David Leiter doesn’t reside a boring life. As a full-time traveler, it comes as no shock that he paperwork his adventures on his weblog, The World Travel Guy.
Though his adventures started in 2016, he did not create his web site till a number of years later. He labored on it for five years earlier than he began to see any actual success, and immediately he is incomes $10k/month.
Run-ins with venomous snakes and shut calls on sinking ships have achieved little to discourage him; in reality, his objective is to go to each nation on the planet and proceed to develop his weblog.
Preserve studying to search out out:
- How he began touring
- Why he finally began his web site
- What he did when Covid hit
- Why the pandemic was certainly one of his favourite life durations
- The place his earnings comes from
- How a lot site visitors his web site will get
- His fundamental advertising technique
- His ideas on search engine optimisation
- His method to key phrase analysis and hyperlink constructing
- His content material creation course of
- His misadventures
- Her favourite sources and instruments
- His greatest problem
- His best accomplishment
- His fundamental mistake
- His recommendation for different entrepreneurs
Meet David Leiter
I’m an American who’s been touring the world full-time for 8 years now. I’m at present primarily based in Bali, Indonesia, the place I met my spouse Intan (who’s a Bali native), and we’ve been touring the world collectively for the final 5 years or so.
My first actual worldwide journey was a go to to Iceland in 2016, the place I solo traveled the entire nation and drove 7,000 kilometers across the Ring Highway whereas sleeping in a rental automobile alongside the way in which.
I used to be on a really tight funds on the time, so this was the one approach I might see a notoriously costly nation like Iceland.
I used this journey to movie a drone video of Iceland, which admittedly appears fairly dated by immediately’s requirements, however again in 2016 it was pretty leading edge and it received greater than 1,000,000 views on Vimeo.
In the identical yr, I additionally made a drone video of Colorado that went viral and received featured on worldwide TV by BBC Journey.
The Colorado video was finally pulled from Vimeo for utilizing an excessive amount of bandwidth after it handed 3 million views, however you possibly can nonetheless see it on YouTube the place I reuploaded it later.
It’s wanting fairly dated now, however again when it was filmed 8 years in the past it was the primary time folks had seen aerial views of Colorado like this from a drone, so it was pretty groundbreaking in that respect.
This was good drone coaching for me, and though I’m not likely centered on making movies anymore, I nonetheless use drones usually for my weblog these days to seize distinctive images for the articles I write.
I used to be additionally capable of monetize these journeys considerably, and though it wasn’t a giant source of income simply but, it made me notice how a lot I liked touring, climbing, and seeing the world. I knew I wished to maintain pursuing it.
Why He Created His Website
I created my journey weblog in 2019 after I had already been touring the world full-time for 3 years. I assumed it might be a great way to share my tales and images, make some extra earnings, and hopefully encourage folks to journey and see the world.
At that time, I already had a whole lot of content material and expertise as a traveler, however I didn’t know something about rising a weblog or monetizing it. I had no concept what to name it both, so I simply used a reputation {that a} pal prompt, The World Travel Guy.
My objective with the weblog is to doc among the most scenic locations I go to all over the world by creating articles, images, movies, and guides for different vacationers.
A yr after I began the weblog, Covid hit, and the journey business was crippled for greater than 2 years. Throughout that point, it was unattainable to successfully monetize my weblog, however I stored pushing forward within the hopes that issues would return to regular finally after which hopefully my work would repay.
I used to be type of working on blind religion for some time there, as a result of I spent greater than 3 years engaged on the weblog and not using a single greenback of earnings.
Me and Intan had been additionally very restricted on the place we might journey throughout that point, as a result of many of the close by nations had been fully closed for tourism.
Fortunately I used to be capable of get a particular visa to remain in Indonesia, and we spent these 2 years touring in Bali and plenty of different islands in Indonesia. We needed to get examined for Covid dozens of instances because it was a requirement earlier than each single home flight in Indonesia.
Because it seems, though we weren’t making any cash but, this time that we had been caught in Indonesia was certainly one of my favourite life durations as a result of we actually received off the overwhelmed path and noticed locations which can be not often visited by Westerners.
Indonesia is stuffed with superb issues to see and do. We did jungle treks to see orangutans, and stayed on remote paradise islands with no different folks.
These are nonetheless a few of our most particular journey recollections, and I feel it’s additionally among the most original content I have on my blog.
How A lot He’s Making
In 2023, I made a full-time earnings from the weblog—as much as $10,000 monthly. My web site has normal advertisements from Mediavine, and I take advantage of affiliate hyperlinks to get income from lodges, excursions, and different issues that I like to recommend to readers on my web site.
My affiliate packages embody issues like Reserving.com, GetYourGuide, Klook, and Amazon, plus some small firms which have reached out to me for partnership, akin to a ship tour firm in Coron Palawan, within the Philippines.
I even have some aspect work doing internet design and search engine advertising, which I’ve continued doing within the background whereas I journey.
My boss has been very gracious and versatile through the years, which actually helped me get began as a blogger, particularly within the early days when all of my journey was self-funded.
On the running a blog aspect of issues, it took me 5 years of labor (largely with out pay) to succeed in my present income stage, though with out Covid, I most definitely would have reached this level sooner.
My journey weblog averaged about 300,000 to 350,000 readers monthly in 2023.
Like most area of interest bloggers, I had a site visitors dip on the finish of 2023 due to the Google algorithm updates, however my web site remains to be making a full-time earnings in 2024, and I count on it to totally get well and hold bettering over time as I write extra content material and the SERPs hopefully get much less risky.
David’s Predominant Advertising Technique
My fundamental advertising technique is search engine optimisation. Like most journey bloggers, I don’t have sufficient of a funds to pay for promoting on Fb or Google, so virtually all of my web site site visitors is natural.
I had already discovered some issues about search engine optimisation by means of my prior work background, however a whole lot of it has been hands-on expertise with my journey weblog.
After I first began my weblog I didn’t know a lot about search engine optimisation, so it’s been a gradual course of, and I’m nonetheless studying new issues every single day.
Google’s personal documentation is mostly a great useful resource for search engine optimisation newbies eager to make optimized content material that’ll present up and carry out decently on search engines like google. Semrush additionally has some good information about search engine optimisation finest practices to observe.
His Ideas on search engine optimisation
search engine optimisation is essential and a whole lot of journey bloggers neglect it or don’t perceive how one can do it.
There are a bunch of issues concerned in search engine optimisation, however my primary technique is to jot down a whole lot of weblog posts and get a whole lot of backlinks. It’s easy, but it surely works. Most journey bloggers appear to do solely certainly one of this stuff, or neither.
Not your entire weblog posts will carry out effectively on search engines like google, even when they’re good, however in case you throw a whole lot of stuff on the wall one thing will stick. Multiply that by a whole lot of weblog posts, and also you’re beginning to have a recipe for achievement.
The difficult factor is to maintain writing content material that’s recent, unique, and doesn’t sound prefer it was written by a robotic. After you’ve already written 400 weblog posts, it begins to get fairly tedious.
I’ve discovered that I write rather a lot higher after a break, so I attempt to journey for some time if I really feel like I’m nearing burnout.
Key phrase Analysis
I attempt to goal a wide range of high- and low-competition keywords.
The high-competition key phrases are often extra priceless, in fact, which is why everybody’s attempting to get them, however which means they’re additionally tougher to rank for.
The benefit of low-competition key phrases is that they’re simpler to rank for, they usually’re additionally extra prone to appeal to backlinks.
For instance, I visited the Banggai Islands in Indonesia not too long ago and wrote a information for it.
Although these are distant islands that don’t have a whole lot of high-value site visitors, they’re rising in recognition recently, and I already received a backlink organically (from a backpacker web site) since my information is at present one of many solely English guides for visiting these islands.
I do keyword research with a mix of Ahrefs and Semrush. Usually, you wish to search for key phrases which can be prone to mesh effectively with a journey weblog, and in addition longer key phrases which can be much less prone to have a whole lot of competitors from different web sites in your area of interest.
Hyperlink Constructing
Hyperlink constructing is at all times a great factor. I’ve a whole lot of methods to do outreach. One time I entered a photograph contest with the Indonesia Tourism Bureau and received a backlink from their official web site. That was massive for me.
Typically if I see a web site stealing my images and utilizing them with out credit score, moderately than file a DMCA or ask them to take down my photograph, I’ll ask for a credit score hyperlink as an alternative.
Consider it or not, I’ve gotten a bunch of high-quality dofollow hyperlinks through the years from this type of outreach.
Typically I by accident stumble onto websites utilizing my images, or different instances a reader of my web site will let me learn about it.
There are additionally providers you should utilize to search out and determine websites which can be doubtlessly stealing your images. One in all these I’ve used up to now is CopyTrack.
After all, there’s at all times the potential of getting hyperlinks organically. In different phrases, in case your journey content material is nice and useful and has superb images which can be superior to the competitors, individuals are extra prone to hyperlink to it.
A few of my finest hyperlinks truly occurred naturally with no outreach on my half. Somebody simply determined they favored my content material, so that they linked to it.
Clearly, I wouldn’t suggest simply sitting again and ready for hyperlinks to return in on their very own like this, but it surely’s nonetheless one supply of hyperlinks that may be very priceless.
His Content material Creation Course of
I do a whole lot of writing and my web site has virtually 400 weblog posts now. I do all the content creation myself. I by no means use AI for any of it, and I plan to maintain it that approach.
For all of the discuss AI recently, it’s nonetheless principally ineffective for creating journey guides which can be nuanced and useful for readers.
I attempt to write a minimum of one or two new weblog posts each week, though I don’t wish to sacrifice high quality for amount, so I typically fall behind on this goal, particularly if I’m touring rather a lot.
The Yoast SEO plugin may be useful for optimizing new weblog posts. Typically I spend days going again and updating previous weblog posts so that they’re nonetheless correct, which takes a whole lot of time as effectively, but it surely’s price it if you wish to hold your web site related.
His E-mail Record
I do have an e mail listing, however I’m nonetheless searching for methods to develop it with out being annoying. I’m not a fan of pop-ups asking folks to hitch a mailing listing.
I attempted that early on, but it surely simply didn’t appear definitely worth the trouble it causes for folks.
In some unspecified time in the future, I’d wish to experiment with providing a free obtain (akin to a Lightroom preset or e book) to folks for becoming a member of my mailing listing. That approach there’s a minimum of an incentive.
Presently, I solely have a few thousand folks on my mailing listing since I haven’t prioritized it, however I’m hoping to develop that quantity.
I take advantage of MailChimp for managing the e-mail listing, and that has labored effectively, however I’m nonetheless searching for methods to enhance my mailing technique.
David’s Work Schedule and Adventures
The variety of hours I work varies, and I don’t at all times hold observe, however on a typical day I most likely spend 2 to 4 hours engaged on the weblog.
Some days I spend 8 to 12 hours engaged on the weblog, whereas different days I don’t work on it in any respect.
Within the early days of the weblog, it ate up much more of my time. Now that I’ve already designed my web site and written a whole lot of posts, I don’t must spend as a lot time on it as earlier than, in order that helps.
Nonetheless, sustaining the web site is just one a part of journey running a blog. I additionally must journey, take images, and write new content material. I principally spend 6 to eight months a yr touring, with a little bit of relaxation between every journey.
Clearly, touring is a whole lot of enjoyable and I’ll by no means cease having fun with it, however typically it may be laborious work, too.
I don’t take pleasure in in a single day flights or sleeping on airport flooring. I don’t take pleasure in being sick or jetlagged. I’ve had a number of shut calls and brushes with loss of life whereas touring through the years, so it’s not at all times enjoyable and video games.
For instance, one time I virtually stepped on a venomous pit viper whereas climbing in Indonesia. My foot landed inside centimeters of the snake, which was coiled up within the heart of the trail, however fortunately its head was turned away from me and the snake didn’t see how shut my foot landed.
This was on a distant island with no antivenom and virtually no hospital, so a chunk from certainly one of these snakes might imply amputation or loss of life.
One other time, our boat virtually sank throughout a storm on the ocean close to Sumatra. We had been making preparations for what we’d do if we needed to go overboard and swim. We had noticed a floating wood fish lure about one kilometer away and deliberate to attempt to swim there and grasp onto it if the boat went underneath.
This occurred at night time in a really dangerous storm with heavy rain and large waves. There was no land wherever in sight, so we would have needed to float and swim on the market for days till a fishing boat or another person hopefully noticed us and rescued us.
Fortunately, the storm handed and we had been capable of flip our motor on and get again to land. We had been fully soaked and chilly, however secure.
Within the newest incident, a driver we employed in Sulawesi fell asleep on the wheel and drove throughout the opposite lane on a busy freeway. We frantically woke him up earlier than he drove off the sting of the street, the place there was a steep jungle ravine beneath.
Fortunately, there wasn’t any oncoming site visitors within the different lane when this occurred, however we had been on a busy street that’s often utilized by truckers, so issues might’ve turned out a lot worse.
Later we discovered our driver had stayed up all night time driving 10 hours, so he was working on no sleep. We canceled the journey proper then and stopped on the town to relaxation.
We’ve had numerous experiences like this whereas touring through the years, however these are just some examples of how rapidly issues can go dangerous.
I nonetheless haven’t been threatened or robbed at gunpoint though I’ve traveled most of Central and South America, but it surely wouldn’t shock me if that occurs sooner or later, and I attempt to be further cautious in these locations.
Typically I downgrade my digicam gear if I’m touring someplace there’s the next likelihood of being robbed.
His Favourite Assets
On the images aspect of issues, I’m a fan of YouTube channels like Simon d’Entremont for clear and concise digicam suggestions.
My running a blog fashion, internet design, and search engine optimisation methods had been largely self-taught, though I wish to learn different journey blogs on occasion for brand spanking new concepts.
A great useful resource for search engine optimisation information is Search Engine Roundtable.
His Go-To Instruments
For key phrase analysis and search engine optimisation, essentially the most great tool I take advantage of is Ahrefs, however Moz and Semrush additionally work effectively for this.
You need to use these instruments to verify your backlinks, discover new key phrases to jot down about, and plenty of different issues. You can too use them to verify your web site site visitors development, though Google Analytics is healthier in case you actually need correct site visitors information.
After all, my digicam is certainly one of my most helpful instruments, too. I upgraded to a Fujifilm X-T5 digicam not too long ago and I largely use a wide-angle lens.
I’m certain there are higher cameras on the market, however in my funds (round $2,000) it really works completely and takes nice photos.
For photograph and video modifying, I take advantage of the Adobe instruments, Lightroom and Premiere. These work nice and you may also use Lightroom to again up your images within the cloud as you go.
His Greatest Problem
The most important problem for me is writing in bulk. You aren’t going to have a really profitable and entertaining weblog except you do a whole lot of writing, and this received tedious for me after in regards to the a hundredth weblog submit.
I might save time on this by utilizing AI, in fact, however the high quality would most likely be dangerous. Hiring writers is an alternative choice, however that prices cash and it makes the weblog much less private.
So regardless of the way you slice it, journey running a blog is a whole lot of work and there’s no escaping it.
His Best Accomplishment
On the running a blog aspect of issues, I really like with the ability to assist folks journey to new locations. I’ve particularly loved running a blog about Indonesia as a result of it’s stuffed with hidden gems that haven’t actually been seen by Westerners.
Quite a lot of that is because of my spouse, who’s been a giant assist as my interpreter throughout our travels in Indonesia.
As for private achievements, I’d love to go to each nation on the planet.
By some sources, there are as many as 200 nations on the planet. I’m nonetheless engaged on that objective. Proper now I’m averaging about 10 to fifteen new nations per yr, however my document to this point is 24 nations in a single yr.
What He Needs He Knew When He Began
I’ve completely uncared for social media, and I want I had stayed lively on there from the start, though it’s a whole lot of work.
I began a Pinterest account not too long ago and I’ve been pinning posts from my weblog on there every single day. I’m already getting some extra noticeable site visitors from it.
I don’t count on Pinterest to ever substitute Google as my fundamental traffic source, however each little bit helps.
Google has been an actual mess recently, so any severe blogger needs to be searching for methods to get their eggs out of that basket and construct new site visitors sources.
His Predominant Mistake
The most important mistake I made was beginning my weblog as late as I did. I want I began 5 or 10 years sooner.
In that case, I’d have much more expertise and possibly much more earnings. The journey running a blog area may be very saturated these days.
You possibly can nonetheless achieve success at it, but it surely takes extra work than it used to, and I feel that’ll solely change into much more true sooner or later as the quantity of competitors grows.
His Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs
In all probability one of the best recommendation I can provide is that there are not any shortcuts in running a blog.
Even in case you work sensible, you’ll nonetheless must work laborious.
I’ve put a whole lot of time into my weblog through the years, and it wouldn’t achieve success if I didn’t.
Issues like search engine optimisation, photograph modifying, writing, and internet design are all issues which can be very time-consuming if you wish to do them effectively.
