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Nov 12, 2016 · 24m · top-founders

EP 476: NomadicMatt 1.6M Monthly Views, $400k Travel Insurance Sold Monthly with Matt Kepnes

Nathan Latka · 10m spoken Matt Kepnes · 8m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Nomadic Matt founder Matt Kepnes to explore how he scaled a personal travel blog into a high-traffic enterprise generating over $400,000 monthly in affiliate insurance sales alongside bestselling travel guides.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 55.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.2 Guest teaching 1.7 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 1.3
05100:0010:0020:002:44–6:05 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 From Healthcare Cubicle to Travel Blog Platform Nathan inquires about Matt's career transition from healthcare admin into travel blogging and asks how revenue breaks down between affiliate commissions and digital guidebooks.6:05–9:27 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Traditional Book Economics and Authority Building Nathan breaks down traditional book publishing math on the fly, calculating royalty earnings against advance amounts while Matt explains the value of print books for brand authority.9:28–14:06 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Pivoting to a Data-Driven Business Strategy Nathan presses Matt on undisclosed affiliate commission rates, prompting Matt to reveal policy volume instead where he corrects Nathan's missing zero calculation error.14:06–17:20 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 SEO Strategy, Guest Posting, and Email Marketing Nathan cites live Ahrefs backlink data to break down Matt's organic SEO and guest blogging strategy, followed by discussing team operational structure.17:22–19:24 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Mid-Roll Promotions: Acuity Scheduling and HostGator Solo host mid-roll commercial read promoting Acuity Scheduling and HostGator web hosting.19:24–21:00 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Q&A Nathan guides Matt through the rapid-fire Famous Five format, briefly digging into Matt's tactical use of Ahrefs for competitive keyword ranking.2:44–6:05 · Guest teaching 1/10 From Healthcare Cubicle to Travel Blog Platform Nathan inquires about Matt's career transition from healthcare admin into travel blogging and asks how revenue breaks down between affiliate commissions and digital guidebooks.6:05–9:27 · Guest teaching 2/10 Traditional Book Economics and Authority Building Nathan breaks down traditional book publishing math on the fly, calculating royalty earnings against advance amounts while Matt explains the value of print books for brand authority.9:28–14:06 · Guest teaching 5/10 Pivoting to a Data-Driven Business Strategy Nathan presses Matt on undisclosed affiliate commission rates, prompting Matt to reveal policy volume instead where he corrects Nathan's missing zero calculation error.14:06–17:20 · Guest teaching 1/10 SEO Strategy, Guest Posting, and Email Marketing Nathan cites live Ahrefs backlink data to break down Matt's organic SEO and guest blogging strategy, followed by discussing team operational structure.17:22–19:24 · Guest teaching 0/10 Mid-Roll Promotions: Acuity Scheduling and HostGator Solo host mid-roll commercial read promoting Acuity Scheduling and HostGator web hosting.19:24–21:00 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Q&A Nathan guides Matt through the rapid-fire Famous Five format, briefly digging into Matt's tactical use of Ahrefs for competitive keyword ranking.2:44–6:05 · Guest disagreement 1/10 From Healthcare Cubicle to Travel Blog Platform Nathan inquires about Matt's career transition from healthcare admin into travel blogging and asks how revenue breaks down between affiliate commissions and digital guidebooks.6:05–9:27 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Traditional Book Economics and Authority Building Nathan breaks down traditional book publishing math on the fly, calculating royalty earnings against advance amounts while Matt explains the value of print books for brand authority.9:28–14:06 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pivoting to a Data-Driven Business Strategy Nathan presses Matt on undisclosed affiliate commission rates, prompting Matt to reveal policy volume instead where he corrects Nathan's missing zero calculation error.14:06–17:20 · Guest disagreement 1/10 SEO Strategy, Guest Posting, and Email Marketing Nathan cites live Ahrefs backlink data to break down Matt's organic SEO and guest blogging strategy, followed by discussing team operational structure.17:22–19:24 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Roll Promotions: Acuity Scheduling and HostGator Solo host mid-roll commercial read promoting Acuity Scheduling and HostGator web hosting.19:24–21:00 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Q&A Nathan guides Matt through the rapid-fire Famous Five format, briefly digging into Matt's tactical use of Ahrefs for competitive keyword ranking.2:44–6:05 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 From Healthcare Cubicle to Travel Blog Platform Nathan inquires about Matt's career transition from healthcare admin into travel blogging and asks how revenue breaks down between affiliate commissions and digital guidebooks.6:05–9:27 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Traditional Book Economics and Authority Building Nathan breaks down traditional book publishing math on the fly, calculating royalty earnings against advance amounts while Matt explains the value of print books for brand authority.9:28–14:06 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Pivoting to a Data-Driven Business Strategy Nathan presses Matt on undisclosed affiliate commission rates, prompting Matt to reveal policy volume instead where he corrects Nathan's missing zero calculation error.14:06–17:20 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 SEO Strategy, Guest Posting, and Email Marketing Nathan cites live Ahrefs backlink data to break down Matt's organic SEO and guest blogging strategy, followed by discussing team operational structure.17:22–19:24 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Mid-Roll Promotions: Acuity Scheduling and HostGator Solo host mid-roll commercial read promoting Acuity Scheduling and HostGator web hosting.19:24–21:00 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Q&A Nathan guides Matt through the rapid-fire Famous Five format, briefly digging into Matt's tactical use of Ahrefs for competitive keyword ranking.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 93.3% · guest 6.7%0:00 · Nathan 93.3% · guest 6.7%3:00 · Nathan 22% · guest 78%3:00 · Nathan 22% · guest 78%6:00 · Nathan 30.9% · guest 69.1%6:00 · Nathan 30.9% · guest 69.1%9:00 · Nathan 44.5% · guest 55.5%9:00 · Nathan 44.5% · guest 55.5%12:00 · Nathan 50.7% · guest 49.3%12:00 · Nathan 50.7% · guest 49.3%15:00 · Nathan 43.2% · guest 56.8%15:00 · Nathan 43.2% · guest 56.8%18:00 · Nathan 83.3% · guest 16.7%18:00 · Nathan 83.3% · guest 16.7%21:00 · Nathan 99.5% · guest 0.5%21:00 · Nathan 99.5% · guest 0.5%24:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%24:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:41 Matt refuses to disclose proprietary affiliate commission percentage

Matt politely but firmly refuses to state his exact affiliate commission percentage due to contract restrictions, offering baseline public rates instead.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:04 Nathan pivots to demand raw transaction volume

When Matt refuses to share his private percentage take, Nathan immediately pushes for policy volume metrics to reverse-engineer total transaction value.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:13 Matt corrects host multiplication error on policy volume

When Nathan calculates monthly insurance sales as $40k based on 400-500 policies, Matt points out that Nathan missed a zero and that the actual gross volume is $400k.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 14:06 Nathan pulls third-party SEO backlink metrics to assess authority engine

Nathan demonstrates domain expertise by pulling up live Ahrefs backlink data to detail Matt's 7,400+ referring domain profile.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
From Healthcare Cubicle to Travel Blog Platform 4111 Nathan inquires about Matt's career transition from healthcare admin into travel blogging and asks how revenue breaks down between affiliate commissions and digital guidebooks.
Traditional Book Economics and Authority Building 6212 Nathan breaks down traditional book publishing math on the fly, calculating royalty earnings against advance amounts while Matt explains the value of print books for brand authority.
Pivoting to a Data-Driven Business Strategy 5523 Nathan presses Matt on undisclosed affiliate commission rates, prompting Matt to reveal policy volume instead where he corrects Nathan's missing zero calculation error.
SEO Strategy, Guest Posting, and Email Marketing 6111 Nathan cites live Ahrefs backlink data to break down Matt's organic SEO and guest blogging strategy, followed by discussing team operational structure.
Mid-Roll Promotions: Acuity Scheduling and HostGator 0000 Solo host mid-roll commercial read promoting Acuity Scheduling and HostGator web hosting.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Q&A 4111 Nathan guides Matt through the rapid-fire Famous Five format, briefly digging into Matt's tactical use of Ahrefs for competitive keyword ranking.

Statements from this episode (12)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
NomadicMatt.com averages 1.2 million unique monthly website views
“1.2 million.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 3:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Two-thirds of Nomadic Matt's revenue is affiliates, one-third is books
“About two thirds of my income is affiliates. So that would be people coming to my website and booking their travels through my links. And about a third of that is book sales.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 4:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Travel hacking is the best-selling guide among his 11 digital products
“I have 11 e-guides but I would say the one that does them best is the one on travel hacking, which is using points and miles for free travel.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 5:21
Disclosure
Kepnes received a $30,000 advance for his traditional travel book
“30 grand.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 6:34
Insight
Physical books establish credibility in travel that blogging alone cannot
“Because at the time, it wasn't so much about the money as in travel, having a published guide makes you a lot more of a credible source. So it was more about Growing the brand and legitimatizing me.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 7:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kepnes's NYT bestselling travel book sold 50,000 to 60,000 copies
“Like 50 or 60,000.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 7:51
Disclosure
Kepnes turned his blog into a business after Ramit Sethi berated him
“And then 2010, I shifted after a very interesting conversation with Ramit Sadie, where he basically berated me for not knowing anything about my audience. I got more to the business side of it.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 9:46
Assertion Supported
World Nomads offers a baseline 10% affiliate commission for standard sign-ups
“I'm not allowed to tell you, but let me tell you that the off, like, if you were just to sign up regularly, you'd get 10%.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 11:41
Disclosure
Nomadic Matt drives roughly $400,000 a month in travel insurance sales
“Oh no, that's a lot more than that... I think you missed a zero... Yeah. Something like that.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 12:19
Disclosure
World Nomads, Intrepid Travel, and Momondo drive Nomadic Matt's affiliate revenue
“That's sort of the one that brings in the most money. I also have stuff with Intrepid Travel, which is a tour company, Momondo, which is a flight booking engine. You know, those three are sort of the crux of it.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 12:38
Disclosure
Nomadic Matt's email list has grown to over 200,000 subscribers
“A little over 200,000.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 15:09
Disclosure
Nomadic Matt operates with a team of three full-time employees
“I have three full time employees.”
Matt Kepnes Nov 12, 2016 ▶ 15:54
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