When you live and breathe travel, it’s understandable that you would want to turn your love into a profession that allows you to share your passion with people while making some money. You may be tempted to start a travel blog. Many folks wonder where to start and what steps must be taken to turn an idea into a full-fledged side gig.
Here are some tips for becoming the next travel-writing sensation.
Create Your Brand
Before you start hammering away on your keyboard with your many article ideas, you need to take a minute and think about the foundation of your blog. Why would people go to your blog instead of the others? Who are you trying to reach? What are their ages and demographics? Once you better understand your audience, the next step is to name your blog.
Use your idea of what you want to talk about as inspiration for your blog name. For instance, it could be something about a particular country or a mode of transportation. You could also name it after an attribute of your own, like “The Over-excited Explorer” or something of that sort. Come up with a list of names and ask trusted friends for opinions.
Then, you’ll want to choose a platform – where you will publish your posts – for your blog. Many writers opt for WordPress because it’s easy to use. Plus, there are many plug-ins and tools that can help you with search engine optimisation while also making it easier to add links and ads. There are other options, like Squarespace and Wix, so research what’s best for you.
Write Interesting Content
With your name and idea in place, you need to create catchy, high-quality content that will catch the eyes of new readers. On top of writing great words, you must make them attractive to the reader. Use shorter paragraphs, bulleted lists, and infographics whenever you can.
Visuals are vital for effective blog posts, especially in the travel niche, so you'll want to include several in each post so readers can visualise where you were during the writing. You can also optimise your image text so they can be found more easily by search engines, which in turn will draw more traffic to your blog.
You’ll want your images to stand out, so while you may have many pictures of the same place, choose the best options. You also want photos that don’t have distractions, like people standing in the background, so try to beat the crowds so you get the view all to yourself. Of course, if people are in the shot, get permission to take their photo first so you don’t violate their privacy.
At first, it may seem like there’s only so much to write about a particular destination, but you actually have many options for high-quality content. You can write:
- Travel guides for new visitors;
- Recommendations for the best sights to see;
- Reviews of hotels and restaurants in the area;
- Tips to save money during your stay, and more.
Include a good mix of these topics in your blog and see what people like and share with their friends.
Track Metrics And Make Money
As your website and blog grow, you’ll gain popularity and get more regular visitors. This is a good time to start tracking your metrics to see the types of posts that visitors gravitate to the most. Look at how often users have clicked through your site, where they usually stop, and where people typically find your blog, e.g. from search engines like Google, on social media, etc. Once you know what people like, start writing more for that audience.
Also, when your site receives visitors regularly, you can begin to make money from your blog. Payouts might start small but stick with it, and over time, you could make a full-time job out of travelling and writing. There are several ways you can start earning passive income from your blog.
Start by promoting your blog by advertising it on social media and using SEO tactics to add keywords that potential visitors may want to see. There are also tools like Google AdSense that run ads on your blog post pages. When visitors click on them, you get paid. You can also try affiliate marketing, where you post products from sites like Amazon and get a commission if a visitor buys them. Once you gain popularity, you can also sell branded items or services to bring in even more cash.
While creating a successful travel blog may sound fairly straightforward, you will need to stick to it for months or even years until you find the success you crave. Just stick with it, keep exploring, and you will reach your goals.
