Family Blogger Kirsten Maxwell of Kids Are a Trip

I recently caught up with Kirsten Maxwell of Kids Are a Trip at the North American Travel Journalists conference (NATJA) in Puerto Rico. I wanted to get her take on being a family travel blogger who has been around a while and see how things were going after a trying couple of years.

You’ve lived in quite a few places it looks like. How have the different locations impacted what you write about?

​It’s true. I grew up in Tempe, Arizona, and moved to San Diego after I married my husband, Jason. We lived there for seven years and our first two children were born there. In 2005, my husband’s job took us to the Chicago suburbs. We spent 14 years there before moving to Dallas in 2019.

As you can tell, these are all very diverse places to live. Each one has played a different role in the content I create. When we lived in Chicago, I created a TON of content about the Midwest. It made sense, as we were exploring the area on a regular basis. Now that we are in Texas, my content has pivoted to writing about Texas and the southern United States. I will write about other destinations, but a lot of my audience wants to know about local experiences and attractions.

How did you get started as a blogger and what was the turning point for when it started to make real money?

​I started my site Kids Are A Trip in 2014. It was originally meant to be a journal-like blog for friends and families. Everyone had asked us how we traveled with three small children, and I wanted to show them how it was done.

What’s real money? I think the turning point was probably 2017 when I started working with Travelocity as a content creator. It was a steady job and it made me work harder, learn SEO, and create a real game plan.

How would you describe KidsAreATrip now and how will it evolve as the kids grow up and move on?

Right now Kids Are A Trip has evolved to cover more teen travel destinations. As a mom of three teen boys, we know a lot about adventure, and how teens want to travel (hint – it involves more downtime). I created MultigenerationalVacations.com to be my next adventure. As the kids grow older, I figure this will be a good fit for changing up my content. We also travel with my parents quite a bit, so it’s a natural evolution. Eventually, I will probably look to sell Kids Are A Trip, but I’m at least 5 years from that discussion.

How many income streams do you have in a typical year and which are the most lucrative?

On the whole, the most lucrative are my travel campaigns, followed by website advertising (Mediavine), and then affiliates.

I know you’ve contributed to some other publications, some of them blogs or online magazines for brands. How did those opportunities come about?

In all honesty, it’s all about connections. They have come from in-person meetings at conferences, personal referrals, and pitches, but most of these opportunities come from connections.

What advice would you give to someone starting a travel blog now, someone hoping to run it as a profitable business eventually?

​I would be honest. It is A LOT of work, and a lot of hours educating yourself on several factors (audience, SEO, social media, etc.). Start with the small affiliate programs and don’t ignore them. I swear there’s a lot of hidden money out there, you just have to know where to look for it!

Kirsten Maxwell is a freelance writer, photographer, and content creator based in the Dallas suburbs.She is the owner of Kids Are A Trip, a travel website inspiring families to explore the world beyond their backyard, and Multigenerational Vacations, for families looking to plan trips with their extended family. After traveling with family for 18 years, she has learned to find those off-the-beaten-path destinations and create meaningful travel experiences. Her work has been featured in AFAR, Parents Magazine, Bravo TV, Fodors, and various national publications.