The great wide world awaits. The thrill of seeking out strange new cultures and perhaps meeting a few like-minded people along the way is all too strong a pull for some of us. We watch airplane ticket prices for cheap flight announcements. We read in awe about the paths less trodden. And we long for the finances to fund our adventures.
When the stars align and it’s finally time to go, many of us would be lying if we didn’t admit to at least considering starting a travel blog. After all, we have funny and interesting things to say, don’t we? Isn’t it time we got involved in the blogosphere? Here’s how…
Your Brand is Everything
Stick to what you love. Be brand aware and write about the places that interest you (check out this good guide to brand awareness). You probably wouldn’t read a 10-page essay on the empty vending machines that line the airport walkways in some forgotten and mostly disused airport in the American Midwest, so don’t write about it.
Developing a keen brand awareness means putting out a consistent message in a tone that resonates with your audience. Where your site visitors (or followers on social media) become familiar with your most welcome and targeted style, you will find that your base begins to swell.
Another way of putting this advice is to ensure you do not try to please everyone at once (i.e., with content that is far-ranging and lacks any kind of central theme). It’s OK to visit ice shelves and deserts and write about them consecutively, as long as it’s tied together somehow. Make sure you know your brand or else you will leave your audience guessing.
You Need a Name (not just any name)
When Elon Musk was naming his companies, he didn’t choose unmemorable names. Instead of “Musk’s Rocket Association” and “Elon’s Satellites inc.”, he chose the infinitely more snappy SpaceX and StarLink. Instead of “Electric Motor Cars Corps” he chose Tesla. Instead of “Really Fast Train Travel In a Tube” he chose HyperLoop. Get it?
You need a name that stands out. Unless your blog name jumps off the page at you, you’re probably mentally stuck in amateur hour. Think harder.
Commit to Your Trade
Bloggers get started every day. They post an article that gets minimal traction among an audience typically no wider than family and friends, and they start to plan their second article. Sixth months later, maybe five articles of different lengths (and studded with inconsistent video and photos) sit in scrollable order of publication on the site’s homepage.
This kind of effort simply will not do. You won’t get anywhere by depending on flocks of readers to grace your site based on that one witty remark (that made you laugh) at the end of your third blog. That’s just not realistic.
Learn how to structure your blog. Watch how often your competitors upload content and learn which sharing channels give the best results relevant to content style. It’s not rocket science. But it is long hours if you want to get it right.
