Travel Mamas
About the Company
Travel Mamas is a family-focused travel blog founded by Colleen Lanin. The site offers advice and tips to make family travel more enjoyable and accessible, with content tailored to parents and families. Over the years, the blog has grown into one of the most popular personal travel blogs globally. It features articles on family travel, romantic getaways, and lifestyle topics, aiming to help parents connect with their children and the world through travel. The site generates revenue through advertising, affiliate sales, sponsored posts, book royalties, and other media-related activities.
Idea Behind Company
Colleen Lanin created Travel Mamas to share her experiences and advice on traveling with young children. She initially launched the blog to support her book, The Travel Mamas’ Guide, after realizing there was a lack of practical resources for parents planning vacations with babies and toddlers. The blog’s purpose was to fill that gap, offering stories, tips, and recommendations for parents looking to travel with children. Although her original book idea faced challenges, the blog quickly outpaced the book in terms of growth and reach, becoming her primary focus and income source.
Creating the Company
The creation of Travel Mamas involved several steps. Colleen hired a professional graphic designer to create a fun, playful logo and an appealing website design that would resonate with her target audience. She also hired a web developer to bring the vision to life. Despite early challenges, including legal disputes over the name “Travel Mamas,” Colleen persisted and made necessary investments in the business. She focused on content creation and growing her audience, learning blogging techniques like SEO and social media marketing along the way. Over time, she expanded her content to include articles on romantic and kid-free vacations, further broadening her readership.
Launching the Business
Travel Mamas launched in 2009 with modest traffic but steadily grew in popularity. Initially, Colleen's focus was on building content and establishing her voice in the family travel space. She earned income through freelance writing and direct ad sales while learning how to monetize her blog effectively. As the blog gained traction, Colleen began attending blogging conferences and taking online courses to improve her skills. By investing in design, photography, SEO, and other essentials, Colleen gradually turned Travel Mamas into a profitable venture. Traffic increased year after year, and the blog became a go-to resource for parents looking for family-friendly travel tips.
Earnings
Travel Mamas now generates $15,000 per month, largely from advertising, affiliate sales, sponsored posts, and book royalties. Colleen has built a strong, organic audience through content that resonates with readers, largely driven by SEO strategies. Although the pandemic caused a drop in traffic, Colleen’s traffic has since rebounded, reaching 263% of pre-COVID levels. Colleen also diversifies her income by engaging in paid public speaking, hosting media campaigns, and teaching blogging classes. While the blog remains her primary source of income, Colleen is exploring future opportunities, including potentially expanding her team of writers or seeking venture capital to scale the business.
Looking ahead, Colleen is focused on maintaining Travel Mamas’ growth trajectory while navigating the challenges of evolving SEO trends and fluctuating travel patterns. As her children grow older, Colleen has considered hiring additional writers to manage content creation while she shifts her focus to editing, marketing, and securing paid campaigns. She is also open to the possibility of seeking venture capital or even selling the brand in the future. Colleen’s passion for learning and teaching continues to drive her, as she remains dedicated to helping new bloggers succeed through teaching and sharing her experiences in the blogging world.
