STRATEGY Heather is a professional blogger and founder of Heatheronhertravels.com, writing about ‘Authentic travel with a little luxury’ for an affluent 40+ traveller, with a focus on themes such as food, culture, hiking and cruise. She is co-founder of Travelator Media, working with travel brands on marketing campaigns for the 40+ UK Quality Traveller as well as founder of Bristol Bloggers and Influencers, a community of 160+ bloggers in the Bristol area, organising blogger events, campaigns and training. Heather is also co-founder of the Bristol Travel Massive Chapter, organizing travel networking events in Bristol.

2. What I learned in my
1st year as a
Professional Travel Blogger
Travelator Media
@travelatormedia
Heather Cowper
Heather on her travels
@heathercowper

4. My Blogging Timeline
Dec 2007 20172016
First sponsored
post
Employed Mark
Webmaster in
Philippines
Employed Nancy
VA in the US
First Paid
campaign
Co-founded
Travelator Media
Founded Bristol
Bloggers &
Influencers
First TBEX in
Copenhagen
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Became a full
time blogger
First press trip

5. Why become a full time blogger?
I was beginning to
make more money
blogging than
from my job
I was unhappy in my
job and wanted to be
a full time blogger
for ages
I quit my career and went
out on the road – blogging
seemed a good idea
because I love writing and
photography
It was too exhausting
to combine blogging
with a full time job and
I wanted to blog way
more than stay at my
job
Thanks to:

6. What’s your safety net?

7. • Freelance Writing
• Sponsored posts
• Display advertising
• Paid Blogger campaigns
• Affiliate sales
• Sell your own products
• Training & Consulting
How will I make money?

8. How will I make money?
What are
my skills?
What am I
passionate
about?
Project Management
Organisation
Analysis
Travel
Family
Helping people
High quality
contentTraining
Events
What will
people pay
for?

9. How I make money How other bloggers make
money
Sponsored Posts
Freelance writing
Paid campaigns
Affiliate sales
Paid campaigns
Display Ads
Sponsored Posts
Freelance writing
Affiliate sales
Training & consultancy
Paid campaigns
Display ads
Sponsored Posts
Freelance writing
Affiliate sales
66
14
15
5
Blog campaign
Freelance writing
Sponsored post
Training & Consultancy
My income split in my first year

10. Developing a sales mindset
What am I selling? Developing a Sales Funnel

11. Developing a sales mindset
ReciprocitySocial Proof Persistance
“It takes 7+ touches
before a sale is made”

12. Smart Networking
We’re organising a
get together of
some bloggers –
we’d love you to
come
We’d love you to
come to a cookery
event with a
celebrity chef to
celebrate our new
launch
Come to our event
for brands to meet
the media
• Is it worth your time?
• What’s your objective?
• Go prepared
• How can you help?
• Aways follow up
• The first meeting is
only the start
So what’s
my role
here??
Promotional
Networking
Social

13. Should I work for free?
Yes!
• Some work is a ‘cost of sale’
• You get a great case study
• You get valuable experience
• You get high value goods /
experiences in return
No!
• It doesn’t pay the bills
• If you give something for free it
is perceived as lower value
• You lose credibility as a business
• Your customers may compare
what they paid.

14. How important are relationships
when working with brands?

15. The amount of work and depends on your

16. Start something bigger than yourself
Travelator Media
@travelatormedia
TravelMassive.com
Bristol Chapter
Bristol Bloggers
& Influencers
@BloggersBristol
Heather Cowper
Heather on her travels
@heathercowper

17. How much money will you make in your first year?

18. But of course it’s not all about the money

19. Are you ready to become
a professional blogger?
Heather Cowper
Heather on her travels
@heathercowper