Travel Blogger Makes £2K+ a Month While Raising a 1-Year-Old
• Originally broadcast April 7, 2025 via email •
Let’s be honest…
…hitting a full-time income from your blog can feel like chasing a unicorn, especially when you’re not getting 100,000+ pageviews a month.
But this week, I want to share a real success story from a student of our program, Scale Your Travel Blog, who’s proving that it’s very possible to hit those income goals, even before qualifying for an ad network like Mediavine or Raptive.
Meet Jordie Flain.
Last month Jordie brought in £2,268 from her blog, and £2,203 of that was from affiliate marketing.
But here’s what makes this really impressive… She’s doing it with just 12,000 to 15,000 monthly readers.
No viral traffic. No massive audience. Just the right strategy.
Let’s break down what’s working for her:
The Breakdown of Jordie’s Blog Income
- Affiliate Income: 97%
Not sure what affiliate marketing is?
Not to worry, it’s simpler than it sounds.
It just means you earn money when you recommend something to your readers and they decide to book or buy it through your special link.
For example:
Let’s say you stayed at an amazing hotel in Paris and wrote about it in your blog post. If a reader clicks your hotel link and books ANY hotel, you earn a commission.
It doesn’t cost the reader anything extra, but you still get paid for helping them make a decision.
About 80-90% of medium to large-sized companies already have affiliate programs set up, including (but certainly not limited to): Amazon, Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Target, Walmart, etc. etc. etc.
- Display Ads: 3%
Jordie is currently with SheMedia, bringing in about £60–£100 per month from ads. Not a huge chunk of her income (yet), but it’s something, and once she grows her traffic, this income stream will increase.
That said, Jordie’s blog is a perfect example of how you don’t need ads to earn a living. You just need the right kind of posts, the right links, and most importantly, the right strategy.
“Affiliate marketing is where I’ve focused, and it’s what’s working best right now. Ads are fine, but they’re not driving the needle for me yet.”
How She’s Making Affiliate Sales
One of the biggest myths in blogging is that you need tons of traffic to start making real money.
But Jordie is proof that strategy matters more than pageviews.
As mentioned earlier, Jordie is earning £2,200+ per month from her blog with just 12,000 to 15,000 monthly sessions.
Here’s what she’s doing that’s working right now:
1. She creates super helpful hotel roundups
Instead of writing blog posts that list 50+ hotels (and leave readers more overwhelmed than when they started), Jordie creates curated, focused lists that make choosing a hotel simple.
She narrows it down to just a handful of great options, based on what the traveler is actually looking for like rooftop pools, walkable neighborhoods, or family-friendly stays.
Important Tip: Most people hate making decisions. Don’t give them 47 hotel choices and expect them to feel confident.
Choose for them. Make the process easy, clear, and helpful and they’ll be way more likely to book through your link.
2. She writes honest, personal reviews of tours she’s actually taken
Jordie isn’t just copying and pasting details from a tour listing. She’s writing from personal experience.
Her blog posts include:
- Real photos from her trip (not just promo shots from the company)
- Honest opinions about what she liked and what she didn’t
- Specific tips about what to expect like where the pickup spot is, what to bring, and if it’s worth the money
This helps readers feel more confident in booking because they know exactly what they’re getting into.
And here’s what’s really interesting…
Sometimes Jordie shares that she didn’t love a tour and recommends a different one she thinks is better.
Even if the better option is more expensive, people still book it because they trust her honesty.
“I wrote about one tour but recommended a better one—and people kept booking the more expensive alternative. That honesty builds trust. And it converts.”
Bottom line: Be real. Be helpful. Tell the truth.
3. She tracks what’s working and uses the data to grow her income
This is a small step that makes a big difference.
Jordie adds custom tracking codes to all her affiliate links (*cough cough* you should, too).
So at the end of the year, she can export all her affiliate sales and instantly see:
- Which blog posts drove the most bookings
- Which tours or hotels were the top earners
- Which part of the post actually converted (intro, image caption, comparison paragraph, etc.)
Then she uses that info to double down on top-performing destinations, fine-tune her link placements, and stop wasting time on what doesn’t work.
Want To Start Travel Blogging?
Join my free LIVE workshop where I show you how I turn travel blogs into 6-figure businesses (without Instagram).
▶️ Click here to register for free!
Her Advice For Bloggers Still Under 15,000 Monthly Readers
If you’re sitting under 15,000 monthly readers and wondering if this whole blog thing is ever going to pay off..
…here’s what Jordie wants you to know:
“If you wouldn’t recommend it to a friend, don’t recommend it to your readers. Be honest, be helpful, and stay focused on what actually lights you up, even if the money hasn’t shown up yet.”
For a long time, she was chasing keywords just because they had traffic.
She was writing about topics she didn’t care about, like ski resorts in Finland (even though she’s never been skiing and has zero plans to).
Eventually, she realized: This is my blog. I get to shape it around what I actually love.
Now she focuses on creating fun, flexible itineraries for travelers with limited vacation time.
Her content helps people squeeze the absolute best out of every trip, without the overwhelm.
The shift to writing for her people, in her way, changed everything.
So if you’re feeling stuck, burned out, or like nothing is clicking yet…
Pause. Zoom out.
Ask yourself:
What do I actually care about? And how can I help people with that?
Start there. That’s where the momentum begins.
Her Future Goals
- Pushing for Mediavine or Raptive Rise ads (these ad networks would add thousands of dollars to her blogging income each month)
- Dipping her toes into digital products
- Keeping things as passive as possible so she can enjoy time with her son
She even started creating “draft itineraries” on her blog. These are real, inspiring plans for destinations they haven’t visited yet with links to hotels and tours she’d actually want to try.
It’s a smart way to build affiliate income now while continuing to build trust with her audience (and plan her future vacations).
How To Start A Travel Blog
(Even With No Experience)
If you’re brand new and thinking, “This sounds amazing, but I don’t even have a blog yet,” I’ve got you.
Starting a blog is simpler than it seems, as long as you don’t waste time going down the wrong path.
Here’s what I recommend:
1. Set up your blog the right way
Choose to self-host your website using WordPress.org.
Do NOT use Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress.com. The freedom, SEO potential, and monetization options are way better on WordPress.org.
I have a free guide below that will show you how to set up your blog (the right way). Grab it below:
2. Learn how to get traffic from Google & Pinterest (Give Up On Instagram
Most social media platforms, like Instagram or TikTok, might give you a quick burst of views, but that traffic disappears almost as fast as it came. It’s exhausting to chase trends for a few clicks that don’t last.
Search engines work differently. When you learn how to optimize your blog posts for search engines like Google, Bing, and Pinterest, those same posts can bring in traffic for years.
That’s exactly how Jordie grew to 12,000+ sessions per month without ever going viral.
Instead of spending hours on content that disappears in 24 hours, focus on creating blog posts and Pinterest pins that people are actively searching for.
Don’t waste time writing blog posts no one sees. Join my FREE upcoming workshop and learn how to create content that actually gets promoted on Google, Bing, and Pinterest. Click here to save your spot!
3. Monetize with affiliate marketing & Display Ads
Affiliate marketing is one of the fastest and most beginner-friendly ways to start making money from your blog, even if your traffic is still small. You don’t need thousands of readers to start earning. You just need to be strategic about what you promote and how you promote it.
I always recommend students start with affiliate marketing for a few reasons:
- It’s low-effort compared to creating your own product.
- You can earn while building trust with your audience.
- It works seamlessly with the travel content you’re already creating.
A couple of great networks to join as a travel blogger:
- Travelpayouts: Gives you access to travel-related programs like Booking.com, Viator, and more.
- Stay22: A unique affiliate tool that uses dynamic technology to automatically serve the best hotel or accommodation aggregator for each user.
As for making money with your travel blog through display ads, they typically become more profitable once your blog hits 10,000–50,000+ sessions/month (depending on the network).
But it’s never too early to start planning for ad monetization. Once your traffic grows, consider applying to networks like:
- SheMedia
- Journey
- Monumentric
- Raptive Rise
- Mediavine
- Raptive
Having display ads on your website can bring in consistent monthly income without selling anything at all.
Pro Tip: Start weaving affiliate links into helpful content early, like hotel guides, destination reviews, or gear recommendations. Don’t wait until you feel “ready”; those early posts can start earning passively over time.
4. Grow your email list
If your blog is the engine, your email list is the fuel that keeps it running.
An email list is the most valuable asset you can build as a blogger.
That’s because it’s the one platform you actually own. You’re not at the mercy of algorithm changes, social media reach, or affiliate program rules.
And unlike blog traffic, which comes and goes, your email list grows in value every time someone signs up.
It’s also one of the best ways to make money, especially if your blog traffic is still small. You can use your list to:
- Sell affiliate products with personalized recommendations
- Get sponsored by brands looking for direct audience access
- Launch your own offers, like itineraries, guides, or services
- Drive repeat traffic to your blog for higher ad income
Pro Tip: Create a freebie that solves a specific problem for your reader (like How To Stay in an Overwater Bungalow For Free or How To Fly Business Class For The Price of Economy) and deliver it through an automated welcome sequence. From there, you can build trust and recommend products or services that actually convert.
Want to grow faster? Add email opt-ins everywhere: in your blog posts, your Pinterest pins, and your homepage.
Start growing your email list through a platform like:
– Kit (formerly Convertkit)
– Beehiiv
