If you love travel enough to commit to writing about it, you are already creating fun and invigorating content. However, if your blog is not easy to locate, easy to read, and loaded with variety, this labor of love will not help many folks because they will not be able to find it. Even if you don’t expect to make money from your travel blog, the tips below will make your stuff more popular and enjoyable for your readers.
Make it Scannable
Use short, interesting headings. If you are back from a lovely stretch of summer camping in Maine state parks, you probably have some things to say about lobster.
Create short paragraphs about the difference between warm water vs cold water lobster, and include a bit about yummy claw meat to sweeten the deal. You can then move onto the amazing restaurant that allowed you, grubby and hungry, to put on a bib and celebrate this amazing dish.
Short paragraphs draw the reader in, while long stretches of text with no break get ignored. If you want people to read your content, add variety and create blank space on the page to serve as a frame for your ideas.
Add a Table of Contents
Add a Table of Contents along the side, or a short one at the top, so readers can bounce around to what catches their interest.
Challenge yourself to keep each line of the table of contents extremely short. Again, your Maine camping trip could include a very simple list, such as
- Birds
- Lobsters
- Hikes
- Bears
- Mosquitoes
and other activities and wildlife that your readers will be interested in. If you are hoping to make some cash off your blog, look for ways to market something in each section, such as
- binoculars
- the aforementioned restaurant
- the terrific lightweight hikers you found
- emergency spray
- your new screen tent
You can also link back to specific blog posts that you created in the past. These posts can go into each topic in detail, or tie to other travel destinations.
Add Images
While your table of contents text will be very short, try to make the tags on the images you insert long. This makes Google happy, as this makes it easier for the visually impaired to get the full story of the image. Do not just post a pic of a black bear without posting about the blue water, the rocky beach, the lush evergreens, or the cloudy sky.
Make sure you also add some fun photos of yourself being a bit silly. You may be holed up in your screen tent, or you could be relaxing in your cabin swathed in the luscious shawl that serves as a napping blanket, a wrap for the campfire, or a sunshade. Of course, you will link to the product!
Add a Podcast
Audiobooks and podcasts are a big deal and are growing in popularity. If you have a podcaster that you follow and enjoy, promote them on your blog. If you can, try to set up a chance to speak on their show.
It should be noted that podcasting can be pretty challenging while you are on the road. It takes some pretty specific equipment and skill. However, if your travel blog can build an audience for your favorite podcaster, they may be willing to feature you on occasion to help build your audience.
Add Videos
If you are writing about something, someone else is probably posting videos about it. Again, share your favorites and work to make connections with that YouTuber to see if you can be featured on their videos, or if they will link to any blog posts that you have created that they find helpful.
The events of 2020 have taught many of us some strange and difficult lessons. Life is fragile and precious. Now is the time to get moving and do the things that you really want to do. If you love to travel but have never figured out a way to fund it full time, now is your chance to get out there and go for it!