Lessons learned from the first year of a Travel Blogger

A Year in the Life of a Travel Blogger & Lessons Learned

Last year my website went live on April 1, 2017, on April Fools Day. It was kind of a joke because I had talked about starting a website for years! I knew my friends wouldn’t believe it on April Fools Day.

What is like to be a travel blogger you may ask? As you see these amazing photographs all over Instagram of beautiful places, champagne glasses, luxury hotels, and fun lifestyles. The back end side isn’t always so glamourous. Getting into this industry as a newbie isn’t easy. People have been doing this longer than me, and they are already doing it so much better. It’s been a year of learning what makes me different, what is my purpose, and why do I want to do this. All of these questions I answered before I started my blog. Here are a few lessons I have learned over the past year.

Lesson One- Ask for Help

There is so much to learn it is overwhelming at times. First of all, you need a website. After numerous research, wordpress.org was the winner because you own your own website. I am not a computer techie so many tears were spent trying to learn WordPress. Seriously, months of tears crying in my wine glass trying to learn WordPress! I read books, blog posts and could not achieve the look I wanted. My husband is always right. He said you need help. Lesson one- ask for help and focus on what you are good at.

Nomadic Matt has a great post, “How to Start a Travel Blog”  This advice helped out and I was on his website a lot when I was starting out. I opted for Studio Press Genesis with a child theme called Glam from Restored 316 Designs. Struggling with getting my website to look the way I wanted, I hired them to set it up exactly the way it looked on their website. It saved me so much time. Lesson one is probably the biggest lesson I learned and I was just beginning. April 1, 2017, my first blog post was published! It was a huge start. Asking for help and hiring someone to do what I am not good is a valuable lesson.

Lesson Two- Never Stop Learning

Little did I know but travel blogging as a newbie is so overwhelming. Your job as a blogger has so many job titles, website developer, social media guru, a photographer, a writer, and a videographer. 2017 was a year of learning new things. Technology changes fast with new camera equipment, algorithms of social media, (still trying to figure that one out), SEO, and the next new thing. There is always something to improve on and learn to make your blog better. Video is huge! Everyone is talking about video! The younger generation spends hours watching U Tube videos. I made my first video and my son came home watched it and said, ” It is so 90’s!” No one uses those transitions anymore and you have to watch Casey Neistat! I’m like Casey who? I’m not a millennial. I am not fully nomadic. Trying to be hip in this fast-paced world makes me question if this is what I want to be doing? However, in order to continue showing people the beauty in the world, I will always be looking for ways to improve my website, my photography, social media, and video posts. Lesson two never stop learning.

Lesson Three- Social Media is a Time Suck

Social Media on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, U Tube, Pinterest is super time-consuming. It feels like being in high school again trying to popular. Last year I spent hours and hours per day on social media trying to get followers. There were moments out to dinner with my husband and I couldn’t put my phone down. Weeks where I didn’t write a blog post because I spent every day absorbed online in Twitter chats, Instagram, and Facebook. It is addicting! There are highs and lows when you wake up to lost followers and wondering why? This year I will be limiting my time on social media by setting up a time management plan. The best part of social media is connecting with real people like me who have a passion for travel. People I have met online I wish to connect with in person too.  Engaging with others is important but so is creating content for your business. Stay focused on your plan and take breaks off of social media to save your sanity!

Lesson Four- Be Yourself

I follow other bloggers to get ideas. If I spend too much on social media I start to think that I should be more like them. Like for instance, everyone seems so young and beautiful. How can I compete? I certainly am not about to pose in a bikini in pools with a floating breakfast. Don’t try to duplicate what has already been done. There is no one that can duplicate you. Before you start blogging ask yourself a series of WHY? Why do I want to blog? What do I want to write about? How do I want my audience to feel? Write those answers in a journal and stick to that purpose. Don’t ever lose sight of your purpose and be yourself. This business can wear on your self-esteem, focus on your WHY and don’t try to do what everyone is doing.

Lesson Five- Connect with Other Bloggers

I love to travel. It is a huge passion of mine. My husband gets sick of me talking about travel because it is all I talk about. I dream about travel, read about travel, write about travel, and plan travel. Starting a blog gave me an outlet to pour my passion into. Last week, I met a girl for dinner that I met on a plane on the way back from the Women in Travel Conference. On Friday,  I am having high tea with one of my favorite bloggers that I’ve never met in person. I’m traveling with a female blogger I’ve only met for a few minutes at a conference later this year. Would I have done this without being a blogger first? I am not sure but I am enjoying meeting people that have the same interests and having fun doing it. Go to conferences, attend meetups, write and connect with the bloggers you like. You can bounce ideas off each other, collaborate, travel together, and make new friends. Sometimes I feel like a hermit in front of my laptop day in and day out. The connections I make with other bloggers and when they retweet a post or write a comment on my feed are highlights of my day. I like to return the favor as well. Blogging is one big team effort! Connect with other bloggers!

Lesson Six- Monetize

Before you think every travel blogger is making tons of money traveling the world, It is not the case with most bloggers. Last year, I thought getting free travel would be such a huge perk! You need large numbers of followers before you start getting free travel. Every spa treatment, hotel, activity, and tour activity is paid for by me and I am not sure how I feel about sponsored travel.  I affiliated with my favorite companies such as Amazon, Hotwire, TripAdvisor, and Expedia thinking people would click on the links, and I would receive commissions. However, I didn’t have much activity on my website my first year and therefore spent a year without an income. They say most bloggers, quit after their first year. This is probably why. Your first year is spent producing content, learning, networking, and building followers. In order to make income, you need to treat your blog as a business. You need to sell something like a service or product. Look at the bloggers that are making money? What are they selling? Create a plan to monetize your blog.

Lesson Seven- Writing a Blog Post

Writing a blog post takes many hours. Finding photographs to incorporate in the post, editing them, uploading and tagging them can take hours. The best way to approach writing is to just sit down and write. Get the words flowing first. Come back and edit the next day. There are days I don’t have the desire to write but hiking or walking in nature is usually a cure and where I find inspiration. I’ve been surprised at how much time it takes to complete a post before I publish a post. I usually have five to eight hours involved in a single blog post. I’m elated when I am finished! It is a big accomplishment and then I hit publish. I always say, “Writing a blog post is like that Pink Floyd song, Hello! Is there anybody out there?”  It is rare to get a response or comment. Hang in there! Market your posts, share your posts with friends, ask questions, and go back to your “Why” when you get down. Starting a blog is a journey so just keep writing!

Lesson Eight- Make time for Fun & Relaxation

You can be on social media 24/7. Make time for fun with friends and put the phone down. In a business where you are on your computer all the time, turn it off and spend time outdoors to renew yourself. I’ve learned I don’t like to write when I travel but instead immerse myself from morning to night enjoying the experience. Instead, I take notes and write once I am home. Traveling five weeks in a row took a toll on me last year. I caught Pneumonia which took three months to get over. The biggest thing I am still learning is finding balance, how to be healthy when traveling, time management, and how to walk away from the devices and shut them off. It is important to make time for fun and knowing when you need to relax. Make time!

These are the eight lessons learned after my first year as a blogger that I will take forward with me in my second year. If you are a blogger what are the most valuable lessons you have learned?

 

Bonnie 

This is me most days wearing Athleta, sitting at the Kitchen table, behind my computer.

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