If you’re passionate about travel, and you also have a knack for writing, becoming a travel blogger might be a rewarding career path.
There are plenty of reasons to become a travel blogger. First, it's a great hobby for those who like to travel, and writing about your adventures can help you capture these memories forever. Secondly, creating a travel blog doesn't have to cost you anything. You can always opt for free hosting platforms until you decide to turn them into something bigger.
Creating a travel blog is also a great opportunity to meet new, like-minded people, who can help you broaden your horizons and even give suggestions for your future travel endeavors.
Lastly, becoming a travel blogger can turn into a rewarding career, and the money successful travel bloggers make is considerable.
With that being said, let's see what are the steps to creating your travel blog from scratch!
Step#1: Choose a niche
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Choosing the right niche is one thing you need to do before starting your travel blog. If you're focused on one country or area, or you target a specific audience (such as backpackers and digital nomads, for instance) choosing a niche right away will help you stay focused and rank your website much faster. That said you can choose one among these niches and make a digital nomad travel blog, nomad travel blog, Eastern Europe travel blog, hitchhiking travel blog, and so on.
Overall, the best advice we can give you if you want to start a travel blog is to pick a niche based on the topic you feel most passionate about. You can always add another section to your blog for miscellaneous travels that don't fit your primary niche.
Step#2: Pick a name for your blog
Once you pick the niche for your travel blog, think about how to name it. You should think about some catchy and clever name that will show off your personality and show what your blog is all about right from the start.
Before starting a travel blog, be cautious to choose a name you'll like years from now, as changing the website name takes a lot of effort and time.
Step#3: Sort out the domain and hosting
Now we get to a more technical part. After you choose the name for your website, you need to check if someone else got the same idea and sign up for domain and hosting.
We can describe hosting as a virtual plot where all your data will be stored, and it's crucial to pick a reliable hosting provider. Luckily, you can find honest reviews online about which one is the best, and choose the one that suits your needs the best.
Usually, hosting providers offer free domains if you purchase their services, and, in most cases, it's a pretty good deal. We recommend choosing the .com domain as it is the easiest to remember.
Step#4: Install WordPress and choose a theme
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Most hosting providers offer the possibility to build a WordPress website through their platform for free. This is a great option, considering that the majority of blogging websites are built through WordPress, but as well because WordPress is great for SEO and comes with a wide array of plug-ins and additional tools you can use later on.
Every WordPress website comes with a few standard themes that can be later personalized. For greater theme choice, however, you'll have to be ready to spend a bit more.
We'd suggest going with paid themes, as they frequently provide support which would be needed later on.
Bonus tip: You can always choose a one-page WordPress website for your travel blog and add a blog section additionally. We’ll show you how!
All you need to do is to visit BlogHandy’s website, subscribe to one of three affordable plans, and add a blog section to your website with just two lines of code.
The best thing is: no coding knowledge is necessary! BlogHandy will instantly inherit all your website design and CSS, meaning you won’t have to spend time adjusting templates and themes.
Furthermore, BlogHandy allows you to create an SEO-optimized blog with prebuilt social sharing options and an SEO analyzer.
Step#5: Plan your keywords
Starting a successful travel blog goes hand in hand with meticulous planning. If you think about it, the internet is a huge space, and if you don't plan your marketing strategy carefully, you'll stay buried on Google's 10th page. And if we know that most people don't even check Google's second page, we understand how important it is to be on the top.
That's why you should plan your keywords and base them around the niche you picked. Choose terms people usually search for, but avoid the most popular ones, as they're hard to rank for, and build your content around them.
Step#6: Check your competition
If you want to build a successful career as a travel blogger, you'll need to research what your competitors are doing. Check the most popular travel blogs in your niche, think about why people like to read them and apply this recipe to your blog.
Another thing you should do is discover their greatest pain points, find something they lack, and try to include these things in your blogs. For instance, while some successful bloggers write about the best food to try, they focus on touristy and overpriced dining areas. You can explore more on-budget types of venues to gain a greater audience.
Step#7: Write for the reader and be original
The best way to gain an audience after starting your travel blog is to keep in mind that you write articles for them and not for yourself. That said, ensure to provide relevant information throughout your blog post and offer advice your audience will find useful.
Secondly, you should try to be as original as possible. Many travel bloggers write by the same "recipe" which makes their articles monotonous. Instead, try to write your unique thoughts and impressions and use the information you really think is useful.
Step#8: Include high-quality and genuine photos
(Photo credit: Pexels)
Photos are an equally important part of your travel blog, as the text you're going to write. While many commercial publications have sufficient budgets to pay both writer and a photographer to deliver the best experience, your advantage is that you'll be able to provide an authentic overview to your readers.
While your photos still need to be of high quality, you can take pictures of lesser-known parts and use them to tell your story that will set you apart from the competition. Plus, they can be a good reminder of things you've seen and ensure you don't forget anything.
Step#9: Make a marketing plan
If you want to become a well-known travel blogger, then you should think about ways to promote your blog. To do it successfully, you need a consistent marketing plan. You should open social networks to promote your blog, make social media plan and start building your audience. You should also engage with other bloggers with similar interests as you probably share the same audience. Lastly, check how to make newsletters and how to optimize your website to be more visible in Google's search.
Step#10: Follow and comment on other blogger’s work
Following, reading, and commenting on other bloggers' work might be beneficial for the success of your travel blog. By expressing your opinion, remarks, and suggestions you're allowing others to follow your work and build your readership much faster. Furthermore, getting to know other bloggers might provide you with another perspective and open up new possibilities. They might inspire you to visit new destinations, take another writing approach, or open some collaboration possibilities. Many bloggers sincerely want to help their coworkers and they are ready to promote other people's blogs if they find them worthy.
Step#11: Start making money from your blog
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While people usually start their travel blog as a hobby, many turn it into a full-time job. So, how can you earn from your travel blog?
There are several ways you can make money with your travel blog. First, there is Adsense which places banners on your website and pays you based on how many people saw them through it. To set it up, all you need to do is to go to the Adsense website, sign up for an account, enter banner details, and you're good to go.
Secondly, you can sign up for an Amazon Associate program which allows you to place affiliate links and earn each time somebody buys a product through a recommendation on your website. You can recommend all kinds of different travel equipment, for instance, essential for traveling. Furthermore, you can always partner with hotels, travel agencies, independent accommodations, and so on to earn a commission.
Things you might want to know before starting your travel blog
While you might think that becoming a travel blogger is a good career choice for you, you still might have some questions regarding it. Here, we’re going to answer the most frequently asked questions.
How much does it cost to start your travel blog?
Starting a travel blog doesn’t have to cost much. If you’re on a tight budget, there are plenty of things you can do yourself. However, this means you’ll progress much slower as many tasks are time-consuming. That said, the cheapest way to start a travel blog is to pay hosting and domain fees which usually cost around $8 per month (you can find it even cheaper), and do the writing, photographing, and marketing yourself until you can afford to outsource the work.
What does a travel blog include?
Every travel blog has a homepage that explains what your blog is about and contains contact information, a logo, and a newsletter signup form. Furthermore, every travel blog has a page that explains better who you are and a blog page with all your articles.
How much can I earn from a travel blog?
You can earn a decent living from your travel blog. However, the path to success might be rocky and it might take some time.
Already have a website?
If you already have a website, and you need to add a blog section, worry no more. You can start a travel blog and add a blog section seamlessly using BlogHandy’s two lines of code. The best thing is: you don’t have to know anything about coding. Browse one of our three affordable plans and choose one that fits your needs the best!