And how it became my full-time job
Our lives have undeniably been changed by social media and YouTube, and the way we travel has been influenced by the Internet a lot, too. Although traveling shouldn’t necessarily be a social activity, sometimes it’s great to share your travel experience with friends - or a couple of thousands of strangers! This is what my job feels like. I’m a travel vlogger; I travel (and film it) for a living. Here’s my story and a few tips for you if you’d love to make traveling your full-time job.
How it all started
Like any career, being a travel vlogger has its ups and downs. Yes, it is a career, but becoming a travel vlogger and succeeding at it is no more difficult than succeeding at any other job, and I’ll tell you why.
Similar to many other stories today, mine started in the middle of the pandemic: I was finishing university and had absolutely no idea what I would do with my life afterward. I was a theatre major, but over the past couple of years, I’ve been questioning whether theatre was exactly where I belonged. Additionally, the toll the pandemic took on the performing arts sector wasn’t helping at all.
While thinking of all the things I was capable of doing and listing my experience on numerous CVs, I couldn’t help but remember my first job ever. Long before I moved abroad and through a fantastic coincidence of several events, I landed a job as a TV presenter when I was 18 and still living in my home country. It lasted for about a year, but that year was a memorable one! I loved being on camera. It wasn’t acting, but close to it, and it was a perfect way to express my creative self.
Living abroad now, even though I speak the language, I knew my chances of finding a similar job were more than slim. That’s when YouTube came up for the first time, and the pieces started coming together. For me, there were never any doubts about the niche to choose. Traveling has always been my greatest passion, even back in my TV days, when I had the chance to write and host a travel show.
So, it only took a few evenings in the company of my loved ones –when I hesitantly brought up this idea for the first time–, and I was already actively researching ways to make a career out of it.
It wasn’t an easy path - and it’s still not easy. Starting out was the scariest thing ever. I was well aware of how many travel vloggers were already out there, and there was always someone kindly reminding me of how small my chances were... However, there have always been people who believed in me, too - and it was the most important thing, even though there were very few of them.
It took me several months from the moment I came up with this seemingly crazy idea, to finally upload my very first video. I had been learning and re-learning, experimenting with different formats, different people, and different gear. Deep down, I knew I’ve been also mastering the courage to take the leap.
Only a few people knew about what I was going to do; I couldn’t get myself to tell everybody, even though I was excited. The idea of building a career on YouTube, more so, traveling for a living, still freaks some people out. And then the first video went up…
It wasn’t an instant success, and I didn’t produce any viral video until at least six months in; but it has always been hard and steady work, celebrating even the smallest achievements and trying to keep going when things didn’t go well.
Now it’s been almost a year and a half, and while my (ours, because I’m blessed with the best team ever) channel is going great and growing, I know there’s still a long road ahead before I can say we made it. The decision to take the leap and pursue my passion has proved to be paying off, but most importantly, it’s been the most fulfilling and eye-opening experience of my entire life. Not only do I get to travel a lot more than before (because content, baby!), I also travel more mindfully, doing a lot of research before every trip, meeting all kinds of interesting people, and learning a whole lot about my surroundings and myself.
Behind the scenes of being a travel vlogger
Travel vlogger might sound glamorous, and while it certainly is a lot of fun, it takes so much hard work behind the scenes. Each trip takes hours of researching the destination, planning an itinerary, and outlining the script. Editing the video, writing descriptions, SEO, and promoting it also means I’m spending as much time on post-production as I do filming.
And what doesn’t always make it to the final cut is being hot or cold or hungry while filming a particularly long video and walking for hours on end! Obviously, my job is giving me lots of freedom - but this freedom also means lots of responsibility. You know how they say, find a job that you love and you’ll never work a day in your life? Well, that’s not the case - a lot of work goes into every piece of content, and sometimes we’re out shooting for an entire day just to get home to lots of emails and administrative stuff. It doesn’t feel like I’m not working for sure, but this work blends into my life perfectly.
Of all the perks of being a travel vlogger, building a strong and supportive community is probably my favorite. It always makes me happy to receive messages from people who’ve used my tips and found my videos helpful - after all, if you’re a content creator, you should have a purpose. Knowing I’m creating content for my community (I don’t like the word audience, because it feels too impersonal) motivates me to get better with every video and think carefully about how I can inspire the people who watch it.
Traveling, of course, comes very close: I’ve always dreamt of having a job that’ll allow me to travel, let alone consist of it! Even though I have to admit, I’ve become terrible at taking time off and traveling without working - but there’s always something to strive for, right?
If I had to sum up my job in just three words, I’d say it’s wonderful, unpredictable, and crazily good (does that count as one word?). It’s all about the adventure, and being open-minded enough to embrace whatever is coming my way - and tons of strategic planning on the other hand.
Is this job for everybody? Probably, not. It requires lots of work, a good dose of courage, and knowing where you stand - but it pays off in the most incredible ways. Having a team that has the same level of enthusiasm as you helps incredibly, but I know not everybody is as lucky. But for now, knowing my people are by my side, a shared vision, and a huge dream to work towards is the best motivation I could think of.
A few things to know before you embark on this journey:
You don’t need any experience to become a travel vlogger - just a huge passion for travel! There’s no size fits all on YouTube and social media, and your travel vlogs can look as you please.
You don’t need expensive gear - even your smartphone might work at the beginning. Take it easy and don’t look at other people in the industry - you do you; the rest will follow.
You need a long-term investment plan. It will take time before you start earning and even then, your income will be unpredictable for the first couple of years. On the other hand, creating travel content will require continuous investments. So, learning how to budget and plan your finances is a good idea, as is having a side job. Personally, I kept my freelance writing job, but even with a full-time office job, you can still put together a travel channel.
You will have to learn constantly. If you’re just starting, boosting your filming and editing skills is a good idea; luckily there’re lots of free tutorials on YouTube and practice makes perfect!
You might get a team, but you need to ensure you’re all on the same page about your channel’s direction and finances. Hiring professionals right away might not be the wisest idea at the beginning. Rather consider getting someone you trust as a co-investor or do it yourself - it is possible! Surrounding yourself with people who support you, whether they’re on your team or just friends cheering on you, is vital though - you’ll need someone to pick you up when your views suddenly drop or your very first video doesn’t perform as you hoped.
Dealing with hate and negativity is, sadly, a part of the job. People will always have something nasty to say - but it’s not your fault. Remember you’re doing a great job (or see the previous point for a support group!). Most often than not, haters will see in you something they’d wanted for themselves but didn’t achieve - don’t let that small bunch of sad people let you down.
It might take some time, but you’ll eventually build a great community around what you’re doing. Those people will be your source of support and inspiration, and you might even form some meaningful bonds with some of your regular viewers or other professionals in your niche (networking should not be underestimated!). It takes a lot of work, but if you engage with your community, helping them out and answering comments, you’ll see just how fulfilling it is.
About Valeria:
Valeria is a Ukrainian expat in Italy, travel vlogger, and writer. Her life changed when she decided to turn her passion into a full-time job, creating Dramatically Expatic, a travel channel on YouTube. When she’s not traveling or filming, she can be found writing while enjoying a cup of coffee with a cute view - although she strongly believes that all Italian views are absolutely superior.
You can follow her on Instagram for life updates and her favorite travel tips.
