Everybody can start a travel blog. It’s easy to get started! Yes, having a travel blog is a thing.
I started travel blogging in July 2015 and so far, I still love it! Being a travel blogger is a full-time job… even if you already have a full-time job.
Blogging is also putting yourself out there. It’s writing. It’s socializing. It’s networking. It’s promoting. It’s a lot of work!
Let’s see how you can create a travel blog of your own.
If you’re not sure if blogging is the right option for you, you might want to take a look at these options to make money while traveling.
Without further ado, let’s talk about travel blogging for beginners!
Travel Blogging For Beginners Step By Step
There you have it – the simple steps to start a travel blog for beginners.
1. Figuring Out If Travel Blogging Is For You
First, you’ll have to think about your potential readers.
- Who is your travel blog for?
- What’s your niche?
- Who would you like to reach?
- How?
- Which kind of blogs would you like to have?
- Which kind of blogs do you like?
- What would you like to be known for?
- What makes you different?
Once you answered these questions, you might want to give up… or keep going.
The thing is – there are so many travel blogs out there, so if you want to stand out, you’ll need to have a solid strategy including a niche.
Watch this video to learn if blogging is for you and what are great reasons to start a blog.
2. Pick A Name For Your Travel Blog
So, what’s the name of your travel blog? Make sure that the domain is available.
But, think further; make sure this name is also available on every single social media you’re thinking of using.
Create social media account everywhere: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest.
Try to choose something easy to remember, easy to write.
You might hate your name, later on, so make sure your idea is great, easy to remember, and suits your target audience.
3. Choose A Hosting Plan For Your Travel Blog
Unless you want to try blogging first, you can sign up with WordPress.com for free.
If you are planning on being serious with travel blogging, I’ll suggest that you self-host your blog and install WordPress.
You can also get your domain with your host!
Personally, I am using BlueHost. The opinions about this host are controversial, but I never had any issues with them.
Their customer service is easy to work with, their platform is fast, and if you use Cloudflare, you’ll be able to have a very fast website.
If BlueHost didn’t exist, I would probably try Siteground as they have a great reputation too (a lot better than Bluehost, but it’s a bit more expensive though.)
Although Sitegound had significant issues in 2021, and entire websites have been de-indexed from Google, I’m not so sure it’s a great option nowadays.
Learn more about the best blogging platform to make money.
4. Set Up Your Travel Blog
Once you sign up with a hosting plan, you’ll be able to get into your dashboard to download WordPress. Bluehost now provides an automatic WordPress installation, which makes it all easier!
I experienced this new automated thing when I started my second website Nomadlife101. It was indeed pretty easy to use.
I’d say WordPress is one of the easiest to learn. It can seem complicated initially, but there are many cool resources online to help you set up everything.
5. Design Your Travel Blog
Your website design (we call it a theme or template) is the first impression your potential readers are going to have once they land on your page, so make sure you make it pretty!
I signed up with Elegant Themes (which gives you access to a big bunch of different themes and plugins (a plugin is an option that you can add to your website to make it faster, better and friendlier).
A lot of people sign up with Theme Forest too.
Here are examples of what you can do with Divi (the theme I use with Elegant Themes). It’s a drag and drop kind of template which makes it super easy to understand.
It also comes with pre-made layouts if you’re not very good with design.
Watch this video to learn how to install and set up Divi Theme in WordPress.
6. Create High-Quality Content For Your Travel Blog
It’s time to work! So, what’s a great post? It’s a post that people are going to love.
You want to keep your readers with you, so make sure you have great content, so they will be willing to comment, subscribe, follow you, and share it with their friends/followers. This is how you are going to get traffic.
Do you have a shareable trigger? Can we all relate? Is this better than what you can already find online?
One thing I learned over the years is to learn SEO. Driving traffic through Google is one of the best ways to get sustainable traffic.
You have to create content that will answer questions, and that would be helpful for people.
If you wish to learn SEO, join SEO from Scratch. This is my online course about SEO for bloggers. (And it’s affordable!)
7. Promote Your Content
So, what’s promoting exactly? Promoting is the way you’ll get your post noticed out there. Once you have your good content, you’ll probably need some readers… right?
You need to think about marketing/promoting strategies. It’s a lot of work. It’s hard. And all new. But if I managed to do it in English (not even my mother tongue), you can do it too!
Promoting your articles on social media is the best way to get traffic.
You can share your articles on Facebook, grow a Pinterest strategy (Pinterest is my #2 referral!), join many Bloggers Facebook Groups where we help each other to grow, and tweet numerous times about it!
Make sure you have a mailing list too.
Final Thoughts On Travel Blogging For Beginners
Travel blogging for beginners can be a challenge at first. But keep at it because consistency is key when it comes to blogging.
Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed with the travel blogging thing? No stress – I got your back!
Want to know how much I made with blogging? Read my blog income reports. You can also get in touch if you’d like some coaching. Alternatively, if you’re starting a travel blog, learn about affiliate marketing for travel bloggers.
