The document provides guidance on how to start and grow a successful travel blog. It discusses defining your travel blogging brand and niche, creating high-quality and engaging content, optimizing your blog for search engines, growing social media followers, monetizing your blog through ads and affiliates, and networking with other travel bloggers. The goal is to establish authority and readership over 6-12 months through posting regularly and developing an engaging online presence.

2. What is Travel Blogging?
Let’s Brainstorm!
Photo Credit: Worldnomads.com

3. The Hard Truth…
EVERYONE IS A TRAVEL BLOGGER…

4. Define Your Travel Blogging Brand
 Who is my reader / potential customer?
 What makes you different?
 What is my plan?

5. How to be Different…
 Choose a niche no one else has blogged in before
 Show us something about your life / unique about you
 Have a different and catchy style when it comes to
blog posts (in terms of the tone/style/images/video
etc.).
 Blog about your passions!

6. Blog = Business

7. List 6 Things to Accomplish in 6 Months
1. Increase blog content
2. Generate at least 10 sales of my ebook
3. Create 1 travel video
4. Write 3 blog posts / week
5. Write a travel e-book
6. …

8. How Does Your Blog Appear in Google?
 WEBSITE URL
 LINKEDIN
 FACEBOOK
 GOOGLE+
 INSTAGRAM
 PINTEREST
 TWITTER
 YOUTUBE
 SLIDESHARE
 IMAGES
 LINKS ON OTHER
SITES/NEWS
ARTICLES

9. How to Measure Your Blog Authority
 In Google
 Google Analytics
 OpenSiteExplorer - https://moz.com/researchtools/ose (really
great for research and ideas!)
 SEO Strength – backlinks, on-page SEO etc.
 Strength of Social Media Platforms / Mentions / Engagement
 Klout.com
 Page Rank
 Offline Events – Blogging Conferences

10. Know Your Bloggers & Do Your Research

11. Examples of Popular Travel
Bloggers
Research key bloggers in your field / industry:
 Who do you admire in the blogging world?
 What do their online profiles look like?
 What can you take away from their profiles and
apply to your own?

12. Nellie Huang – www.wildjunket.com

13. Keith Jenkins – www.velvetescape.com

14. Dawn Jorgensen -
www.theincidentaltourist.com
 JEFF BULLAS – passionate digital marketer, blogger,
author, speaker and strategist.

15. Elements of a Blog Brand
 LOGO / ICON / SYMBOL
 HIGH-QUALITY HEADSHOT OF YOURSELF
 TAGLINE/SLOGAN
 DESIGN OF ACTUAL BLOG PLATFORM
 SOCIAL PLATFORMS (UPDATED FREQUENTLY)
 EMAIL SIGNATURES
 VIDEOS
 CONSISTENT IMAGES / CONSISTENT BRAND

16. Blog Logos / Names
 KEEP IT SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE
 USE A SIMPLE ICON IF YOU MUST
 STICK TO ONE OR TWO COLOURS

17. Choose A Photo That Represents Your Blog’s
Brand

18. Claim Your Vanity Urls
 www.yourname.com/
 www.yourname.nl/
 www.twitter.com/yourname/
 www.facebook.com/yourname/
 http://plus.google.com/yourname/
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname/
 Etc.
NB. Get a blog tailored email address i.e. info@yourblog.com;
social@yourblog.com ; ads@yourblog.com.

19. Effective Blog/Site Design
Wordpress.com VS. Wordpress.org
 Site Hosting – Bluehost.com
Responsive Themes (good for use on any device)

20. Simple Menu & Slider

21. Widgets

22. Map Plugins / Widgets

23. Menus & Sub-Menus
• What main sections will your blog have? (choose a
maximum of 6 for your primary menu)
• Are there sub-themes / sub-sections? What will they
be?

24. Um…Content?!

25. Creation or Curation??
• Lots of debates

26. Field notes – Use Evernote.com

27. Use Forums to Find What People
Need

28. Google Alerts

29. Trending Topics
 Twitter Trending Hashtags
 Keyword Research
 Google News Section

30. Editorial Calendar / Action Plan
 Google “Editorial Calendar Template”

31. Automation Tools
 HOOTSUITE.COM
 TWEETDECK.COM
 BUFFERAPP.COM

32. Social Media Platforms to
Consider
 FACEBOOK
 TWITTER
 INSTAGRAM
 PINTEREST
 FOURSQUARE
 GOOGLE+

33. Facebook
Personal Page VS. Public/Blog
Page

34. Pinterest
 CREATE BOARDS ACCORDING TO YOUR TRAVEL
BLOGGING INTERESTS
 PIN YOUR INDIVIDUAL BLOG POSTS (AND USE
KEYWORDS AND LINKS WISELY)
 LIKE AND COMMENT ON CONTENT YOU LIKE
(AND FOLLOW)

35. Shorten
Links
Using
Bitly.com
LINK ALL YOUR SOCIAL
ACCOUNTS USING URLS

36. Types of Content to Create &
Share
 Images
 Illustrations
 Graphs/charts
 News/industry
updates
 Podcasts
 Press releases
 Videos
 Infographics
 Podcasts
 Memes
 Slideshows
 Interviews

37. Eye-Catching Images Infographics

38. Memes High-Quality Photos

39. Content Creation Tools
 WWW.CANVA.COM – all social sharing
 WWW.PIKTOCHART.COM – infographics/charts
 HTTP://INFOGR.AM - infographics
 WWW.WORDLE.NET - word clouds
 WWW.THINGLINK.COM

40. Newsletters / Mailers
 MAILCHIMP SOFTWARE
 BUILD EMAIL LISTS
 CREATE NEWSLETTERS / MAILERS

41. Basic Keyword Research
 GOOGLE ADWORDS AND KEYWORD PLANNER
TOOL (https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner)
 UBERSUGGEST KEYWORD TOOL
(www.ubersuggest.org)

42. Keyword Research Can…
 HELP YOU IDENTIFY MOST SEARCHED TERMS
UNDER YOUR TOPIC
 GIVE YOU IDEAS FOR KEYWORDS TO USE
WHEN YOU OPTIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
PROFILES AND WEBSITE
 SHOW YOU HOW MUCH COMPETITION THERE
IS FOR A PARTICULAR KEYWORD

43. SEO Yoast for Wordpress.org

44. On-Page SEO
 Natural keyword ‘sprinkling’
 Only one H1 tag
 Ensure your blog title, meta-title and meta-description contain your
keywords
 Use keywords in the image alt tags
 Save image names with your keywords
 Link to other posts you’ve written using keywords (and to other
important external websites)
 Around 400 words / per most (my personal recommendation)
 Call to Action at the end of all posts

45. Measure Your Blogging Efforts
 Google Analytics
 Facebook/Twitter/Linkedin Analytics

46. Increase Engagement
 Comments
 Competitions (sponsor a prize) – comment comps are
great
 Guest blogging
 Social share buttons
 Social voting buttons
 Polls embedded in blog posts
 Ads / paid promotions

47. Photo credit: www.thetraveltart.com

48. Make Money From Blogging?!
 Advertising Programmes (Google Adsense; Chitika)
 Sponsorship (sponsored posts)
 Affiliate Marketing Programmes (Amazon, Linkshare,
Clickbank, Commission Junction)
 Digital Assets (ebooks, downloadable guides, online
webinars/workshops)
 Merchandising / selling products (create a store)
 Donations through PayPal

49. Ebooks / Digital Downloadable Assets

50. Some of My Favourite Travel Bloggers
 www.wildjunket.com
 www.velvetescape.com
 www.nomadicmatt.com
 www.traveldudes.org
 www.journeywoman.com
 www.rickzullo.com
 www.nomadicsamuel.com
 www.thepioneerwoman.com
 www.goseewrite.com
 www.thecrowdedplanet.com
 www.theincidentaltourist.co
m

51. Some Travel Blogging
Conferences
 www.tbexcon.com
 www.traverse-events.com
 www.tbd-italy.com
 www.travelmassive.com
 www.thehive-conference.com
 www.blogstock2014.com
 www.nbe.fi

52. Travel Blogging Associations / Groups
 www.travelbloggersassociation.com
 www.travelbloggers.nl/
 www.travel-blogging.meetup.com
 www.linkedin.com/groups/Travel-Blogger-Network-
3544361

53. Top Blogging Resources
 www.problogger.net/blog
 www.copyblogger.com/blog
 www.socialmediaexaminer.com
 www.searchenginewatch.com
 www.searchengineland.com

54. Outing & Coffee – Kurhaus, Den Haag