If you are interested in the idea of becoming a travel blogger and wondering how to get started from scratch we have put together an easy step by step guide how to create and setup a travel blog.
Our website is one of the largest online travel directories featuring thousands of trips, tours, courses, jobs, programs and courses worldwide. As our website has become more popular, so has our travel blog which now features hundreds of articles.
Starting a travel blog can be a lot of fun and might turn out to be one of the best decision you will ever make. If you are a complete beginner and are keen to learn how to create a travel blog our guide will help you.
What to Consider Before Starting a Travel Blog
Here are some things to think about:
- What is your aim?
- Who are your audience?
- How much time do you have available and what do you want to write about
- What do you want to focus on, content, videos or everything
- What’s your name, logo tagline and theme going to be?
- How will you manage everything?
Writing and updating a blog can be a bit intimidating, time consuming especially when you are just starting out and there is no guarantee of any income flowing in or return on the potential hours you might spend writing.
We recommend you start a travel just because you love to travel, go in with the attitude that it is something fun to do, rather than something to rely on to make money. This way the experience will be more enjoyable and less stressful.
Also if you are keen to write, but don't want to go through the effort of starting your own blog you could become a travel writer for One World 365 - we are always on the look out for talented writers to join our team.
Check out our top tips below on how to start your own blog and get started today.
1. Get a Good Laptop
If you are going to be blogging then it is important to have the right computer. You will need something which is new, quick, light, durable and portable.
We don't recommend trying to do everything on a tablet, they are limited and screen sizes just aren't big enough.
If you are thinking about buying a new computer check out our guide to the best travel laptops available right now which are perfect for working and blogging.
2. Choose a Blog Name
Picking a travel blog name is potentially one of the toughest things you will have to do. This is something you will likely not ever change once you get started so it is important to choose something which you are happy with.
Try to choose a name which is either relevant to you, or something fun. Some of the most common travel terms and names will have already been registered so try to think out of the box.
You could try to include travel in the URL e.g. jennytravelstheworld.com, budgetbackpackerjenny.com or something more random e.g. jennysadventures, jennyvsworld.
What you choose really comes down to your own preference but we recommend having a URL which isn't too long and which is also relevant to what you will be writing about, this will help give people an idea of what your blog is about before visiting.
Try to also think long term, would you be happy with this name in 10 years time? We don't recommend a location specific name e.g. jennystravelstoafrica.com as what happens if you want to write about other destinations in the future, your URL might seem a little derelict.
3. Set up Hosting
Once you have picked a blog name you will need to look for hosting. Hosting might seem confused at first, basically in order for you to have a blog you need to have 'rent' space on the internet - somewhere you store all your blog information, files and images and where people can find it when they search for your URL.
There are lots of companies who offer hosting and we recommend either Hostgator or Blue Host.
Hostgator are very popular with travel bloggers as they offer good value packages and are very simple to setup. There are several packages and prices available and generally when starting out you can opt for the cheapest option.
Another great company to consider purchasing hosting with is Blue Host. They offer cheap packages starting from $3.95 per month and are very popular with bloggers.
Both companies are US based but help people from all around the world host websites. They have reliable support and an easy to use websites which is perfect if this is your first time starting a blog and setting up hosting.
Something to keep in mind, if you do opt for the cheaper end packages, once your travel blog gets more popular in terms of traffic, content and files e.g. images uploaded, you will need to usually upgrade your hosting package as your blog might start slowing down or crashing.
This is something to think about further down the line through rather than when just starting out.
4. Install WordPress
The next step to getting your blog live on the internet is to register with WordPress. This is is a free and open-source content management system which will help you to run and update your blog.
It might sound slightly complicated at first but hosting is where your website is located, you need to use WordPress actually edit your content, add articles and manage your blog. You will need to pay a registration fee and then afterwards you will get more information via e-mail.
5. Setting Up & Managing Your Blog
Learn how to edit your blog and research and trying using the Wordpress dashboard. There are lots of websites and tips online which can help.
There are lots of great plugins available to use which can really improve your blogs functionality and make it easier to use. Some plugins we recommend include Yoast SEO, Akismet and Shareaholic.
6. Design & Logo
If you are going to be writing about travel you really need an attractive design with lots of pictures. On Wordpress there are lots of themes you can download which will provide your website with a great design.
A lot are free, but if you want something advanced you might want to consider paying for a theme. The content you write also needs to come alive and pictures can really help.
Ask yourself, would you like to read hundreds of lines of text without any pictures and colour? We also recommend creating a logo just for brand awareness.
7. Join a Travel Blogging Course!
If you really want to turn your blog into a business or just want more in-depth advice we highly recommend joining a blogging course.
Courses are usually online and a great way to get advice from experienced travel bloggers from around the world who can help you to start, grow and monetise your website.
You will learn how to build an audience, create engaging content, improve SEO and make money. Other benefits can include getting monthly q&a's and also get to meet and network with other bloggers.
7. Know Your Target Audience & Write Good Content
Try to work out what you are going to write about, who your audience is and what you are hoping to achieve.
There are so many different areas and aspects of travel, you could do something generally related to travel or focus on specific area e.g. budget backpacking or luxury - both are completely different audiences. Or you could do something more niece e.g. focus on accommodation, activities or green/eco friendly.
Some people can have the impression that becoming a travel blogger is easy, you travel, write about where you go and make money! But it really isn't that simple, starting a travel blog can be a lot of work especially if you are just starting out and writing good content is key.
You need to make sure the articles you are writing are interesting, fun and engaging. If you don't find it interesting the chances are others might not too. With literally hundreds of travel blog online now it is important you try to write content which is fresh, different and appealing. Try to write new things rather than just copying other peoples article ideas.
9. Get Social Media Savvy
Set up profiles on popular social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.
Follow relevant travel companies, industry figures and other bloggers. Try to build a following. The more people who like or follow you the more people you will be able to reach and the more clicks you might generate to your posts/website.
Websites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are huge and have literally millions of people using them everyday so this is a great way to network. Some platforms like YouTube and Facebook also offer the chance for you to make money by uploading content and videos.
You can also link to your blog which can generate more clicks.
10. Learn About SEO
SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the key things to running a successful blog/website.
There are some great websites with resources including Moz which can really help you. Although there are lots of search engines on the web like Bing and Yahoo, Google is dominate and is where you will generate most traffic.
Register your website on Google and make sure you put a lot of effort into understanding how Google works and how to get good listings.
There are already literally hundreds of popular travel blogs already established and if you follow our tips there is no reason why in a few months or years yours can’t be a success. It is important to have a clear idea about what you are going to be doing and also set up targets.
If you need any help or have any questions please contact us or leave feedback in the comments section below.
