Chihuei Liu has been in the travel business for a long time – first as a flight attendant, now as the blogger behind Discover Over There.
Chihuei (rhymes with freeway, as she likes to say!) works full-time in tech sales, so she doesn’t have a lot of time to devote to her site. All the same, she’s found efficient and effective ways to monetize it.
To free up Chihuei’s time for the things she enjoys, Travelpayouts Drive, an AI-powered monetization system, steps in to handle the hard work. Here are some of Chihuei’s favorite functions:
- Targeted Offers studies user behavior and shows readers the brand offers they’re most likely to book. For Chihuei, this function within Drive made the biggest difference. After she turned it on, her site started showing more relevant offers, helping her earn more from the same traffic and grow revenue 3.5x in six months.
- The Switch Links, which automatically converts regular links and links from other affiliate platforms into Travelpayouts links.
The blog
Chihuei started Discover Over There in 2021 to write about city travel, and she’s now homing in on a juicy niche: design-forward hotels around the world.
Did we mention she likes to travel? She’s written about her experiences on five continents, covering cities as far-flung as Johannesburg, Buenos Aires, Taipei, and San Francisco (where she’s based). Along the way, she’s grown her monthly traffic to 35,000+ visitors and earned a following of almost 60k on Instagram.
Monetizing on a tight schedule
Working in tech in San Francisco and using all her vacation to travel, Chihuei didn’t have a whole lot of free time to optimize her affiliate activities. She kept an eye out for efficient ways to monetize her blog and eventually found Travelpayouts AI-powered monetization system Drive:
As someone who works full-time in AI, I’ve seen its power firsthand. So when I found out about Travelpayouts Drive, I knew I just had to try it! I only get to blog for a few hours every night, so I was hoping for positive results from any AI tool, and Travelpayouts definitely delivered.
Discover Over There had already been bringing in some revenue, but after Chihuei started using Targeted Offers, her revenue grew 3.5x over six months.
Chihuei’s favorite Drive functions
1. Targeted Offers
For Chihuei, Targeted Offers within Drive was the biggest revenue booster. It looks at what visitors want and shows them offers they’re likely to book. Her site now earns more from the same traffic, with no extra effort needed.
A big part of that growth came down to delayed attribution. A reader can leave her site and book later – as long as it’s within 30 days, it still counts for Chihuei. She earns from interested readers long after they move on. This meant she made up to 3.5 times more without doing anything extra.
2. Switch Links
This function helped Chihuei optimize her content. It switched all her non-affiliate links to Travelpayouts links almost instantly. Instead of managing links and earnings from different programs, she is able to have everything funneled through Travelpayouts.
I was super impressed with the Switch Links function because I knew I had a lot of unoptimized links on my page from years ago. Instead of going back to change the links, Drive did that for me and saved hours of copy-paste drudgery.
For someone whose work and play are both fast-paced, that kind of automation is a life-changer.
3. Link Relevant Keywords and Insert Recommendations
Switch Links and Targeted Offers helped Chihuei capture more bookings from the traffic she already had. But Drive did not stop there.
To catch even more booking opportunities, Chihuei used Link Relevant Keywords and Insert Recommendations. These tools automatically insert affiliate links and travel deals in her content. This way, readers can find bookable options right where they’re engaged.
Together, these tools show why Drive works best as a full system. Switch Links, Targeted Offers, Link Relevant Keywords, and Insert Recommendations each capture unique monetization chances. But they work best when used together. That is how Chihuei was able to earn more from the same content and traffic without adding more manual work:
My favorite part is the set-and-forget mindset. I never have to worry about going back and linking to something if I forgot. Also, I love that the algorithm knows what my readers will want and auto-recommends based on their preferences, lifestyle, etc.
Freed up to dream big
Take a cue from Chihuei: let AI handle your routine tasks so you can focus on traveling, creating, and earning – and planning your next big step.
For Chihuei, that step is to keep growing while niching down into elegantly designed hotels:
I plan to continue balancing my full-time career with blogging, as I’m genuinely passionate about helping busy professionals travel more comfortably and efficiently.
That means sharing fast-paced itineraries and showcasing beautiful luxury boutique stays around the world. Eventually, I’d love to maybe launch my own travelwear brand – something that helps business travelers move from point A to point B in style and comfort.
We’ll be here for it!
Takeaways: How to boost your blog game today
I’m a huge believer in testing everything, and running experiments – which means you should definitely start by experimenting with AI. It’s not going anywhere, and you might as well use it to your advantage to generate more revenue! What do you have to lose?
- Turn on Drive. All of Drive’s smart functions, including Targeted Offers and Switch Links, are designed to help you multiply your earnings automatically, with almost no work from you.
- Keep using standard tools. Links and widgets deliver consistently strong results.
- Track your site’s performance. Use the free Content Analytics dashboard to see which posts, brands, and tools are generating revenue, and which need to be tweaked.
And as always, Travelpayouts will be here to help in any way we can. 💙