You can make money online by becoming a successful travel affiliate. Being a top online travel affiliate take a lot of hard work, attention detail, determination to be the best and, above all, persistence.
What is a travel affiliate?
In this position you are an independent contractor who is responsible for your time and all expenses while developing top-notch travel websites that attract enough traffic to generate large commissions by placing travel affiliate links on strategic locations, or hot spots, on your web pages. The Wise Tourist website is a great example of a money-making travel affiliate website.
How much does it cost to become a travel affiliate?
The barrier to entry into the exciting field of affiliate marketing is low. Purchase a domain name, preferably already in existence, that is relevant to your travel niche, select a hosting package and begin adding valuable travel related content to your site. This unique content will draw interest to your website and ultimately generate business for you and your affiliate partners.
Do I have to get a travel agent license or pass a test?
Travel affiliates are not required to be a licensed travel agent but some are. Being a licensed travel agent brings additional credibility in that not only can visitors to your site book flights, hotels, rental cars, whatever, through your affiliate links, but the agent has the ability to book directly. Some affiliate programs take a dim view of this practice. Check each individual terms of service to ensure you comply.
I have travel related website. What do I do next?
Unique content is king. When people come to your website they are serving for information about a destination or are considering making reservations and a financial commitment. Visitors also want to know booking through your site is safe.
Before you approach any affiliate programs and apply for membership you should have at least:
Install a clean, easy to navigate website template. Another travel affiliate website, Voyage Masters, is a plain yet very productive travel website. Most pages, load with outstanding travel-related content has a click-through (CTR) rate as high as 52%. Better yet, Install WordPress and use one of the thousands free themes. It doesn’t have to be the latest, greatest fancy website. No one will see your site for a while anyway.
Create “home”,”about”, “privacy”, “disclaimer” and “copyright” pages.
Pick your travel niche and start writing like a demon possessed. Commit to at least four 400-600 word articles per day. You need great content. Like I said at the start of this article, being a highly paid travel affiliate is lots of work so get used to it or don’t even start. Stay with it and don’t get discouraged.
After you have created at least 20 high quality posts or pages, now it’s time to select your affiliate partners and apply for membership. Two of the most popular companies that manage affiliate program are Commission Junction (CJ) and Linkshare. Step one is to apply for membership with these companies. Once your site is reviewed and you are granted approval, the next step is to apply for individual travel affiliate programs. Start with Travelocity, Orbitz and Expedia. Before signing up make sure they provide products and services that closely align to the market segment that you are targeting. Perhaps you want to specialize. I that case dig deeper and sign up with specific brands such as Marriott, Hilton Hotel and Resorts and Starwood.
As your site grows and readership expands, consider related programs which offer travel-related goods and services – travel gear, luggage, cameras, and so forth.
Never lose site of your goal to make money online by being a successful travel affiliate. It is your dream, your passion and your life’s calling. Make it happen!
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