If you love traveling, exploring new places and cultures, and capturing your experiences in writing, photography, or videos, starting a travel blog can be a great way to document your adventures.
Here are some tips on how to start a travel blog.
1. Define your niche and audience.
Before you start creating content for your blog, think about what kind of traveler you are and who you want to reach. Are you a budget backpacker or a luxury vacationer? A solo adventurer or a family traveler? Do you have a specific niche such as a foodie traveler or an eco-conscious globetrotter?
Think about your own personality: what kind of destinations and activities do you enjoy the most? What do you usually find yourself doing on a trip?
Consider the types of people you think would connect with your work. What are their interests and problems? Where do they need the most help when it comes to travel?
Answering these questions will help you target your content, voice, and branding. Take your time to reflect on this - it’s important to find your own unique voice for the blog which you can continue honing with time.
2. Choose a domain name and platform.
Your blog's domain name should reflect your brand and be easy to remember and spell. Try to avoid too generic, too long, or too complicated names. Don’t stress too much about finding the perfect domain name - it’s important to have one you’re happy with but it’s not the defining factor that will affect the success of your blog. You can register your domain name through a domain registrar like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Bluehost.
As for the platform, there are many free or paid blogging platforms to choose from, such as WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace. You can also use Craft to create a personal website or host your travel blog, and customers on our Business Plan can use their own custom domain.
It’s good practice to have at least one social media channel you also post to in order to stay on people’s minds and to encourage visits to your blog. Nowadays Instagram or even TikTok might be best suited to this.
3. Design your website and brand.
Once you have your domain name and platform, it's time to design your website and brand. Choose a theme or template that suits your niche and audience, and customize it with your logo, colors, and branding. A lot of people will be browsing from their cell phones, so make sure your website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate.
4. Plan and create your content.
Now it's time to start creating content for your blog. Plan your content in advance, based on your travel schedule, trends, events, or seasons. You can write blog posts, create photo albums, record podcasts, shoot videos, or do a combination of them. Make sure your content is original, informative, engaging, and visually appealing.
If you’re a full-time traveler, you’ll be constantly on the move and will have a regular flow of new updates to share on the blog. However, if you travel less frequently you’ll have to be even more strategic with how you approach your blog. Perhaps, while you're not on the road, you could share more content about your travel planning process or give people tips and advice about building the perfect travel itinerary.
5. Promote your blog and engage with your audience.
After publishing your first blog posts, start promoting your blog and engaging with your audience. Share your posts on social media, participate in travel-related groups and forums, comment on other travel blogs, and reach out to other bloggers, influencers, or brands that share your values or interests.
One of the most important things is not to be spammy: nobody appreciates it when somebody constantly shares links to their website and is solely focused on self-promotion. Instead, take the attitude of helping people instead. Answer questions in forums as best as you can; give advice and recall from your own travel experiences. You could even consider creating templates or travel guides to give away to people to help promote your blog.
6. Collaborate with other travel bloggers.
Collaborations are also a great way to grow an audience so always keep an eye out for opportunities to help others in the travel space. You could consider reaching out to other travel bloggers you admire and asking to interview them. This would provide great content for your blog and may lead to more people learning about you.
Not only is collaboration great for audience-building, but it can also be a fantastic source of learning and personal growth for you too. Keep a look out for other travel bloggers who are a little further ahead of where you are and look for a way to connect. Building honest and genuine relationships with other travel bloggers increases your chance of success. It enables you to learn from the experiences of others, share solutions with one another about shared problems, and helps give you extra motivation when you need it.
7. Monetize your blog (optional).
If you want to monetize your travel blog, there are various ways to do it, such as affiliate marketing, sponsored content, advertising, product reviews, or selling merchandise. Many bloggers eventually turn their experiences into a book which can also be sold and generate long-term income.
One thing to bear in mind when it comes to monetization, your blog should not compromise your authenticity, quality, or ethics. Only promote products or services that you truly believe in and that align with your niche and values. Also, disclose any sponsored or affiliate content to your readers to maintain transparency and trust.
Building a successful travel blog takes consistency, determination, and creativity to provide value and grow an audience of regular readers. Be patient, learn from others who are finding success in the space, and always keep an eye out for new opportunities. The most important thing is to enjoy the process: don’t get so obsessed with the end goal that you forget to enjoy the journey.
Love travel? Get some inspiration for your next trip from our travel templates.
