few 12 months later, the Virginia website, Virginia Journey Ideas, and my Hawaii website, Subsequent is Hawaii, had been began as my viewers was trying to keep within the US due to the pandemic and I needed to create content material that may very well be used shortly and be of goal throughout a bizarre time on the earth.
How A lot She’s Incomes
I don’t actually consider every weblog on how a lot it makes since I run 4 (maybe I ought to!) however in accordance with Mediavine, here’s a breakdown for 2023.
Please take note we had been annihilated by the HCU in September 2023 on the Virginia website and additional by the October 2023 updates on the opposite websites.
2023 Numbers (by mid-December)
– Megan & Aram: $239,021.25 (4.6 million periods)
– Subsequent is Hawaii: $42,137.34 (887,567 periods)
– Virginia Journey Ideas: $96,982.84 (1.9 million periods)
____________
$378,141.43
In 2022, we made $518,817.86 on Mediavine adverts throughout the three blogs (with the Hawaii website not being monetized with adverts all the 12 months).
In 2022, we didn’t focus an excessive amount of on associates as advert cash was fairly good and we took on loads of paid initiatives in Armenia. I don’t have the precise quantity, however I think about we made about $150,000 on associates in 2022 (I didn’t use Affilimate all 12 months, so it’s exhausting to get the quantity).
However, in 2023, we centered quite a bit on associates and have at the moment made $270,173.26 in accordance with Affilimate (the affiliate instrument we love and use).
Affilimate doesn’t embody a few of our associates, nonetheless. It’s lacking our Amazon, Information to Faroe Islands, Welcome Pickups, and Manawa. Collectively we most likely made one other $12,000 throughout these platforms.
In whole, for 2023, our confirmed earnings is $700k+.
As for site visitors, earlier than the updates in September 2023, we did pretty nicely.
Now I’m ready to see how issues shake out as soon as this settles a bit. We misplaced about 85% of site visitors on the Virginia web site and a good quantity on the Hawaii website (which was really down about 80% earlier than HCU due to the fires on Maui).
I used to work round 15 hours a day on my websites a few years again!
Now, I’m barely working as I’ve spent loads of time on the street this 12 months. I hope to get into one place and may work a bit extra constantly once more (though with out these 15-hour days)!
Megan’s Prime Advertising and marketing Technique
My diploma is in advertising and marketing and I’ve all the time had a knack for understanding the shopping for course of, which I discover form of goes over the heads of many different bloggers. I primarily simply deal with myself and what I can contribute to the net and vacationers.
One technique I’ve all the time been fairly eager on is figuring out the aim of each publish I put on the market. When figuring out the subject, I do know whether or not it will likely be centered on advert cash, affiliate earnings, or just simply there to help different posts on the positioning.
I additionally write a good variety of posts that basically aren’t nice for monetization however they land customers on the weblog and that’s the objective, firstly.
For affiliate earnings, top-fold packing containers have been tremendous useful for me. I feel I used to be the primary blogger to place these throughout the weblog again in 2019 and it was simply an thought deliberate out by my Get Your Information supervisor and me as we all know that round 80% of individuals don’t scroll previous the highest display on their mobiles (or desktops).
I might say these packing containers have accounted for 70%+ of my affiliate earnings. I’m at the moment making an attempt to scale them again a bit in 2024 and eradicating ones that haven’t transformed as I had hoped. Under is an instance from an article about Reykjavik in winter.
The Significance of Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization is de facto essential, however I’ve form of stepped again from the on-page facet of it this 12 months.
I run a number of area of interest blogs and on these websites, I write about every part pertaining to the locations, so losing time curating Search engine optimization-heavy articles simply isn’t one of the best use of my time.
On the principle website (Megan & Aram), I exploit it a bit of bit extra as it’s a basic journey website. However, I figured that Google is wise sufficient to appreciate what is sweet and never good content material no matter overdoing it on key phrases and semantics.
I assumed that till the Useful Content material Replace in September 2023 – now I’m not so positive!
I discover off-page and technical Search engine optimization way more essential than on-page at this level of my running a blog journey so I are inclined to focus extra on that.
Key phrase Analysis
I exploit Semrush and can do analysis when crucial, however I’m at some extent the place I simply write no matter fills in a content material hole on the blogs.
The one factor I actually use it for is that if I query how an viewers searches for one thing. I’ll analysis that and write down totally different variations of issues simply to make sure I’m utilizing the precise terminology and phrases.
My viewers is closely American, however I’ve been out of the US for therefore lengthy now that I typically neglect how we phrase issues.
I don’t have a tendency to take a look at the competitors, however once I see sure blogs within the prime outcomes, I typically shudder as I do know they’re exhausting to beat (usually as a result of they’re superb!).
However, I often nonetheless write the publish as a result of I determine if I can get a small piece of the “pie,” I nonetheless can get pleasure from a little bit of success on the work put forth.
Hyperlink Constructing
I don’t hyperlink construct a lot. I’ll typically go into blogger teams and put a request for a number of contemporary swaps on content material, however then I often neglect about it by the following day and by no means get again to the publish.
I do some collabs with different bloggers when becoming, however it’s far fewer nowadays than earlier than as I don’t actually see the worth.
Her Content material Creation Course of
The principle website has about 800 stay articles, Hawaii has about 100, and Virginia about 200. The Armenia website has round 200.
Concerning the content material creation course of… that is one among my weaknesses.
Once I’m creating an article from scratch by myself, it’s fantastic. However, we’ve a group of writers and it goes by a course of that may be a bit mentally chaotic for me as I handle all of it.
I’ve a VA creating briefs for the writers, then I assign the content material. As soon as completed, it goes to our editor and content material supervisor, who will get it in WordPress for me and able to go.
I then go in and add private perception the place I can after which publish. This course of is much too advanced and fairly frankly, isn’t working all that nicely because it has left me with 300+ articles in draft as a result of I can’t get to all of them by myself. So, fixing that is one other 2024 objective.
I’m additionally horrible at discovering time to replace guides. My new objective is to deal with that extra, as nicely.
As for EEAT, I’ve some writers who’re specialists on sure locations and Aram is an skilled on others.
For me, I get my EEAT from my travels in locations. I cite my errors and my wins in a really real method.
Whereas I’m good at this on my fundamental website, I actually have failed at this on the Virginia website (and components of the Hawaii website). It’s one thing I’m fixing now. I would like to offer higher perception and ideas for folks.
Her Electronic mail Lists
That is most likely my largest failure in running a blog.
Whereas I began out as somebody who had loyal readers and a neighborhood, I don’t anymore. I form of backed away from that type of running a blog (regrettably).
I gather emails a bit of right here and there on the blogs, however I’ve by no means executed something with that checklist and I might really feel uncomfortable stunning readers from 2 years in the past with an electronic mail.
I perceive electronic mail advertising and marketing and have even executed it for manufacturers, so that is fairly inexcusable. Maybe a 2024 objective?
Her Favourite Assets
Earlier than beginning a journey weblog (as a enterprise), I might be taught a bit in regards to the buyer firstly.
Outline your supposed viewers, perceive the shopping for course of, and comply with journey developments a bit.
Then be a part of some Fb teams and be a sponge… however not an excessive amount of the place you emulate another person’s complete enterprise. Yours will probably be totally different, it doesn’t matter what you initially suppose.
Additionally, take what many individuals say with a grain of salt. Lots of people in these Fb teams fabricate their numbers and experiences, sadly.
Then ask profitable folks what errors they made and the way they might do issues in another way.
Her Go-To Instruments
Affilimate is nice for monitoring affiliate earnings and consumer actions, Semrush for Search engine optimization stuff, and I simply began utilizing RankIQ to replace previous content material and it appears fairly nice to date.
That’s all running a blog stuff… I suppose I don’t actually use a lot else outdoors of labor!
I exploit Asana to handle my group.
Her Greatest Problem
Actually, that will be Google.
I’m enjoying in another person’s sandbox and I really feel a bit insecure about that and don’t prefer it. I don’t love social media and am at an age the place I simply really feel a bit apathetic about Instagram and stuff and I refuse to dive into that to diversify my earnings (which I must do to really feel a bit safer).
I do like TikTok as a consumer, so perhaps I’ll give {that a} shot.
I even have struggled as a result of I didn’t construct my group proper and scaled within the fallacious course.
I’ve lots of people doing the “similar factor” and never the issues that basically have to be executed or are useful for me. I’m restructuring in 2024, because of this.
AI can also be leaving me a bit involved. Whereas I discover the solutions AI is giving laughable, it additionally leaves me squirmish.
Happily, journey is often not an “impulse” purchase, so I really feel there’s nonetheless a spot for journey running a blog.
However once I see among the stuff on the market that was clearly created by AI, I genuinely really feel unhealthy for the traveler who’s utilizing their hard-earned cash and trip time and planning with info that may fail them in the long term.
Her Best Accomplishment
For me, it’s not working for an additional particular person. I prefer to name my very own pictures. If I fail, it’s on me. If I succeed, it’s additionally on me.
And I can rejoice my successes with a visit someplace with out worrying if I exceed the two weeks of trip I might have if I labored for another person.
What She Needs She Knew When She Began
Since I began way back, even earlier than Instagram was a factor, I don’t suppose I can say because the trade has modified a lot!
However, I do want I had monetized earlier. I used to be so hesitant as I felt my interest could be misplaced when the weblog turned a job.
That by no means really occurred… In truth, it made my journey extra purposeful and I now step into these museums and sights I wouldn’t have stepped foot in earlier than as I must seize a photograph and expertise the place myself.
Her Principal Mistake
Not constructing an electronic mail checklist is up there! I hope to rectify this in 2024 (not holding my breath although, as it is a objective yearly for me).
I additionally want I had been extra hands-on with my content material in the previous few years on the Virginia website. I’m updating it now and notice how horrendous loads of it was. Actually, I’m ashamed, as a Virginian.
Whereas I feel Google acquired their HCU replace very, very fallacious, I feel my Virginia website being impacted was warranted and a superb kick in my butt to repair my content material technique for future posts.
Her Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs
Industries change. I’ve been by at the very least 3 main shifts in journey running a blog and all thrice I’ve thought my world was going to finish and I’d lose all earnings.
Adapt to these modifications or you’ll be out of a job.
And whereas folks could be mad at Google or different causes for the ever-changing trade, we’ve to appreciate that this occurs in each single trade on the earth… not simply the net.
When you have one thing to supply the net or your potential viewers, hop on board. There’s all the time room for extra for those who add worth.
Competitors retains me on my toes and if folks click on on a weblog that isn’t mine, at the very least they clicked a weblog and never a Reddit discussion board or Tripadvisor web page, that means running a blog nonetheless serves its goal and I can stick round a bit of longer.
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