{"id":11684,"date":"2018-09-10T09:37:57","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T13:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/?p=11684"},"modified":"2024-06-18T07:35:38","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T11:35:38","slug":"how-to-start-a-travel-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/how-to-start-a-travel-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Start A Travel Blog: an Epic In-Depth Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you want to become a digital nomad or long-term traveler, or are planning on going on a long trip, you might be thinking of starting a travel blog.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people think starting a brand new blog (and knowing how to monetize it) is easy and that it can cover your travel expenses within a few months. Other people are completely overwhelmed at the prospect and don\u2019t know where to start. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m here to say that starting a travel blog is neither easy nor impossible; if you have the right information (ahem, like the information in this very article!), you too, can become a successful travel blogger. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, I outline all the steps you need to start your travel blog, as well as some more advanced things to consider, including monetization. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 1: Establish Your Travel Blog Brand Identity<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 2: How to Set Up Your Travel Blog on WordPress<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 3: How to Write Your Travel Blog Posts<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 4: Growing Your Travel Blog and Audience<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 5: How to Monetize Your Travel Blog<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 6: How to Get Sponsorships<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 7: The Disadvantages of Travel Blogging<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 8: Taking It to the Next Level (ie: Don\u2019t Reinvent the Wheel!)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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Chapter 1: Establish Your Travel Blog Brand Identity<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The very first thing to do when you start your travel blog is to decide on your blog\u2019s brand identity.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this chapter, I\u2019ll outline some tips on how to choose your niche and audience, and how to name your blog, as well as some mistakes I made when I first started out.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose a Niche<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Travel blogs are a dime a dozen; just about anybody who takes off on a long trip has visions of regaling the world with their tales of travel \u2013 and hopefully making some money at it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to differentiate yourself from these masses and make your blog worth visiting, find a niche you\u2019re interested in exploring that you have (or can gain) some expertise in.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip:<\/span><\/i> Do a little \u201cmarket research\u201d, see what\u2019s out there already, especially in your area of expertise. See what\u2019s missing. Decide what you like (and don\u2019t like) about other sites, names, designs, and themes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you have a niche, stick to it; this will help people see you as an expert.  Plus, the more relevant your content is to your niche, the more loyal your (relevant) audience will be to you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know Your Audience<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In developing your niche, you\u2019ll also be developing a target audience. Know who you\u2019re writing for, and tailor your content for them. <\/span>You can\u2019t be everything to everybody; if you get noticed by a certain segment of the population, you stand to become better known overall than if you try to cater to everybody.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And later on, monetizing and getting sponsorships will be infinitely easier when you can define your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pick a Name For Your Site<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Choosing your blog name and domain is akin to choosing the name of your business; you want it to be catchy, easy to remember, and topical. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing your domain name is not easy (nor recommended) after the fact, so put some serious thought into what you want your blog to be about. Make it an easy name to remember and search.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check your ideas to ensure the domain is available (don\u2019t forget to ensure the related handles are available on social media too!), then purchase the domain and set up a hosting service and content management system. (More on this in the next chapter). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first started travel blogging, I made the mistake of choosing an obscure domain name (\u201cfreedom30\u201d) which was a take-off on a little known Canadian commercial about retiring at the age of 55 (\u201cfreedom55\u201d). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t the worst domain name ever, but when I finally switched to a self-hosted site (more on this in the next chapter), I changed the domain to something that better reflected my personality and the subject matter of my blog. I set up redirects when I migrated everything over, but Freedom30 still haunts me from time to time.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Top^<\/a>

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Chapter 2: How to Set Up Your Travel Blog on WordPress <\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve decided on your brand identity, it\u2019s time to set up the actual site!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are lots of options available online to set up a site. In this chapter, I guide you through the simple steps to get yourself up and running with your very own WordPress site.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free or Self-Hosted Blogging Platform?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can go with a free blog platform or a self-hosted blog platform. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a variety of free blog platforms out there (here\u2019s a <\/span>review of 16 such platforms<\/span><\/a>); I started off with Blogger which is powered by Google. Probably the most popular free blog platform is WordPress.com (not to be confused with WordPress.org; more on this in a minute).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The advantage of a free blog platform is that it\u2019s free. 0 commitment. If all you want is a travel journal that you have no intention of making money from, go for it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are an abundance of cons to using a free blog platform. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you get a cryptic web address (mine had “.blogspot.com” at the end), the platform often puts their own logos and ads on your site, it\u2019s minimally customizable, and you can\u2019t fully monetize your site (such as with ads or affiliate links). And \u2013 <\/span>because you don\u2019t own your URL, you don\u2019t own the rights to your content; what\u2019s worse: free platforms can shut down your blog at any time.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have any plans to take your blog beyond the status of a travel journal, you\u2019ll need to go with self-hosting.<\/b>
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Buy Your Domain Name and Web Hosting<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First, you need to buy a domain name. <\/b>You can often do this from the web hosting company you plan to go with at the same time you buy your hosting (you can also buy them from separate companies, but this way keeps things simple). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bought mine from <\/span>HostGator<\/span><\/a>, and it costs me $15\/year. It\u2019s dead easy to sign up and register your domain.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage, it might be worth springing for the \u201cDomain Privacy Protection\u201d. I didn\u2019t do this when I registered my domain name, which meant the domain registration information (including my name, permanent address, email, etc) became public information. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It increased the amount of spam I received, and I didn\u2019t appreciate having all my personal information hanging out there in the breeze. It\u2019s worth the extra $15 or so per year to keep this information private.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use Promo Code PROHOBODEAL for up to 60% off hosting at <\/i><\/b>HostGator<\/i><\/b><\/a>!<\/i><\/b> <\/p>\n\n\n

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Then select your hosting plan. These can range from very cheap to very expensive depending on the company you go with and the plan level you choose. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage, the basic plan should be fine for you. Don\u2019t worry; you can change it down the road. I stayed on the Hatchling level with HostGator for years and it worked just fine.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the step-by-step to get your domain and hosting from HostGator:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. From the HostGator home page, click on the \u201cGet Started\u201d button, or on \u201cWeb Hosting\u201d at the top. It will take you to this screen.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The next page allows you to register a new domain name, or to apply a domain name you already own to your account. Further down, you can choose\/confirm which hosting plan you want to go with (the longer you\u2019re willing to commit, the more money you\u2019ll save).<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Below that you\u2019ll see some options for extras; don\u2019t get caught up on add-ons for the moment \u2013 at this stage of the process, or any other stage where you see various premium options. You can always add that stuff later (often as a free plug-in option through WordPress), but at the moment you don\u2019t know what you want or need, so don\u2019t make it more complicated\/expensive than it needs to be.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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    Because of my growing site and business, in 2017 I switched my hosting service to a company that <\/i><\/span>specializes in managed WordPress hosting. Although it comes with a much higher price tag, it\u2019s secure, fast, and includes a boatload of services that take the work \u2013 and worry \u2013 out of the tech side of managing my site. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    HostGator was a great company for me to start out with, and I still highly recommend them. But once your blog is making some money and you want to outsource the tech stuff to ensure your site is in good hands, managed hosting is the way to go. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you make a purchase through the HostGator links here, I will get a small commission. Thank you in advance for supporting The Professional Hobo<\/a>!<\/span><\/i>
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Install WordPress<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Now that you\u2019ve got your real estate on the interwebs, you\u2019ve got to actually build the house. To do this, you need what\u2019s called a Content Management System, and that\u2019s exactly what WordPress is. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now here, we\u2019re talking about <\/span>WordPress.org<\/span><\/a>, not .com. It\u2019s free, totally customizable, user-friendly, and the most popular platform used on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Just like before, don\u2019t worry about premium options \u2013 just install it, which you can do directly from the HostGator control panel.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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    Click on Quick Install or Get Started With WordPress today. Don\u2019t worry about the other icons \u2013 I don\u2019t even know what they all do.<\/b>
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    Prettify Your Travel Blog With a WordPress Theme<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Once it\u2019s installed, you\u2019ll want to log into WordPress and acquaint yourself with your dashboard, which is where you\u2019ll be doing all of your blogging work.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But before you can actually start blogging, you need to apply a theme.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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    Under the Appearance menu on the left, you\u2019ll find Themes. You\u2019ll see free themes listed, and you can browse further (free and paid) themes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your research of other travel blogs will help you in choosing a theme that speaks to you. <\/b>You can always change your theme later on, but I don\u2019t recommend changing themes as often as your socks, since there are usually tweaks required to make everything work properly with a new theme. Choose one you like, and make it work.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I started out with a (few) free themes available on the WordPress dashboard, before hiring somebody to redesign my site in 2012. <\/span>Big mistake:<\/span><\/i> my designers used a premium theme they had a developer\u2019s license for, and thus it was free for me (or rather, worked into their fee). Problems arose down the road when there were bugs with the theme and my designers had fallen off the face of the earth. The only way I could fix these serious bugs on my site was to buy the (very expensive) theme outright! And the theme just wasn\u2019t worth it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In 2017,<\/span> I purchased (and absolutely adore!) my theme from StudioPress.<\/b> These guys make quality customizable premium WordPress themes that are built on the \u201cGenesis framework\u201d (it\u2019s like the supercar of themes). They\u2019re mobile responsive, SEO friendly, easy to use, and don\u2019t have the sort of heavy code that bogs down so many websites. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In 2021 I changed themes again. With ever-changing criteria coming down from the “Google Gods” that affect a site’s ability to appear in search results, new iterations tend to happen every few years in the blogging biz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


    Check out the PlugIns<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This is where WordPress shines; the vast availability of (and ease of installing and using) plugins. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    From the Plugins menu you can browse and install all kinds of different plugins, to help you with adding pretty features, backing up your site, security, managing comments (especially the spammy ones), adding social sharing buttons, maximizing SEO, optimizing your site speed, etc. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At a minimum, I use and recommend the following:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n