What is a travel blog?
A quick guide on travel blogs
A travel blog is a weblog, or a blog for short, about travel. Often travel blogs are written from a personal viewpoint: one or more people write about their personal experiences with travel. Because the starting point of a blog is the personal experience of the blogger, it can be an interesting source of information for people who want to travel. It often feels similar to getting travel advice from a trusted friend.
Hi, I’m Lot and I have over a decade of experience in the world of travel bloggers and content creators. I often get asked about my job. People ask me what a travel blog is and how a travel blogger earns money. So I thought I’d just answer all questions in this article. Here we go!
A brief history of blogs
People have always felt the need to write down their experiences. Most people do this in the form of private diaries, or in smaller publications ment to be read by family or friends. When the internet happened, people started to write down their experiences in weblogs or blogs. Digital diaries. Again, most bloggers wrote for themselves or a small selection of readers like family or friends.
However, as the internet happened more and more, personal blogs gained popularity. People started to read blogs as a way of connecting with other people and to share experiences. Bloggers saw their audience grow, and started to share more information and experiences. Then, bigger blogs started to attract the attention of brands, who saw an opportunity to advertise to a select target group.
Nowadays, a blog can be a business. The more specific the audience of a blog, the more interesting it is for advertisers. Yes, the reach of a blog is important. But having a relevant audience is much more so.
Is a blog the same as a magazine?
There are many similarities between blogs and classic media like newspapers and magazines. They both work with advertisers and sponsors to earn money. They both advertise products and services of those advertisers to their audience.
The biggest difference between blogs and classic media, apart from the fact that blogs exists exclusively online, is the fact that a blogger is (usually) not a journalist and therefore not bound to an ethical code of conduct. A journalist should report the news neutrally. A blogger gives their opinion.
Can everyone start a travel blog?
Yes, of course. Everyone can start a travel blog. Many people do, in fact. It is a fun way to share your adventures and experiences, to practise your writing and photography.
But if you want to be a professional travel blogger, it takes a lot of work. You need to build and maintain a website, build and manage social media channels, write articles, optimize SEO, take and edit photographs, network, work with brands and destinations.
Often it takes years of dedicated work before a travel blog reaches the level that is necessary to earn a decent income from it. It can be hard and discouraging. Honestly, it can take the fun out of writing and photographing.
Is a travel blog a lot of work?
There’s no use in sugarcoating this: yes, keeping a travel blog is a lot of work. You need to build a website and supporting social media channels. You have to fill the website with pages, articles and photographs. Maybe even video’s. You need to manage and grow your audience both on social media, the website and your news letters.
Often, a blogger takes on the rol of webmaster, writer, photographer and social media manager when needed, but bigger blogs might work with (freelance) web developers, reporters, photographers, social media managers,…
Is travel blogging a full time job?
If you want to blog professionally, blogging can be a full time job. It will take up a lot of your time. But, as stated in earlier in this article, it can take a lot of work before you start earning. Sometimes it takes years and sometimes a blog never takes off. There are many factors at play. So don’t quit your day job yet.
How much does it cost to create a travel blog?
Creating a travel blog can be done fairly cheap or even for free. However, it will cost you a lot of time. To start, you need:
A website
A domain name
A hosting
Social media channels
None of these things need to be expensive at first. You can start with an easy website and cheap hosting. As you grow, you can expand or renew your website and hosting.
Is it difficult to start a travel blog?
It depends. If you are handy with computer and digital products, you’ll probably have no trouble creating a travel blog. If you have never created a website or a social media channel, it might be a bit difficult.
The best way to find out is to just try. You do not need to publish anything if you’re not ready. Just have some fun and see what happens.
How do travel bloggers earn money?
There are multiple ways in which a travel blogger can earn money. These are some of them:
Affiliate links: a blogger might use affiliate links. When a customer clicks on that link or/and buys something, the blogger can get a little commission.
Advertorials and advertisement: much like a magazine or a newspaper, a blogger can be paid to place advertisement on their website.
Product reviews: much like a magazine or a newspaper, a travel blogger can be asked to review a product, service or destination on their blog.
Sell products: bloggers might sell products they create on their channels.
Sell digital products: bloggers might sell digital products, like e-books, on their channels.
Offer services: many bloggers are quite good at writing and photography, and are experts in their fields. They might offer their services, such as copywriting, photography and consulting.
Create a community: bloggers who have a specialized niche might sell memberships to their community.
In fact, bloggers earn money in very similar ways as other entrepreneurs or other media.
