How to Start a Travel Blog – A Step by Step Guide for Beginners
Travelling is something that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of what your age is. It’s a fantastic way to see the world and open your eyes up to the many cultures that exist out there. However, travelling doesn’t have to be all about the destination — it can actually be just as fun to experience the journey, too!
While travelling can be fun and exciting, we shouldn’t forget that it can also be expensive. So why not make some money out of it? And the best way to make money out of your travel experiences is by starting a travel blog.
Travel blogging has exploded in popularity over the last decade. It has allowed many individuals the opportunity to share their experiences with the world while earning money on the go.
Whether you are an expert in travel or just getting started, you can make money with travel blogging. Here are some tips on how to start a travel blog today! This can be a great starting point for you if you are an absolute beginner and want to start a travel blog but don’t have any idea about how to do it or where to start.
Start a Travel Blog from Scratch
Starting a blog wasn’t easy a few years ago. You had to build your own website, research and write your own content, promote it through different platforms (both online and offline) and figure out how to monetise your blog.
But with the rise of blogging platforms like WordPress, it’s become much easier to start a blog. WordPress makes it easy to write your posts, upload images and videos, and they have a built-in comment system so that people can leave comments and interact with you.
To start a travel blog today all you need to do is find a good hosting platform, install WordPress and start writing your first travel blog post.
Now, let me quickly introduce you to the steps involved in starting a travel blog from scratch. Here are the steps involved.
- Choose a domain name
- Choose a web hosting
- Install WordPress
- Themes and Plugins
- Create important pages in your travel blog
- Start publishing
- Monetize your travel blog
Choose a Domain Name
The domain name is the name of your blog or website. A domain name is the foundation of your brand and it can be a tricky thing to get right.
When it comes to naming your travel blog, the name you choose says a lot about who you are and what you’re passionate about. A domain name is a lot like a first impression, it’s the first thing that people will see and the first thing that they will remember about your blog.
Weigh up your options and choose a domain name that reflects your personality and your tone of voice. When you’re brainstorming names, it’s a good idea to look at other travel blogs and see what names they’re using.
It’s very important that you choose a name for your travel blog that’s easy to spell, easy to remember, and is going to help your audience find you.
Another important thing to remember is that, when choosing a name for your travel blog, you don’t want to pick a name that’s too long. Short and sweet is the way to go. Also, when choosing a name, make sure it has the right keywords in it so that it shows up in search results.
Choose a Web Hosting
A web host is a company that stores your website’s content and makes sure it is available to the public 24 hours a day. You want to choose a web hosting that’s reliable, has good uptime, and has good customer support.
Please remember that web hosts aren’t all the same, and they’re not all equally as good.
When you’re just starting out, it can be tempting to go for the cheapest option. However, this isn’t always the best option if you want your site to be available whenever you or your readers need it.
When choosing a web host for your travel blog, you will need to find one that offers excellent customer service, reliability, scalability, and speed. You want to work with a hosting company that will help you create a great experience for your readers.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a web hosting package for your travel blog. You need to determine what your needs are, how many visitors you expect to have, and how many pages you plan to have. You also need to consider what plugins you are going to need, and how much traffic your site will receive.
If you’re just starting out, go with Bluehost.
Bluehost is the most popular hosting service for new bloggers because of its affordability. As a new blogger, you want to keep your costs as low as possible in order to keep your business profitable, and Bluehost allows you to do that. They also have excellent customer support and their service is reliable.
BlueHost has a great shared hosting service and they’ll even help you set up your site. They have a 1-click WordPress install, so it’s very easy to get your blog set up. It’s a no-brainer and you can do it in a matter of minutes.
Once your travel blog grows, your traffic increases and your business scales up, you can upgrade your web hosting to premium services like WPX hosting.
WPX is a WordPress-specific hosting company, which means they have experts that know WordPress inside and out. We use WPX hosting for most of our websites. It will cost you $24.99 per month to host 5 websites but is surely worth your money.
Installing WordPress
Once you have purchased a domain name and registered for hosting, it is time to install WordPress. Many web hosts have a one-click WordPress install option on their control panels.
If you don’t have a 1-click install option for WordPress, you first need to log into your cPanel and look for Softaculous. Click on it and then click on WordPress.
Once you click on WordPress, you’ll be asked to enter your database details. Just enter that and click install to finish the installation. Your login details will be mailed to your email address.
You can check out our step by step guide that shows you how to start a blog on BlueHost from scratch. Each step has been explained with corresponding screenshots in that article. Have a look.
Themes and Plugins
WordPress Themes for Travel Blogs
A WordPress theme is what controls the design of your website or blog. It’s the design and styling of every page, every post, and every other part of your site. A theme controls the layout, colours, fonts, and other design elements.
There are thousands of different WordPress themes available for you to use, both for free or for purchase. The most important thing when you’re choosing a WordPress theme is to choose a theme that makes it really easy for people to find the content they’re looking for.
You want to make sure that your blog looks really nice, but you also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and navigate.
I’d recommend you choose a theme with a responsive design so that it works well across all devices from smartphones to desktop computers. Also, it’s important that the theme has a clean, minimalistic design that doesn’t distract from your writing.
My favourite WordPress theme is the Astra theme. It’s elegant, loads very fast and SEO friendly. It’s super easy to use and it’s well documented, so I recommend it to anyone who’s looking to build a website.
Also, their support is really good. Not surprisingly, it is also responsive, meaning, the theme looks good on both desktop and mobile or any other device for that matter.
Astra is not too flashy, it’s not too simple, it’s just right in the middle which makes it a great choice for most people. It is available in both free and paid versions.
Essential Plugins
WordPress plugins are pieces of software that you add to your website to extend its functionality. They’re used to make your website do something that it doesn’t normally do out of the box.
Each plugin performs a specific function like adding a pop-up to your site or allowing you to add a contact form. By adding plugins to your site, you’re able to add features like e-commerce to your site without ever having to write the code yourself.
These are some of my favourite WordPress plugins:
- Yoast SEO
- Jetpack for additional functionality
- Thrive Architect
- WP Rocket
- Akismet
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that makes it easy to optimize your blog for search engines. If you’re building an audience for your blog, search engine optimization is essential.
I use Yoast for all my blog posts to ensure that they’re optimised for search engines and that I’m not missing any opportunities to increase my visibility online. The Yoast SEO plugin works by analysing your content and suggesting changes that will help you rank higher for certain keywords.
This plugin is available in both free and paid versions. You can download the Yoast SEO plugin from here.
Jetpack
Jetpack is a WordPress plugin that will make your life a lot easier if you’re running a WordPress website. It’s a plugin that’s part of WordPress.com and will allow you to do everything from adding e-commerce tools to your website to creating a custom contact form.
Jetpack is created by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com. One of the things I love the most about JetPack is its powerful analytics dashboard. I use the free version of JetPack at the moment. With the paid version, you can also get features like automatic back up, unlimited video hosting, and much more.
Check out JetPack from here.
Thrive Architect
Thrive Architect is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create beautiful landing pages without writing a single line of code. It is a page builder for WordPress websites.
Thrive Architect has a visual drag and drop builder that allows you to create landing pages in a matter of minutes. You can even build an entire website without touching the backend of your website. I use Thrive Architect to create my landing pages and squeeze pages.
It’s a great tool for anyone who doesn’t have a lot of design experience, because it helps you to avoid spending hours trying to figure out which colours, fonts, and shapes look best together on a page.
Thrive Architect also has a ton of pre-built modules like sliders, buttons, bar charts, and more, that you can simply drag and drop into your page. It is a paid WordPress plugin.
You can check out this link to download Thrive Architect.
Wp Rocket
WP Rocket is one of the most popular caching plugins available right now. It’s incredibly easy to use, and it works with all major hosting providers.
If you’re making your living blogging, you need to be using WP Rocket. This will significantly speed up your site, which is especially important when you’re doing SEO because when your site loads faster, it’s more likely to rank higher on Google.
We use WP Rocket for caching. We’ve been using a couple of caching plugins for a while and we’ve tried a few different ones. We’ve settled on WP Rocket because it’s the only one that keeps up with our needs.
There’s no real configuration needed, you just install it and it takes a look at what’s on your site and makes adjustments to help you load content faster.
This is a paid WordPress plugin. See WP Rocket in action here.
Akismet
If you run a WordPress-powered website, there’s a good chance that you’re a victim of comment spam. Comment spam is a huge problem for WordPress blogs.
If you’re not familiar with it, comment spam refers to the practice of leaving spammy comments on blogs and content to try to drive traffic to other sites. And that’s where Akismet plugin comes into the picture.
Akismet is the best way to protect your website from spam comments. It works by checking every comment that goes through your website and automatically filtering out the spam comments.
It also puts a little icon next to each comment, so you can tell which ones are spam and which ones can be approved.
Adding Important Pages to Your Travel Blog
There are certain pages you should have on your blog, such as your About page, Contact page, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and Affiliate Disclosure page. These pages are all very important for your readers to know about because they can give your readers a better understanding of you and help to build trust.
About page
Having an “About” page on your blog is crucial. It’s one of the first things people will read when they come to your blog, so make sure you have one and that it’s filled with relevant content to help people decide if you’re the right person to solve their problem.
The “About” page is where you can showcase your credentials, share your story, and provide context to your readers. People need to know who you are, what you’re all about, and why they should care about your blog.
Your “About” page should have an engaging headline that entices people to read more. Also, you should include a short bio about yourself and can also include a link to your social media profiles.
Contact Page
Your contact page is incredibly important because, after the ‘About’ page, it’s here where your readers go when they want to contact you.
While some bloggers and business owners will put up a generic contact page with an email address, I believe that you should treat your contact page as your main point of contact with your audience.
The contact page for a travel blog should be easy to find and easy to use. If your contact page isn’t easy to use and navigate, then it’s going to put people off. The worst thing you can do is have your contact page buried deep within your website.
Privacy Policy and Disclaimer
If you have a travel blog, you can add a privacy policy page and a disclaimer page to your blog. A privacy policy page lets your readers know what you do with their information when they come to your blog, and the disclaimer page lets them know you can’t be held responsible for anything that happens as a result of reading your blog.
The purpose of the Privacy Policy is to help users understand how your site uses personal information. The Privacy Policy should contain information about what information you collect, what you do with it, how you store it, and how you protect it.
Disclaimer for Travel Blog
Even though I’ve never had any issues with this, it’s important to put a disclaimer on your travel blog that states that you’re not a travel expert, just a regular person who has a blog. And that you’re not giving out any professional advice.
Disclaimer pages allow you to protect yourself from any legal repercussions of your content. It’s also a great way to tell your audience that you’re not a professional writer and to have fun with your content.
Start Publishing Content
Once your travel blog is properly set up you should start publishing content as soon as you can. It’s not going to be easy in the beginning because you won’t have too many readers. But by publishing good content on a regular basis, your readership will grow and you’ll build an audience for your blog.
Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ll find that the more frequently you publish content, the more your readers will come to expect content from you on a regular basis. Don’t worry about making money immediately, just focus on building an audience.
How to Make Money with a Travel Blog?
Now that you have an idea for a travel blog, you probably want to know how to make money with it. What I want to do here is give you a few ideas on how to potentially make money with a travel blog.
I’m not going to cover every single option because it would be impossible, but I’m going to give you just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
Earn Money with Advertisements
The first and the easiest way to make money with your travel blog is by selling ad space on your blog to companies who want to promote their products to your audience. You can charge a flat fee per month to display ads on your site, or you can get paid per click.
One way to make money from a travel blog with advertisements is through Google Adsense, which is a popular option that will display ads on your blog based on your content. The ads will be relevant to the content on your blog, and they’ll be easily visible to your readers.
You can also work with travel related advertisers. These advertisers will give you money in exchange for you placing advertisements on your blog.
You can get advertisements from hotels, airlines, and other travel companies. If you’re interested in integrating advertisements, there are some great travel ad networks that can help you out.
Earn with Affiliate Marketing
As a travel blogger, you can also supplement your income by promoting affiliate links. An affiliate link is a link to a product that has a special tracking code. When someone clicks on that link and buys the product you get a commission. It’s a win-win situation for both parties.
Affiliate marketing is a simple process where you sign up for affiliate accounts with various companies, like hotel booking sites and airlines, and then you recommend their product or service to your readers and you get a commission if they make a purchase through your link.
The affiliate link can refer your readers to anything. This can be anything from a hotel booking website to a tour company to a restaurant. As long as it’s relevant to your audience and in line with your brand, then you should take it.
Make Money Selling Your Own Products
You can also make money by selling your own products on your travel blog. You can sell things like T-shirts, photography books, or hats. The possibilities are endless. You can even use your blog to sell digital products as well like courses or ebooks.
For example, if you have a travel blog that focuses on hiking, you could review the best hiking shoes and then sell the shoes on your blog. You could also create your own line of hiking products and sell them on your blog.
Earn Money with Sponsored Posts
If you’ve got a travel blog, you can also monetize your site through sponsored posts from hotels, airlines, restaurants, and other travel-related companies. These companies will pay you to write blog posts about specific cities, countries, or experiences.
A sponsored post is a post that a blogger writes about a company, product, or service in exchange for compensation. It’s a totally legit thing to do, and you’ll often see bloggers with “sponsored by” in the title of their post.
If you have a large social media following, it’s a great way to earn money by getting brands to pay you for posts or tweets about their products and services. You can also offer them a shoutout on your Instagram account.
It’s important to think about your audience when you’re writing sponsored content. That way you’ll be able to tailor the copy to speak directly to them and give them ideas or inspiration for their next adventure.
In order to find companies that are looking for sponsored posts, you can do a Google search for “sponsored post” + your topic.
Can You Start a Travel Blog without Traveling?
I think you can if you’re willing to be really honest about that. If you talk about travels, but you don’t actually travel, then be upfront about that. I think it’s better to be honest than to pretend to be something you’re not.
You don’t necessarily have to travel to start a travel blog. You can do it from your own backyard. You just need to get creative. You can write about your local parks, your local hiking trails, your local sights, local restaurants, local attractions… the possibilities are endless.
Blogging is about sharing your experiences and telling stories, and you can do that even if you never leave your hometown. The key is to have an authentic voice and to write about things that are relevant to your audience.
Conclusion
I’m a huge believer in the life-changing power of travel. It’s a great way to step away from your everyday life, connect with people and places you’ve never been to before and explore the world around you.
Travel is the greatest education you can get, and there’s nothing quite like the feeling of being in a place that’s so foreign that it makes you feel like a stranger in your own skin.
If you can tell stories about where you’ve been and what you’ve experienced, then you can share your experiences with people and help them feel like they are part of your story by starting a travel blog.
Also, as you have already read earlier, travel blogging is a great way to earn some extra money and build your audience. If you’re planning on going on vacation, it’s a great way to get some extra money and even pay for your trip if you can get enough followers to support you. You can even turn your travel blogging into a full-time income.
One last piece of advice I have for you is to start working on your travel blog right now. It’s important to start now because it takes a long time to build an audience and it’s better to start while you’re still travelling, rather than after you’ve settled down.
