If you want tips to grow as a travel creator from one of the biggest travel creators out there, start by learning from her mistakes.
Meet Jessica Serna, the powerhouse behind My Curly Adventures. Jessica has built an impressive brand with over half a million followers on TikTok, a quarter-million on Instagram, and has established herself as a blogger, YouTuber, author, and TED Talk speaker.
In this episode of Everyday Badassery, we discuss her growth as a travel creator, three key messages to take away: niche, authenticity, and diversification.
Helpful Travel Creator Resources
Also, don’t miss Jessica’s substack with tons of tips and posts about how to create. You get your first month free by clicking here!
1. The Power of Niche
Jessica emphasized the importance of finding and committing to your niche. When she started, there was no one else in social media talking about Texas travel.
By focusing on this niche, she became an expert in the field, helping Texans see the magic in their own backyard and inspiring countless others.
Her advice? Niche down as much as possible.
If you’re a solo female traveler, maybe focus on solo female travelers who love adventure sports. The more specific you are, the easier it is to build a loyal and engaged audience.
Takeaway: The more you narrow down your niche, the faster and stronger you can grow. It allows people to recognize you as the go-to expert in that area.
2. Authenticity is Key
Throughout her journey, Jessica remained true to herself, and this authenticity is what resonated with her audience. She shared that while it’s easy to get distracted by trends or opportunities that don’t align with your brand, staying true to your core values and message is crucial.
She learned this the hard way after participating in a loop giveaway that brought in followers who weren’t genuinely interested in her content, which hurt her engagement.
Takeaway: Be authentic and focus on attracting the right audience. Quality over quantity will always win in the long run.
Monetize your Travel Content with Travelpayouts
The challenge for all creators is to build “know, like and trust” with their following. In other words, getting found (and being “known”), showing up authentically as your true self so your audience “likes” you, and later, over time, a relationship of trust is built.
Once that trust is built, a powerful way to monetize your content as a travel creator is through affiliate revenue. As your audience looks to your advice on how to book their own travel (where to stay, what tours to book, what car rentals you used, etc) – it’s an opportunity for you to receive a share of the revenue of these booked items.
This is where Travelpayouts comes in…
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3. Diversify Your Content Across Platforms
Jessica also talked about the importance of not putting all your eggs (or peaches, as we joked) in one basket.
Relying on a single platform is risky because algorithms change, and what works today might not work tomorrow.
She recommends being present on multiple platforms—Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, blogs, podcasts—and tailoring your content for each.
For example, use Instagram for short-form content that teases your audience and directs them to your longer-form content on YouTube or your blog.
Takeaway: Diversify your presence across different platforms to build a robust and resilient brand.
Catch the entire episode on Youtube or listen on Spotify!
Also, don’t miss Jessica’s substack with tons of tips and posts about how to create. You get your first month free by clicking here!
About the podcast
Everyday Badassery is a travel podcast of inspirational stories to help you be just 1% more badass than you were yesterday. This episode is part of the creator series, where you’ll find helpful tips and interviews with creators that will help you to be just 1% more badass as a travel creator or small business.
Find the creator series starting with the intro at episode 80.