The mommy-blogger culture was largely built on the concept that moms, who likely stay at home and look after the kids alongside managing the house, can find a way to not only engage in something stimulating but earn a bit of money too. There are many success stories, but as with pretty much anything else which the masses catch wind of, there are now so many mommy bloggers that it can be difficult to make any decent amount of money from blogging in this niche.
Mommy bloggers are called upon to do what they do as part of their everyday challenges, which is to come up with creative ways to get over this particular obstacle of stagnating income channels associated with mommy-niche blogging. So today we’re going to share just one of many ways through which to look beyond the obvious blog-monetization channels such as selling advertising space, publishing sponsored posts, etc. We’re going to explore holiday planning as an extra income generation mechanism for a mommy blogger who has a bit of time to set aside to provide this service.
Worried about the competition?
What we’re essentially suggesting is that you assume the role of some kind of travel agent, but if you look at who you’ll be coming up against in the likes of online booking platforms like Agoda, Booking.com, etc, your first instinct would probably be to look the other way and run, fast! That’s not the right way of looking at it.
These online booking platforms are your friends and in fact, it is with these platforms that you’re going to make some good money. Simply sign up to their affiliate programs and you can earn some good money referring holidaymakers and other kinds of travellers to the platforms.
The mainstream approach
You can start by building up a list of people who perhaps travel regularly, reminding them each time that they book accommodation they do it via your affiliate link. To further incentivise them, you could offer your services of actually planning their trips for them by having them tell you about their budget, where they’re going and what kind of accommodation they’re looking for.
Formalising the operation
If you want to add an additional revenue stream out of this little bookings referral venture of yours, formalise the operation by actually charging by the minute for your services. Yes, there will definitely be people who are willing to pay you for your time and effort, simply because your service will be more of a personalised one and you’ll be charging just a little less than what they’re willing to pay traditional travel agencies. Check out this app called Callmart, which you would use to collect the travel planning consultation fee by the minute, as you discuss the details of the requirements the person you’re planning a trip for has.
While the use of this app will probably grow into your primary source of monetizing this trip planning service of yours, remember to send your client your affiliate links so that they can still complete their bookings through them and earn you your due commission. It all adds up and can all add up rather handsomely too!