8 Secrets to Becoming the Best Travel Blogger Ever

Everything is widely available on the web so anyone can easily discover the secrets to becoming a popular travel blogger. However, very few have the determination and willpower to pull it off. If travel and writing are your passions then keep reading. These are some of my top tips to guide fellow travel bloggers in the right direction.

1.    Really Look

Becoming a travel blogger means having the ability to look at things from a completely new perspective. Don’t write about the surface value of your experiences. Delve deep and interact with locals and your environment in a much more intense, sophisticated manner. When you really begin to look, you begin to write differently – with more meaning, value and beauty.

2.    Capture the Unusual

So many travel bloggers out there are all doing the same thing. And they all call it travel blogging too. How can you differentiate yourself? Think carefully about your passions and turn this into something quirky and interesting that people will find fascinating. Always look for the unusual and the odd no matter what. Let’s say you take a fascinating photograph of a sculpture in the city. Think about it as a metaphor and turn this into a blog post. Seeing something in the physical world in a different manner can ignite many ideas for blog posts.

3.    Write from the Heart

As clichéd as it may sound, write from the heart and all else will follow. Yes, we know you love travel writing because you’re reading this post, but what exactly do you love about travel that makes you tick? Is it the escape from home, encountering something new, meeting new people or the shopping? Document what you know and what you love in each post. Use this thinking as a guideline for all posts – a lighthouse, if you will.

 4.    Conquer Your Fears

 Travel writing requires conquering your fears. When I visit a new place I have a fear of the public transport system. I hate standing out in a new city and so I try and study the transport system as much as possible. Until recently, that is. Upon visiting Amsterdam for the first time I didn’t even look at my map or read up on the transport system beforehand. I knew I had to conquer my fear of being lost, of looking like a foreigner and of trying to converse with locals in a foreign language. And I did it. It made me more adventurous, not only when it comes to travelling but also in my writing.

 5.    Experience New Things

The best travel bloggers are those who are able to experience new things and document these in a fascinating and captivating manner. Push your boundaries as a writer and as a person. If you don’t like art, go to a popular art gallery. If you dislike (or fear) adventure sports, sign up for snowboarding lessons. If you don’t like staying at hostels, book a trip and stay at one. Write about your new experiences, because the chances are very high that there are many others with the same ideas and feelings as you. New experiences will also help expand your capabilities as a writer and help you write about topics in a new and revitalized way.

 6.    Write Only When You Have Inspiration

Many writing teachers will tell you that you should write every single day. I disagree. If I have nothing to say today then why write? I write only when I have inspiration. And then I pray that inspiration comes to me every day. If no inspiration comes, then I go out in search of a new experience and hope that I will somehow find my muse.

 7.    Find Inner Strength

One word: willpower. You’ll need plenty of it. Once you’ve conquered your own mind and faced your fears as a travel blogger you’ll be able to write without any barriers. Find that inner happy place. Do whatever you need to do to get there. And when you’re there run with it. Write, write and write and keep drawing on that portal of inner strength.

8.    Constantly Promote Your Work

Most writers struggle with self-promotion because they worry about what people think. Learn not to care too much. Go crazy and promote your work. It’s a tough world out there for writers. But at the same time, things have never been as easy as they are when it comes to free promotion. All you need to do is brush up on your social media and online marketing skills. Promote yourself through a myriad of social media channels and on other blogs. Don’t overdo it but do promote! And don’t forget to promote other travel bloggers whose blogs you read. They may even start promoting your work too.

What can you add to the 8 Secrets to Becoming the Best Travel Blogger Ever? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.