WANDERLUST - (n.) A strong desire or urge to travel and explore the world.
Imagine if travelling the world was your job... It might seem unrealistic but not in the world of Travel Blogging. In fact, many travel bloggers from all over the world are endorsed by brands and travel companies to travel here, there and pretty much everywhere! It's a beautiful life for some, except it doesn't come too easy. First you have to create a blog, and work hard to write creative and unique, personal content. Whilst creating the blog itself is easy, maintining it and building relatiopnships and engaging with your readers is a far bigger journey to finding success...but a beautiful journey of growth, development, success and of course, making your dreams come true because YOU CAN DO IT!Writing a travel blog is a wonderful way to share and cherish those unforgettable memories from each and every destination, this also inspires others whilst giving opinion and review on each place to re-discover by foot. So let's get started!We have made these easy to follow 'how to' steps as simple as possible to make the process of starting a travel blog as easy, fun, and in as little steps as possible - oh and guess what! It's easier than you think...HERE WE GO!
1.Domain Name and Hosting2.Installing Wordpress 3.Finishing Touches (Looks and Style)4. Seven Tips On How To Be A Successful Travel Blogger
1 – DOMAIN NAME AND HOSTING
Thought about what you want your domain name to be? If not give it some thought and let yourself brainstorm with a couple of ideas before making up your mind. Now head to Bluehost to check if the domain name is available by entering the name in the box that says ‘new domain’ then click ‘next’.
Click Here To Get Started With Your Domain On Bluehost (Opens In New Window)
OK! So what happens if you already have a domain? No problem click on the 'I have a domain name' below
2 – INSTALLING WORDPRESS
Once registration with Bluehost is complete the next step is installing WordPress to your Bluehost account.
3 – FINISHING TOUCHES
WPVOYAGER
"WPVoyager is a Premium Travel Blog Theme for WordPress with a bold modern feel that warms the heart of the weary traveller...step inside and see for yourself."
BEVERLY
"Beverly is a ghost theme created for those that want to share their travel & blog stories or news website, a tabloid or even a personal blog.It features a structure commonly found among the popular news sites which makes it familiar to the targeted users and was build with bootstrap framework for easy as pie customization!"
CLEMENTINA
"It’s all bout details & lightness in beautiful Clementina. It’s perfect for fashion, travel and/or lifestyle blog. It was designed with a minimalistic approach, bringing your content to the front. It offers bricks featured area, sticky posts carousel, social share buttons with counters, custom instagram widget, custom recent posts widget, rich sidebar options, ajax posts loading, masonry blog layout, post formats and many more."
Learn More / Download | View Demo SATURN
Click here to discover the full-range of Themeforest Wordpress Themes
How To Be a Succesful Travel Blogger...
If you love travelling, why not share it with the world? There are many professional travel bloggers out there who started blogging simply as a way to preserve their memories and share their experiences with family and friends. A love of travel and a bit of creativity are the most important assets in your travel blogging toolkit, but if you’re serious about generating traffic and gaining followers, here are some tips and tricks that will take your travel blog to the next level.
Tip #1 - Choose a unique approach or niche that sets your blog apart
You don't have to reinvent the wheel when you launch a travel blog. Focus instead on finding your own voice that sets you apart from other travel bloggers. You can do this by finding a particular niche that really interests you, like the best coffee shops or the oldest ruins in each city you visit. Another good idea is to establish yourself as a regional expert by spending a lot of time in a particular area and learning more about it with each trip.Another great way to set yourself apart is through your blog's look and format. Try telling your travel stories in unique ways, such as through interviews with new friends you meet along the way or by comparing and contrasting their customs with your own. There are endless ways to make your blog unique, just find a way to express your personality. Your passion is sure to carry over.
Tip #2 - Pick a reliable, easy-to-use web-based blog interface
If you are like many travel bloggers, one of the best times to update your blog is during travel down-time, like waiting for a tram or taxi or resting in your accommodations after a busy day. This makes it essential to select a blog platform and hosting provider that is reliable, robust and available wherever you happen to be staying.In addition, be sure to keep your use of plug-ins and fancy widgets to a minimum. This will ensure that your blog loads as quickly and easily as possible no matter where you are or how fast the internet connection may be. That way you can count on being able to update your blog quickly on the go with fewer issues with load time, upload errors, and other infrastructure irritants.
Tip #3 - Understand your audience through blog comments, polls and surveys and online presence
As your audience grows, you can learn a lot about them by interacting in comment sections and by visiting their own blogs. You can also conduct surveys or create polls to find out what they want to learn more about as you travel. For instance, maybe you have a core group of followers that is passionate about Parisian art or African ecology. With this in mind, you can scout out ways to add these topics into future travel posts. Most importantly, when you use a follower-suggested topic, give that follower a shout-out to thank him or her for the great topic idea!
Tip #4 - Use free social networking tools to promote your posts
As a true lover of travel, you probably want to save all your pennies and dimes for new adventures. However, that doesn't mean you should skimp on promoting your posts to an eager audience. You can use social networking tools to promote the heck out of your blog without parting with a cent.Create a profile on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Wordpress, Tumblr or any other site that strikes your fancy. Then use a free tool like BufferApp or TwitterFeed to automatically publish each new post you write to each network. Don’t forget to monitor your networks and respond to comments to build your readership. If you don't have time to maintain profiles on every network, just pick two or three of your favorites and focus your attention there.
Tip #5 - Optimize your blog using SEO tools
Google can be your best friend when it comes to optimizing your blog for more inbound traffic. Google offers several free or low-cost tools that teach you how to do this step-by-step, and allows you to monitor the results in real time.- Google's Keyword Tool helps you create a list of keywords and key phrases that can deliver more organic inbound traffic. Once you identify the most effective keywords and key phrases to use, all you need to do is pepper them lightly throughout your content and let Google do the rest.- Google Analytics is a mainstay that helps you understand how your blog is performing where, when, why and with whom. Just install the free Analytics code into your blog and begin tracking insights like where your inbound traffic comes from, how long the average visitor stays, how many pages are viewed and more.- Google's Mobile Friendly Test will ensure your blog displays easily and behaves properly on small screen devices like phones and tablets. A properly formatted blog is essential to your user experience, so this tool is indispensible if you want new visitors to stick around.- From here, you may also choose to invest a small amount into a Google Adwords campaign to generate paid inbound traffic to your blog. Google Adwords is easy to set up and you can control your daily costs down to the penny so you never overspend.
Tip #6 - Build relationships with other bloggers and blog visitors
Hands-down, one of the best ways to build inbound traffic is through collaboration. You can co-post with a fellow travel blogger who frequents the same locations as you do. Best of all, by collaborating with fellow bloggers who have their own separate audience of visitors and followers, you each double your potential audience. You might also consider inviting your blog visitors to guest-post and share their own travel experiences. Another great way to encourage blog visitors to check back frequently is to host a souvenir giveaway. There is no limit to the ways you can build relationships with your readers, so have fun with it! This is your chance to be creative while also driving in new inbound traffic.
Tip #7 - Be personable!
Finally, give your readers a chance to get to know you by posting an “About Me” page. Be sure to include photos, a biography and links where you can be found online. This is also a great place to let your audience know the best way to get in touch with you -- whether via email, posting in the comment section, or filling out a contact form. You can also use this “About Me” space to post a note to potential collaborators, advertisers and sponsors to let them know you are interested in hearing from them.These seven tips can help you effectively position your blog to attract interested visitors, build your follower base, deliver more engaging content and even attract advertisers or travel sponsors who want to collaborate with you on your adventures. But your story won’t write itself, so get out there and get blogging!