How to Write a Travel Blog
Do you know how to write a travel blog? If not, would you like to learn? Being able to turn your travel experiences into captivating stories that effectively convey the sights, sounds, and emotions of globetrotting is a wonderful skill. It can also be lucrative – many publications pay travel writers.
In this blog post, we’re going to:
- Tell you what a travel blog is.
- Explain how to write a travel blog.
- Provide some tips for creating the perfect travel blog post.
- Showcase five inspiring travel blogs.
- Offer you an opportunity to gain the skills you need to craft an amazing travel blog.
Read on to find out everything you need to know to get started as a travel blogger!
What Is a Travel Blog?
A blog (short for weblog) is a journal-style website run by an individual, group, business, or organization that contains regularly updated information. The posts are normally presented with the most recent first, followed by the older ones in reverse chronological order. They are generally written in an informal style with the intention of educating, presenting products or reviews, sharing news, or providing some form of commentary to their target audience.
A travel blog is simply a blog whose primary subject matter is, unsurprisingly, travel! Travel blogs provide a medium for people to share adventures, experiences, idyllic destinations, local points of interest, traveling tips, and so on. They can act as an inspiration to aspiring travelers and happen to be one of the best blogging niches for freelance writers.
How to Write a Travel Blog
If you want to be a travel blogger, it’s important to know how to structure a blog post. Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to creating a great travel blog!
1. Research
Start by looking at some other travel blogs. Go online and find some of the most popular and long-running blogs and see how they’re written and formatted. By doing thorough research, you can figure out what makes a travel blog successful and get inspiration for your own at the same time.
Certain details to look out for when analyzing other blogs include:
- Writing style
- Titles, headings, and subheadings
- Overall page layout
- General content
- Use of images and videos
- Presence of a call to action
2. Brainstorm
The next step in blog creation is deciding what you are going to write about. The topics should relate to your passions, knowledge, or experiences. While travel blogging in itself is a niche, you should try and specialize even more. There are lots of ways to write about the subject of travel. Here are some things to consider:
- Who? Think about your target audience. Are you writing for young backpackers looking for adventure or retirees looking for a comfortable vacation? Solo travelers, or family groups?
- What? Consider your blog format. Are you going to write listicles, guides, reviews, interviews, or travel tips?
- Where? Are you a world traveler, or are you going to focus on the intimate knowledge you have about a specific place?
3. Create a Calendar
Once you’ve decided what you want to write about, you can create a list of ideas. The content should be original and different from what has already been published. If you want to write about a topic that has already been covered, then try to think of a way to present a new angle or perspective.
When you start your blog, posting on a regular basis will ensure your readers stay interested and grow in number. After you’ve come up with your list of ideas, create a content calendar to keep track of when you will publish each post.
4. Conduct Keyword Research
Keywords are terms that will help your blog rank highly in search engine results pages (SERPs). Before you start writing your post, it’s useful to know what keywords are and how to use them.
Keywords can be used in different ways, and knowing how to set keywords will increase your ranking in SERPs and help your blog to be seen by as many interested readers as possible.
5. Prepare an Outline
Now that you know the kind of blog you’re going to create, what you’re going to write about, and the relevant keywords, you can prepare an outline – this will help you structure your first, and subsequent, posts. Here’s what to include in a thorough outline:
- Overview of the blog’s main points.
- Organization of headings and subheadings.
- Structure of the post including the introduction, main body of text, and conclusion.
6. Start Writing
It’s finally time to put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard). Remember that you want your blog to be unique, so follow your outline but let your personal tone and style shine through.
7. Proofread and Edit
Before you publish your post, you need to make sure it’s free from errors. After writing, it can be beneficial to take a short break and let your subconscious mind contemplate what you’ve created. You can then return to your post with a refreshed set of eyes and see if it can be improved. Check it over for any inconsistencies or mistakes in spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Top Tips for the Perfect Travel Blog Post
As mentioned above, travel writing is a popular niche, which means there are a lot of travel blogs out there. For yours to be a success, you really need to make it stand out among the rest. Here are a few tips!
Network With Other Travelers
Networking is always a great way to meet like-minded people to share ideas, get inspiration, and grow your audience. Here are a few ways to network as a travel blog writer:
- Join an online travel community like Travel is Life.
- Increase your presence in social media groups – share your blogs and share and interact with other people’s posts.
- Have a comments section on your blog and be active in it. Seek out other forums and engage with those as well.
Use Multimedia
It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. While we can’t be sure of that precise word count, including high-quality pictures and videos in your blog can be a great way to make your posts come alive.
Seek Out Experts
If you have the opportunity to include interviews or testimonials in your travel blog posts, take it! Interesting residents, business owners, and local celebrities are all great candidates. Don’t miss out on the chance to talk to them and paint a more personal account of any destination.
Have an Engaging Style
You want your readers to enjoy your blog and keep coming back for more. To do this, make sure you write in an engaging way. Here are some tips for keeping your posts interesting:
- Approach your topics from a unique and authentic viewpoint to keep them both informative and engaging.
- Be detailed and descriptive and narrow the focus of your posts.
- Include more than one viewpoint on a set topic.
- Use humor to lighten the mood.
- Offer helpful information or links to relevant courses, products, resources, and so on.
- Share a controversial opinion or unusual perspective to generate hype.
5 Inspiring Travel Blog Examples
Now that you know how to create a successful travel blog, it’s time to start your research. Check out some of these amazing travel blogs to get some inspiration.
1. Nomadic Matt
Claiming to be one of the first true travel bloggers, Matt has been featured in the New York Times. His blog focuses on budget travel tips and guides.
2. The Broke Backpacker
This is another budget travel blog that shows what amazing-looking sites can be created with WordPress.
3. Wandering Welsh Girl
This blog is dedicated to off-the-beaten-path destinations and offers travel itineraries, destination and hiking guides, and product reviews.
4. Salt in Our Hair
Run by an adventurous couple, this blog tries to inspire others to travel sustainably.
5. Oneika the Traveller
The author of this blog shares her unique perspective as a black female solo traveler. She’s also a TV host and Emmy award-winning journalist.
Becoming A Content Writer
If you want to write an amazing travel blog of your own but feel you may be lacking some of the skills required to be a great travel writer, don’t worry. We have a course that can teach you everything you need to know!
Becoming A Freelance Writer will show you how to research, prepare, write, and redraft compelling blog posts. Plus, achieve 80% or more in the final assignment and you’ll have the opportunity to gain experience by writing three pieces of content for our blog.
You can even try some lessons for free right now.
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