Growing Your Travel Creator Brand with Custom Printed Books
Despite many of the challenges facing content creators, the travel industry continues to grow; some predictions indicate the travel industry will be worth over $800 billion (yeah, billion) by 2028. As the creator economy changes with consumer interests and demands, travel content is at a premium.
You know this already if you’re an adventurer who likes to document and share your travels.
Creators like you are perfectly situated in a market eager for your honest, experience-driven content. A recent study by McKinsey revealed (among a wealth of other information about travel creators) four important themes related to travel and tourism:
- Most people travel domestically or near their homes.
- Travelers and tourists want custom experiences they can tailor to their wants/needs.
- The meaning of 'luxury travel' is shifting.
- Destinations will need to adapt to accommodate more and more tourists.
Travel creators aim to captivate audiences worldwide with stunning visuals, engaging stories, and unique experiences—all based on their industry knowledge and firsthand experience. It's one of the most important reasons we look to travel influencers for advice. These are real people who are out there experiencing the places and events you're interested in experiencing.
That message rings true for travelers—far more so than a curated ad featuring glamorous, but unrealistic shots from a trained photographer.
What is a Travel Creator?
You are a travel creator if you love sharing your travel experiences through digital platforms like blogs, social media, and video platforms. You might have a unique hook, like finding the best hotdogs in every new city you visit or cataloging the best places to stay on a strict budget.
However you choose to creatively document your journeys and provide travel tips, destination guides, cultural insights, and stunning photography, you are a content creator.
Content from travel creators often includes:
- Travel Blogs and Reviews – Written narratives about destinations, accommodations, or dining experiences.
- Photography and Videography – Artistic visual storytelling to highlight the beauty and essence of regions you've visited.
- Travel Itineraries and Tips – Detailed guides showcasing recommendations for trips and activities based on your personal experiences and interests.
- Personal Reflections – Moments of introspection that resonate emotionally with your audience.
Travel creators like you have had a huge impact on marketing and influencer trends. According to Influencer.com, travel influencers are experiencing incredible growth and reach. Their data shows:
- 33% of U.S. travel enthusiasts made purchases influenced by creators in the past year.
- 85% of American adults have acted on a travel recommendation from an influencer.
- Nearly 1 in 3 consumers globally have booked vacations inspired by influencer content.
85% of adults have acted on the recommendation of an influencer.
If you're one of the many travel creators and influencers on social media, blogging, or curating an email newsletter, there's likely one question that's been sitting with you for a while: how do I monetize my passion?
With the increasing saturation of online platforms like Instagram and TikTok, you need to be sure you're still getting discovered and that you're standing out from the rest of the crowd.
One powerful (and often profitable) way to do that is to turn the travel content you've already made into a book.
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Why Custom Printed Books Are a Game-Changer for Travel Creators
Collecting followers on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok might be easier than ever. People are eager for your insights and advice before they book their next trip. The challenge is turning that attention into a sustainable income that lets you keep traveling and influencing.
There's no single right answer, but one effective and longstanding option that is gaining popularity is custom-printed books. From travel journals to breathtaking photo books, a book brings your content to life while offering new income opportunities.
Amid a sea of digital content, custom-printed books offer a way to stand out, diversify revenue, and connect more deeply with an audience. Here’s why they work so well for travel creators:
1. Monetize Your Expertise
This remains one of the absolute best reasons for any creator in any industry to publish a book. With that book, you've got a tangible product built on your expertise and experiences. Anyone looking to build a business around their skills, insights, or knowledge needs a way to make money.
Books are rarely the only way, but they can be an integral part of your product offering.
Whether it’s a glossy photo book of scenic landscapes or a guidebook packed with valuable travel tips, books allow you to package your expertise into a premium product. Unlike short-form social media content, books are timeless and often seen as collectible keepsakes. They can effectively generate passive income without relying exclusively on ad revenue, brand partnerships, or other more active ways to earn revenue.
2. Enhance Your Brand Awareness & Credibility
This is perhaps more true for speakers, coaches, and other kinds of influencers. As a travel creator, a lot of your credibility comes from reviews and comments of people who took your advice and enjoyed their travels thanks to you.
Regardless, publishing a book demonstrates authority in your niche. It positions you as an expert and establishes trust with your audience. An Instagram post about your new book says to anyone who follows you that you have enough valuable information to take the time, spend the money, and invest the effort to publish.
For example, a collection of beautifully curated photographs or a step-by-step travel guide crafted from personal experiences shows dedication and effort, which will resonate with your fans.
3. Exclusive Content and Personalization
Historically, travel books and guides have always had one major issue: they become outdated. Imagine you had a phenomenal trip to Cleveland and had some amazing tacos at local favorite Agave & Rye. If you post on social media about an amazing cocktail, your fans see that and move on in days (if not minutes). Now imagine putting that recommendation in a book. It's there. In your book. Forever.
If your favorite margarita place were to change its recipe or offerings, your book wouldn't be accurate any longer.
Today, custom-printed books make this a non-issue. Did Agave & Rye change their recipe (please don't guys)? Remove that mention from your book or get back there to sample their new offering. Then simply make an update.
This isn't a world where you need to print and store 10,000 copies of your book. Print-on-demand makes it possible to print one copy per order. And since there are no books to store or handle, updating on the fly means each subsequent book has that new content.
How to Create a Custom Book with Lulu
I'm a little biased, but I think Lulu is the perfect solution for printing and distributing your travel books, guides, or any kind of book. With print-on-demand, your books are printed and shipped directly to your customers when they buy. That saves you on the upfront costs and overhead, as well as making it easy to update and modify your book.
Lulu's free-to-use publishing platform also offers access to Lulu Direct, giving you simple integrations with Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce, as well as access to our API. These options make it easy for you to sell your new books directly to your fans and offer customization options.
Here's a quick breakdown of the publishing process with Lulu.
Step 1. Decide What Kind of Book to Create
Not all books are created equal! Select a format that aligns with your style and the preferences of your audience:
- Photography Coffee Table Book – Ideal for sharing breathtaking travel photography.
- Travel Journal – A perfect mix of tips, reflections, and space for your reader's entries.
- Destination Guide – Comprehensive itineraries packed with recommendations and hidden gems.
- Storytelling Memoir – Share personal anecdotes and lessons from your travel adventures.
- Bucket List Calendar - Photos from all your must-visit destinations.
Step 2. Craft Your Content
Turning your social media, blog, or video content into book form requires polish and structure. Luckily, you've already got that great content that just needs to be tweaked and adjusted to work as a book.
Write engaging descriptions, pair them with high-quality images, and remember to include unique, never-before-shared details to create value for your audience.
Take some time at this stage to research the kinds of books other travel influencers are creating. Maybe guided journals are big right now and you should lean into that kind of book. Or maybe you'll find a lot of guides and itineraries about a region, but no travel memoirs. That might be an ideal gap in the needs of your audience that you can fill.
Step 3. Select Your Format and Style
With your content compiled and organized, you're ready to format your book. You should always start with a template. Lulu's templates are free and provide you with a variety of file formats to prepare your book.
Lulu also allows customization options like paper type, binding, and dimensions to perfectly match your project. For instance:
- Choose Premium Color Printing for glossy photo spreads.
- Pick Hardcover Binding for a professional, durable look.
- Use Coil Binding for guides to journals that want to open flat.
Step 4. Publish, Promote, and Sell
The backbone of Lulu's publishing services is our print-on-demand network, which eliminates the need for large upfront printing costs or inventory management. When someone orders your book, it’s printed and shipped directly to them. Thanks to our international network of printers, Lulu makes it fast and easy to have your custom books in your reader's hands in a matter of days, anywhere in the world.
You can even sell directly through your website, social media, or other platforms using Lulu's integrations with tools like Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, and our Open API.
Sell Your Book, Your Way
Sell books on your Wix, Shopify, or WooCommerce website with Lulu Direct.
Or use our Order Import tool for your next book launch.
Repurpose Your Travel Content to Make More Money
It's really that simple. Adding a book to your business creates a new, consistent revenue stream while providing your fans with the content they want. You'll stand out in a market of other influencers sharing their opinions—you’ll have the added weight of being a published author.
And you’ll have a new revenue stream to supplement your income and your travels while continuing to grow your business.
