The pandemic grounded us, but the appetite for travel is still there. So why not start a travel blog? Read everything you need to know in our post.
Feeling wonder about the world and exploring it was a popular pastime for billions of people not so long ago. However, life is unpredictable, and reality makes its corrections. We all miss choosing a destination without doing special research as to whether we can go there and nervously double-checking before the flight to see if any regulations have changed since booking.
It’s likely that every fan of traveling has thought about creating a travel blog. We all have our life hacks, crazy stories, and favorite places off the beaten track. Why not share that experience? Especially considering it’s also possible to make money from it. Choose a site creator like Boxmode travel website builder or WordPress, Squarespace or Duda and start your blog!
Travel website or social media?
Before creating and posting your content, you should have an answer to the crucial question: where? Fortunately, you are spoiled for choice. The two main options to select from will be either making your own travel website or uploading content on social media. Both have their pros and cons; however, the choice is yours. Let’s focus on the advantages.
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Travel Website |
Social Media |
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Your website — your rules. You can choose and change everything starting from the color theme up to the location of text blocks, number of pages, etc. |
You already have everything you need to start posting and can focus on making content. You don’t have to worry about the whole system, just about your own page. |
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Using interlinking, you can connect the pages of your site and lead your reader to the path you would like them to follow. |
You may gain more readers among the users of the chosen social media by creating well-received content. |
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You are the only one to decide where and how to place the ad, as well as which ads to place. |
You can become a part of the community by collaborating with other bloggers on the same platform. |
Metaphorically speaking, running a blog based on a social network resource is like cooking in your grandmother’s kitchen: you’ve already got all the tools, the area is 100% familiar, and you always have an excellent adviser beside you (like the tips for your Instagram blog, for example). However, you have no freedom to be as creative as you want because you are always limited by the rules of the media you use.
Starting a travel blog as your own website will surely take more time and effort. However, it will also leave you wide room for creativity. One of the most important steps to take is to make up your mind about your niche and target audience.
How to choose your travel website niche. What travel niches are out there?
Undoubtedly, this choice is not as important as the name of the blog, for example. And you will definitely be able to start writing about any other side of traveling any time you feel like it. However, with time, your travel blog will gain more and more popularity, and your readers will have some expectations. Be ready to lose some disappointed followers when changing the blogging niche you’re writing in.
No matter what niche you will choose for your travel website, in any case, you will find like-minded followers. The list of approximate topics is below:
- Luxury/low-cost vacation;
- Backpacking/hiking;
- Underexplored regions of your country;
- Travelling with pets/children/grandparents etc.
A clearly defined niche will help you focus on your content, create an explicit plan, and won’t let you scatter your thoughts and ideas. It will also let you gain the devoted audience that will wait for your every post and hang on your every word. Sticking to the outlined out subject will make your blog an in-depth guide, which is exactly what most users look for.
How to create your own travel website for blogging
The easiest way to make a travel website is to delegate this task to a professional. Nevertheless, why should you spend your money on anything but traveling? Thankfully, we are living in the digital century, where any information is a click away. Follow our guide below and become a creator of your own website.
Choose a name
Take this step as seriously as if it was the name of your child. This is the first thing your readers will find out about your blog. And as we all know, there are no second chances to make a first impression. It’s better to doubt and to have second thoughts at this point than to regret several steps after.
Do your best to be as laconic as possible. The name should also be easy to remember and shouldn’t evoke anything irrelevant or inappropriate. One more tip for naming: try avoiding overused words for this niche, like “nomad,” “traveler,” “adventurous,” etc. Be unique!
Hosting
Most likely, the name of your travel blog will also be its address on the Internet. So make sure it’s still available. While choosing hosting for your website, you will first need to decide if you would prefer it to be a free travel website or paid. If you expect your resource to live long, we would recommend starting your blog on paid hosting. This will save you stress and secure your content in the future.
As for the options to choose from, there are dozens of them, so you won’t have difficulty finding the one with a suitable price and conditions. Here’s a list of some of the more popular choices:
- Hostinger;
- Hostgator;
- Bluehost.
Website builder
This is actually the step where you can employ all your creativity and design skills. However, here you may also run into some problems. The main is choosing the product to facilitate this. This one should contain a wide assortment of options, be easy to navigate, and have a user-friendly design. Remember that this is your helper that should make the process of your blog creation smooth, easy, and fun.
Content creation
Before filling your website with articles and photos make sure to build a travel blog content plan. Text and pictures can’t seem to be chaotically written and placed. Check the connection between different articles, interlink various pages to bond them, and don’t forget the main topic of your whole resource.
How to make money with your travel website
Running a blog can be not just exciting but also profitable. How to start a travel website and earn money? It can actually be more straightforward than you think.
Affiliate marketing
Reviewing and promoting goods that you use while traveling may become the first step in monetizing your blog. This surely may not happen the next day you start your website since you will have to gain some followers to be noticed by manufacturers. Nevertheless, this is definitely worth it! Besides, these days you may get into affiliating with any company you know, be it clothes for hiking brands, tourist agency, coffee shop, or your favorite chocolate. Just be creative and don’t lose patience!
Advertising
Any online web page is an excellent platform for ads. Moreover, by running your own website, you are the only one to decide where to place banners, what size they should be, and how many of them are enough. Unite the content on your blog with the wares you may push. Try out different types of advertising:
- display ads like banners, pop-ups etc (keep in mind that users may have ad blockers so this type is not always effective);
- native advertising;
- video and audio content (you may start a podcast or add some videos from your travel mentioning your partners).
Remember, that finding trustworthy partners who would like to place their ad on your website may take some time. Stay confident and develop your blog!
Guest posts
Some companies are ready to pay you for their texts to be published on your blog. What’s the point? These articles will include a link to the client’s website. In this way, they will promote their resource, and you will get paid for just placing a text. You can surely lay down the conditions, and you should always check these articles for uniqueness otherwise, your whole website may be penalized by search engines.
What’s next?
In any case, the main goal of your travel blog should be your own pleasure. Love what you do, share your experience, ideas and moments you would like to memorize. Be honest with your readers as this is the only way to gain online popularity nowadays.
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
