You can start a travel website if you love to travel and you want to share with others your experiences. How do you begin a travel blog, though? How can you make your blog stand out? We have compiled a list of the most important considerations and the first steps to get you started on your travel blog.

Branding Your Travel Blog: How to Create a Brand Identity

To ensure that your travel blog is on the right track, you should spend time conceptualizing and planning the content. Or at least decide what direction it will take. Some people like to plan out everything, while others prefer to adapt content on the spot.

Travel blogging allows for both. It’s crucial to decide on a few things to help guide your future travels when you are just starting.

Select a blog style.

Do you prefer to travel domestically or internationally? Do you want to be an expert on every continent or a particular region? You may choose to post “guidebook”-style content, or you might like to share your experiences, memories, and mishaps. Do you enjoy documenting travel logistics, or do you prefer to be spontaneous and bring your readers with you on a trip?

Consider letting the initial inspiration and desire for your blog help you create the branding foundation of your blog. What about blogging appeals to your interests? What is your favorite thing about traveling?

Consider what you want to focus on first. There’s no harm in focusing on photography while developing your writing skills or vice versa. A travel blog that focuses on sampling different cuisines will look quite different than a blog about backpacking through remote regions of the world for a month.

These things can have a positive impact on your blog content and beyond. They can help you determine what equipment to buy, how much training you need (if any), and what experiences you are most interested in. Your content will be better if you’re passionate about your subject.

Audience

Finding your audience is so important that it warrants a lot of research and thought. Social media is a major part of promoting travel blogs, for better or for worse. When it comes to using social media to promote your blog, you need to know who you are writing, photographing, and editing videos for.

It would be best if you appealed to the audience that you are most comfortable with. Do you prefer to travel alone or in a group? Or do you travel with family or friends most of the time? You may write for young adults or students who travel and not retirees. Budget travelers will also have different priorities in terms of content than luxury travelers.

Travel interests and priorities vary greatly from one demographic to the next. In general, the more in common you are with your audience, the more likely your content is to appeal to them. A perfect audience can grow along with you. Consider your age, but also think about your hobbies. A photography travel blog’s audience will probably support a move to videography in the future. However, a blog that focuses on nature and wildlife may lose readers if the content shifts suddenly from urban jungles to street foods.

Choose a name

After you have decided on your initial blog approach, it is time to choose a name. While your content might change, it is unlikely that your blog’s name will. If you are a successful travel writer, your brand’s name is an important part of your identity.

Choose something memorable, creative, and not overdone (the word “nomad,” for example, is overused). Avoid names that are unlikely to age well or limit you to one type of content. “21 and Traveling”, or “American Adventures,” may be cute at first but become difficult to use as you grow older or leave the United States. The name of your blog should be easy to remember and share. Numbers and symbols may seem cool, but they will not work when you are trying to spell out the URL at a hostel breakfast where few people speak your native language.

If you find a good name, Google it to see if anyone else has used the same name. You’re in the clear if there is nothing similar. Even if you’re hurt, rethink your name if you discover something similar. It is better to choose a new character than risk a lawsuit down the line.

Leave Room for Growth

Travel blogs, or any other type of blog or media project for that matter, rarely end up as imagined. Ideas change over time, and often for good reasons. Your 20-year-old exchange student will have different views, skills, and priorities than you at 30. You may feel like you are making a lot of decisions, but do not commit to rigid rules that include “only” and “never.” This blog is your boarding card, not your luggage claim receipt.

Start Your Blog

The host of a blog is the platform that you use to manage, create, and maintain your site. You’ll find that different hosting providers have other products, each with their advantages and disadvantages. Travel bloggers will also swear by various services. Forbes Advisor has compiled a list to help you narrow your choices.

If you are not a coder and would like to set up your blog in a more straightforward way, check if the web host offers a feature-rich site builder. Some web hosts, such as GoDaddy, allow you to build your blog using templates and themes. They also provide a range of tools and features that you can drag and drop to customize your pages. Bundling services from the same provider can also lead to savings.

Register your domain

Hosting websites, most if not all of them, will let you register a domain. You can rent hosting from another company and purchase a domain via a domain registry. This step is the same, regardless of how you do it. You will need to buy the URL (the address) for your new blog. Domain registration fees vary depending on the registrar and the domain extension (for instance ,.com, or.org) but usually range from $10 to $20 per annum.

Reserving your handles and accounts for popular social media websites (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) is a good idea. You can still save yourself the hassle of someone else stealing your accounts and names, even if you’re not ready to launch them yet.

Customize Your Blog

The base template will be the basis for the design of your website. Simple templates include a few pages that you can add content to. They also have a standard layout for your home page and visual styling, such as fonts and color schemes. The more complex or industry-specific template will have all of these features plus more. They may also include layout options, recommendations, or requirements for plug-ins that add functionality to your site, like sign-up forms for newsletters or social media.

Many hosting platforms offer free templates as well as those you can buy. If you prefer a more customizable (or customized) look, third-party designers sell their templates on other websites. The creator provides clear instructions for installing all templates.