If there is one bit of advice that carries across all fields and disciplines, it is probably this one: Study those who have been successful, take their lead, and then allow your own identity and way of doing things to flow from there.

Maybe you would word it differently, but I'm sure you get the idea. Before I transitioned this blog from being about whatever popped into my head to the travel-focused catalog it has become over the past few months, I sought out other travel bloggers across the social media-verse to see what they were up to and what was working for them. 

Roughly three months into travel blogging, I'm still about a million miles away from the success that others have been able to find for themselves. And that's okay, because I know that anything worth doing takes time and hard work.

Now, before I say anything else too gooey or cheesy, let me introduce you to a few people who make a living traveling the world. I give you a short list of travel bloggers whose example I've been trying to follow:

1. World Nate

I do not remember how I stumbled upon World Nate, but his videos and writing and social media presence have been inspiring from day one (whenever that was). Formerly a plumber living in New Zealand, Nathan Buchan has been traveling the world for three years and has been killing it on the Internets for some time now.

With helpful (and free) guides like 21 Ways to Work & Travel and 23 Ways to Become a Digital Nomad, he not only gets his traveling in but also lets his fans in on some of the ways he's worked to build the life he now leads. Take a peek at Nate's recent(ish) adventures in the Philippines with his traveling companion Hannah, who is next on this list.

2. Intrepid Introvert

Hannah Martin, a.k.a. Intrepid Introvert, is the lovely lady you will have seen in the video linked above who also travels full-time and works from wherever she happens to be. Excuse me for the forthcoming millennial-speak, but Hannah and Nathan are basically *hashtag* goals.

To see just what I mean, have a look at the 2017 Mid Year Review that Hannah cobbled together just this week. Nathan and her are literally everywhere and, from what I can tell, it's a very go-with-the-flow kind of lifestyle. An excerpt from the post linked in this paragraph: "Taiwan was a random pick… Basically we saw a photo of a really nice beach in Taiwan and said something along the lines of, 'Cool, let’s go'…."

3. The Blonde Abroad

Kiersten Rich is the founder of The Blonde Abroad, a hugely successful blog that documents her travels to 62 countries and counting. As with most successful travel bloggers, Kiersten wears a few hats to make her travel-filled lifestyle sustainable. Affiliate marketing and consulting have evidently been a boon for her, no doubt helped along by her background in corporate finance.

I first discovered The Blonde Abroad while seeking out information on Bocas del Toro, Panama, a destination that is definitely on my list. I'd urge you to check out her Ultimate Bocas del Toro Travel Guide.

4. Nomadic Matt

I am not as familiar with Nomadic Matt as I am with the three travel bloggers mentioned above, but where I seem to run into him most is on Twitter; he keeps up a lively feed. Matthew Kepnes, the man behind Nomadic Matt, is the author of the New York Times best-selling book How to Travel the World on $50 a Day.

Matt inhabits the "travel on the cheap" niche and is clearly doing well for himself. Explore his website and you'll see that amidst the "How To's" and travel guides and op-eds on contemporary travel issues that he also offers a handful of online courses, one each for blogging, photography, travel writing and travel videoing. Creating online courses is a growing hallmark of travel bloggers, it seems.

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Hope you got something useful out of reading this post. Happy travels!

-LTH