How to Become a Travel Content Creator

Last Updated on October 5, 2026

Travel writing and blogging got me started, but I’ve also branched out to content creation in recent years. Here’s everything I’ve learned about content creation, from growing an audience to pitching brands.

When I started WildJunket in 2008, a travel blog was the best way to share my adventures. I wrote long posts about crossing Central America on chicken buses and sent pitches to any magazine editor whose email I could find. And it worked. Over the years, I’ve written for Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and BBC Travel, worked as a G Adventures ambassador and was sent on assignment to places I’d only dreamed of, like Antarctica, Svalbard and Mongolia.

But I’ll be honest with you: the world of travel media has changed completely. Google updates and AI have cut blog traffic across the board, mine included. Magazines pay less than they did ten years ago. Meanwhile, brands and tourism boards are putting more and more of their budgets into creators who can tell a story in a 30-second Reel or a 10-slide carousel.

So I’ve had to reinvent myself. In the past year, I’ve built a brand on Instagram and started sharing our experiences traveling the world as a worldschooling family. It’s been humbling to start again on a new platform after 18 years in this industry, but it’s also taught me a lot about what works today and what doesn’t. If you’ve been dreaming of getting paid to travel and create, I’ll share the exact steps I’d take if I were starting from scratch, how to pitch brands, how much to charge and the tools that save me hours every week.

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What Does a Travel Content Creator Actually Do?

A travel content creator makes content in the form of photos, videos, scripts and captions, and gets paid for it by brands, tourism boards, hotels, tour operators and sometimes by their audience directly. Unlike a travel blogger, whose work lives mainly on a website and relies on Google, a creator’s work lives mostly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

In practice, the job is a lot less glamorous than it looks. On a typical press trip, I’m up before sunrise for the best light, filming the same shot five times, then editing on my phone in the back of a van. At home, I spend more time answering emails, writing captions and chasing invoices than I do actually traveling.

The honest reality

• It takes time. It took me two years of blogging before I got my first press trip. On social media today, most creators I know took one to three years of consistent posting before brands started approaching them.
• Free trips don’t pay rent. A hosted stay is nice, but it’s not income. Your goal should be paid work, not just freebies.
• You’re running a business. You’re the photographer, editor, writer, marketer, accountant and salesperson.
• The algorithm changes constantly. What works this month may not work next month, so you need to own your audience where you can (more on that below).

If that doesn’t scare you off, good. You have what it takes. The creators who succeed aren’t the ones with the best cameras; they’re the ones who don’t quit.

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How to Become a Travel Content Creator: Step by Step

1. Know your purpose

Before you post anything, ask yourself: why do you want to do this? Is it to travel more, to make a full-time living, or to build a side income? There’s no wrong answer, but it will shape every decision you make. If you want this to be a business, treat it like one from day one.

2. Find your niche

Travel is not a niche. Your niche sits where three things overlap: what you know, what you love, and what an audience is looking for. A few examples:

• Budget backpacking
• Luxury travel for couples over 50
• Solo female hiking
• Van life 
• Family travel or worldschooling (that’s me!)

When I pivoted to Instagram, I realized my audience didn’t want another “top 10 things to do in Tbilisi” post. They wanted to see what it’s like to actually move a family to a new country: finding a school, figuring out the supermarket, the stressful bits. That’s what makes my content different, and it’s something no one else can copy.

3. Choose one main platform to start

Don’t try to be everywhere at once. You’ll burn out. Pick one platform, get good at it, then expand.

Whatever you choose, start an email list early. Platforms come and go. I learned this the hard way when my blog traffic dropped. Your email list is the one audience no algorithm can take away from you.

4. Learn photography and video

You don’t need expensive gear to start. The latest iPhone or a good Android phone will do the job for most social content. What matters more is learning the basics:

• Light: Shoot during golden hour (just after sunrise and before sunset).
• Composition: Use the rule of thirds, leading lines and a person in the frame for scale.
• Stable footage: Get a small gimbal or at least a phone tripod.
• Audio: A clip-on wireless mic makes a huge difference for talking-to-camera videos.
• Editing: Apps like CapCut, VN and Lightroom Mobile are free or cheap and more than enough.

Once you’re earning, upgrade to a mirrorless camera and a drone (check the local drone laws first; they vary a lot by country).

5. Create content that serves your audience

The best-performing content does one of three things: it inspires, it informs or it entertains. Ideally, all three.

Some formats that work well for travel creators right now:

• Carousels with practical info people save (“What $50 a day gets you in Georgia”)
• Honest, relatable stories 
• Short Reels with a strong hook in the first 2 seconds
• Mini guides and itineraries
• “Things I wish I knew” posts

Write captions like you’d talk to a friend. Share the mistakes, not just the highlight reel. People connect with real people.

6. Post consistently and build community

Consistency beats perfection. Aim for a schedule you can realistically keep, for example three to four feed posts a week plus daily Stories.

But posting isn’t enough. Engage with your audience. Reply to every comment and DM in the early days. Comment on other creators’ posts in your niche. Collaborate with creators of a similar size. The algorithm rewards conversations, not just content.

7. Track what’s working

Check your analytics every week. Look at saves, shares and reach, not just likes. Figure out which posts brought in new followers and make more of those. This data is also exactly what brands will ask for later.

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How to Work With Brands

You don’t need 100,000 followers to work with brands. Plenty of small hotels, local tour operators and outdoor brands love working with micro-creators (roughly 5,000 to 50,000 followers) because their audiences tend to be more engaged. What you do need is a clear niche, good content and a professional way to present yourself.

1. Create a media kit

A media kit is your creator CV. It’s the first thing a brand or PR agency will ask for, and it should include:

• A short bio and photo, plus what makes your content unique
• Your platforms, follower counts and links
• Key stats: average reach, engagement rate, Story views
• Audience demographics: top countries, age range, gender split
• Past brand partnerships, with results if you have them
• Your services and rates (or “rates on request”)
• Contact details

Back in my blogging days, I had to hire designers to help me create a media kit as a PDF and had to update it by hand every few months. By the time I sent it, the numbers were already out of date. These days, you can easily use online tools to create media kit pages that pull in your stats automatically. Creators Jet connects to your Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and other accounts, keeps your numbers synced, and gives you one link to share that’s always up to date. You can also add your rate card and an inquiry form so brands can contact you directly. Here are some media kit examples.

2. Find the right brands to pitch

Start with brands you already use and love. Your pitch will be much more genuine. Good places to look:

• Tourism boards for destinations you’re already visiting
• Hotels and boutique stays, especially new openings that need content
• Tour operators and adventure travel companies
• Travel gear brands: luggage, outdoor clothing, cameras, eSIMs, travel insurance
• Brands your peers work with: check who’s sponsoring creators in your niche

Follow them, engage with their posts and tag them in your content before you pitch. A warm pitch always does better than a cold one.

3. Pitching to brands: step by step

• Find the right person. Look for a marketing, PR, partnerships or influencer manager on LinkedIn or the brand’s press page. Avoid generic info@ emails if you can.
• Research the brand. What campaigns are they running? Which markets are they targeting? Do they already work with creators?
• Lead with an idea, not a request. Brands don’t care that you want a free stay. They care about what you can do for them.
• Keep it short. Five to eight sentences is plenty. Editors and marketers are busy.
• Show proof. Link to your media kit and two or three of your best-performing posts.
• Suggest specific deliverables. For example: one Reel, one carousel and a set of Stories, plus usage rights for 30 days.
• Follow up once. If you don’t hear back in a week, send a short, polite follow-up. Then move on.

4. A pitch template you can copy

Subject: Content collaboration idea: [Your niche] x [Brand name]

Hi [Name],

I’m [Your name], a travel creator sharing [your niche] with [number] followers, mostly from [top countries]. I’ve been a fan of [brand] since [genuine detail].

I’ll be in [destination] from [dates] and would love to create a [Reel/carousel/series] showing [specific idea that fits their campaign or audience]. My audience is especially interested in [relevant topic], which aligns with [their product or goal].

My recent posts on [similar topic] reached [number] people and got [number] saves. You can see my media kit and past work here: [link].

Would you be open to a quick chat about working together?

Thanks, [Your name]

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Common pitching mistakes to avoid

• Copying and pasting the same email to 50 brands
• Asking for “collaboration” without saying what you’ll deliver
• Sending huge attachments instead of a link
• Getting the brand’s name wrong (it happens more often than you’d think!)
• Pitching a destination brand with content that has nothing to do with it

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How Much Should You Charge?

This is the question I get asked most, and there’s no single answer. Rates depend on your niche, engagement, audience location, the deliverables and usage rights. A rough rule of thumb many creators start with is about $10 per 1,000 followers for a single Instagram post, then adjust up for strong engagement, video, and extra usage rights.

Currently I have just under 35k followers on Instagram, and I charge around US$400 for a single Instagram post and $500 for a bundle of post and IG stories.

A few things I’ve learned about pricing:

• Charge for your time, not just your followers. A three-day trip with a Reel, carousel and Stories involves days of shooting and editing.
• Usage rights cost extra. If a brand wants to run your content as ads or use it on their website, that’s worth more.
• Bundle your services. Packages (e.g. 1 Reel + 1 carousel + 5 Stories) are easier for brands to say yes to.
• Hosted trips are not payment. Accommodation and flights cover your costs. Your content is a separate fee.
• Don’t be afraid to negotiate. If a brand’s budget is too low, suggest fewer deliverables rather than dropping your rate.

Always get it in writing

Before you start, make sure you have a simple contract or at least a clear email agreement covering deliverables, deadlines, payment amount and terms, usage rights, exclusivity and approval rounds. Ask for 50% upfront for new clients. And always label sponsored content clearly with #ad or the platform’s paid partnership tag. It’s the law in many countries, and your audience will trust you more for it.

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Some of the Ways Travel Content Creators Make Money

Brand deals are just one income stream. Relying on one source is risky, so I always recommend diversifying:

• Sponsored content on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
• Paid campaigns with tourism boards
• Affiliate marketing: booking sites, tours, gear, travel insurance, eSIMs
• UGC (user-generated content): creating content for brands to post on their own channels, no big following needed
• Selling photos and video to brands and stock sites
• Freelance writing for magazines and websites
• Blog income: ads, sponsored posts and links
• Digital products: presets, itineraries, e-books, guides
• Group trips or retreats with your community
• Consulting or coaching for new creators

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Tools That Make My Life Easier

• Canva for carousels, Story templates and thumbnails
• CapCut for editing on the go
• Later or Meta Business Suite for scheduling posts
• Notion to plan content and track deals
• Creators Jet for my media kit, rate card and tracking brand inquiries in one place
• Google Drive for sending high-res files to clients

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Set Goals and Work Towards Them

Becoming a travel content creator is a marathon, not a sprint. Set goals every quarter, for example reaching 10,000 followers, landing your first paid campaign or building an email list of 1,000 subscribers, and break them down into weekly actions.

When I look back to 2008, backpacking overland through Latin America and writing my first blog posts in hostel common rooms, I had no idea where this would take me. The platforms have changed, and they’ll keep changing. But at the end of the day, the key to becoming a travel content creator is the same as it always was: tell honest stories, create beautiful content and show up consistently. The rest will follow.

Any questions for me on how to become a travel content creator? Feel free to leave a comment below!

While you’re building your creator business, these are the guides I’ve written on the travel essentials, tools and family logistics that make life on the road easier.

• How We Find the Right eSIM for Travel
• 20 Best Travel Apps
• Best Travel Insurance
• How We Keep Our Child Safe While Traveling
• My Ultimate List of Resources for Digital Nomad Families
• How We Navigate the World as a Digital Nomad Family
• 30 Countries with Digital Nomad Visas

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links i.e. if you book a stay through one of my links, I get a small commission at NO EXTRA COST to you. Thank you for your support!

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