By Peter Minkoff

From the outside looking in, travel blogging might seem like a fun and somewhat easy way to earn money. The nomadic lifestyle, sipping cocktails on the beaches of Madagascar, and just writing a few words now and then. In fact this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Being a travel blogger requires great organizational skills, commitment to the task, courage to explore new and sometime scary locations, and most of all willingness to be separated from your family and friends for long instances of time. Now if you are really serious about becoming a travel blogger, here are some useful tips that can help you along the way.

Sketch out a detailed plan

No, we don’t mean a fun travel plan, that comes later. First you need to set up your blog. Start by choosing a fun and catchy name, something without the words nomadic or adventurous, and definitely try to avoid numbers and hyphens. You have to realize that if this is going to be your profession then you need a name that will last the test of time. Now when you have made your choice, find the right web host and get that domain name, ideally opting for a .com extension for better recognition and credibility. Make sure you get your website designed by professionals. If you can afford it, invest money to create a unique visual identity for your travel blog instead of just using a generic one. Finally, refresh your knowledge of Wordpress and research the best plugins for travel bloggers. That way you can make sure you are using this platform to its full potential. It will be your main tool and best ally in creating a successful travel blog.

Get the photos right

Apart from great written content, every travel blog needs to provide its readers with a stunning visual experience as well. If you are lucky you will get to take these magical photos yourself. So you need to invest in a high quality camera, the one on your phone won’t cut it. Of course taking amazing photos will not always be an option, mostly due to lack of time and bad weather conditions. In those cases it is best to turn to great free stock photography websites like Burst, there you can find the perfect photos to accompany your blog posts. Don’t forget your readers expect to be transported to the places you are describing, and a few perfect photos are just the key to achieving that.

Your travel itinerary

If you are serious about travel blogging, you need to have a travel itinerary laid out for your next few trips. This way you can make sure that you have sufficient sources for creating content and there will be no dry spells on your website. Travelling to a place as a travel blogger requires a lot more preparation. You need to do extensive research, know which places to visit, what to explore and where to take the best photos. It might seem, when reading some travel blogs, that they just stumbled upon a quaint little cafe in a side street in Prague, but the truth is that location presented an ideal photo opportunity, and was deliberately sought ought. This is why your travel itinerary needs to be detailed, well researched and planned to the every step.

Don’t forget about networking

Now you’ve done all the hard work, your blog is up and running, you have great content and beautiful photos, but where are the visits. In order for your blog to be a success you need drive traffic to it. So start by connecting with other bloggers, see what are you guest blogging options so that a wider audience can get a taste of your writing style and seek you out. In order to make a living travel blogging you need to acquire a large audience which will not consist of just your family and friends. If you don’t have the time to wait, you can always join some of the affiliate programs, and start that cash flow right away. Looking to start your own blog, try out Hosting Foundry.

So there you are, all you need to know to start blogging. Just, before you dive in, make sure that this is what you truly want. Travel blogging is a long term commitment that will require a lot of your time and resources, but if you are doing what you love, then just go for it.