Start your travel blog... in 20 minutes!
Welcome to the ultimate guide for aspiring travel bloggers! Whether you’re dreaming of sharing your travel stories with the world or looking to turn your passion into a career, this guide will help you get started on the right foot. This page includes everything I wish I knew when I got started, in one handy location.
- Technical Setup: The first step is to create the site. The basics include website hosting, domain registration and designing your website.
- Content Creation: What makes an engaging post and how do you need to structure it? But also, what do you write about?
- Monetization Strategies: Want to make money with your blog? You will need to learn about affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and utilizing ad networks.
CHOOSE YOUR PATH
Start now or Learn First?
Deciding how to start your travel blog is an exciting step in your journey. Depending on your approach, you can either jump right in and have a live blog in 20 minutes or take the time to learn each component before launching. Prefer to focus on all the details? Should you pick WordPress or Shopify? What are themes? Which domain company has the best reviews? When should I design a color palette? Take the FREE course on How to Start a Travel Blog to get step-by-step instructions and learn more about each component as you go.
INTRODUCTION TO TRAVEL BLOGGING
Benefits of Travel Blogging
Travel blogging is the art of sharing your travel experiences, tips, and guides with an audience through a blog. The beauty of travel blogging.. or blogging in general is that it can take many shapes and forms. Actually, this might just be the secret. Letting your personality be present during the process of creation. Of course, there are also many benefits. Before you get started, it helps to know which of these are your primary goals and which are not.
Visiting Beautiful Places
Maybe your goal is to document the places you visit in your travels, maybe it is to secure partnerships that allow you to visit more locations. Do you prefer slow or fast paced travel, budget or luxury?
Building a Community
A travel blog is a small community of like-minded travellers and individuals. You will inspire others with your adventures but also be inspired by others.
Potential Income
A travel blog can be a lucrative career and business opportunity. There are many ways to monetize a travel blog, whether through ads, partnerships, collaborations or offering a skillset for hire (writers, photographers).
Continuous Education
Creating and running a travel blog will keep you on your toes... in the best way possible. As a business owner, you will be tasked with expanding your skillset and knowledge in various fields, from web design, marketing and sales.
GETTING STARTED
The Basics of Travel Blogging
Travel blogging now is much different than what it was 10 years ago. Without a doubt, it will be even more different 10 years from now. How will that look like? We don’t even know. But let’s take a quick walk down memory lane to see what has changed in the world of travel blogging since it became a thing.
When did travel blogging
actually start?
Travel blogs have been around since the internet became a thing. The first travel blog is credited to Jeff Greenwald, a travel journalist who in 1993, attempted what nobody had done before…. writing and uploading stories from the road for others to read! Since then travel blogging has evolved a ton.
The golden era of travel
blogging
The golden era of travel blogging is generally considered to be from the late 2000s to the mid-2010s. For me, it was a magical time with RSS feeds and diary-like content. Those that remember that time, will know that we followed bloggers like we now follow social media influencers. Only instead of short form video content, we got their thoughts, troubles and success written down on their blogs.
How is blogging different than what it was?
Let me count the ways! The technology has changed, the narrative and writing style that is preferred by search engines has changed, our notion of security and what is appropriate to share has changed… but also the ways in which blogs make money. For starters, there wasn’t as much competition. Anybody could start a semi-generic (by that I mean the niche and focus) backpacking or adventure blog, add their stories from the road, and expect to achieve success as long as they were consistent and entertaining. Nowadays, the market is crowded, competition is high and the focus is less on the story and more on how it helps the reader. Back in 2008, you could write about “everything” related to travel with little competition. The industry giants are very well established now, so you will have to play catch up on Google search results, SEO, authority building and more.
Fancy a walk down memory lane? This travel blogger directory list includes some of the most popular bloggers of all time, plus a collection of some of my favourite blogs over the years, covering various destinations and places. Unfortunately, a lot of the content I followed religiously in 2007-2012 is no longer on the web. 🙁
Where is travel blogging going now?
Some might argue that blogging is dead and that it’s all about visuals now. I disagree. People still read, but they struggle to find content that resonates with them amidst the overwhelming flood of information. Blogging today is more about honing in on super niches—be it sustainable travel, solo female adventures, luxury travel, or any specific demographic that connects with your audience.
The novelty of travel blogging has also evolved dramatically. A decade ago, following someone hitchhiking around South America for a month felt like accessing unique content. Nowadays, it seems like we all know a couple of friends who have done it.
To be clear, I’m not downplaying the accomplishment or suggesting that backpacking around New Zealand for a month isn’t a fantastic experience. I did it – solo, living out of a tiny tent and car. But on its own, such an experience won’t create a lasting brand. It’s neither unique nor unprecedented. I met over a dozen people doing the same thing on that trip, and countless others have done it before and after me.
Likewise, joining the “every country in the world club” and boasting about numbers feels superficial. This generation has grown up with “getting paid to travel” as a viable option and “social media influencer” as a career path. If the aim is to chase novelty, then you risk getting pushed into dangerous territory.
My focus would be on creating meaningful and authentic content that reflects your passions and values. By doing so, you not only differentiate yourself but also inspire others to see the world through a fresh lens.
On Impostor Syndrome and Indecision Fatigue
There are over 5 million blogs out there... and this alone will make you doubt getting started in the beginning. After all, what is there that hasn't been written about, photographed or discussed before? Add to the ethics of over tourism, sustainability concerns and the rise of AI and it could feel like a lost cause. This line of thinking can kill your plans and dreams before you even get started. To avoid this, write down and remind yourself why you chose to do this in the first place. Secondly, stop comparing your journey to the competition. An older more established website may have ton of traffic and views.. but where you there to see how it looked in the beginning? We all start somewhere.
GETTING STARTED
How to Create Your Travel Blog in 20 minutes!
Are you ready? If you follow these steps you will have a fully functional, affordable, travel blog in the next 20 minutes. You don’t have to know how to code, be a designer or particularly tech savvy. Total cost is less than $40!
1. Choose Your Domain Name
Pick a memorable domain name that reflects your niche, area of focus or theme. Think about long-term brand identity and something that sounds professional. Avoid using hyphens or numbers and ideally keep it short and simple.
Where: Go to the Hostinger website and select the free domain with hosting package to get your domain name for free for a year.
Picking a Domain and Website Name
When it comes to picking a domain and website name there are no absolute rules, but the following guidelines will help. Remember there are no “wrong names” but there are names that will make it easier for you to be found, and harder for you to evolve.
- Don’t pick names with an expiration date: These include anything related to a specific age (twenty-something travels) or a specific location (Matt goes to Asia). Both of these will require you to rebrand at some point if you decide to pursue this long-term.
- Avoid cliches and overused terms: To know this, it helps to be familiar with the blogging scene. If you don’t read blogs, then it might be harder to know that the term “vagabond” for example has been done so many times, and feels like a copy of Expert Vagabond. Other words to avoid are “gypsy”, “blonde”, “nomad” (sooo many copycats of this one), “wanderlust”, “adventure”, “backpacker”. Check out this list of travel bloggers and see if you can spot any of these words.
- Think long term: Maybe you like budget and hostel stays at the moment but will that stay the same? Consider your style and preferences before you lock yourself into a specific niche. Similarly, I’ve seen many blogs recently in the DINK (dual income no kids) space, that promote everything “no kids” until ta-da.. they have a kid.
- Keep it professional: If you only follow one rule, make it this one. Most people will never think twice about your name but a tourism board most definitely will turn down an opportunity to work with a creator who is inappropriate.
- Remove hyphens or complicated spelling: The second most important rule is to make your name easy to remember and spell. If someone needs to struggle to remember how to spell your website, they will give up.
- Check if it is taken: Lastly, don’t get too attached to a name before you check out the competition. Search for variants of your name on social media and online to ensure that it is not used by another creator.
How did I pick my name: I opted for Bachelor of Travel because it is catchy, begs the question on whether it refers to marital status or education (ahem, the latter of course) and could transition to cover other topics or be sold to someone, since it doesn’t include my name.
2. Buy a Hosting and Domain Name plan
Hosting is where your blog’s files will be stored, and choosing a reliable hosting provider is essential. Hostinger is popular, affordable and easy to install and navigate. This will be your plan for most tools at this stage, since both the cost and the learning curve can add time. Pro tip: select a hostinger provider that offers free domain name registration!
Plans at Hostinger start for as little as $2.99 a month. * I recommend going for the Business Plan (currently $3.99/mo) which includes the free domain registration.
3. Install WordPress
Once you've set up your domain name and hosting, it is time to complete the sign up process and install WordPress. Follow the prompts to complete the set up process and make sure to select a strong password. Your hosting company (in this case Hostinger) will have clear, easy to follow instructions and send you emails for each step of the way.
As a recap:
- WordPress is what will run your website.
- The host is the service provider that places your files on a server online.
- The domain name is the address you need to buy that allows visitors to access those files (your website).
WordPress is classed as an open source platform that you install on your web host. Why do we pick WordPress? It powers about half of all websites in the world, which totals to just under 500 million websites including Microsoft, The White House, Time Magazine and 007. Later on you might want to learn and explore non WordPress options such as Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, Webflow or Kajabi
4. Select a Theme
Your theme determines the look and feel of your website. I recommend downloading Blocksy for a simple and beginner-friendly theme, that is fast, efficient and will serve it's purpose well even after you learn more about themes and their differences. It is not easy to have a theme that appeals to web designers and web programmers, but Blocksy seems to have managed it. I don't recommend spending a lot of time checking themes at this stage, since the more your learn, the more you will need to change later.
- You can download Blocksy from this website or search and download it from inside WordPress. To download it from inside WordPress go to “Appearance” – “Themes” – “Add New” and search for “Blocksy”. Once downloaded, click “Activate” and follow the setup instructions.
Pro tip: Avoid purchasing a fancy theme from a theme website, like Theme Forest/ Envato. They are often pre-loaded with tons of extras that will slow down your site and lock you in to a specific look. They appear great when you are starting out but will make life difficult later on. I know a lot of professional bloggers recommend splurging on a $50 “premium” theme when you are starting out, but to me it makes no sense. Unless you have a background in design, web programming or similar, there will be a learning curve anyway. Better go with the free version of Blocksy and update to their Pro license when you are ready to take it seriously and create something good.
While you are looking around WordPress, note the menu on the left side of your screen. This screen stays fairly consistent on most websites powered by WordPress with few changes determined by the Theme.
5. Write your First Post
Navigate to "Posts" then "Add New" on the right side of your WordPress Dashboard. Play around with creating your first post, while getting familiar with the settings and functionalities present. This might feel overwhelming at first - but that is part of the process.
There you have it! Your first website is ready and now you can start learning the rest, while having a canvas to work on!