ALL MY ADVICE TO HELP YOU CREATE YOUR OWN TRAVEL BLOG

After surfing my travel blog, many of you come back to me by email to ask me how I created it… Apparently more and more of you want to embark on this great adventure that is blogging, and I understand you perfectly since it is the desire that I had several years ago now. So, I’m going to give you the basic tips for creating travel blogs. This will save you some time in your process.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO CREATE YOUR TRAVEL BLOG?

You will have to start by asking yourself the right questions and clearly defining what makes you want to create your own travel blog.

Because, for a project to be “viable” in the long term, you must know your motivations and know if you are ready to do it. It’s important to ask yourself the right questions and to know clearly what you’re getting into! It would be a shame to rush and create a travel blog without real motivation, and finally abandon it after a few weeks…

Write down all the reasons why you want to create this blog! To share your passion, to show your know-how, to get away from it all daily, to get free products… Because yes, I know a lot of people who start creating a blog with the sole purpose of winning products, trips or even money. So, I don’t judge, it’s a reason like any other to want to create a blog, but you should know that you will need a lot of patience, motivation, and perseverance to try to live from your blog. So, if that’s the only reason that drives you, I say “watch out”.

Casually, creating a travel blog can bring you a lot of satisfaction! For my part, this blog is a bit like “my baby”… A personal success, which started from the desire to share my trip around the world and to always do better (improve the design, the turn of the articles, the quality of Pictures). Quality is essential for me and when you see the evolution of a blog over several years, you realize how far you have come…

DEFINE YOUR EDITORIAL LINE, YOUR UNIVERSE!

Once you have defined the reasons that drive you to create your travel blog and you have made the firm decision to get started, you will have to think about your editorial line.

You might think that creating a travel blog is simply talking about your travels, but it’s not really limited to that. Finally, everyone can say what they did during these mother daughter trips and share their vacation photos, but that’s not what will make you an interesting blogger. You must try to go beyond the “classics”!

It shouldn’t be very complicated, because your editorial line will depend on your way of traveling, as well as your own situation/personality! Are you traveling alone, as a couple or as a family? Do you make it a point of honor to travel responsibly? Do you rather like luxury travel? Are you the sporty type, loving hiking, and outdoor activities? Are you particularly attracted by gastronomy, or by encounters? There’s no shortage of topics, and neither are the opportunities to stand out.

By concerning your main themes, you can then define the main categories that will appear on your travel blog. And it’s also time to think about your first articles! You may find it rushed but, often, by writing 2 or 3 articles in advance, we understand much better what drives us… And if unfortunately, you are unable to write the slightest article, it will be time to ask you some questions and, if necessary, question the creation of this blog.

FIND THE PERFECT NAME FOR YOUR TRAVEL BLOG

First, the name of your travel blog must appeal to you, speak to you… And this is extremely important because you will become attached to and identify with this name. It should not be neglected because it will be the first thing that people will remember when they arrive on your blog. And you know, the first impression is always very important.

You can also ask yourself if this name will appeal to others, but that is not essential in my opinion because, over time, your name will be associated with your activity anyway… Look for example at my own name “L’Oiseau Rose… It is not at all a question of travel at first sight. But in the end, the whole blog breathes travel, and we become known over time. And then your name will never be able to please everyone. You must know how to make choices and the best choice is to remain yourself, even in this choice.

It could be that the idea of ​​the name of the blog comes to you naturally, you could also put weeks to find it… Because beyond the personal choice, it is necessary to check that this name so carefully chosen is “free”. You will indeed buy a domain name and register on social networks with this name, and it will not be possible if someone else has already had the same idea before you. I know it can be super frustrating to realize that the name is already taken but tell yourself that if it’s a sign of fate and an opportunity to find even better.

Also, from the moment you have chosen the name of your blog, I advise you to quickly “reserve” this name on social networks (like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat). Because, even if your vocation is not to be present on all social networks, it would be a shame if someone else used this name in your place.

CHOOSE YOUR BLOG PLATFORM

You will have to choose a platform for your blog and the choice is important since it will determine your degree of freedom with respect to the name and design of your blog. If you want maximum freedom, then choose a platform like WordPress.org. You can choose the domain name of your choice (in .uk or .com for example), as well as the most suitable design. There is indeed a very wide choice of “templates” (free or paid) that you can use for your travel blog.

However, be aware that by choosing WordPress.org, you will need to know how to install your WordPress on a database that you have purchased beforehand. It will be necessary to create a database for WordPress on your Web server, so that MySQL has all the access and modification privileges, to deposit your files on your server and to launch the installation script.

You can also choose to work at WordPress.com. The name differs little but in fact, it is indeed different! It’s a Blogger-style turnkey formula. However, even though WordPress.com is free and easy to use, you won’t have the same freedom as with WordPress.org. There are only 250 themes available for your blog design and your domain name will end up automatically by “myblog.wordpress.com”.

Then you have other platforms, like Blogger or Overblog that allow you to quickly publish content. These are the easiest solutions to start blogging.

CHOOSE YOUR BLOG DESIGN AND CATEGORIES

Once you have found the name of your blog and you have installed it. You will have to choose a very particular design for it. The idea is to find a design that appeals to you but also matches your content. If, for example, you plan to publish any photos. It is better to choose a theme that will put your images in value, with pages wide enough. If you want to focus on your “words” instead, a clean theme will certainly be a good option…

The possibilities are practically endless. But it’s important that the presentation of your blog quickly gives an idea of ​​its content. We must immediately understand your universe when we arrive on the home page. A clear and original identity will have a better chance of appealing to readers. Who comes to your blog via a Google search or via social networks. You must arouse curiosity, interest, to read. And if your blog is pleasant to read and well-constructed. Internet users will spend more time there, and this is the key to retaining them!

Your categories are also very important because they immediately define the main topics that you cover on your blog. I too often see “lifestyle” blogs that talk about everything and nothing without any guiding line. And I find it a shame… It’s so much more interesting to have a quick overview of a person’s main interests.) blogger. It helps to project yourself into your world!