Growing with integrity, impact and income
A community that grows together
Building a career as a travel storyteller doesn’t always look glamorous.
Most days, it’s just you and your laptop, wondering if what you are creating matters at all. That’s why, at The Shooting Star Academy, we’re constantly finding ways to ensure that our course is more than just the self-paced video lessons. It’s a community, a space to keep moving ahead, stay inspired and grow together.
Thus was born the idea of a Learning Series - a live Zoom meeting where course members who’ve achieved notable milestones share lessons, insights and tips with the rest of the community. Last month, we had sessions on building a travel newsletter, landing meaningful brand collaborations and monetizing a travel blog, alongside industry updates by Shivya and an open Q&A.
Here’s a quick peek into what we learned 👇🏽
1. Meaningful Writing and Brand Collabs
By Forum – Writer, storyteller and sustainability advocate
Forum (@barriersandborders) with her humble community of ~1000 on Instagram, has successfully collaborated with a travel company in Greece! She broke down how writing with intention can lead to powerful partnerships - and how staying authentic (even when trends tempt otherwise) helped her land collaborations that align with her values.
Top Takeaways:
Deciding who to pitch is just as important as the stories we are writing.
Value alignment is a bigger asset than numbers when it comes to meaningful travel collaborations.
2. Building a Travel Newsletter
By Ananya – Travel writer at Ananya’s Newsletter
Ananya (@ananya_vats) shared her inspiring journey of writing travel stories in her recently started newsletter without ever leaving her city, Bangalore! In her Travelling the world from my city series, she explored the influence of different countries and cultures right in her backyard.
💡 Top Takeaways:
Experimenting with ideas without predefined outcomes or the pressure of numbers is a great way to build an initial audience.
Writing about what you enjoy is an easier and more fulfilling path to consistency.
3. Growing Your Travel Blog
By Riyanka Roy – Travel blogger at Roy Tells Tales
Riyanka (@roytellstales) has been earning a consistent and growing income from her travel blog. She shared what it takes to grow a blog in today’s world - and why it’s still worth investing in long-form content. From SEO basics to building a niche, her session was a reminder that social media is not the only way to build a career as a travel storyteller.
💡 Top Takeaways:
It’s important to blend authentic writing with SEO strategies when looking to monetize a travel blog.
The only way to stay consistent is to identify your own rhythm.
✨ Ready to build your own career as an impact-driven travel storyteller?
Join our course, Get Paid to Travel the World with Purpose. We go beyond pretty pictures and viral hooks, and teach you how to grow with integrity, impact and income.