Who is Jason Barnette?
I was born in a small town in Southwest Virginia and grew up in an even smaller town. But a national forest surrounded me, the Blue Ridge Parkway was an hour away, and Grayson Highlands State Park was an easy weekend destination. Outdoor adventures and road trips were influential parts of my childhood.
Unfortunately, finishing college was never part of my adulthood.
After graduating high school, I bounced around the East Coast between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Emerald Isle, North Carolina. Eventually settling in Wilmington, I attended the University of North Carolina – Wilmington, where I studied filmmaking.
That led me to my first job in photography. I was the university’s only student photographer. I learned the ins and outs of the photography business from a grueling boss while honing my photography skills.
After a lifetime of studying computer science, engineering, special education, psychology, and filmmaking in college, I finally left university life behind. I began a career as a travel photographer in 2009 when my first photos were published in a travel publication.
And then, I decided to start a travel blog.
What is Road Trips & Coffee?
In 2012, I started the Southeastern Traveler blog. I wanted to get more attention for my photography. So, I began writing 3 to 5 paragraphs about my most recent adventure and then included a gallery of my best photos.
Photography has always been my greatest passion, but writing was my first. I spent thousands of hours of my childhood writing short stories and novels on the family’s first computer, a Compaq Presario.
The travel blog awakened the wordsmith within. Soon, my articles became more complex, diving into the depths of the travel world.
In 2018, I attended the Travel Blog Exchange annual conference in Corning, New York. I learned a lot about making travel blogging a successful career instead of just a mediocre side job. By the end of the year, everything changed.
Following the inspiration of TBEX, I decided to rebrand myself in early 2019. After spending weeks searching for a cohesive brand between social media handles and available domain names, I settled on Road Trips & Coffee – my favorite way to travel and my favorite morning beverage.
Road trips are my favorite way to travel, and coffee is my favorite morning beverage. It only made sense to create a travel blog where I explore these topics.
I spent weeks redesigning my website, optimizing my previous posts, and learning about keyword research. I had a new mission and a solid vision for where I wanted to head into the future.
Road Trips & Coffee is where I leverage my 15+ years of road-tripping experience to produce how-to guides, travel guides, and road trip itineraries. It’s where I share personal experiences, interviews with interesting people, and explore amazing destinations to visit during road trips across the country.
I lost my way as a travel writer somewhere between founding Road Trips & Coffee in 2019, placing advertising on the website in 2022, and watching my Google traffic plummet in 2024.
That’s when I realized I’d lost my passion for writing and my focus on what mattered.
I made the same mistake that so many travel bloggers make: I focused too much on keyword ranking. After writing an article about things to do in Chattanooga’s NorthShore neighborhood, someone left a comment noting that it was spelled “NorthShore” and not “North Shore,” as I’d written in the article.
I foolishly replied that I chose “North Shore” because that was SEO-friendly. What complete and utter bull****.
When the 2023 Google Helpful Content Update was completed, blogs around the world saw a heartbreaking 90% drop in traffic – mine included. As I read Google’s explanation, I realized one of my crucial mistakes: I’d removed myself from my stories.
I no longer wrote anything in the first person or shared my personal views or offered tips from my own experiences. I’d completely removed myself and replaced first-person pronouns with third-person.
So, with this wake-up call, I decided it was time to return to what I loved the most: writing about road trips, travel, and coffee from my personal experience as a perpetual road tripper. And then, I took it one step further by developing a mission statement.
My mission with Road Trips & Coffee is to use my 15+ years of road-tripping experience to inspire people to travel, educate audiences about everything to do with road trips, and highlight the best road trip routes in the country.
This is more than just a mission statement. It is my promise to you.
Editorial Guidelines
Road Trips & Coffee may occupy a small corner of the internet, but I still have standards in my writing. In fact, my standards are so high that it takes me significantly longer to publish an article than most travel bloggers.
That’s because I’m committed to creating high-quality, trustworthy content designed to inspire you to visit a destination and answer all your questions. I’m less interested in generating page views and ad revenue than I am in helping you learn about a place.
Here are some guidelines I use when creating content for this website:
I only write about topics in which I have personal experience.
Every article from “things to do” roundups to product reviews is written from personal experience. I may not visit every restaurant or museum in a destination, but I’ll visit enough to be able to write a roundup of all the choices.
I use primary sources for information.
Whenever I need information about a destination or business, I call them and ask. I don’t rely on Reddit discussions or online reviews. I use primary sources for all facts in my travel articles.
No AI content.
AI has no place on Road Trips & Coffee. This website is entirely about personal experience, which helps you understand travel and road trips. I do not use AI generated content, article outlines, or images anywhere on this website.
Full transparency.
I disclose every time a Destination Marketing Organization hosts me, which means they cover my cost for lodging, food, and attractions. I also disclose whenever a marketing agency or company sends me a free product to review.
These disclosures are always at the top of the article, just after the introduction, in a clearly labeled box.
I also disclose whenever someone has paid me for an article. You can read more about that below in Sponsored Posts.
I have complete editorial control.
Even if a DMO hosts me, sponsors the content, or a company sends me a free product, they have no editorial control over my content. They can request I change factual errors like incorrect addresses for businesses or festival dates. But they can never ask that I remove a negative comment, personal experience, or to “spruce up” what I write about their destination or product.
High quality and trustworthy images.
First and foremost, I’ll always be a travel photographer. That’s how I got started in 2012. I prefer to capture all my images with my trusty Nikon mirrorless cameras. But whenver I need additional images, I reach out to the DMOs or businesses.
I never use AI-generated images. These are inherently fake because they paint the perfect picture of what a place might look like – not what it does look like.
Press Trips and Familiarization Trips
People learn about what I do for a living and say, “Your life is like living a vacation.” Could you imagine how much it would cost to live on vacation permanently?
Press trips are a vital component of the work model for travel bloggers. We rely on Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) to “host” us on press trips. These trips typically include:
- Lodging
- Meals
- Admission to events, museums, and attractions
- Travel stipends to cover gas and additional expenses (like coffee!)
I have a policy to spend 100% of the travel stipends in the local market. These stipends are often given on a Visa gift card. I’ll use that gift card to pay additional expenses while exploring the destination. But if I have any money left over, I’ll buy something from a local arts and crafts shop as Christmas gifts. This way, I’m spending the travel stipend in the local market supporting local businesses.
Other benefits of the press trip are introductions to local business owners, interview opportunities with interesting people, and behind-the-scenes experiences. These give me a chance to dig deeper into the story of a destination and find something really interesting to tell.
Unlike most other travel bloggers, I do not accept or require payment for articles written during a hosted press trip. I consider it an in-kind return in exchange for the money they invested in my lodging, meals, and attractions. However, I offer the chance for DMOs to sponsor the posts after I’ve published them. DMOs pay a yearly fee for certain benefits when sponsoring a post about their destination.
I always include a disclosure at the top of the article, just after the introduction, in a clearly labeled box whenever I’m hosted by a DMO on a press trip.
Sponsored Posts
Sponsored Posts are articles I’ve written for this website that a DMO, marketing agency, or business has elected to pay me as a sponsor. It’s like the back pages of a festival guide filled with business logos of all the people who paid to help make the festival happen.
But even if someone opts to sponsor a post, they do not have editorial control over the content. They see the content at the same time as you, after I click “Publish.”
I include a disclosure at the top of the article after the introduction whenever I accept payment for an article.
Product Reviews
Along the same lines as press trips, I cannot buy every product I want to test to create a product review. I do accept free products in exchange for reviews.
However, there are some essential things to understand about these product reviews.
Just because I am given a free product does not guarantee a positive review. I will review the product as thoroughly and honestly as if I’d bought the item.
The product’s manufacturer or marketing agency has no editorial control. They cannot suggest the subject of the review or request changes to the review. I allow the reviews to be read before publication so the manufacturer can address shortcomings or point out mistakes made during the review process.
I receive an affiliate commission on some (but not all) of the products I mention on Road Trips of America. The commission is paid through Amazon, Booking.com, Expedia, Rakuten Advertising, or AvantLink.
However, I cannot always generate an affiliate link to a product. For example, I cannot use affiliate links for federal agency purchases or app downloads. Even if I cannot generate an affiliate link, I will always include a direct link to the manufacturer for purchasing the product.
Visit the Product Review & Ratings System page to learn more about how I review products, rate the products for different aspects, and write the review articles on Road Trips & Coffee.
Affiliate Programs
An affiliate program is an essential marketing arrangement for travel blogs like mine. A marketing organization provides a unique URL for a product or service that I include somewhere in an article. Whenever someone clicks that link and completes a purchase, I receive a commission.
The user is never charged for that commission. You pay the same price for the product or service as anyone else.
I have a few guidelines for how and when I use affiliate links on Road Trips & Coffee:
- I only use affiliate links for products or services I would use myself
- If I am not approved for a particular brand’s affiliate network, I will still share a link to their product or service
- I always disclose whenever I’m using affiliate links
The most common place I use affiliate links is the “Where to Stay” sections of travel articles. But I’ll also use affiliate links in product reviews and other travel-related services.
Here’s the complete list of all affiliate networks I use on this website:
- AvantLink
- Rakuten
- Expedia Group
- Awin
- Amazon
How I Get Paid as a Travel Writer
There are a hundred different ways travel writers are paid. And I’m also sure I’m not doing it quite the same as anyone else. But the important part is that I earn a living as a travel writer to follow my passion for road trips while earning paychecks ethically and morally.
I am disclosing these methods for complete transparency so you understand how I get paid and how this does not affect the opinions expressed in my writing.
There are five ways I get paid as a travel writer:
- Freelance Writing – I’ve written articles for publication on DMO blogs and publications like Matador Network and AAA Magazine. I am paid a one-time fee for writing the article and sometimes reimbursed for my travel expenses.
- Website Advertising – This website features advertising from Mediavine in all articles and pages. Every time an ad on any page is loaded in a web browser, I am paid a set fee. I am not paid different amounts for different pages or articles. Road Trips & Coffee Pro members enjoy an ad-free experience.
- Road Trips & Coffee Pro – I despise website advertising. I refused to incorporate ads into my website for the first 11 years of travel blogging despite fellow bloggers insisting I was “leaving money on the floor.” So, frequent visitors can pay an annual fee to join the Pro version of the website and enjoy an ad-free experience – in addition to several other perks.
- Sponsored Posts – I accept payment from DMOs and marketing agencies in exchange for writing an article highlighting their destination. Sponsored Posts are valid for one year from publication date unless the DMO or marketing agency pays an additional fee to continue the sponsorship.
- Affiliate Links – I include affiliate links for products whenever possible. When a user clicks one of the links and makes a purchase, I receive a small commission. The user is not charged any additional fee for my commission.
Now that you know how I earn an income as a travel writer, I hope you understand that none of these sources influence the content on Road Trips & Coffee.