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Though Jessie Festa has all the time loved touring, there was a pivotal second when every part modified. When she was planning a serious journey along with her girlfriends, all of them bailed on her. Slightly than miss the chance to journey, she went alone.
This impressed her to start out a journey weblog, Jessie on a Journey, again when journey running a blog wasn’t actually “a factor” but. Twelve years later, Jessie has turned her ardour for journey right into a 6-figure running a blog enterprise with a number of artistic earnings streams. And she or he’s nonetheless rising.
Maintain studying to seek out out:
- What occurred when she began her weblog
- Her technique for constructing a 6-figure enterprise
- The place her earnings comes from
- How a lot she works on her enterprise
- Her ideas on Search engine optimization
- How she markets her weblog
- The method she makes use of to create content material
- How she grows her electronic mail checklist
- Her favourite instruments and assets
- Her greatest problem
- Her biggest accomplishment
- Her recommendation for different entrepreneurs
Meet Jessie Festa
My title is Jessie and I’m a solo feminine travel blogger and running a blog educator.
I’ve all the time beloved to journey. That being stated, whereas I grew up occurring Caribbean cruises and road-tripping to amusement parks with my household, my ardour for journey was in the end born after I studied overseas in Australia.
Being by myself on the opposite facet of the world in a spot that was so unfamiliar actually ignited my curiosity and made me notice how a lot there was to discover. It made me actually need to make journey an enormous a part of my life.
My ardour for solo feminine journey got here after my mates bailed on a summer season backpacking journey via Europe that we—or actually I—had been planning for months.
As soon as they instructed me they may not go, I needed to decide: quit on the hours of analysis I’d achieved and ignore the joy I felt, or go by myself and have what may doubtlessly be a memorable journey.
I made a decision to do the latter, and the remaining is historical past!
Why She Created Her Journey Weblog
Whereas planning the European backpacking journey talked about above, I spotted there weren’t many assets for ladies touring on their very own. Bear in mind, I used to be planning this journey in 2010, earlier than journey running a blog was actually a factor.
So, I made a decision to create a useful resource for ladies who needed to cease ready for others to be accessible to journey and begin planning solo journeys that allowed them to see the world.
And whereas my objective remains to be to assist girls confidently journey solo, my running a blog enterprise has modified dramatically over time.
After I first launched Jessie on a Journey in 2011, I actually didn’t actually have a plan. I knew who I needed to assist; nevertheless, I didn’t actually have a revenue plan. As an alternative, I made cash via a little bit of online marketing, the occasional sponsored posts, and plenty of freelance journey writing.
Throughout these early days, I by no means actually felt like my earnings was constant. I made simply sufficient to stay, however not sufficient to actually really feel like I used to be working a sustainable enterprise.
The factor that basically modified every part and set me on the trail to six figures was making a revenue plan. I grew to become very intentional in regards to the income streams I applied and the methods I used to develop them.
Personally, I like to consider consumer journeys. When somebody reads a weblog submit on my website, what do I need them to do subsequent, and subsequent, so as to present worth for them whereas rising my enterprise.
It’s additionally value noting that the panorama for bloggers is totally completely different now than it was again in 2011. There are such a lot of extra alternatives these days, and content material creators are taken far more significantly.
As an example, it’s a lot simpler to land paid model collaborations and even paid press journeys, the latter of which wasn’t actually a factor in 2011.
How A lot Cash She’s At the moment Making
Jessie on a Journey is a 6-figure running a blog enterprise that has continued to develop yr after yr (exterior of 2020, as folks weren’t precisely looking out about journey throughout this time).
The primary methods I monetize this enterprise, with approximate earnings percentages, embrace:
Humorous sufficient, if you happen to would have requested me earlier in my profession what my greatest money-maker was, it could have been working with manufacturers; nevertheless, I’ve actually scaled again on this in trade for extra passive and streamlined income streams.
As a result of I journey so much, I are likely to work very laborious after I’m house in order that I can truly benefit from the journeys I’m going on.
Sometimes, this implies I work full days Monday o Friday, about 8 to 10 hours per day, after which after I’m touring I give attention to capturing content material to cull, edit, manage, and share as soon as I’m again house.
Together with my common journeys, I additionally be sure that to schedule time for enjoyable and delight at house in NYC. In my view, it’s necessary to work laborious but additionally make time to play laborious so that you’re truly having fun with your life!
The Significance of Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization is probably an important technique I exploit in my enterprise. It’s how I:
- am capable of recover from 100k month-to-month guests to my web site
- am capable of earn 1000’s of {dollars} each month in passive Mediavine earnings
- get most of my NYC photograph tour bookings
- have grown an engaged electronic mail checklist – which is the principle manner I market my programs and membership
- enhance my passive affiliate earnings
- get discovered for alternatives like paid press journeys and talking gigs
My Search engine optimization course of is fairly in-depth, although a number of methods which have actually helped me embrace:
a) Persistently writing about the identical matter. This makes it simpler in your viewers and Google to know what you’re an knowledgeable on. Furthermore, the extra you write a couple of matter, the simpler it is going to be to face out as *the* knowledgeable on it, particularly in comparison with different blogs that don’t cowl it as a lot.
b) Create silo pages for every of my primary matters. This will get into creating an Search engine optimization-friendly website construction, however mainly these act as hyperlink magnets, as I then hyperlink all of my associated weblog posts to them. Moreover, these pages are linked in my primary menu so as to get all of my weblog submit hyperlinks nearer to the homepage.
c) Constructing inner and exterior backlinks. Each time I publish a brand new submit, I spend time linking it to the related silo web page(s) in addition to any related weblog posts. I’ll additionally spend a substantial period of time constructing backlinks to Jessie on a Journey from different web sites.
Jessie’s High Advertising and marketing Technique
Realistically, creating Search engine optimization-optimized content material with robust calls to motion is my primary advertising and marketing technique.
When it comes to what instruments I exploit for this, KeySearch is my favourite. It’s a strong but budget-friendly keyword research instrument that gives a great deal of information you should use to decide on and optimize for high-traffic potential key phrases.
I additionally examine my hottest weblog posts as soon as per thirty days to ensure they embrace correct affiliate hyperlinks and an opt-in freebie to develop my electronic mail checklist and get folks into my gross sales funnels.
On a extra artistic be aware, I do plenty of collaborations with different bloggers and affiliate partners to extend my visibility and earnings.
For instance, I’ll typically work with different bloggers to swap visitor emails the place we promote our opt-in freebies to one another’s viewers.
Moreover, I’ve additionally labored with affiliate companions to have them train a free webinar to my viewers that pitches their product on the finish—with my affiliate hyperlink!
Her Content material Creation Course of
The inspiration of my course of is creating content material that pertains to my mission, serves my viewers, is Search engine optimization-optimized, and consists of robust calls to motion.
Earlier than committing to a subject, I do key phrase analysis to seek out key phrases I can really rank for. I even have a working checklist able to go, which I both cowl myself or assign to my writers.
I like to arrange these weblog posts by:
- How simple they might be to rank for, in order that I can see site visitors boosts extra shortly
- Seasonality, in order that they’re rating in Google *earlier than* folks start researching a seasonal matter
- Profitability, as I like to ensure I’m recurrently optimizing content material for buyer-intent key phrases inside my content material plan
When truly creating the content material, my objective is all the time to publish one thing that’s higher, clearer, and extra in-depth than what’s already rating for my supposed key phrase. This implies I truly take a look at the posts already rating to create a extra strong define.
By the best way, this goes for my weblog posts in addition to episodes of my Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast. Together with selling episodes to my electronic mail checklist and on social media, I’ll create an Search engine optimization-optimized “present notes” weblog submit to pair with every episode, which helps get new eyes on the content material!
Her Electronic mail Checklist
Together with creating Search engine optimization-optimized weblog posts, electronic mail advertising and marketing is the opposite primary manner I herald income.
I’ve grown my checklist to over 13k subscribers, primarily by creating opt-in freebies that assist my viewers resolve an issue indirectly. These freebies additionally place folks into my advertising and marketing funnels, the place they are going to finally be pitched a product that solves the identical downside, however at a extra premium stage.
Past that, I ship out weekly emails that share related suggestions, methods, and assets in order that my group actually appears like they’re getting worth out of being on my checklist (whether or not they buy a product or not).
Her Favourite Sources
Studying Search engine optimization is among the greatest expertise to grasp when constructing a worthwhile weblog. Two of my favourite YouTube channels for this are Brian Dean and Silly Easy Search engine optimization.
Her High Instruments
My go-to instruments are:
KeySearch: That is the instrument I exploit to do all of my key phrase analysis and develop my site visitors. I actually wouldn’t be the place I’m in the present day with out it.
Google Search Console: I additionally love Google Analytics, although I spend far more time in Google Search Console pulling information that may assist me replace my weblog posts for brand new site visitors in addition to repair errors that may damage my website’s well being.
Teachable: That is the platform I exploit to promote my membership and programs and create my associates program. In case you promote teaching or digital downloads, it may assist with this too.
Her Largest Problem
That must be time administration. Whenever you personal your personal enterprise, it’s simple to really feel like there may be all the time one thing urgent that should get achieved.
Plus, as a content material creator, I all the time have concepts for brand new weblog posts that may assist enhance my site visitors or new merchandise to launch.
What has helped me with that is actually being intentional about scheduling downtime and enjoyable actions in pen, not pencil, which has helped me develop into okay with stepping away from my work.
The opposite factor that has helped is organising passive earnings streams in order that even when I’m going on a protracted journey or take a break, my enterprise remains to be bringing in cash via show adverts, affiliate hyperlinks, and sales funnels.
Jessie’s Best Accomplishment
Truthfully, simply considering again to the place I began—which was having zero eyes on my content material and nil {dollars} coming in—to working a 6-figure enterprise that enables me to be my very own boss, receives a commission to be artistic, and journey the world.
I’ll additionally say that whereas I completely love my passive earnings streams for the time freedom they supply, product testimonials and reader thanks emails actually give me a “why” for shifting ahead.
It’s rewarding figuring out that what you’re placing out into the world has which means.
Really, here’s a fast tip: be sure that to save lots of the optimistic evaluations, emails, feedback, and so forth that you simply obtain out of your viewers and clients.
I’ve a Google Drive folder of those, and they are often actually useful to look again on if you happen to’re ever needing a pick-me-up or a reminder of why you’re doing what you’re doing.
What She Needs She Knew When She Began
Don’t delay studying Search engine optimization.
For a lot of creatives, it’s the not-so-fun a part of creating content material or working a enterprise; nevertheless, when you get the grasp of it, it may actually be *the factor* that drives constant site visitors to your web site.
This implies extra eyes in your unimaginable content material, inspiring messaging, and superb merchandise.
Her Major Mistake
In the beginning of my journey as a content material creator, I actually thought that the extra I revealed, the quicker the cash would are available in.
The issue? I didn’t have an precise plan for incomes stated cash!
Sure, your content material can—and may—be worthwhile; however, you additionally want to know tips on how to make this occur.
Her Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs
Don’t attempt to study too many issues without delay, as it may result in burnout and overwhelm. As an alternative, select one factor at a time to actually grasp. Then, when you will have a repeatable plan, transfer on to the subsequent factor.
Additionally, attempt to streamline the place potential. One train is to jot down out your entire yearly, quarterly, month-to-month, weekly, and every day duties, and take into consideration what will be nixed, mixed, automated, or streamlined.
As an example, you may repurpose content material you create throughout platforms. In case you write a weblog submit sharing 10 suggestions, flip these suggestions into 10 social media posts. In case you create a vertical video for Instagram, share it in your different social networks too with a number of tweaks.
Lastly, break massive initiatives up into milestones. Having “launch a membership” in your to-do checklist is daunting; nevertheless, if you happen to break up the journey towards launching the membership into smaller duties, it turns into far more manageable.
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