I Stop My Job to Grow to be a Journey Influencer — Here’s How I Make Cash

This as-told-to essay is predicated on a dialog with Rhiannon Wood, a 26-year-old journey micro influencer who runs a social media enterprise and leads group excursions world wide. It has been edited for size and readability.

After graduating from the University of Birmingham within the UK in 2022, I knew I wished to journey earlier than settling into my journalism profession. I took odd jobs world wide to scratch the itch, however I did not fairly get again to the life I initially envisioned.

Instead, touring world wide — and discovering a strategy to monetize it on-line — grew to become my full-time job. I by no means thought that internet hosting group excursions in Greece, Peru, and Georgia can be my enterprise, however now I am unable to think about it being anything.

My now-60,000 Instagram followers make me a “micro influencer,” usually outlined as a web-based creator with a follower depend between 10,000 and 100,000. I do not make a ton of cash, as I’m solely about two years in, however I make sufficient to dwell comfortably and proceed constructing my enterprise.

Here’s my journey to turning into a “micro influencer” main group excursions and seeing the world totally free, and the way I become profitable doing it.

I employed an Instagram coach to learn to monetize social media

Courtesy of Rhiannon Wood

I first caught the journey bug throughout my senior 12 months of college, in my examine overseas program within the 2021-2022 tutorial 12 months. I lived in Lyon, France, with buddies, and on weekends, we took journeys to the close by mountains and different international locations.

I fell in love with snowboarding on the slopes of the Alps, which catapulted me to Lake Louise, Canada, close to Banff, instantly after commencement.

While snowboarding as a lot as potential in Canada, I labored at a boat-and-canoe rental firm, a zipline firm, and a ski resort — residing on minimum-wage pay and the joy of being in a brand new a part of the world. But the low pay received previous, fast.

Since I used to be already posting photographs of my travels on Instagram, I figured I ought to attempt to monetize them and, hopefully, obtain monetary independence.

I began deliberately posting my travels on Instagram in late 2024. To put together, I took a sequence of social media technique webinars, employed an Instagram coach, and made positive I understood Instagram’s algorithm and easy methods to work with it.

Within 4 months of posting, I landed my first model deal: Mapo Tapo, a web-based group-trip supplier that makes a speciality of out of doors sports activities, supplied me the chance to host my first journey to Switzerland, the place I earned £330 ($446).

I did not have direct expertise main excursions earlier than I landed my Mapo Tapo deal. But given my out of doors information and years of expertise with intense climbing, mountaineering, and mountain climbing, it wasn’t too tough to map out a nice journey and out of doors expertise for these on my first few group journeys. And it helped me work out the kinks of my excursions and study from early errors.

Courtesy of Rhiannon Wood

The sponsorship floodgates opened after that deal. I’ve now labored with Skyscanner, Siroko, Roamless, and several other different journey and athletic-related corporations. My private and group travels have taken me to Peru, Scotland, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and extra.

Gaining expertise on the opposite facet of the web journey trade has additionally impressed a brand new ambition: I’m working to launch my very own journey company, one the place I can nonetheless journey the world with my followers and fellow explorers whereas incomes extra.

In the meantime, my viewers is rising, and I’m proud of my follower depend, particularly with how engaged they’re. I’d like to have extra; that is the character of my enterprise — to hunt extra progress and model alternatives.

Still, you do not want an enormous six or seven-figure follower depend to become profitable on-line.

I work every single day and become profitable from model offers and excursions

The financials of a gaggle journey range relying on quite a few elements. Some companies I work with will take the next fee per individual, whereas others will provide me the journey totally free.

I’ve earned as much as $3,000 in fee per journey, nevertheless it depends upon the tour dimension. My journeys often final no less than per week. Similar to the group journeys, I’ve a fee in thoughts for my Instagram collaborations after I negotiate, starting from a couple of hundred {dollars} after I began to greater than $1,000 now.

I have a tendency to save lots of my earnings from group journeys and use the earnings from Instagram Reels sponsorships for enjoyable spending. I negotiate my fee to make sure I earn sufficient from every journey to dwell comfortably.

Courtesy of Rhiannon Wood

Overall, I presently make within the low 5 figures however am securing extra work as I develop. But I need not earn as a lot as I did in my school days. My life is basically on the go, and I typically journey totally free, solely use price range lodging, and infrequently purchase new issues. I’ve basically lived out of a backpack for a 12 months now and have gotten good with cash.

Still, constructing a model alone typically blurs my work-life steadiness. I work every single day sending emails, posting, negotiating affords, and planning journeys. And that occurs each on journeys and in between, so I hardly ever have a break day.

Navigating a web-based presence will be difficult

I struggled at first in my early sponsorship negotiations — I did not have the arrogance to imagine these corporations wished to work with me or to discover a pleased medium on charges, as an alternative of bypassing me for the following potential collaborator.

Over the years, nevertheless, I’ve realized that having confidence that issues will work out in my favor is the most effective mindset for this job.

Whether that is determining visa and passport necessities, managing my workload alone and with out an agent, feeling secure in new international locations, or managing follower depend and engagement expectations, I’ve realized that sustaining a constructive, growth-oriented mindset is vital to my enterprise success and psychological well being.

It’s inspiring to see my progress in navigating these challenges.