So who are the leading gay and lesbian travel bloggers? How did they start? Why should we follow them? And what can we learn from them?
Thanks to digital and social media, we can like and share the news and stories that are important to us, as well as rate what we buy, where we eat, where we stay, and the services we receive. Some have taken that extra step by becoming bloggers, establishing a loyal following who value their opinion. Although many originated on platforms such as Blogger.com or WordPress.com, today’s bloggers use all forms of digital and social media to engage their audiences. Focusing on a whole spectrum of subjects, these digital influencers can be as important as mainstream journalists, and for some, blogging has evolved from a hobby into a full-time professional career.
Travel bloggers can offer insightful, first-hand advice that inspires and entertains. As independent travelers, they often tell honest travel stories that don’t sugar coat the experience. Just as there are all kinds of travelers, there are all kinds of travel blogs: from backpackers to first-class jetsetters, from those embarking on their first big adventure to seasoned travelers, from culture vultures to international party animals.
Nomadic Boys
So who are the leading gay and lesbian travel bloggers? How did they start? Why should we follow them? And what can we learn from them?
Digitally known as the Nomadic Boys, Stefan and Sebastien are a Greek/French couple who in June 2014 left behind their jobs and lives in London for a big trip to Asia. “Throughout our eight years relationship, we’ve always loved traveling together and wanted to find a way to make this permanent,” they explain. “From around 2012, we started saving and planning for it, and in 2014 we were ready to take the big step and have been on the road ever since.”
The pair established a blog as a way of documenting their travels. “We created our Nomadic Boys blog just before leaving, so we could record and laugh about our adventures and culinary discoveries with our friends and family. We write about our experiences in each destination we visit, focusing on the gay scene and from our perspective as a gay couple.”
Another globetrotting gay couple, David and Auston aka Two Bad Tourists were planning a move from Chicago to California. “Having quit our jobs, we decided that instead of immediately making the move, why not take a break and travel for a few months? So we basically sold everything that we owned and spent a year traveling.” They began their blog in 2012, at that stage purely to keep family and friends up to speed on their travels. They’ve been traveling and blogging ever since.
Also hailing from the United States, Adam Goffman is now based in Berlin, authoring a series of Hipster City Guides, and working on building his site Travels of Adam into the world’s largest independent LGBT travel site, which in 2016 received over 2 million views. None of this would have happened had he not decided to quit his job and go traveling.
“In 2009 I was working as a graphic designer in Boston. I’d started working right out of college, and hadn’t taken an international trip since my days as a student,” he says. “So when a friend suggested a Labor Day weekend getaway, we found ourselves on a three-day trip to Iceland. That trip changed my life. I suddenly realized how important travel was to my life, and having spent the previous three years never leaving my country, I knew it was time to pick up and go…somewhere.
“I spent the next nine months saving up for an epic round-the-world trip. By the spring of 2010 I had met my budget goals and took off on a trip around the world. In typical American fashion, I felt guilty quitting my job in the middle of a recession to spend my entire savings account on travel, so I started to blog as a new hobby, as a way to practice new skills (namely: writing) but also as a way to connect with other travelers.”
Dani Heinrich of Globetrottergirls has been living as a self-confessed nomad since 2010. “I had moved to the UK from Germany in 2006, but after a few years in a monotone office job I was ready for something new,” she explains. “What started out as a one-year trip around the world with my partner turned into a journey that is still ongoing nearly seven years later. I already knew about six months into the trip that I wasn’t ready to go back to my old life, and that I wanted to continue exploring the globe. I had to figure out a way to continue this life, and blogging turned from a hobby into a career.”
Two Bad Tourists
An established travel agent from Argentina with over 25 years experience (and winner of Mr. Gay International 2008), the path followed by Carlos Melia was slightly different. “Growing up in a family of commercial pilots, having traveled since a very young age, I was drawn into the lifestyle of traveling and being exposed to unique experiences and cultures worldwide,” he says. “Friends, colleagues, and clients would reach out to me before their own travels, asking: where should I stay? What should I do? Where should I eat? Tired of always writing the same e-mails over and over with my recommendations, I started my blog over ten years ago (send a link and done!). Well those links started moving around and now it has grown to a very loyal following.”
Although blogging ultimately evolved from hobby to career for these bloggers, it was mostly an unexpected opportunity rather than a calculated move.
“I started my blog purely for myself,” acknowledges Adam. “When I moved to Berlin after a year and a half of backpacking around the world, I realized I had this audience that was following my adventures. I learned more and more of what it would take to commercialize my site and took the steps to do so, but still very much in my own personal way.”
“When we started Globetrottergirls in 2010, there weren’t many travel blogs around; and lesbian travel blogs? Barely any!” exclaims Dani. “We realized that the website had potential to make money about six months into our journey, when we were approached by our first advertiser. I was equally stunned and ecstatic. Not only did we not have any clue that our blog had earning potential, but until then, since we were both traveling with income through freelance jobs, we hadn’t taken the blog very seriously. After getting that first advertising money into our account, we decided to take the blog more seriously and take it to the next level.”
“We started the blog in February 2012,” says Auston, “and I distinctly remember in November 2012 we were in India. We had signed up for WordPress, a free blogging platform, and they gave you this option where you could put ads in your blog. I remember when we first earned 13 cents and we were like, wow, you can actually earn money from this! I know 13 cents is nothing, but it was an indication that there are actually people out there who can create commercial value out of content. Our blog wasn’t even called Two Bad Tourists at the time, and we didn’t have social media, it was just a cheesy little page. So we rebranded, came up with the name, created the social media channels, and from that point forward, we were focused on trying to create a story to inspire other people through out adventure.”
“About a year into our travels in Asia, our blog started to get a lot of attention in the gay travel community,” Stefan and Sebastien explain. “As our audience grew, so did the invites to collaborate commercially with tour companies, hotels, and other businesses. The growth happened gradually so it wasn’t a big surprise, but we will never forget that initial moment when people we’d never met before started sending us private messages, telling us they enjoyed reading our articles and found our content inspiring.”
Travels of Adam in Argentina
“It has basically allowed me to create a worldwide recognized name for myself as a lifestyle and luxury travel connoisseur and influencer, partnering with the leading tourism and hospitality brands in the world,” says Carlos. “CarlosMeliaBlog has been raked one of the Top 100 Luxury Travel Blogs on the Web, based on Google reputation and ranking, quality and consistency of content, and influence and popularity on social media.”
As a blog gains more followers, it can lead to all kinds of opportunities. The Nomadic Boys recently worked with condom brand Durex on a film about using technology when traveling, and Dani of Globetrottergirls has filmed a reel for a reality TV show.
Although blogging about their ongoing travels has opened up opportunities and generated income for these bloggers, blogging isn’t an easy or guaranteed route to an income, nor an easy way to upgrade to free first-class travel and five-star hotels. Although they may enjoy traveling and sharing their experiences, doing so has become a job, albeit a job they love.
“At the end of the day, it depends on what your goal is,” Stefan and Sebastien say. “If it’s a hobby, then there’s less demand on your time. If you’re striving to make it your full-time job, then you need to approach it with a business perspective. A new/small business needs a large investment of time before it will be profitable, and a blog is just the same.”
“Once the word got out that it was possible to earn money with a travel blog, a lot of people started one, but it quickly became apparent who was in it to make a few bucks and who truly enjoyed writing,” Dani adds. “It takes a lot of work to gain a substantial readership and following on social media, so you have to be truly passionate about blogging. In my nearly seven years of running the blog, I’ve seen so many blogs come and go. Only those bloggers who are persistent and truly dedicated to making their blog a success will eventually make a living off it.”
