Starting a travel blog business is something more and more people are looking into nowadays. Traveling has gained a fair bit of traction since the past decade and one thing that has emerged from the desire to travel so much has been travel blogging: the experience to share your journey with the world.

Social media has brought newer, fresher, and much more innovative opportunities to people than ever before. Every day we come across successful content creators on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter who made their success online while doing what they loved.

That inspires many of us to do the same.

However, what most of us forget is the effort and time that goes into being a successful blogger and creator on these digital platforms.

Not many people have the work ethic or the discipline to stay aligned with their long-term goals that are needed to be a success.

Thousands of people start a travel blog every other day because the barrier to entry is small. However, only a few out of those individuals stick with it long enough to turn it into a something worthwhile.

With so many people creating a travel blog every single day, it can be hard to stand out.

The truth is, if you want to become a professional travel blogger, you need to treat your blog as a business. Invest in it, read more on it, and think of marketing and business strategies to make it flourish and experience long-term growth.

So, this is something that you should keep in mind before diving headfirst into the world of travel blogging and trying to make money from it.

What it Means to Be a Travel Blogger

Before we start discussing the different ways you can become a successful travel blogger, you need to understand what it really means to do travel blogging as a business.

A travel blogger is someone who shares their travel experiences with the world by writing about them. In sharing those experiences, they expose their audiences and followers to useful travel information that they can then use in their own traveling adventures.

With a travel blog, you not only show the beautiful places you visit but also how to get there in the best and cheapest way possible and make the most out of your experience.

Travel blogging can be stressful as you constantly have to document each and every step you take.

However, if the intrusion of a camera and uploading content wherever you go is something you don’t mind then travel blogging is definitely something you can make a career out of.

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Travel Blog?

One of the primary reasons why travel blogging seems like such a lucrative career for many people is the fact that it does not require a lot of money from your end to get started.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be rich to travel the world. You just have to be good with your money.

The actual cost of a travel blog lies mostly in setting up the digital blog itself on the internet. For example, buying a domain name and setting up hosting can cost you somewhere around $4 per month. This amount can be more or less depending on the hosting service you use.

You can then purchase a theme for your blog which would cost an additional $50-$60 but that is not a necessary expense so it can be eliminated for those who don’t need it or can’t afford it.

It is Worth Starting a Travel Blog?

If you are considering taking the plunge into the world of travel blogging and wondering whether you should even bother with it, then hopefully the reasons mentioned below will help you decide.

While it is true that running a successful travel blog is a lot of work. But you have to remember that that work is rewarding.

Even if you don’t start your travel blog for monetization purposes, you can still treat it as a hobby and add content to it to preserve all the memories you made during your travels. It will be a record of all the great times you have had exploring all the fascinating places in the world.

Here are some other reasons why you should consider starting a travel blog:

• It is a risk-free endeavor.
• You can inspire others to travel the world.
• You can help others with their travel plans by providing useful information.
• You can help people set up and manage a travel budget.
• You will learn a lot about yourself, your passions, and your limitations along the way.
• You will become a part of a lovely traveling community.
• If your blog gets traction, you will likely get free trips.
• It will build up your confidence.

10 Best Tips for Starting a Travel Blog

Choose the Perfect Name for Your Travel Blog

Before you start setting up your blog, you need to come up with the perfect name. By perfect, I mean something that allows you to express your niche but also remains (somewhat) professional to allow for future collaborations.

Think of a blog name that can grow with you. Your name is going to be a permanent part of your brand. Aim for something that is not limiting to a certain period of time. It should also be short and easy to remember for other people.  

Here are a few things to keep in mind while choosing a travel blog name:

• Make it unique to you. Think outside of the box. Use what hasn’t been used before. Ask others for unique traits that they think you may have that can be used in the name.
• Keep it short and sweet. No need to sound sophisticated. You need a blog name that people can remember easily. Having a long and complicated name that you constantly will have to spell out to people is going to take you nowhere.
• Don’t use anything other than .com. Or at least avoid using anything other than that.
• Choose a blog name that is also available across all social media platforms. You don’t want your travel blogging website to be named differently than your Instagram That can cause confusion amongst your audience

Choose a Domain Name and Set up Hosting

Your domain name is the URL of your website. For example, the domain name of Google is Google.com. To claim a domain name, you would have to pay a hosting service provider that will then provide you with both the hosting of your website and its domain name.

Hosting is basically you renting out space on the internet where your website will reside.

There are many cheap hosting services available online. If you plan to build your travel blog on WordPress, the best option is to use Bluehost.

Bluehost is recommended by the WordPress platform itself. The best part is that it is pretty cheap while still being reliable and extremely user-friendly.

Set Up Your Travel Blog on WordPress

After setting up your domain name and hosting, it is now time to get your actual travel blog up and running.

You can create your own website from scratch. However, that would take a lot of time and money.

A good counter platform is WordPress. It makes things a whole lot easier for you while also giving you the freedom to customize your site exactly the way you want it.

Once you sign up for Bluehost’s hosting service, you will automatically be asked to choose your WordPress password.

From there, the next steps to setting up your travel blog on WordPress are pretty straightforward. You will be guided through each step by Bluehost themselves.

Set Up Google Analytics on Your Travel Blog

Connecting your travel blog to Google Analytics is extremely important if you want to stay on top of when, how, and why your travel blog performs well and when the stats dip down.

That way, you can tweak your content according to the analytics provided to you. Apart from Google Analytics’ own website, you can also use Monster Insights Google Analytics – a WordPress plugin – to get started.

Use WordPress Plugins and Themes to Take Your Blog to the Next Level

WordPress plugins and themes are primarily what puts WordPress so far ahead of its competitor platforms.

The convenient plugins and colorful themes this platform has to offer are probably the most exciting step of setting up your travel blog here.

Take your time and choose your theme carefully as it is something that can be a pain to change later on in the future.

Align the colors you choose with the type of branding personality you want your blog to carry. Once chosen, commit to the concept, and be consistent with it. Ideally, choose a professional blog theme. Professional themes cost around $50 but are worth the small investment as they can greatly improve the look of your travel website.

Create Your Online Personality

You need to create a blogging personality – something that people can relate to or associate you with.

This starts with your About Me page. This is one of the most highly trafficked pages on any travel blog. It lets people know who you really are, where you come from, and what your expertise is.

Keep your About Me section fun and personable. Let your audience know the kind of person you are.

Create Content

Now, it is time to start writing for your travel blog!

Always aim to create content that helps people solve a particular problem or brings some sort of value to their lives. This is the biggest factor that is going to make people come back to your travel blog and trust you with their decisions.

Take your time. Craft meaningful blog posts. Provide actionable advice – one that users can actually use in reality instead of just filler content.

At the same time, don’t forget to share your adventurous stories and memories with your audience.

Learn the Basics of Applying Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

While writing useful content is going to take your travel blog forward, you need to make sure you are doing all you can to take it even further.

This is where SEO comes in. Learning SEO will allow you to create high-quality content that ranks well on search engines and brings more people to your travel blogging website.

Get familiar with the basic concepts of SEO. Then see what SEO tools you need to download to achieve what you want.

Add Beautiful Graphics to Your Travel Blog

The graphics and images you use on your website can make or break it.

This is what is going to set you apart. People are going to put more trust in your brand if you post visually appealing stuff.

Invest in a good-quality media kit that will help you take beautiful shots.

If taking pictures is not your cup of tea, you can use royalty-free images from platforms that offer those. You would also need to become familiar with different editing tools to create custom graphics or make your photos look perfect.

Some tools for this purpose include:

• Adobe Photoshop
• Lightroom Classic
• Canva

Network with Other Bloggers

Travel blogging can open up a whole new world for you. You will be exposed to an entirely new side of the online community that shares similar interests to you.

Use this to your advantage and network with other travel bloggers. This would create more opportunities for you and your travel blog in the future.

It will also provide you with more ideas and inspiration to get started on new projects and create something unique out of them.

Essentially, become an active member of the travel blogging community.

Being part of a community can also come in handy in emergency situations as most of these communities are extremely helpful.

These are the 10 tips for starting a travel blog. They are fairly simple and straightforward. All you need to do now is to get started. What are you waiting for?