BITW 155: 25 Travel Blogging Tips for New Travel Writers and Bloggers

25 Travel Writers and Bloggers share their top tip for new travel writers and bloggers on this episode of the Break into Travel Writing Podcast.

This podcast shares 25 great travel blogging and writing tips. These are “top tip geared towards aspiring and new travel writers and bloggers” shared by your peers in the travel writing and blogging world.

While the tips are geared towards newer bloggers, I think you’ll find some solid words of wisdom here no matter what stage you are in your travel blogging or writing journey.  

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These tips come from the Travel Writer of the Week series, which is  one of the most popular sections on the BITW website.  These Travel Writer of the Week posts profiles share the story of a particular travel writer, blogger, photographer or videographer. Not only do they share their travel journey and what inspired them to begin creating travel content, but their tips for their favorite app, social media channel and what is driving the most traffic to their website.

They also share their top tip for travel writers. In the profile interview they are asked to ponder the idea of  “If I knew then what I know now” and share their top tip for travel writing and blogging!

25 Travel Blogging Tips from 25 Travel Bloggers

Tip 1. Do this (travel blogging) only if you love making the time to share your experiences with others. There aren’t many that become overnight successes in the travel blogging world, in my limited experience. Patience may be your greatest ally. -- from Arnie Jacobsen with Arnieandjoeonthego

Read Arnie's full travel blogger profile

Tip 2. Start your travel blog from your home base. We think it would have been much easier if we had established our blog from home before starting full time travel. Reliable fast internet availability is one very good reason – lack of it is a constant frustration for us. -- from Yasha Langford with dare2go.com

>> Read Yahsa's full travel blogger profile

Tip 3. Secure all your social media handles the second you have your domain/blog name. Sign up for absolutely everything, even the stuff you think you may never ever in a million years use. Because chances are, one day you’ll experiment with new things, and you’ll want to have your brand name available. -- Carly Moore

Tip 4. The most important advice I can give for now is to start using WP right away. Learn it, use it. I also think that it is important to write from the heart, be yourself because this is what will make you unique and outstanding. I´d love to see more inspiring travel pieces and not only the standard “10 things you need to…” -- Nora Hase with travelingwithcysticfibrosis

>> Read Nora's full travel blogger profile

Tip 5. I wished I had known more about Facebook groups related to travel writing and blogging. They have been so helpful in learning and building traffic to our site. They’re also great for forming new communities. -- Jen Sotolongo from Long Haul Trekkers

>> Read Jen's full travel blogger profile 

Tip 6. Just go for it. Even when it feels like nobody is reading or commenting or liking and you don’t know why you even bother keeping it up, just go for it. You’ll never improve unless you stick with it. -- Brianna Rice from archivesofadventure.com

>> Read Brianna's full travel blogger profile

Tip 7. There is so much more to travel blogging and writing than meets the eye. We aren’t always laying on a tropical beach somewhere with a cocktail in hand. There is always something to do, whether it’s writing a new post, pitch to another website, update a social media platform, comment on other blogs, edit photos, etc. It takes time and dedication. You can’t expect your blog to become big overnight. -- Sarah Attaway

>> Read Sarah's full travel blogger profile

Tip 8. Join SmugMug and link your blog pictures to that site versus posting directly to WordPress to help pages load faster and ensure the best photo quality (a tip we learned by attending TBEX). -- Brian & Amanda Heath from Eat Work Travel 

>> Read Brian and Amanda's full travel blogger profile

Tip 9. A blog template that makes photography its main feature begins to get a little bogged down on load time when you’re optimizing for retina displays! Argh. -- Jordan Campbell from Global Debauchery

>> Read Jordan's full travel blogger profile

Tip 10. It’s hard work and can take a lot of time but with effort and determination, you can make it. Don’t give up! -- Sarah Eaton

>> Read Sarah's full travel blogger profile

Tip 11. Write about things and adventures that inspire you because that is when your talent shines. -- Kari Silcox

>> Read Kari's full travel blogger profile

Tip 12. Know who you are. You can’t be all things for all people, because if you try that, your blog probably won’t work out. And you’ll stretch yourself too thin. Find your voice and stick with it! -- Maggie McKneely with Pink Caddy Travelogue

>> Read Maggie's full travel blogger profile

Tip 13. Buy Keysearch (there are other options, but more expensive one) and learn about keywords. -- Jorge and Claudia with Travel Drafts

>> Read Jorge & Claudia's full travel blogger profile

Tip 14. Searching for the lowest possible keywords and understanding keyword research. For a new website, keywords that are not that competitive can still be a tough hill to climb. You want to prioritize the least competitive keywords possible. If you have article ideas for more competitive keywords, make a list, save them for later. -- Jeremiah Pittmon of Smiles On Arrival 

>> Read Jeremiah's full travel blogger profile

Tip 15. Define your audience – if you try to speak to everyone you’ll probably end up speaking to no-one. -- Lois Strachan of Beyond Sight Blog

>> Read Lois' full travel blogger profile

Tip 16. Just get started! You’ll make mistakes but you’ll also learn and grow along the way. It’s always better to fail often than to never try. -- Pam Howard of Our Adventure is Everywhere

>> Read Pam's full travel blogger profile

Tip 17. Don’t get sucked into spending all of your time trying to get followers on social media.  Focus on your blog and your email list.  Social media is important, but ask yourself if the time you are spending on it is giving you the returns you’re looking for. -- Kristin Montgomery of Growing Global Citizens

>> Read Kristin's full travel blogger profile

Tip 18. Find a good mentor group to ask questions, bounce ideas off of and get inspiration -- Bob Bales of The Traveling Fool

>> Read Bob's full travel blogger profile

Tip 19. Just start somewhere. Don’t get too caught up in the details. Just start writing, sharing your thoughts, your stories and finding your voice. Once you get into your rhythm, everything will fall into place and you will find that things will naturally flow from that.

Just like the quote “Dance like no one is watching”, I tend to apply that to writing as well, “Write as though no one is reading”. It takes the stress away from writing for someone, and instead you just focus on writing for yourself. Your voice and your style will come through as you hone your writing skills. -- Renee Tsang of Life is Too Short to Stay Home

>> Read Renee's full travel blogger profile

Tip 20. Just get started! Being brave enough to start your blog and put yourself out there is the hardest part. Your early writing won’t be perfect, and that’s OK. You will learn and improve along the way, but if you never launch your blog you will never have the chance to grow as a content creator. -- Tanya Shelburne from Traveling Tanya

>> Read Tanya's full travel blogger profile

Tip 21. Write what you are passionate about, even if you don’t think it will be popular. The right audience will connect and appreciate your unique perspective. -- Kendall Dickinson from Tastebuds and Travel

>> Read Kendall's full travel blogger profile

Tip 22. It’s so important to know your why. Travel blogging is very rewarding, but it can also be difficult and lonely. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten overwhelmed or burnt out and wanted to quit. Each time, I’ve had to go back and remember why I wanted to blog in the first place. -- Tonya Prater from Travel Inspired Living

>> Read Tonya's full travel blogger profile

Tip 23. There will be times when you feel like giving up, those are the times you need to dig in your heels and keep going. -- Efia Sulter from Effy Talks Life

>> Read Efia's full travel blogger profile

Tip 24. Before you hit publish on your blog or hit send to an editor, spell check your work. Run it through a program like Grammarly, make corrections, and then read it out loud. You will be surprised at the errors you will catch. -- Betsi & Jim Hill from Betsi’s World

>> Read Betsi's full travel blogger profile

Tip 25. I found that the instructions on travel blogging I was reading when I started doing it myself were not always reliable. Maybe it’s not valid to say it was all wrong, but I found that other people’s truths are not necessarily the only way to achieve one’s goals. For any kind of job connected with public consumption, confidence is needed. So my advice would be: stay confident, follow your path, learn from YOUR mistakes!

Success in life is not always about the quickest path from A to B. If you just want to become rich, there are easier ways to achieve that. If you enjoy doing things your way, do them! Online instructions about travel blogging can be quite demotivating for a beginner. You might feel so lost that you think the only way to get through obstacles is to pay other people to solve your problems. But one can still start with basic available tools and grow slowly.

Invest in a nice WordPress theme, get a good camera, and just start writing and publishing. Have some money saved so you can invest yourself in this journey with less worries. This doesn’t mean you will necessarily find a golden hen this way, but one also doesn’t need to go bankrupt first with a promise of a hen that might never be hatched anyway. -- Ivan Kralj from Pipeaway

>> Read Ivan's full travel blogger profile

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Hope you enjoyed this episode and are inspired to think about how you can set goals for your blog in 2020! Interested in hearing the full podcast? Click here to listen now!

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