One of the best ways to ensure your travel blog gets off to a good start is to spend time conceptualizing and planning it, or at least deciding which direction you want it to go. While some people prefer the comfort of planning every detail, others may like the freedom to adapt content on the fly.
Fortunately, there is room for both approaches when it comes to travel blogging. However, when you’re just starting to take off, it’s important to make a few decisions to guide your future adventures.
Choose a blog style
Do you want to focus on domestic or international travel? Are you interested in all continents or is there a specific region you want to become an expert in? Do you prefer to publish “guide-like” content or do you rather want to share experiences, memories and misadventures? Does documenting the practical logistics of travel appeal to you, or do you like to travel the world in a free spirit and take your readers on a spontaneous ride?
Although the topic of your blog may change over time as you discover the tone, voice, and style that suits you best, consider letting the inspiration and desire to start your blog to help you build. the initial backbone of your blog. What attracts you to blogging? What do you like most about travelling?
You should think about the initial interests in which you would like to invest. While successful travel blogs combine a variety of skills, there’s nothing wrong with leaning into photography first while you develop your writing ability or vice versa. Similarly, a travel blog focused on food and tasting cuisines will be very different from a travel blog dedicated to month-long backpacking trips to the most remote parts of the world.
Understanding these things also offers positive impacts beyond your blog content: it can help you decide what gear to buy, what training (if any) you want or need to invest in, and what kind of experiences appeal to you most. . The more excited and passionate you are about the subject of your writing, the better your content will be.
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Spectators
While a big part of your blog’s identity is something that will likely go hand-in-hand with answering your content questions, finding your audience is important enough to warrant careful thought and research. For better or worse, social media plays a key role in promoting travel bloggers – and when it comes to social media, you want to know what audience you’re writing, shooting and editing videos for.
A general rule is to appeal to any audience you can relate to. Are you most comfortable as a solo traveler or do you always travel with a group or family? If you’re a young adult or a traveling student, you may be writing for people like you, not retirees. Budget travelers may also have different content priorities than luxury travelers.
The difference in travel interests and priorities can be huge across demographics. Generally, the more you have in common with your audience, the more your content will appeal to them. An ideal audience also has the potential to grow with you. Age is perhaps the most obvious example, but consider hobbies as well: the audience for a photography travel blog will likely support a move towards videography over time, while a blog focused on nature and wildlife can lose its audience if content suddenly pivots to urban jungles and the streets. food.
Decide on a name
Once you’ve decided on the initial approach for your blog, it’s time to choose a name. While your content may change over time, your name is unlikely to – and if you’re a successful travel blogger, your name is one of your most important brand elements.
Pick something creative, memorable, and not too over the top (“nomad” comes to mind as an overused word). Avoid anything that isn’t likely to age well or limits you to a certain type of content: “21 and Traveling” or “American Adventures” are cute, but can get tricky to shoot once you get older or travel out of America. Above all, the name should be easy to share with others; Numbers and symbols may seem cool at first, but they become much less so when you spell out your blog URL at a hostel breakfast in a place where hardly anyone knows your native language.
Once you have a good name, Google it to make sure no one else is using it. If there’s nothing there, you’re probably in the clear. If you find something similar, go back to the drawing board, even if it stings. A new name is better than getting into a litigious action down the road.
Leave room for growth
Very few travel blogs (or any type of blog or media project, for that matter), end up exactly as originally envisioned. Ideas evolve over time, and often for good reason. The exchange student you have at 20 will have different interests, ideas, priorities and skills than the adult you have at 30. It may seem like you’re making big decisions right now, but not committing to strict rules. implying “only” or “never”: this blog is your boarding pass, not your baggage claim receipt.
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