David Leiter doesn’t reside a boring life. As a full-time traveler, it comes as no shock that he paperwork his adventures on his weblog, The World Journey Man.

Though his adventures started in 2016, he did not create his website till a number of years later. He labored on it for five years earlier than he began to see any actual success, and immediately he is incomes $10k/month.

Run-ins with venomous snakes and shut calls on sinking ships have performed little to discourage him; in reality, his objective is to go to each nation on this planet and proceed to develop his weblog.

Preserve studying to search out out:

• How he began touring
• Why he ultimately began his website
• What he did when Covid hit
• Why the pandemic was certainly one of his favourite life intervals
• The place his revenue comes from
• How a lot visitors his website will get
• His essential advertising technique
• His ideas on web optimization
• His method to key phrase analysis and hyperlink constructing
• His content material creation course of
• His misadventures
• Her favourite sources and instruments
• His greatest problem
• His biggest accomplishment
• His essential mistake
• His recommendation for different entrepreneurs

Meet David Leiter

I’m an American who’s been touring the world full-time for 8 years now. I’m at the moment based mostly in Bali, Indonesia, the place I met my spouse Intan (who’s a Bali native), and we’ve been touring the world collectively for the final 5 years or so.

My first actual worldwide journey was a go to to Iceland in 2016, the place I solo traveled the entire nation and drove 7,000 kilometers across the Ring Street whereas sleeping in a rental automotive alongside the best way. 

I used to be on a really tight price range on the time, so this was the one method I may see a notoriously costly nation like Iceland.

I used this journey to movie a drone video of Iceland, which admittedly appears to be like fairly dated by immediately’s requirements, however again in 2016 it was pretty leading edge and it obtained greater than 1,000,000 views on Vimeo. 

In the identical 12 months, I additionally made a drone video of Colorado that went viral and obtained featured on worldwide TV by BBC Journey.

The Colorado video was ultimately pulled from Vimeo for utilizing an excessive amount of bandwidth after it handed 3 million views, however you’ll be able to nonetheless see it on YouTube the place I reuploaded it later. 

It’s trying fairly dated now, however again when it was filmed 8 years in the past it was the primary time folks had seen aerial views of Colorado like this from a drone, so it was pretty groundbreaking in that respect.

This was good drone coaching for me, and though I’m probably not centered on making movies anymore, I nonetheless use drones often for my weblog these days to seize distinctive pictures for the articles I write.

I used to be additionally in a position to monetize these journeys considerably, and though it wasn’t an enormous supply of revenue simply but, it made me notice how a lot I liked touring, mountain climbing, and seeing the world. I knew I needed to maintain pursuing it.

Why He Created His Website

I created my journey weblog in 2019 after I had already been touring the world full-time for 3 years. I assumed it could be a great way to share my tales and pictures, make some extra revenue, and hopefully encourage folks to journey and see the world.

At that time, I already had loads of content material and expertise as a traveler, however I didn’t know something about rising a weblog or monetizing it. I had no concept what to name it both, so I simply used a reputation {that a} buddy urged, The World Journey Man.

My objective with the weblog is to doc among the most scenic locations I go to all over the world by creating articles, pictures, movies, and guides for different vacationers.

A 12 months after I began the weblog, Covid hit, and the journey business was crippled for greater than 2 years. Throughout that point, it was inconceivable to successfully monetize my weblog, however I saved pushing forward within the hopes that issues would return to regular ultimately after which hopefully my work would repay. 

I used to be type of working on blind religion for some time there, as a result of I spent greater than 3 years engaged on the weblog with out a single greenback of revenue.

Me and Intan have been additionally very restricted on the place we may journey throughout that point, as a result of many of the close by international locations have been utterly closed for tourism. 

Fortunately I used to be in a position to get a particular visa to remain in Indonesia, and we spent these 2 years touring in Bali and many different islands in Indonesia. We needed to get examined for Covid dozens of occasions because it was a requirement earlier than each single home flight in Indonesia.

Because it seems, though we weren’t making any cash but, this time that we have been caught in Indonesia was certainly one of my favourite life intervals as a result of we actually obtained off the crushed path and noticed locations which are not often visited by Westerners. 

Indonesia is filled with wonderful issues to see and do. We did jungle treks to see orangutans, and stayed on distant paradise islands with no different folks. 

These are nonetheless a few of our most particular journey recollections, and I feel it’s additionally among the most unusual content material I’ve on my weblog.

How A lot He’s Making

In 2023, I made a full-time revenue from the weblog—as much as $10,000 per 30 days. My website has normal adverts from Mediavine, and I take advantage of affiliate hyperlinks to get income from inns, excursions, and different issues that I like to recommend to readers on my website.

My affiliate applications embody issues like Reserving.com, GetYourGuide, Klook, and Amazon, plus some small firms which have reached out to me for partnership, akin to a ship tour firm in Coron Palawan, within the Philippines.

I even have some facet work doing internet design and search engine advertising, which I’ve continued doing within the background whereas I journey. 

My boss has been very gracious and versatile over time, which actually helped me get began as a blogger, particularly within the early days when all of my journey was self-funded.

On the running a blog facet of issues, it took me 5 years of labor (largely with out pay) to succeed in my present income degree, though with out Covid, I more than likely would have reached this level sooner.

My journey weblog averaged about 300,000 to 350,000 readers per 30 days in 2023. 

Like most area of interest bloggers, I had a visitors dip on the finish of 2023 due to the Google algorithm updates, however my website continues to be making a full-time revenue in 2024, and I anticipate it to completely recuperate and maintain bettering over time as I write extra content material and the SERPs hopefully get much less risky.

David’s Predominant Advertising Technique

My essential advertising technique is web optimization. Like most journey bloggers, I don’t have sufficient of a price range to pay for promoting on Fb or Google, so nearly all of my website visitors is natural.

I had already realized some issues about web optimization via my prior work background, however loads of it has been hands-on expertise with my journey weblog. 

Once I first began my weblog I didn’t know a lot about web optimization, so it’s been a gradual course of, and I’m nonetheless studying new issues day by day.

Google’s personal documentation is usually useful resource for web optimization newbies desirous to make optimized content material that’ll present up and carry out decently on search engines like google. Semrush additionally has some good data about web optimization finest practices to observe.

His Ideas on web optimization

web optimization is essential and loads of journey bloggers neglect it or don’t perceive do it.

Not your whole weblog posts will carry out properly on search engines like google, even when they’re good, however when you throw loads of stuff on the wall one thing will stick. Multiply that by tons of of weblog posts, and also you’re beginning to have a recipe for fulfillment.

The tough factor is to maintain writing content material that’s recent, authentic, and doesn’t sound prefer it was written by a robotic. After you’ve already written 400 weblog posts, it begins to get fairly tedious. 

I’ve discovered that I write loads higher after a break, so I attempt to journey for some time if I really feel like I’m nearing burnout.

Key phrase Analysis

I attempt to goal quite a lot of high- and low-competition key phrases. 

The high-competition key phrases are normally extra invaluable, in fact, which is why everybody’s attempting to get them, however meaning they’re additionally more durable to rank for. 

The benefit of low-competition key phrases is that they’re simpler to rank for, and so they’re additionally extra more likely to entice backlinks.

For instance, I visited the Banggai Islands in Indonesia lately and wrote a information for it. 

Regardless that these are distant islands that don’t have loads of high-value visitors, they’re rising in reputation these days, and I already obtained a backlink organically (from a backpacker website) since my information is at the moment one of many solely English guides for visiting these islands.

I do key phrase analysis with a mixture of Ahrefs and Semrush. Usually, you need to search for key phrases which are more likely to mesh properly with a journey weblog, and in addition longer key phrases which are much less more likely to have loads of competitors from different web sites in your area of interest.

Hyperlink Constructing

Hyperlink constructing is at all times factor. I’ve loads of methods to do outreach. One time I entered a photograph contest with the Indonesia Tourism Bureau and obtained a backlink from their official website. That was large for me.

Generally if I see a website stealing my pictures and utilizing them with out credit score, reasonably than file a DMCA or ask them to take down my picture, I’ll ask for a credit score hyperlink as a substitute. 

Imagine it or not, I’ve gotten a bunch of high-quality dofollow hyperlinks over time from this type of outreach.

Generally I unintentionally stumble onto websites utilizing my pictures, or different occasions a reader of my website will let me learn about it. 

There are additionally companies you should use to search out and determine websites which are probably stealing your pictures. One in every of these I’ve used prior to now is CopyTrack.

In fact, there’s at all times the opportunity of getting hyperlinks organically. In different phrases, in case your journey content material is nice and useful and has wonderful pictures which are superior to the competitors, persons are extra more likely to hyperlink to it. 

A few of my finest hyperlinks really occurred naturally with no outreach on my half. Somebody simply determined they favored my content material, so that they linked to it. 

Clearly, I wouldn’t advocate simply sitting again and ready for hyperlinks to return in on their very own like this, however it’s nonetheless one supply of hyperlinks that may be very invaluable.

His Content material Creation Course of

I do loads of writing and my website has nearly 400 weblog posts now. I do all the content material creation myself. I by no means use AI for any of it, and I plan to maintain it that method. 

For all of the discuss AI these days, it’s nonetheless mainly ineffective for creating journey guides which are nuanced and useful for readers.

I attempt to write at the very least one or two new weblog posts each week, though I don’t wish to sacrifice high quality for amount, so I typically fall behind on this goal, particularly if I’m touring loads. 

The Yoast web optimization plugin may be useful for optimizing new weblog posts. Generally I spend days going again and updating outdated weblog posts so that they’re nonetheless correct, which takes loads of time as properly, however it’s price it if you wish to maintain your website related.

His E-mail Listing

I do have an e mail record, however I’m nonetheless searching for methods to develop it with out being annoying. I’m not a fan of pop-ups asking folks to affix a mailing record. 

I attempted that early on, however it simply didn’t appear definitely worth the problem it causes for folks. 

In some unspecified time in the future, I’d wish to experiment with providing a free obtain (akin to a Lightroom preset or e book) to folks for becoming a member of my mailing record. That method there’s at the very least an incentive.

At the moment, I solely have a few thousand folks on my mailing record since I haven’t prioritized it, however I’m hoping to develop that quantity. 

I take advantage of MailChimp for managing the e-mail record, and that has labored properly, however I’m nonetheless searching for methods to enhance my mailing technique.

David’s Work Schedule and Adventures

The variety of hours I work varies, and I don’t at all times maintain monitor, however on a typical day I in all probability spend 2 to 4 hours engaged on the weblog. 

Some days I spend 8 to 12 hours engaged on the weblog, whereas different days I don’t work on it in any respect. 

Within the early days of the weblog, it ate up much more of my time. Now that I’ve already designed my website and written tons of of posts, I don’t need to spend as a lot time on it as earlier than, in order that helps. 

Nevertheless, sustaining the web site is just one a part of journey running a blog. I additionally need to journey, take pictures, and write new content material. I mainly spend 6 to eight months a 12 months touring, with a little bit of relaxation between every journey. 

Clearly, touring is loads of enjoyable and I’ll by no means cease having fun with it, however typically it may be laborious work, too. 

I don’t take pleasure in in a single day flights or sleeping on airport flooring. I don’t take pleasure in being sick or jetlagged. I’ve had a number of shut calls and brushes with loss of life whereas touring over time, so it’s not at all times enjoyable and video games.

For instance, one time I nearly stepped on a venomous pit viper whereas mountain climbing in Indonesia. My foot landed inside centimeters of the snake, which was coiled up within the middle of the trail, however fortunately its head was turned away from me and the snake didn’t see how shut my foot landed. 

This was on a distant island with no antivenom and virtually no hospital, so a chunk from certainly one of these snakes may imply amputation or loss of life.

One other time, our boat nearly sank throughout a storm on the ocean close to Sumatra. We have been making preparations for what we’d do if we needed to go overboard and swim. We had noticed a floating picket fish entice about one kilometer away and deliberate to attempt to swim there and grasp onto it if the boat went beneath. 

This occurred at evening in a really unhealthy storm with heavy rain and large waves. There was no land anyplace in sight, so we would have needed to float and swim on the market for days till a fishing boat or another person hopefully noticed us and rescued us. 

Fortunately, the storm handed and we have been in a position to flip our motor on and get again to land. We have been utterly soaked and chilly, however protected.

Within the newest incident, a driver we employed in Sulawesi fell asleep on the wheel and drove throughout the opposite lane on a busy freeway. We frantically woke him up earlier than he drove off the sting of the street, the place there was a steep jungle ravine beneath. 

Fortunately, there wasn’t any oncoming visitors within the different lane when this occurred, however we have been on a busy street that’s normally utilized by truckers, so issues may’ve turned out a lot worse. 

Later we came upon our driver had stayed up all evening driving 10 hours, so he was working on no sleep. We canceled the journey proper then and stopped on the town to relaxation.

We’ve had numerous experiences like this whereas touring over time, however these are just some examples of how rapidly issues can go unhealthy. 

I nonetheless haven’t been threatened or robbed at gunpoint though I’ve traveled most of Central and South America, however it wouldn’t shock me if that occurs in some unspecified time in the future, and I attempt to be further cautious in these locations. 

Generally I downgrade my digital camera gear if I’m touring someplace there’s the next likelihood of being robbed.

His Favourite Sources

On the pictures facet of issues, I’m a fan of YouTube channels like Simon d’Entremont for clear and concise digital camera suggestions. 

My running a blog type, internet design, and web optimization strategies have been largely self-taught, though I wish to learn different journey blogs sometimes for brand new concepts. 

A very good useful resource for web optimization information is Search Engine Roundtable.

His Go-To Instruments

For key phrase analysis and web optimization, probably the most useful gizmo I take advantage of is Ahrefs, however Moz and Semrush additionally work properly for this. 

You need to use these instruments to test your backlinks, discover new key phrases to write down about, and plenty of different issues. You can too use them to test your website visitors development, though Google Analytics is healthier when you actually need correct visitors knowledge.

In fact, my digital camera is certainly one of my most helpful instruments, too. I upgraded to a Fujifilm X-T5 digital camera lately and I largely use a wide-angle lens. 

I’m positive there are higher cameras on the market, however in my price range (round $2,000) it really works completely and takes nice footage.

For picture and video modifying, I take advantage of the Adobe instruments, Lightroom and Premiere. These work nice and you can too use Lightroom to again up your pictures within the cloud as you go.

His Largest Problem

The largest problem for me is writing in bulk. You aren’t going to have a really profitable and entertaining weblog except you do loads of writing, and this obtained tedious for me after concerning the a hundredth weblog put up. 

I may save time on this through the use of AI, in fact, however the high quality would in all probability be unhealthy. Hiring writers is an alternative choice, however that prices cash and it makes the weblog much less private. 

So regardless of the way you slice it, journey running a blog is loads of work and there’s no escaping it.

His Best Accomplishment

On the running a blog facet of issues, I really like with the ability to assist folks journey to new locations. I’ve particularly loved running a blog about Indonesia as a result of it’s stuffed with hidden gems that haven’t actually been seen by Westerners. 

Lots of that is because of my spouse, who’s been an enormous assist as my interpreter throughout our travels in Indonesia.

As for private achievements, I’d love to go to each nation on this planet. 

By some sources, there are as many as 200 international locations on this planet. I’m nonetheless engaged on that objective. Proper now I’m averaging about 10 to fifteen new international locations per 12 months, however my report to date is 24 international locations in a single 12 months.

What He Needs He Knew When He Began

I’ve completely uncared for social media, and I want I had stayed energetic on there from the start, though it’s loads of work. 

I began a Pinterest account lately and I’ve been pinning posts from my weblog on there day by day. I’m already getting some extra noticeable visitors from it. 

I don’t anticipate Pinterest to ever change Google as my essential visitors supply, however each little bit helps.

His Predominant Mistake

The largest mistake I made was beginning my weblog as late as I did. I want I began 5 or 10 years sooner. 

In that case, I might have much more expertise and possibly much more revenue. The journey running a blog area could be very saturated these days. 

You possibly can nonetheless achieve success at it, however it takes extra work than it used to, and I feel that’ll solely turn into much more true sooner or later as the quantity of competitors grows.

His Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs

In all probability the perfect recommendation I may give is that there aren’t any shortcuts in running a blog.

I’ve put loads of time into my weblog over time, and it wouldn’t achieve success if I didn’t. 

Issues like web optimization, picture modifying, writing, and internet design are all issues which are very time-consuming if you wish to do them properly.