Dubai: How easy is it to get paid to travel? Influencers reveal the secrets to monetize content – News
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Kasem Hato, popularly known as Ibn Hattuta on social media, was a broke first-year college student when he first discovered the magic of low-cost travel. “I thought he had to be rich to travel,” he said. “But I soon discovered tricks for traveling on a budget. Then I wanted to share this with other people, so I started making videos.” Today, the YouTuber has nearly 2 million subscribers and has traveled to several countries around the world.
On Wednesday he addressed crowds and other travel bloggers at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai. The roundtable focused on how to get paid for travel.
“The most important thing is not to focus on money,” said Khoubaib Kouas. The YouTuber who appeared on Forbes Middle East’s 30 under 30 list last year has traveled to more than 47 countries since he began his career in 2017. “You have to have ambition and work hard to create good content. You have to show different cultures. People come to your channel to be entertained, so the responsibility is yours.”
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Earn money
Speakers unanimously agreed that making money as a content creator was challenging but possible. Walid Elmusrati owns an Airbnb that helps him earn income. “It’s important to diversify his income,” he said. “I own content creation companies and manage social media accounts for celebrities. It’s important to make sure you have a safety net.”
Session moderator Fuad Almasoud of e-simulation company Airalo said the entrepreneurial mindset helped these content creators be able to travel for money. “New generation content creators look at it from the sustainability aspect,” he said, speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the event. “How do you monetize as you go and how do you maintain this lifestyle? With this mindset, they create different ways to make money with different activities.”
Another influencer, Kareem Elsayed, added that it is easier to earn money on YouTube these days. “When we started, it took us years to make money on YouTube,” he said. “Nowadays it has become much easier. It’s almost become a job. But the key is to create a personal relationship with your viewers and only partner with brands that suit your followers.”
However, Kasem warned people to refrain from becoming content creators to make money. “If the first thing on your mind is money, that means you don’t have passion,” he said. “You will burn out very quickly because creating content is hard work. If you start with the passion of telling stories, once you have enough followers, you will find a way to generate income.”
Challenges
Speakers admitted that constantly creating content was often a challenge, especially for their mental health. “Usually people travel to relax, but when I travel and I’m not creating content, I feel like I’m wasting time and money,” Walid said.
Kareem said he takes scheduled breaks in the middle of the week. “Most of my travel is for work, so I schedule and take time off during the week when everyone else is working,” he said. “Otherwise, I will get burned. Content is an endless cycle.”
Kasem added that he took up hobbies to take care of his mental health. “I started playing sports like skiing and skydiving,” he said. “These are activities that I can do even when I’m traveling. And normally, when I ski, I don’t film. “That’s my me time.”
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