Are you interested in the travel industry? Have you ever thought of how to make money by becoming a travel blogger? If so, then we must have had you in mind. In this article, you will learn how to become a professional travel blogger from scratch. Ready to get started? Well, let’s go through the steps.

  1. Have Great Passion In Travelling

Most blogs on the internet can hardly survive for long, with a vast number having one blog post per week. And travel blogs aren’t an exception. Guess why?

It’s because many bloggers don’t write what they’re passionate about. And then, how do you stand out? Well, it’s pretty straight forward: Do what you love and would enjoy doing. And that’s it.

When you write your posts out of passion and enthusiasm, you’ll deliver beyond your audience expectation. And in the end, you’ll have a flowing and exciting blogpost.

Besides delivering exciting and engaging content, you would also find it easy to fix time into your tight schedule to create some content for your blog.

However, most people get it wrong when they get more obsessed with earning rather than offering value to the readers. Of course, one of the goals of blogging is to make some money in the end. But that doesn’t mean you prioritize money rather than your audience.

If you want to be a successful and influential blogger, you should put your audience first, and the earnings come second. After all, doing what you love will keep you soaring high in the industry.

  1. Determine your Ultimate Purpose

Determining your purpose in travel blogging will streamline all other steps. Moreover, getting clear what you want to achieve at the end will give you motivation and perspective.

If you take your goals seriously and work on them tirelessly, you would achieve a tremendous result. In other words, it’s the driving purpose that can shape your success.

Typically, there are two types of purposes in travel blogging. That is, Blogging Business and Hobby blogging.

Now, what will your primary blogging purpose be? Hobby blogging or Business blogging? Well, you have it right. But before we jump forth, let’s delve a little bit deeper into the two major categories.

  • Hobby blogging

This is a fantastic way to share your passion with those thousands of people around you through a creative outlet.

Basically, this kind of blog is a place to air out your thoughts, share advice, share your stories and photos, and perhaps other things you enjoy under the niche.

Even though it can generate some money, the primary goal isn’t to make money. If you’re looking forward to earning a colossal amount of money, then this isn’t your portion. Instead, you can opt for the second category.

  • Blogging as a business

Are you looking forward to generating extra income from your blog? Or perhaps view it as a side business? If so, then this might be a perfect idea.

If you want to earn tremendously from your blog, then you must be ready to set aside some hours for learning and researching new skills.

Besides that, you should set realistic financial goals that you would want to achieve through blogging as a business.

Perhaps you want this to generate hundreds of dollars per month to offset your mortgage or other sorts of debt. Or maybe want it to be a full-time income-generating business.

Regardless of your financial goal, you can still make it work for you as long as you plan effectively and work on it. Isn’t it plausible? Well, let’s get rolling.

  1. Find a Niche Of Your Interest

At times it might be a bit confusing to separate a niche from category. One of the most significant mistakes the beginners make is to confuse the blog category for the niche.

Well, let me explain. When you talk about the term “Travel blog,” you’re referring to the category of the blog but not the niche. Under the travel blog, there are tons of slots that you can specialize in.

There are many niches out there, with some being more general, while others are particular. However, do not copy a niche just because you think it’s popular in the market.

And if you choose a niche that you aren’t a hundred percent interested in, then you might find yourself in regret. Therefore, take caution before getting thigs ugly.

Why should you choose a niche?

Perhaps this might be one of the questions running in your mind.

First, narrowing down the travel blog category to a more specific niche helps you to master a particular topic.

As such, your audience is likely to get engaged and trust you more than they could do when you could have gamble over multiple subjects.

Secondly, Google may view your blog as an authoritative site. As such, you can easily rank high in organic searches.

And lastly, your audience is likely to get glued on your site for long since the content will resonate well with them. Sound awesome? Well, that’s it.

Now, do you have a niche, so that you can proceed straight away? We’d recommend having one to help streamline your next steps.

  1. Choose A Name for Your Blog

Choosing your blog name is yet another critical task when setting up your blog, and you would strive to get it right on the spot. If you know where to start, it can be pretty fun.

Did you know that your blog name can determine how you can be perceived by your audience, brands, and other audience you may want to work with? Of course, it does.

Since your blog name is the most conspicuous thing your audience sees whenever they land on your blog, you want to make it catchy and impressive.

How does the right name look like? Well, it’s pretty easy. If you want a perfect name for your blog, choose a name that should have the following features.

  • Easy to read and say
  • Should be memorable
  • Should be timeless
  • Describe what your blog is about

Got your blog name? Well, let’s now proceed to build your blog.

  1. Choose your Blogging Platform

Now things have begun becoming real. And this is where your investment starts. We know it might feel a little bit overwhelming. But trust us, making this crucial step is the beginning of something amazing.

Shall we start? Right, let’s discuss it.

It’s without a doubt that some website builders are more intuitive than others. However, WordPress and Squarespace are the most popular blogging platforms.

With that in mind, the sizzling question would be, “Which is the best blogging platform?” Well, this will depend on your personal experience. Let’s delve deeper.

  • WordPress

WordPress is the most preferred platform for most bloggers. Being a Content Management System (CMS), WordPress gives you better control of your website.

As such, you’ll be in charge of all aspects of your website ranging from security management to your hosting provider plugins.

Besides that, it gives you the ultimate freedom to customize your site on your own in whichever way you wish to. Also, if you’re hiring a designer to get the job done, then the person is likely to use WordPress.

However, this platform has a learning curve. Therefore, you must be ready to set time and learn how to code a bunch of stuff before getting started.

In addition to that, you will also have to work manually with several plugins and ensure they’re updated. But when you get down and learn how to work with it, you can really have great stuff on your site.

  • Squarespace

Yet another popular blogging platform that you can try out. Unlike WordPress, you don’t need to be a coding pro to use it.

Being a website builder, Squarespace takes care of quite many things: Hosting, updates, security, and SEO Tools.

Besides that, you won’t have to deal with multiple plugins. As such, it makes it easy to manage everything on your website, yet with some limitations.

However, the easiness to use doesn’t go without a downside. One of the major caveats is that you won’t have the freedom to customize your website in whichever way that you’d wish.

In addition to that, it may tend to load slower, mainly when your content contains large images.

Which one is which?

If you’re excited about coding and have a complex in mind, WordPress is a perfect option. However, if you’d like a more straightforward platform, have no time for coding, and have no problem with design limitations, then Squarespace comes in handy.

Now, you can choose the one that excites you. Regardless of the platform that you choose, you can still shift to the other though it’s a tedious job. Therefore, it would be great if you settle one and stick to it.

Buy your domain and hosting

Before jumping to the next step, it’s essential that you have an area and hosting. What are all these? You may ask.

The domain is charged annually, while hosting is billed monthly. You should also get an SSL certificate to make your domain more professional. Also, avoid the free domain and instead pay for a better domain.

Note: The hosting service that you choose will determine the speed at which your web pages will load. Therefore, make a wise choice.

Set up Google analytics

Analytic offers a great way to track your progress and get the necessary information that you need to improve the ranking of your blog.

When you connect Google Analytics to your site, you’re able to get real-time data on the traffic you receive on your blog.

Also, you can use Google analytics to know the pages on your website that have more traffic and those that have fewer interactions. With such information, you can improve your website and earn tremendously.

  1. Create a Mood Board a Logo

Now that you have a domain and a platform, the next big step is to get started on your blog by creating a mood board and a logo.

This would make your blog look awesome. All you should do at this point is to get creative with a bit of fun.

  • Mood board

Before you create a fantastic mood board, go through other websites that you like, and bookmark them. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in your niche.

Now, look at the photography, the fonts, and the mood and then craft a fantastic mood board for your blog. Use two to four colors to create a color palate. That is one main color with three primary colors.

Some of the free tools that can help you create impressive mood boards include but not limited to Canva and Pinterest.

  • Logo

If you understand a bit of design, you can create your logo. If not sure, you can hire a professional graphic designer at an affordable cost on platforms such as Fiverr.

When creating a logo, ensure you make at least three types of logs: Main logo, Secondary logo, Small logo.

Primary logo: It’s the logo that people should see when they first encounter your blog. It’s always located on the upper side of your site.

Secondary logo: It uses a small footprint. As such, you can use it areas that can’t fit the primary logo.

Small log: You can use this type of logo as a watermark or in smaller spaces.

Note: Ensure you have a neat logo that connects well with your audience. Also, avoid overspending on your log as it will not improve the traffic to your blog.

  1. Create Accounts On Social Media And Build A Following

After determining your niche, the platform, created your blog name, and your site logos, what’s next? Create social media accounts!

Why? The early you start building following and a community, the better. In addition to that, you don’t need you’re a blog to start building a fan base.

Lastly, you can use social media as an avenue to engage your audience, share experiences, promote your blog, and drive traffic to your site.

Now you’ve got a task. Head to the following social media platforms and create an account on each.

Instagram: For sharing your previous travel photos.

Facebook: Share your story and relevant articles to generate interest.

Twitter: Tweet relevant travel articles, follow other travel stars, and retweet their stories.

Pinterest: create your brand account and set up boards of various categories in your niche and start pinning and re-pinning.

Youtube: You can create intro videos or other exciting travel-related videos. Besides that, you can reach out to other travel vloggers and learn from them.

Reddit: This is the best place to engage your ideal readers by answering their travel-related questions for free.

  1. Choose your Website Design

This is another area that can inadvertently suck your time while you’re trying to perfect your web design.

But that shouldn’t be the case as it will not bring you traffic. However, it doesn’t mean you use a crappy design.

Since your web design will keep changing in your blogging journey, getting a simple but neat design is crucial for a start.

  1. Craft Essential Pages

After creating the best design for your website, the next essential step is to create the pages of the crucial fir. They include:

  • Homepage: It’s the first page that your visitors will land on. Ensure it’s easy to navigate.
  • About me/us page: Here is where you should showcase your voice and brand story.
  • Contact me/us page: Helps your readers to know how to get to you.

If you are not sure about where to start and end, you can visit your favorite travel blogger’s website for inspiration.

  1. Create An Email List

An email list is one of the essential tools that you can ever have as a travel blogger. Why? It’s because it contains a list of people who will support your entire travel blogging life.

They are the people who will share the link to your site and perhaps buy the products and services you recommend.

But then, how do you get the list of emails? Well, it’s quite straightforward. To get the list of your potential followers, you will create an opt-in using an Email Service Provider (ESP).

Some of the service providers include:

Even though you’ll need to part with a few bucks to get a premium email service provider, you can use free MailChimp for a start-up.

Since it doesn’t provide most of the critical features, you will need to upgrade as soon as you can afford premium ESP such as MailerLite.

Regardless of the ESP that you choose, you will need a small box with a space for names and email addresses to subscribe to your tips, hacks, and newsletters. Go it?

Right, let’s now get to your blog’s content.

  1. Start Writing Blog Posts

Writing blog posts is the most exciting part of blogging. But that can only be true if you enjoy writing.

Since there is no shortcut in writing, creating high-quality content is the key to ranking on organic search results. Nothing else!

Therefore, you have to pay attention to writing a detailed blog post that resonates well with your audience.

Also, ensure that the blog post is at least 1000 words, and contains exciting images that are relevant to your subject.

Since this is what you will be doing the most, you can consider taking some short courses to perfect your skills.

  1. Share your post as much as you can

The power of sharing your posts can not be stressed enough. It’s the ultimate way of getting new followers from other social channels. Therefore, tighten your belt when it comes to self-promotion to gain an enormous fan base.

How often should you post?

If you really mean business blogging, then you should post new articles as often as you can. But ensure you post at least two blogs per week. But again, this will depend on your goals.

Bottom-line

Becoming a successful blogger takes a journey of passion and commitment. Even though it might seem overwhelming at first, it becomes easy after a while. If you indeed long for being a travel pro blogger, the above steps are handy.

How do I become a travel blogger?

How to get traffic to your travel blog and be noticed!
  1. Learn some SEO techniques. The most important thing you can do for your blog is to create great content.
  2. Become part of the travel blogging community.
  3. Get known for something.
  4. Invest in your product.
  5. Write guest posts.
  6. Attend conferences and travel shows.

How do bloggers travel for free?

Having a website with high quality content (ie. blog posts, photos, and other text) is essential to scoring free trips through travel blogging. Every time you pitch a brand, someone from that company is going to visit your website and make a judgement on whether you will do a good job of promoting them.

Can you start a travel blog without traveling?

You can, in fact, maintain a travel blog even when you aren’t traveling. I’m living proof that it can work, as long as you have some solid experiences to build on, a lot of determination, and a bit of creativity.

How do I start blogging?

How to Start a Blog in 6 Steps
  1. Pick a blog name. Choose a descriptive name for your blog.
  2. Get your blog online. Register your blog and get hosting.
  3. Customize your blog. Choose a free blog design template and tweak it.
  4. Write & publish your first post.
  5. Promote your blog.
  6. Make money blogging.

How do beginner blogs make money?

Let me break them down for you.
  1. Affiliate Income. One of the easiest and most common ways to make money blogging, for beginners, is affiliate marketing.
  2. eBooks. If you want to sell your own products, an ebook is a great way to make money blogging.
  3. Online Courses.
  4. Freelance Writing.
  5. Google Adsense.
  6. Coaching and Consulting.

Should I start a blog in 2020?

You should probably start a blog in 2020. Despite claims that no one wants to read long-form content, or that all content will be delivered via video, the fact is, Blogging is still an extremely viable and effective medium for creating content and building an online business, even today.

Does blogging pay in 2020?

The answer is YES, resoundingly yes, there is plenty of room for new bloggers to make money. (Not to mention that just because there are “millions of blogs” doesn’t mean there are millions of successful blogs. People who won’t invest the time, money and effort it requires are included in that “millions” as well.

What are 4 common types of blogs?

On which topic should I start blogging?

The four most common types of blogs are Personal blogs, Business blogs, Niche blogs, and Affiliate blogs.

What is blog example?

Head To WordPress.com to start a blog for free

WordPress is the best place to start a free blog because, with few exceptions, the free WordPress.com platform is as powerful and user-friendly as the paid version.

Is Blogger completely free?

A blog (a shortened version of “weblog”) is an online journal or informational website displaying information in reverse chronological order, with the latest posts appearing first, at the top. It is a platform where a writer or a group of writers share their views on an individual subject.