6 Steps for Creating a Travel Blog

By Christine Ascher on September 12, 2017

Traveling, whether you’re studying abroad in a group or exploring on your own, is a great experience to have during college. However, once you get back home you might find that you’ve already forgotten about some of your experiences.

A great way to prevent this from happening is by keeping a travel blog while you’re abroad. Having your own blog will also keep your friends and family back home in the loop, and allow them to see what you’re doing day-to-day, without you having to send constant updates. You may even gain a large following over time. If you’re unsure how to get started, here are six steps to help you kick things off.

Image via https://www.pexels.com

1. Choose a platform

The first step in creating a travel blog is to choose the platform that you’ll use to publish. WordPress, for instance, provides users with a free and easy medium with which to create a blog, offering different templates that you can use to get started. Some other possibilities include Wix and Weebly.

If you want to get a little bit more creative, you can even create your own website by purchasing a web domain; this will allow you some additional freedom with the look of your site.

2. Come up with a name

If you’re creating a travel blog simply so that your friends and family can follow along with your adventures, the title of your site may not be that important. If you’re hoping to accrue a wider following, however, it’s a good idea to put a little bit of time into coming up with a fun and creative title that reflects the content you’ll be posting.

Think about what will make your travel blog unique, and try to refer to that in the name — perhaps it will have to do with the country that you’re visiting or some of the activities that you tend to pursue. Keep in mind the overall tone of your blog as well; for instance, if you tend to post funny updates, try to come up with a humorous title to show your audience right away what they can expect as they keep reading.

To create a memorable title, try an alliteration or a play on words; the more interesting the name, the more likely readers will be to visit the blog itself.

3. Create a logo

Again, this probably won’t be a priority if your blog is only intended to reach a small group of people, but if you’re hoping to obtain a wider audience, try creating your own logo to go along with that fun title. If you have any artistic skills, you can draw a logo and scan it to your computer to use; you can also use software such as Adobe Photoshop to create a graphic logo.

Choose an image that fits in with your blog’s name and the overall theme — a monument or image relating to where you’ve traveled is always a good place to start.

4. Start working on content

When you first set up your blog, it’s a good idea to create an “about” page, or to use your first post as a way to introduce yourself to readers and talk a little bit about why you’re traveling, how your travels have been going so far, and where you’re planning to go next. In other words, take the time to situate your audience so they know what to expect from your future posts.

The next step, of course, is to begin collecting the experiences that will allow you to create these posts. Try to determine ahead of time how often you’re planning to update your blog; if you plan it out, you’re more likely to stick to it, rather than gradually letting it fall to the wayside. Pay attention to occurrences throughout your day that you might want to write about later. You may even want to note these instances down on your phone or in a notebook to ensure that you don’t forget them later.

If you have trouble thinking of ideas for your posts at first, just keep in mind what you would want to read on someone else’s blog. For instance, you can start off by thinking of topics such as cultural differences, sites that you think are or aren’t worth visiting, and some of your favorite places, and then go from there.

5. Take lots of pictures

In order to create a successful travel blog, you’ll need pictures — lots of them. Readers will want to see the sites that you describe in your entries, so as you go throughout your day make sure you’re taking pictures of any monuments or significant spots that you visit. Anything that strikes you as interesting or exciting will likely be something that your audience is interested in as well, even if it’s as simple as the authentic meal you ate for lunch.

Pictures will significantly liven up your blog and will allow the audience to place themselves into the scenes that you describe. Plus, if your loved ones are checking the blog out, they’ll probably want to see you and everything you’ve been up to while you’re away. Be cognizant of this as you move through your day to ensure that you get enough pictures to satisfy everyone.

6. Use social media to attract new followers

The easiest way to gain a following for your travel blog is by utilizing the online mediums that you already have. Use your social media accounts to encourage your friends and followers to visit your blog, and provide a link to it to make it easy for them to just click and start browsing. You can also post on social media whenever you write new updates, ensuring that anyone interested can stay up-to-date.

Though your motivation in starting a travel blog may vary from just wanting to keep your loved ones back home informed to actually aiming to make a name for yourself as a travel blogger, your main goal is probably the same: to create a blog that reflects both your personality and your time abroad.

Overall, remember that blogging — like traveling — is meant to be enjoyable, so don’t be afraid to have fun with it.

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