Although most people view traveling as an enjoyable hobby, there are some who have the pleasure of basing their career around it. In fact, over the past few years, the number of individuals who have taken up traveling on a full-time basis has increased. This is mainly because of the growing trend of globalization. Meaning, international connections are now stronger than ever. People who enjoy visiting other countries can do so as a byproduct of their fast-paced careers.
One field that embodies all of the aforementioned trends is travel blogging. According to a professional from this industry, Colby Lee Burke, it is a freelance-based job where one maintains a blog based on their travel experiences. With the rise of social media and online marketing, individuals in this area can leverage digital connections to expand their reader base.
Moreover, the improvements made to smartphones make it extremely easy to capture state-of-the-art photos which help keep the blogs engaging. Nevertheless, the fact that there are thousands of people who do the same thing contributes to the growing levels of competition. So, how can someone stand out as a travel writer in a market where there are innumerable bloggers with a solid following?
Natural Storytelling
When people are looking for interesting reading material, they are very unlikely to engage with difficult writing. This includes any instance of writers utilizing unnecessarily complex language further clouded by unfitting figures of speech. In travel blogging, this is also amplified by the fact that the reader basically wants to experience someone’s trip through their texts.
Thus, everything about a travel blog should be natural. Using words that many people will have to look up and define only slows their progress. In order to keep a reader entertained, there should be fluent storytelling that is not made difficult by the technicalities of writing.
Authentic Photos
As Colby Lee Burke reminds, a photo is indeed worth a thousand words when it comes to any type of blog. With traveling, it is impossible to imagine someone spending a few hours reading every week when there are no visual aids included. Therefore, every person who does this form of writing should also take impressive photos during their trips.
These are great for increasing the size of the blog and adding on to the overall quality. Additionally, they provide the reader with a break from the words themselves and help them envision the experience. Check out 277 photography tips for all kinds of photography to get some good insight into taking high-quality photos. Of course, all photos should be self-made and unique to the blogger. Downloading and using images from other people is a quick way to gain copyright claims and be liable for theft of intellectual property.
Seek Reader Engagement
Although most blogs intend to share one’s points of view with the world, it is mandatory to seek reader engagement. Luckily, doing so is quite simple as it can be done through nothing more than a few sentences here and there. The easiest way to do it is by asking people questions. For instance, a travel blogger can describe their experience and ask others to share what happened to them during a similar trip.
In fact, there are many more effortless ways to seek engagement by asking travel-related questions that tie into the blog. If doing so seems futile and the blogger is not receiving a lot of feedback, they may need to learn more about their audience.
Do Not Hide Your Mistakes
Traveling is just as much of a skill as it is a hobby. After all, a successful venture requires one to do a lot of planning that must be extremely detailed. This includes things like transportation, weather considerations, hotel inquiries, and much more. Naturally, people tend to make mistakes in one of those areas.
Well, regardless of how seasoned a travel blogger may be, they will often make simple errors. Although hiding them can be their first instinct, they should be at liberty to share their blunders with the world. Doing so helps build a connection with the reader as they might have similar experiences.
Choose Unique Travel Locations
Lastly, one should pick interesting and fairly unexplored locations for their blogs. Going to Los Angeles to create a story is about as useful as writing a manual on how to use an iPhone. In other words, it has already been explored and people will not want to read it. So, focusing on unique destinations will help make the story appealing and fresh.
