Since I posted “My First Travel Blogger Freebie,” it’s continued to be one of my top-performing posts, both in views and in comments. In fact, it’s already one of my best performing posts of the year.
Turns out, getting free travel is a thing lots of people are interested in! Who knew? 😉
So, with that said, here’s how I leveraged my first sponsored stay as a travel blogger into a second, bigger travel brand partnership with Habla Ya Spanish Schools, in Bocas del Toro, Panama. That’s where I’m writing you from, now.
I am staying and studying for free, in exchange for some content.
Here’s how I got here:
I’ve been surprised to see the staying power of “My First Travel Blogger Freebie,” since it’s a bit of a free-flowing piece. It’s longer, full of very little practical advice, and in general, not the sort of thing I thought a lot of people would end up engaging with.
But it was authentic.
Authentic content is hard to come by these days on the Internet. As someone who has worked as a ‘content writer,’ let me tell you: most of what is on the Internet was written by people who didn’t care about the topic, at all. To demonstrate, I created this brief infographic:
Most articles and “definitive guides” are researched by a few hours cursory Google searching, at most. This results in a lot of soulless stuff, which might get clicks and make money in the short term, but makes everyone’s experience on the Internet worse in the long run.
As I said in the first piece: that’s not what I do here.
And because that’s not what I do here, I’m still not rich. But if you plant the seeds and you keep watering them, eventually, they will bear fruit. Which is what happened in Medellin. I had built out a site, attracted an audience, and created a vibe. If people were interested what I was about, it was easy to see. They only had to put in a URL. When I started to think about sponsored stays, all I had to do was ask.
Then, the key: I stayed true to my audience and my partner, when it came time to pay off that trade. The post succeeded and the owner liked it.
After I posted that essay, I got a Facebook message from the owner of Bambu, the hostel I was writing about. “Hi!!!” she wrote. “I just read your post about Bambù. And I really liked it.” I told her thanks, and that I was sure I’d be back to Colombia before long. “You have the golden ticket now,” she added, with a winky emoji.
Where To Find Travel Blog Sponsorship Opportunities and Travel Blogger Press Trips
A sample of the Matador Marketplace listings
Curious about how far my audience here could take me, I signed up for Matador Network and began looking at their blogger marketplace. Matador’s Blogger Marketplace is a great spot to begin searching for sponsored trips and way to get paid as a travel blogger. I saw a listing from Habla Ya on there — looking for bloggers to spread the word in exchange for free Spanish lessons. Since learning Spanish was one of my main goals for 2017, alongside growing my blog, I sent an email. They responded, and we got to chatting.
Isn’t it wonderful when things come together like that?
If you do a quick scan of Habla Ya’s website, you’ll see it gets the information across. But if you look around the edges, there’s also a hint of something more. It isn’t full of clean pages and corporate speak. It’s free-flowing and freestyle, mentioning “we’re also interested in changing the world,” and that they’re looking for a “permaculture Jedi.” If you look at their volunteering in Panama page, which they encouraged me to do when I arrived, you’ll find even more personality and style.
These are also not people that do things entirely “by-the-book.”
We would seem to be a good fit.
People and brands who have a story to tell, a vibe to convey, that exceeds traditional channels — these are the people I’d like to work with.
Because that’s what I am. That’s what blogging is, in general. Or at least how it started — a way for people without a voice to break out of the constraints of the traditional publishing system, which stacks powerful men and entrenched ideologies on top of each other in an inverted pyramid which stifles creativity and suppresses new or challenging ideas.
Blogging was a way to break out of these paradigms. Has it been transformed over the years? Sure. It’s been a bit overgrown by corporations and those with money to burn. But the basic principles still remain.
You want to build something? Build something.
You want to plant something? Plant something.
Nurture it. Watch it grow.
That’s what they’re doing at Habla Ya. (Literally — that’s their permaculture garden above)
That’s what I did.
And that’s why I’m here.
Over the next two weeks, I’ll be bringing you a few pieces about my experiences trying to learn Spanish in 2017, about the community of Bocas Del Toro, and other parts of Panama. Sign up for my email newsletter and I’ll be sure to let you know when those pieces go up. Gracias!
thisisyouth 
SENSATIONAL! Not a single effort of yours will go in vain. You will be rewarded for your pain. Your hard work will bring you a lot of gains.Trek
OUTSTANDING! Inspiration is one thing and you can’t control it, but hard work is what keeps the ship moving. Good luck means, work hard. Keep up the good work.
What an awesome post!! Congratulations on your success!
very well done!
Absolute post! I’m really considering to become a travel blogger so I can see the world. There’s just so many places I want to travel to!
I would not recommend it as “way” to see the world. Earning anything significant is difficult and takes a lot of legwork! But if you are able to travel already and want to share, it’s a great creative way to share your adventures!
Would you recommend working holiday?
If your goal is to earn money while traveling, yes. Working holiday is much more practical. Lots of people do working holiday in Australia and earn enough to finance 3-6 months in SEA, AFTER they have lived in Australia for a year. Not a bad gig, imo
Thanks!
No problem! Best of luck in the adventures to come 😊
Congrats! I just signed up for the matador network…interested to see what it’s all about 🙂
I think it’s definitely a good spot to poke around to figure out what is possible! They also accept freelance contributions super often, so it’s a good place to shop pieces or seek bylines.
Congratulations and good job!
This is very interesting..i seldom write about places i go..least do travel/leisure blog…but you just made me wanna do it..
No harm in trying, right???
Yeah..and i.might just as well try..
I haven’t had the luxury of staying anywhere for free yet, but I wrote a piece on a hostel I stayed in when I visited Norway. Purely because I wanted to, and the owner liked it so much that they offered me a discount should I want to stay there again, and even used some of it on their “about” page. I’m not even close to anything that resembles an established blogger, so I was pretty ecstatic about it all! It was only something like my 6th or 7th travel blog post too!! 😀 I believe it pays to be honest in the writing world, and as you say, write about things that you want to write about!
Nice!!
Honesty pays, always.
Maybe not as immediately or as well as dishonesty (haha), but, eventually… it pays to be honest.
Thanks for the down-to-earth run down of how to get your start as a travel blogger! This is a thousand times more useful and realistic than those “quit your job and get rich quick” ads!
Thanks! That’s what I go for here. Try to keep it honest
Slowly getting my start so it’s good to read other’s blogs and connect with like-minded people. Keeping it honest is the best way to go-about the business. It’s not about making it rich, it’s about helping on another out… and a free hostel stay ain’t bad.
Exactly — that’s one of the values they have here at Habla Ya that I like alot. They are interested in collaborating and exchanging skills/services/ideas to build towards a better world for both parties. It’s a really cool philosophy that I simply don’t see much of at home in the US.
Certainly, people like this DO exist in the US, but they are pushed far to the fringes by capitalism. How do we push back against that imposing cultural force? It’s a tough question!
Thanks for stopping by!!
hahaaa yes!!
I’ve just signed myself up for the Matador. But to look around and learn from other bloggers at first, haha. There’s so many fish in the sea…How am I going to compete as a non-native speaker?
Maybe your origin can be your differentiating factor. You can market to an audience of travelers that speak your language, share your culture, and might not be reached by another blogger.
Whatever it is, in my opinion, the best thing to do is create an identity that’s true and honest to you.
Best of luck, thanks for reading!