How To Become A Travel Blogger

Community Highlights Travellerspoint How To Become A Travel Blogger

Photo by timtower1

Keeping a record of your trip in a blog (web log) is a useful way to pull everything about your travels together in the one place. From this one spot you can share your experiences and keep all of your family and friends updated on your whereabouts.

Blogging can be overwhelming if you haven't done it before so we have made some short videos to help you get started. You can take a look at them first or scroll down for further instructions below.

The Setup

Before you begin, choose a blog name you wish to write under. This name can be different from your Travellerspoint username but should suit any future blogs you may write. For example, we might choose to blog under The Wandering Gypsy; a unique name that is not tied to a destination or time and allows us to write about ongoing adventures.

To start a travel blog requires just three simple items: a blog title, subheading, and a unique blog domain.

Create a travel blog with three simple items

Using our chosen blogging name we would enter the title as The Wandering Gypsy and then include a snappy subheading to let people know what the blog will be about. (Check the video to see what we chose!)

The blog domain (or URL) will be http://yourusername.travellerspoint.com by default but we shall change it to http://thewanderinggypsy.travellerspoint.com for some consistency with our chosen persona.

The URL can also be edited later under Settings in your blog's Control Panel. Just make sure to update any blog readers with the new address!

Control Your Privacy

For privacy, travellers have the option to password protect their blog in the optional settings.

Password protect your blog

Once it has been made private, all visitors to the blog will then be presented with a login window. If you select this option, you will simply need to advise any loved ones of the password you have selected for them to view your entries.

Share The Love

The best and easiest way to let people know about your blog is to provide them with the direct URL that you selected earlier. Once at your blog, readers can use the Subscribe button located at the top of your blog's navigation to be notified via email each time you publish a new entry.

Menu options at the top of the blog navigation

For the tech inclined, the direct link to subscribe will be http://yourdomain.travellerspoint.com/subscribe/.

Make It Fun

I think the key to good travel writing is an emotional component, so it’s not just about factual stuff like 'I went here. I did that' or fake, glossy brochure stuff that pretends that all travel is perfect. — Tim Richards

Travel is fun but sometimes a little editing can make the story even better. An overview of an experience or a city will excite readers more than a blow-by-blow description.

In an interview earlier this year with travel writer Tim Richards, he shared his expert advice on how to write compelling travel stories. You should develop your own writing style but remember to make concise, original, and interesting stories.

After you have found your writing voice, the next step is to format the text for publishing on the web.

Readability is very important. Your family will read every word you have written but you should not make it hard for them to do so! For help on formatting blog entries see About.com's tips on creating easy-to-read posts.

For ongoing inspiration and examples of successful blog writing, check out our featured blogs.

Ready to show off your adventures? Start a travel blog on Travellerspoint.

***

If you found this article helpful please consider sharing it on Twitter or Google+. You can also find Kellie on Google+ to provide any feedback.