Seven Steps to Setting Up A Successful Travel Blog – Part 1
So you’ve decided to set up a travel blog – congratulations! But before you get carried away with the excitement of your first online venture, there are a few things you should think about before you start.
1. Free Site or Self-Hosted?
It’s never been easier to start up a blog. With Blogger and WordPress.com, as well as other free blogging platforms, you can go to a free site and be up and running in a few minutes. I’ll come to the question of which platform to choose in a minute, but first, here’s why I think it’s best to go self hosted. Think about how you feel when you go to a major site and it doesn’t have its own domain name – instant credibility loss. Do you want that for your new travel blog? I didn’t think so. Spend the money it will take to get a domain name and hosting – it will be well worth it. The exception? If you’re not really committed to the idea, then a free site can make a good playground, but make the move to a self-hosted site once you’re sure that you will stick with it.
2. Which Platform?
Blogger, WordPress or TypePad – there are so many options out there that it’s difficult to know which one to choose. I’ve used all three and definitely have a WordPress bias. WordPress is available with most web hosts, is easy to customize via themes and plugins and since it’s one of the most popular blogging platforms, many people are already familiar with it. And if something should go wrong, you’ll be able to get plenty of help from the many experts out there. Of course, that also applies to the other platforms, but I’ve found WordPress the easiest blogging platform to use and millions of people agree with me.
3. Finding a Niche
Travel is a crowded niche, so you will want to identify an area that makes you stand out from the crowd. What are you bringing to the table that’s different from what’s already out there? Is there something in your background, experience or current life that gives you a competitive edge – or just makes you interesting? And what are you passionate about? Is there something that inspires you enough so that you will be able to keep blogging about it for years? If you can’t answer these questions, think about whether having a travel blog is the right move for you. If you’ve ever read a blog post and thought, I’d do this differently and I’ve got tons of ideas, then maybe you’re onto a good thing.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of Seven Steps to Setting Up A Successful Travel Blog. (Photo: salendron)
Tags: travel blogging, Travel Blogs
June 8th, 2011 at 6:21 am
[...] This is Part 2 of Seven Steps to Setting Up A Successful Travel Blog. If you missed it, here’s Part 1. [...]