My name is Kate Micheals and I travel the world for a living.
- I’ve been shipwrecked in Indonesia.
- I’ve taken a boob to the face in Istanbul.
- I’ve hit on Jon Stewart in New York City, which got me subsequently mocked on The Daily Show, and I’ve been an extra in a bad German movie.
That’s my life. If there’s an adventure available, I’ll go for it — and even if I end up punched in the face and bleeding from the eye (yes, it’s happened), it will make a good story later!
I’m a 32-year-old girl originally from the Boston area, now living in New York. After four years of establishing a career in online marketing and a lifetime of dreaming of traveling the world, I decided that it was time to make it happen.
In September 2010, at the age of 26, I quit my job to travel Southeast Asia for six months. Six months turned into 5 years across more than 65 countries
I’ve been making my entire income online since 2010. Over time, my earning methods have changed significantly. Today my income comes from several areas
On the blog, I make money through the following methods:
1) Affiliate marketing. I link to products I recommend and earn a commission if people buy them, at no extra cost to you.
2) Campaigns. Campaigns are organized paid initiatives for brands, both travel and non-travel, that may include anything from sponsored travel to site advertising, social media promotion, public appearances at events, and more. Any campaign post is disclosed as being sponsored.
3) Branded content. Branded content posts are paid posts that promote a certain product. All branded content posts are disclosed at the top. I only choose products that I think will interest my readers, mostly travel contests, and limit them to two per month, max.
4) Products. I’m now running tours and I’m currently developing new products for release later this year.
5) Freelance writing and consulting. I rarely freelance in either area anymore, but in the past I’ve done freelance writing for publications including The Boston Globe, and was once the Asia travel writer for Answers.com. These days, most of my consulting is limited to advising on apps and startups within the travel industry.
6) Public speaking. I speak at a variety of events on travel, blogging, and women’s empowerment.
Know this: making a full-time living as a travel blogger is an extraordinarily difficult thing to do. This is in no way passive income — it requires an immense amount of time, work, and networking.
Want to start a travel blog? Get started the right way.
My Travel Philosophy
In many parts of the world, it’s common for women to travel solo and independently. In my home country, the United States, it’s not. I started this blog to show what it’s like for women to travel solo. There is a lot of bullsh*t out there designed to scare women away from traveling on their own; I’m here to clear up those myths.
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