5 Travel Websites That May Pay You for Content

byAJTrimble1

9.1K followers

5 years ago

Do you ever watch Discovery or the Travel Channel? Did you wonder how the hosts of those shows got such a sweet job? Have you every dreamed of getting paid to actually travel? It's not as crazy as you might think...

Many of you read of my family's recent cross-country move, and through your love and support you know I have decided to turn it into an actual book. And to quote the late night infomercials, "But wait, there's more!"

This decision also lead me to ponder actual travel sites. More importantly, not only if there were travel sites out there -- which I assumed there were -- but sites that might actually pay for good quality travel stories.

As you know, as a writer I am also a "beast" for research; it is one of my favorite things to do.

As such, here are five amazing sites I found where you can actually make money for sharing your travel tips, destination experiences, and stories of the road.

By the way, while they do offer payment for certain quality content, they also accept free submissions which is a great way to get your name out there and build your brand.

Here is my best practice recommendation: Spend some time reviewing each site to see what types of content tends to read most by that community.

Enjoy :-)

My New Top 5 Favorite Travel Sites

Matador Network

Matador is always on the lookout for original writing, photos, and even video contributions. They focus on adventure, culture, and people from around the globe. Check out their “Marketplace” for specific assignments. I've seen offers listed for as little as $25 for an article to offers in the several hundred dollar range.

Boots ‘N All

Similar to Matador, bootsnall are looking for articles focused on travel tips, saving money, etc. Here, however, the focus is a bit more on inexpensive "indie" or vaggabond-style travel. In other words, travel on the cheap. And who doesn't love that?

Outpost Magazine

Again, looking for travel related stories, photos, etc. NOTE: Outpost is a Canadian publication, so articles focused on Canadian travel and Canadian destinations are especially sought after.

Wanderlust

We’ve covered both US and Canadian travel sites. Not one to leave out our overseas friends, Wanderlust is a British based site world-travel site that covers Europe, Africa, and much more.

AFAR

AFAR puts an interesting slant on the world of travel, as it appears it’s primary audience are higher-income, college-educated travelers. But don't let that scare you. That might actually be a good thing for you as a writer as it can push the fees you receive higher.

The best part is that it also emphasizes more personal and local travel tips than other sites, even going so far as posting articles concentrating on a single neighborhood or block.

Design-wise it’s not a “pretty” as some of the other sites, but story-wise it is perhaps my favorite.

Conclusion

So, there you are. If you are a travler, you now have a few places to shop your stories to.

And if you are not a traveler, don't think these sites are not for you. Note that they really like "destination" stories as well, which you could certainly write without ever leaving your hometown.

Give it shot. You've got nothing to lose, and who knows... you might just get a Travel Channel show of your own :-)