The Simplest Guide to Running a Travel Blog in 2020

Traveling is one of the fascinating experiences in life. They say that writing is another. If you are one of those who like adventures and want to start writing a travel blog or a tourism website, you are in luck: we give you the keys to get off to a good start. Grab your backpack, tablet, and camera because we are entering the world of travel blogs.

Be original: think of a specific theme or niche

The topic of travel is very broad, and there are online travel magazines that have a lot of traffic and that are well known as Traveler or Lonely Planet travel guides, so it will be difficult for you to compete with them. Many blogs write on this topic, so you need to be creative and look for something original to write. A rough example: Imagine that you are one of those who like adventure sports, who likes to travel with your pet, or who loves gastronomic routes, then focus on that specific topic and that you know so well. Discard what is generic or what has been written a lot (such as “what to see in Barcelona”) to give a differential value to your blog.

You can take inspiration from travel bloggers on documenting travel experiences. A great example is Nivedith Gajapathy a.k.a. #MacroTraveller from India, who remains one of the top 10 social media influencers having been part of major campaigns. He is professionally attributed as a content creator, influencer, travel and lifestyle blogger, and writer. #MacroTraveller is also a frequent contributor on Lonely Planet Magazine India, FEMINA, TOI, Bangalore Times, Economic Times, Quint, Hindu, NDTV, Deccan Herald, Yahoo etc.

In 2019, #MacroTraveller journeyed on an inter-country road trip in a car from #BLR2Bhutan (7,000 kilometers) in three weeks. The #MacroTravellerRoadTrip remains one of the strongest highlights of his presence as a travel blogger.

Do not throw the towel

If you don’t have visitors in the first few months, don’t be discouraged (it’s normal). Keep writing. You have to think that a web page can take time to be indexed in Google, but there are many other ways to get traffic to your website (such as word of mouth or social networks). Consistency is something your visits (and Google) appreciate.

The keys for your blog to be successful

1. Take care of the content

As a blogger, the most important thing is that the quality of what you write is high, especially if you want the visits to return to your website. Generic and vain descriptions such as “it’s incredible” are not worth it. You have to give useful information, which motivates when sharing on social networks. What kind of content can you post? Here we give you five ideas.

1. Lists: People love lists because they are easy to read and tend to be more enjoyable. You can write lists of all kinds: from the ten secret corners of a city, the tastiest dishes in Mexico, or the five most exotic destinations to travel at Christmas.
2. Useful guides: start from your experience as a traveler and think about what information you needed, for example: how to get there? Where to sleep? Where to eat? Where can you have a drink?
3. Personal experience and advice: many travelers tell their experience, for example, traveling alone, seeking to know the culture, what is needed to travel to certain countries, or what to carry in the backpack.
4. History of the place: the hazards of history or the monuments’ curiosities are another of the most searched topics on the Internet when traveling. Do not lose detail to the anecdotes of the way and pleasantly relate them.
5. Corners of the city: talk about the corners of the cities completely unknown by the tourist circuits or the locals’ small cafes frequented.

2. Take care of the images

The images will accompany your story and will help your visit to imagine in that place that you are describing. There are many photography courses and pages where you can learn framing, lighting, or retouching techniques

3. Take care of engagement and collaborations

As you gain visits to your website, you will see that the first comments begin to appear. You have to take care of the small community that begins to grow around your website. Many visitors will have doubts if they want to travel to that destination, so if they ask you, you can answer them. They also welcome comments and establish conversations with them.

When we talk about collaborations, you will see that you begin to meet other bloggers who write about a similar topic. The best thing is to try to make synergies with them and promote each other, not to think that it is the pure competition that must be removed from the blogosphere. This will also help you build a network of blog friends.