“If only I could get paid for that!”
We imagine that’s what nearly every travel vlogger thought before they figured out a way to make jet-setting a career. I mean, who else gets to bask on sun-soaked beaches, tour medieval European hill towns and push New Zealand’s thrill-seeking to the limit, all on someone else’s dime? This is also why the world is filled with aspiring travel vloggers hoping to monetize the videos that will fund their wanderlust and maybe earn them a living in the process.
The challenge is threefold: First, you have to find a compelling angle for your travel vlog that helps you stand out. Then, you need to your visual storytelling to transport viewers into your travels vicariously. And, finally, you need to build a large enough audience to warrant monetization in the first place.
With so much competition, how you overcome these three challenges is what will make the difference between filming your vacations for fun and turning them into exciting new revenue streams.
We got to thinking about this as we began working on the promotion of ALIBI’s newest production music playlist –
. Researching the landscape and talking with content creators gave us a pretty good idea of the effort and elements that go into the best travel vlogs out there.From prep work and shooting to editing and sharing, we’ve come away with some helpful tips that can benefit all aspiring travel vloggers.
But, first, it’s important to note that the vast majority of travel vloggers aren’t being paid to tour the world with the exclusiveness of the royal family (though there ARE
lucky few!). Travel vlogging is actually quite a mixed bag of experience levels ranging from trips and to , and . Some travel vloggers do little actual travel in their videos, but rather focus on the that make travel easier for the rest of us. In other words, there’s something for everyone, which means the opportunities to find a niche are equally abundant.Digging in, this is how we recommend you prepare for and embark on your adventure in travel vlogging:
Travel Vlogging – The Prep Stage
Before you endeavor to start any travel vlog, it’s vital that you answer some key questions:
· What type of experience(s) do you plan to capture? Are you reviewing flight options or hotel stays? Exploring cities or partaking in location-based adventures? Sampling local food and drink? The arts?
· Where do you want to go? International or domestic? Densely populated or remote?
· Who is your target audience? As you see yourself becoming a travel vlogger, what do your followers have in common? Are they students? Parents? LGBTQ looking for like-minded travel tips? Dating or married couples? Thrill-seekers?
· What does your time and budget allot? Are your goals aligned with what’s feasible? Do you need to pare back or can you just run with it? Keep in mind that most travel vloggers are initially self-funded.
· Who is your competition? Have you scoured YouTube and TikTok to see what others are doing? Where you might fit in – or better yet – stand out?
· What is your unique spin? What tone will you take as you film? What will give you an edge as people look for travel vlogs on your topic?
Location
Once you’ve asked and answered each of these questions, it’s time to start planning. Most importantly you’ll want to research the location(s) for your first travel vlog so you can get some familiarity with the local customs/holidays, hotspots, potential filming restrictions and other nuances. This can help you avoid awkward or costly pitfalls such as being physically removed from a restricted area and/or being fined.
Shot Guide
With initial research done, you can start planning a rough shot guide. As you look at the key spots you want to visit, you can begin to outline specific shots or scenes you already know you’ll want to capture. Imagine what you want your viewers to see as you develop a travel storyboard. This can help you frame your video. But it’s also important to stay flexible. As many of us know from our own travel experiences, things can change in a moment. Be ready to improvise for better or worse, knowing that some of the best adventures are the result of spontaneous detours!
Gear
By the time your travel is booked (we’ll skip this part!) and you’re ready to go, you should have already invested in right gear – good camera, reliable mic, sturdy tripod, lighting (if needed). Do your best to pack light and keep it simple, but don’t forget to bring extra memory cards and batteries. You don’t want to be hunting them down when you’re already on the road! A sturdy, but lightweight camera bag will keep you organized if you stock it properly.
Video Release Forms
If you plan to monetize your travel vlog and you know you’ll be engaging with people on camera, you may want to find and print copies of release forms that give you permission to film them and use the footage. eForms has a
you can use.Travel Vlogging – Shooting Tips
Hooray! You’ve made it to Location XYZ and you’re ready to get started. Keep these next pointers in mind:
Scene Capture
Some of the best travel vlogs vary shots, bringing viewers a mix of wide angles for sweeping views and close-ups on finer details, such as local delicacies. As you take in each scene yourself, pay attention to the ambience you want to capture for viewers – what are the sights and sounds that punctuate your location or drive your point home? Bring them to life in your shots, and you can always add voiceover (VO) and extra footage (b-roll) for greater depth during the editing process.
Lighting
If outside, be mindful of the Sun and how it impacts shadowing in your shoot locations. While natural lighting is ideal, too much can wash out a scene and too little loses detail. Some of the best lighting options occur in the early morning or late afternoon when the sun often casts a warm, magical glow… moot point if it’s a cloudy day.
If you’re shooting at night or indoors (think: restaurant scene, indoor shopping, hotel rooms/facilities), use diffused artificial lighting to keep your subjects sharp and clear.
Narration
If you decide to narrate as you go rather than recording a VO during the editing process, be conversational and talk to your camera as if you’re conversing with a friend. This will give your travel vlog a more relatable, engaging feel. If you want your viewers to have fun, you have to look like you’re having fun too, so don’t be afraid to get excited about what you see or laugh when you experience something unexpected or silly. Take your viewers on a journey by sharing your thoughts as you go and adding fun facts, wherever possible, about the places you visit.
Travel Vlogging – Editing for Success
If you’ve made it back from your trip and you’re now staring at hours of amazing and not-so-amazing footage (yes, there will be both kinds!), it’s time to put your editing prowess to test or hire someone who has the mad skills you need. This is where most of the magic will happen!
Adobe Premiere Pro
Almost every good travel vlogger uses a tool like Adobe Premiere Pro, which is truly designed to bring projects like these to life. You’ll want to organize your clips into bins so you have a full inventory of what you’re working with. Once you have that down, use the timeline to trim, cut and arrange footage to your liking. You can experiment with different effects and transitions, but it’s best to keep things simple at first until you get a better feel for your editing style and how it will visually brand your videos in the end. Sometimes, less is more, so resist the urge to go overboard.
You should also consider overlaying text and graphics to help highlight your travel vlog’s key points and add context. Again, less may be more, so keep it simple to avoid looking cluttered. All fonts should be readable and graphics should align with your travel vlog’s overall style.
Voiceover
Depending on how you initially recorded your footage, you may end up adding a well-placed VO to give your travel vlog added depth. This is how you can further explain what you were thinking, what you learned or what people are seeing in particular scenes. And just as we recommended that you have fun with your on-camera conversations, your VO should do the same. If you bore them, you’ll lose them, so use the VO to keep your viewers.
Music
This is where our expertise comes in (shameless plug here)! Music is vital for setting the tone of your travel vlog, so you should choose tracks that complement the vibe of your footage. You’ll want uplifting tracks for scenes showing fun adventures and more ambient tracks for romantic, tranquil or relaxing scenes. Bustling city scenes may call for a pulsing, hip-hop sound while light underscores can back up a VO. Be sure to find a music source that also provides stem and alternative (alt) versions, which allow you to further customize music to your needs. ALIBI has a great selection of tracks (each with stems and alt versions) in our new playlist,
so be sure to check it out.And if you don’t find anything on that list, give our library’s killer search engine a try. If you’d like your music to sound like a song you heard on YouTube before, simply paste its YouTube URL right into our track search bar, and AI will help generate sound-alike tracks based on that music.
You can also try our Negative Search feature, which lets you omit keywords in your search so they don’t show up in results. Learn about negative search and other great ALIBI Music search tools
.Finally, you’ll want to use music that is royalty-free (or has royalties covered as part of your license), and work with a music library that covers allowlisting (whitelisting) of the music on YouTube. This not only prevents your travel vlog from being shut down or fined by rightsholders, but it also makes sure travel vloggers can still monetize their videos on YouTube!
Travel Vlogging – Sharing Your Creation
Now, all the hard work is done, right? Not so fast! Getting your travel vlog out into the world and actually seen by your target audience is its own monster. Here are some recommendations:
Title
Your travel vlog’s title is literally the first impression potential viewers will get… don’t make it their last. To keep their interest and get them to engage, make your title intriguing, yet relevant. Avoid click bait-y titles or gimmicks in case you can back them up or you’ll risk pissing people off when the content doesn’t deliver.
Video Description
Next, write a compelling video description (think: episode) that highlights key details and provides related links. Use relevant links and keywords that will help get your travel vlog discovered in search results. Keywords to keep in mind should relate to your where, what, who and when.
Social Media
Grab a few visually compelling snippets from your travel vlog to use as social media teasers that will help you build interest. Identify clips that will leave viewers wanting to find out what happens next like mini-cliffhangers. Or consider sharing behind-the-scenes content or bloopers to pique interest. Share on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook to help promote your larger travel vlog and reach a wider audience.
And don’t forget to engage with viewer comments and feedback once your travel vlog is live! The more you interact with those viewing your content, the more you’ll build a regular following and drum up anticipation for future vlog episodes.
Review and Refine
Once it’s out there, pay attention to any performance metrics (i.e., views, likes, shares, comments) your travel vlog generates and use this information to determine what you might change or keep for the next time. Review, refine and repeat.
So, what are you waiting for? There’s a world of adventures out there with your name on it. If you’ve followed our tips for preparing, filming, editing and sharing your travel vlogs, people may just hear you saying, “I can’t believe I get paid for that!”