We know that these days it’s much easier to earn a living on doing what you love. Travel blogging might seem like one of the most appealing jobs to many: after all, it gives you the opportunity to travel the world and make money with the help of that. However, that dream job is not easy to build.
Of course, starting a blog itself is easy enough. All you need to do is to choose an appropriate hosting, pick a design, and register a blog. You don’t even need to pay money for it as there are a lot of free hosting platforms and templates these days.
However, if it seems so easy, why there aren’t so many successful travel bloggers out there? Well, because the blogging itself requires a lot of time and efforts. You cannot simply create content or order it from any custom writing service – no, you have to understand how exactly does this work.
So here’s what you need to focus on to make your travel blog successful.
1. Choose a right domain name.
It has to be short and unique. It has to be easy to remember. It also has to be one of the names you’ll be able to use for years. For example, if you name the blog My3YearTravel and later decide that you want to travel more than three years, this can be a bit inconvenient. Sure, you can always change the name later but this might lead to you losing a part of your audience – after all, not all people reading your blog actually subscribe to it. Some prefer finding it via Google, which would be impossible once you change the name.
Therefore, spend some time coming with a proper name right from the start.
2. Offer something useful.
There are plenty people who travel the world and write about their impression. This itself isn’t interesting to many.
Your goal is not only to write about places you’ve been to and things you’d seen. You also need to give some information the readers won’t be able to find elsewhere – things like tips, recommendations, amazing photos, humor, and so on.
3. Appeal to the emotions.
Your audience has to connect to you, has to feel what you were feeling while traveling the world. One of the best ways to achieve this is to appeal to their emotions and senses in your writing. Describe the taste of the dishes, the scent of the flowers, and so on. Add photos. Try making it as vivid as possible.
4. Do something interesting.
So you visit a certain country, try local dishes, take a couple of pictures – and that’s all? Most people do so and while this is completely okay, you should aim for something bigger while writing and promoting your travel blog.
Try adding some interesting and unusual experience to your journeys. This will not only make your travels more memorable but also will help you create a unique content that will most likely be shared a lot.
5. Don’t forget about social media promotion.
Social media are a great (and free!) traffic source but only if you learn how to use them right. It’s important not only to post there regularly but also don’t get stuck there for hours every day – otherwise, you won’t have much time left to travel and explore, right?
Instead of spending hours communicating in groups and responding to comments, focus on making the most out of your posts. Choose images and headlines that catch attention and try to find out your perfect time for posting. It could differ for every niche and for every social media but eventually, you’ll be able to detect the perfect posting time just for your blog.
6. Try guest posting.
Another effective tool for driving more traffic to your blog and getting noticed in the first place. Guest posting guidelines and conditions are different for each blog: some will ask you to pay money for posting, some will allow linking back to your blog for free. If you are a beginner blogger, don’t rush investing money in promotion – instead, focus on free guest posting options and see how it will work out.
7. Don’t miss an opportunity to earn money.
While only a few people will read your blog at first, this number will change eventually. It’s important not to miss an opportunity then. Once your audience becomes big enough, you’ll be able to sell ads, join some affiliate programs, and so on.
It’s important to keep some balance here: do use tools you can already use to earn money but don’t stop promoting your blog at the same time. Remember that the bigger your audience gets, the more money you’ll be able to make in the future.
Hopefully, these tips will help you create an amazing travel blog and eventually become able to travel the world and earn money doing what you love at the same time.