Case study · Mania por Viagem
Building a travel brand while the world stood still
In April 2020, when nobody could travel, my co-founder and I launched a travel brand. We grew it to 107k organic followers on Instagram by being useful, then turned that community into a digital education business.
- Role
- Co-founder · brand, content & product lead
- Period
- 2020–2022
- Team
- Two co-founders
- Scope
- Positioning, brand identity, content strategy, community, digital product, launch funnel, partnerships
- organic followers on Instagram
- 107k
- views on our best-performing Reel
- 5.6M
- conversion in the seed launch of our course
- 13.3%
- videos as an official, verified Kwai partner channel
- 25/mo
Where it started
The idea goes back to 2018 and the English classes I taught. My students kept asking how I travelled on a budget: which museums had free days, how to find cheaper flights, how to get by in another language. In April 2020 we turned those answers into an Instagram page, and soon after into a company.
The challenge
Launch a travel brand at the exact moment the world stopped travelling, with no ad budget, no team, and an audience that couldn't book a trip.
Positioning
We defined a clear audience: people who couldn't afford luxury trips or travel agencies and weren't backpackers either, but had the time and will to plan their own journeys. Our promise was autonomy: a trip that fits who you are, at a price you can afford.
Key decisions
-
Be useful when inspiration isn't enough
Alongside tips, itineraries and budgeting tools, we tracked travel restrictions country by country in real time. While most travel content stalled, we became the place people checked before planning their next trip.
-
One engine, every platform
We expanded from Instagram into Reels, YouTube, TikTok and Kwai, repurposing long-form content into short videos. That system won our first commercial contract: becoming an official, verified Kwai partner channel, delivering 25 videos a month.
-
Design a course people can actually finish
Tire Sua Viagem do Papel ("Get your trip off the paper") was built as a progression: each lesson set up the next, from itinerary and accommodation (including free options like house sitting) to documents and bureaucracy, until the final module, where students' trips were ready to book.
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Validate before scaling
Instead of a big launch, we ran a seed launch to test the offer with our most engaged followers.
The launch funnel
- Four live classes structured on AIDA, with the fourth opening sales
- A 10-day challenge on Telegram, Do Zero ao Viajando ("From zero to travelling"), with daily tasks, workbooks and cheap-flight alerts, so participants felt real progress toward their trip
- Email automation in ActiveCampaign for reminders, materials and live alerts
- The offer: the full course on Hotmart, with ready-made itineraries and bonuses
What I owned
Everything behind the camera: brand identity, website, content strategy and editorial lines, video and photo production, editing, copywriting, community and growth, curriculum design, email automation, media kits and partnerships. I also taught the documentation and bureaucracy modules.
Results
- 107k organic Instagram followers, 11k on TikTok, 4k on YouTube
- 5.6M views on our best-performing Reel
- Thousands of people planned cheaper trips with our free guides and content
- Official, verified Kwai partner channel
- Seed launch: 12 of ~90 challenge participants bought the course (13.3% conversion)
- Sponsored partnerships with Cambly, Seguros Promo, Jalapão Oficial and Trinity Intercâmbio
In 2022 I handed my share to my co-founder, who continues the brand today.
What I learned
Creating content while travelling is a full-time job on its own. Today I'd bring in freelance videographers and a performance team for distribution and conversion much earlier, so the founders could stay focused on strategy and product.
