Hundreds of millions of people travel every year. In 2016, there were a whopping 823 million passengers flying via US airlines alone. Of that, 103 million people flew to an international destination. Needless to say, there are a lot of people traveling every day, which means there’s a large market for travel blogging. Newbie travelers emerge all the time and they need help preparing for and choosing destinations. Even seasoned travelers need tips and tricks every now and then. If you’re interested in providing this service, then you’ll find this travel blogging for beginners guide helpful.
We’ll cover the steps you have to take and some quick tips to get traffic faster. Let’s dive in!
Select a Blog Name
Now, you’ll have to think carefully about this because it’s a big piece of your branding. It’s how people will remember your blog. The name should be memorable and relevant to the travel industry. This will also be your domain name. For this reason, it’s a good idea to have keywords in it.
Find a way to optimize your blog name and stand out to travelers and you have yourself a winner. You can use Go Daddy to check the domain to see if it’s taken. Another tool is Lean Domain Search, which helps you come up with names that aren’t in use.
Choose A Niche for Your Blog
Next up is your niche. Why is this important? Because you don’t want to be overly general and have a boatload of competition. Plus, why should travelers come to you for basic tips when they can go to a niche blog with more in-depth knowledge?
The idea is to choose an area of travel that has a sizable audience. For example, you can cover specific destinations like Italy or local places like Arizona and Mexico. Or cover styles of travel like backpacking or camping. This will make it easier to target a specific group of people and draw in a lot of the right traffic. Search for keywords related to your niche using Google Keyword Planner.
Then implement them throughout your web pages and blog posts.
Pick a Simple Blogging Platform
To date, the platform most suitable for travel blogging for beginners is WordPress. You can have your website and blog up and running in just one day. There are free and paid themes to select from or you can have a web designer customize one for you. Whatever you decide, make sure the theme fits your travel blog. The installation is seamless and there’s no coding knowledge required. Then you can find a variety of plugins that help with optimization and functionality.
What’s also great about WordPress is you can add different fonts, graphics, videos, formats, social buttons and so on. Just make sure you pick a quality web hosting service. Some options include Go Daddy and Host Gator.
Monetize Your Blog
If you’re planning to go from travel blogging for beginners to a pro blogger, then you need to monetize your site. Then if it becomes profitable enough, you can quit your day job and become a full-time blogger.
But even if that’s not your intent, you can always use a little money on the side. This can go towards your web hosting costs, redesigns, and purchasing travel products to review.
Also, if your blog is about you traveling, then you’ll definitely need the money to cover some of the expenses. Some of the ways you can monetize your blog include:
- Affiliate marketing: Promote products and services your visitors will find useful.
- Sponsorship: Get paid by a brand to write about their products.
- Advertising: Offer banner and ad space on your blog.
- Sponsored posts: Write posts brands pay you to write (ensure to let your readers know its sponsored).
- Sell things: For example, products, e-books, and courses
It’s also a good idea to start a weekly or monthly email newsletter. You can entice people to subscribe by offering free e-books and courses. Then you can leverage your email list to promote your products or that of an affiliate or sponsor.
Start Writing Topics for Your Blog
It’s time to start populating your blog with content. This is the meat that will drive travelers to your site. Since you have a niche, you should know exactly what they’re looking for. What draws traffic isn’t the basic regurgitated topics every travel blog writes about. It’s about honing in on key topics that interest your audience.
Try offering your own personal experiences and views on a given topic to establish yourself as an authority. If people see you know what you’re talking about, they’re more likely to revisit and refer your blog to others. Pay attention to the comments section, so you can engage with your readers.
And don’t forget to include keywords in the titles, subheadings and throughout your blog posts. Then to spruce things up, include relevant videos and photos, so it’s more engaging.
Promote On Social Media
Another way to help drive traffic faster is to promote your blog posts on social media. You can connect with other travel bloggers outside of your niche who aren’t direct competitors. Ghostwrite for their blogs to help draw traffic from their site. You can also pay for influencers to mention your site to their following.
What makes social media work is giving value to your followers. Don’t over-promote – instead, you should engage in conversations and give good commentary and advice. About 10% of your posts should be promotion, 30% your own content and 60% curated content.
Learn More About Travel Blogging for Beginners
Sometimes, the best way to learn about travel blogging for beginners is from other bloggers. Within the travel industry, there are plenty to learn from. For example, My Postcard Blog features all sorts of great topics about taking photos, which can be applied to your blog.
Get ideas for holiday themes and taking selfies while you’re out on your travels.
Stop by today to get your creative juices flowing!
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