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Many people dream about traveling the world for a living; and there are people that are actually able to do so that aren’t pilots, flight attendants, or businessmen. These people are known as travel bloggers and they get paid to visit and write about their major passion in life: travel.

Before you think it’s all a dream, it’s time to debunk a few myths and tell some truths about how to start a travel blog. ?

Travel Blogging Truths

Who wouldn’t want to be a travel blogger? Travel can be expensive and the idea of having someone else cover your costs is certainly enticing. But it’s not all about grabbing trips to Paris in first class. Travel blogging is just like a job.

Travel blogging isn’t easy. The fact that you’re traveling and getting paid to do so while staying in top accommodations is what most people see. They don’t realize that there are a lot of struggles that go hand-in-hand with figuring out how to start a travel blog.

Here’s what you need to know before getting started as a travel blogger:

• It’s a saturated niche. Everyone wants to ride the wave of being a travel blogger, thinking it’s all rainbows and sunshine—that by virtue of having a travel blog (and a few followers), they can request comped stays at 5-star hotels. But it’s not that easy. There are plenty of travel bloggers that spent a long time building their empire before they took off to the point where they received any special perks (or compensation).
• Many times, you’re behind your computer. Being a blogger is like having your own magazine and being the editor, photographer, writer, and stylist—all in one. Some bloggers have teams now, but in the beginning, it will be just you. Taking and editing photos and/or video, write-ups, SEO, social media scheduling: all these tasks will require a fair amount of time stuck in front of your computer.
• Writer’s block. Companies pay you for content, and to be a successful travel blogger, you have to follow deadlines like any regular job. Creating great contentwhile at the same time, experiencing what every place has to offer isn’t easy, especially when you just want to relax and you’re on a tight deadline.
• You won’t earn a fixed income. As with freelancing in general, you’re only as good as your next project. You’ll also have to think of travel blogging as an expense at the beginning. After all, how will you start writing about places you haven’t been to? You have to invest some money to do the traveling that will serve as the subject for your content.
• If you’re a solo travel blogger, it can be lonely to go from place to place on your own. And since you aren’t in a place for too long, you’ll constantly make and break friendships and connections.
• Not knowing what’s next. Becoming a travel blogger may seem exciting at first, but you have to be constantly planning for what’s next. There may be a time where travel loses excitement or you run out of funds and you’ll need to plan accordingly.

If you just want to learn how to start a travel blog for the sake of sharing your travels, then these truths may not apply to you. Your expectations and ambitions will be based on self-fulfillment (and perhaps sharing your adventures with friends and family) more so than building a brand to appeal to sponsors.

How to Start A Travel Blog

Not scared away by the harsh truths of travel blogging? Here’s how to start a travel blog, step by step:

Choosing a Niche

There are two basic ways to get started: travel then figure out how to start a travel blog, or plan to start a travel blog then do the actual traveling. The motivation for the people in the former situation is likely just that they want an outlet to share their travels to family and friends, while the latter is more suited to those that plan to expand and monetize their travel blog in the future.

Like food blogs, travel blogs are a dime a dozen, so it’s best to start by choosing a niche (especially when you eventually want to earn from travel blogging) that will help differentiate you from the pack, since general travel blogs will usually not fare well when it comes to SEO efforts.

Travel Blogging Sub Niches

There are so many travel blog niches you can think of and fill a need for. To some, their niche comes naturally. For others, it could take a while to make a decision. Here are some questions you can ask yourself when determining a niche for your travel blog:

• Why do I want to blog?
• What am I passionate about telling or teaching to others?
• What are my skills, strengths, interests, and expertise?
• Can I write about this topic for a long time? The niche shouldn’t be too broad or too narrow.

If you’re looking for inspiration, here are some of the more popular travel niches:

• City blogging: Focused on your city (you don’t have to travel that far, and you perhaps know the topic better than most)
• Country-focused: Destinations around the country
• Area/Region: Like South America or Southeast Asia-focused
• Demographic-focused: Like travel blogs specifically targeted to Americans/American passport holders
• Budget travel
• Luxury travel
• Solo travel
• Female travel
• Traveling for work
• Adventure travel
• Family travel
• Empty nesters/traveling for seniors
• Traveling with disabilities

Or if you’re really ambitious, you can even blog about your worldwide journey, as Gary Arndt has done on Everything Everywhere. He sold his house in 2007 and has been traveling around the world ever since (over 175 countries and counting).

To be sure that someone will want to read your blog, search for your competition (to validate if there’s an existing audience for your idea). You might even want to utilize a tool like Ahrefs or BuzzSumo to look up some of the most popular content in a niche, such as “Traveling in South America,” to get an idea of what other bloggers are writing about. Then ask yourself, can you do this better?

Alternatively, you may want to try and be the first in your niche. If you can, find a gap in the market. If you find yourself asking “Why hasn’t anybody done this?”—do it yourself!

Branding

Most bloggers market themselves as brands. Your brand is what you’re known for and known as. It’s what makes people say “That is so XX!” when they see a piece of your content.

Aspects of blog branding include:

• Your blog name and niche
• Your blog’s overall look: the theme, fonts, logo, color palette, images you use, and so on
• The voice of your writing

Coming up with your Blog Name

Your blog name is important because it’s also what your blog is known as (your brand). While you’ll be able to change many things about your blog over time, your name is something you should stick with. Give it a fair amount of thought before deciding on it.

Not sure what to call your shiny new travel blog? You might start with your own name, a play on that name, or a mix of your name and travel-related terms. A few general rules for settling on a blog name (which will also