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66 | How Travel Bloggers Can Make Real Money with Affiliate Marketing

Jul 24, 2026

Shelley Marmor turned travel blogging into a multiple-six-figure business within two years. In this episode of Travel Matters, she shares why mindset matters, why SEO comes before monetisation, and how travel creators can use affiliate marketing more strategically instead of simply adding links and hoping for the best.

What separates a travel blog that makes a little side income from one that becomes a serious business?

In this episode of Travel Matters, Palle Bo and Rick Calvert sit down with Shelley Marmor, founder of TravelMexicoSolo.com, TravelBlogging101.com and several other niche travel sites. Shelley started her first blog in April 2020 and was making multiple six figures by her second year of blogging.

Her secret? She says it starts with treating the blog as a business from day one.

Shelley explains why tracking your money changes your mindset, why SEO is the foundation of affiliate income, and why travel bloggers should focus on “buying keywords” that attract readers who are already ready to book.

Instead of simply placing affiliate links into random posts, Shelley breaks down how to create content for “hell yes” buyers – the people searching for things like the best hotels, tours, rental cars and travel services in a destination.

She also shares what she has learned from running five blogs, working with human writers, testing affiliate partners like Booking, Expedia and Stay22, and balancing affiliate income with display ads and her own courses.

The conversation also touches on AI, conference networking, the value of attending TBEX, and why independent creators often need to get out from behind the screen and meet like-minded people in person.


Key Takeaways

  • Treat your blog like a business from day one if you want it to become one.
  • Tracking your income and expenses is a major mindset shift for creators.
  • SEO comes before monetisation – no page views usually means no affiliate sales.
  • Affiliate marketing is not the same as simply adding affiliate links to a post.
  • Focus on “buying keywords” that attract people ready to make a purchase.
  • Travel bloggers should test different affiliate partners, including Booking, Expedia, Stay22 and direct relationships where possible.
  • Affiliate income can outperform display ads when it is done strategically.
  • Running multiple niche sites can work, but Shelly warns that five blogs may be too many for most people.
  • AI may become hard to ignore, even for creators who are not early adopters.
  • Conferences like TBEX can create unexpected connections, ideas and opportunities.


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