Whether you want to go full-on digital nomad, or work by day, travel blog by night, you have to start somewhere. Here are eleven simplified steps to starting a successful travel blog today.

Start a Travel Blog

Starting a travel blog isn’t the difficult part. Sticking it out and becoming a successful travel blogger is what is tricky. I am here to help you get started, but it is up to you to spend the time, work hard, and invest in yourself thereafter.

The information in this post will take you through how to get started, including tips on choosing a name for your travel blog, purchasing hosting, and selecting the necessary startup plugins. Then we’ll have some fun brainstorming ideas for compelling blog post headlines.

Once you’re up and running, you will need to dive deeper into aspects of your travel blog, including the business side of blogging, social media marketing, SEO, and affiliate marketing. Then, I will end this post with the best courses I have completed to help you with these topics.

Below is a table of contents if you wish to jump ahead to a particular topic.

Create a strong foundation to build on from the beginning, and you will be on your way to a beautiful and fun travel blog with which you can do anything, including making extra cash.

Follow these 11 quick steps; it is easy to get started. Once you get things up and running is when the fun begins.

It’s a long one, so grab a cuppa joe or a glass of wine, your travel journal, and some vacation pictures for inspiration, and let’s start a travel blog.

Start a Travel Blog

Affiliate Disclosure: There are affiliate links throughout this post. This means if you click on a link and purchase a product through that link, then I will receive a small commission for the referral. And that is kinda cool.

Step 1 in Starting a Travel Blog:  Pick a Domain Name.

Choosing the perfect travel blog name may likely be one of the most overthought tasks for new bloggers. Try not to let the process of selecting a name for your travel blog postpone getting started. Your content will make your blog successful, not the name. Therefore, choose your blog name and get going.

Let me share a story. I had this wild idea that I could become a travel blogger. So, I came up with a travel blog name and bought it. That’s easy, right? Way too excited to get started, and now I own three domains.

The first one I bought was Travel With Tweens. I realized my kids were almost teens; therefore, that blog name wouldn’t last (not evergreen). I then bought Travelling Party of Four (with 2 L’s). I live in the US, and that is not how we spell traveling here. I could have kept it, but Traveling Party of Four was available. Although “they” say not to use a number (or the word traveling, for that matter).

My advice to you during this stage of starting a travel blog is taking a day or two to develop your travel blog name. Don’t be hasty or too eager, or you will make the mistakes that I made. I like the name I chose, and I am sticking with it. But, it would be different if I had appropriately researched how to name my new travel blog.

The name you choose for your travel blog is a direct reflection of you and should exemplify your hefty plans for your website. Your name becomes your brand. And if all goes as planned, it becomes your career and income. Having a travel blog name that shows your readers what your blog is about helps build trust as well as SEO.

However, your blog name will not make or break you. 

Your content will.

Brainstorm first. I love a thorough brainstorming session; it is motivating and gets me in the zone. Grab a pad and pencil (maybe a glass of wine) and go for it. Write down everything that comes to mind.

Do this.

  • Make your domain name relevant to your blog.  Think about the type of travel blog you plan on creating.  Are you a digital nomad?  A solo traveler or traveling with family?  Backpacker, camper, or RV’er?  Or are you going to be blogging about a specific destination? Australia or the Caribbean?  India or the Philippines?  The United Kingdom or the United States?
  • Use keywords in your domain name.
  • Use a thesaurus.  Look for synonyms for words you use to describe travel.
  • Look at other blogs to see how they have created their domain names.  I don’t mean to copy them, because you can’t, see what they are doing.
  • Make sure it is not too long.  Try to get under 15 characters, definitely under 20 characters.
  • Don’t be afraid to use your name.  I wish I had.
  • Make it unique but memorable.
  • Keep it clear and straightforward.
  • Make it evergreen. You’re going to age out of your twenties, and your travel philosophy will change, so keep that in mind. And your kids won’t stay kids forever.
  • Now that you have a long list of possibilities narrow this down to your five favorites.
  • Check social media accounts for availability, including at least Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Don’t do this.

  • Don’t stress yourself out over your blog name. It will not make or break your success.
  • Many words in blog post titles are saturating the web. Try to come up with something unique and avoid the words nomad, wanderlust, backpacker, and budget.
  • Avoid numbers, hyphens, or symbols. I did not know this rule when I named my travel blog Traveling Party of Four.
  • Avoid incorrect spellings. They may seem clever, but they can be confusing and won’t be memorable.
  • Don’t postpone your travel blog too long while being stuck on a name.

It may help to step away from this task for a day or two. Meditate. Pray. Eat. Drink. Go for a run. Ignore it. Of course, as impulsive as I am, I did not heed this advice. Learn from my mistakes and step away for a bit before making this decision.

Start a Travel Blog

One more thing. Make sure your blog title reads appropriately as a URL.

Step 2:  Check the Availability of Your Chosen Domain Names.

Check to see which of your five chosen domain names are available; this may help narrow down your options a little further. Check to see if a domain is available by googling it. Or you can use the domain checker on the Bluehost website. Type in your domain name below and check to see if it is available. Easy as that.

Also, check social media channels to see if someone else is using your chosen domain name as a handle.

Now that you’ve chosen your domain name and it’s available, go ahead and purchase from Bluehost and move on to the next step, to set up hosting for your new website.

Step 3:  Set Up Hosting.

After researching ad nauseam regarding whether to buy hosting for my travel blog, I decided to go for it.  You need hosting if you have any ambition to make money with your travel blog.  If you want to blog as a hobby for yourself, friends, and family, you probably do not need hosting.  As I understand it, after reading until I couldn’t anymore, it is nearly impossible to monetize a blog without hosting.

Bluehost is one of many hosting sites for your blog. I found Bluehost to be user-friendly when I needed that the most and inexpensive at $3.95/month. You are required to purchase an entire year in the beginning, still less than $50 for a year of hosting. Bluehost provides free domain registration as well as automatic WordPress installation (see step 4).

Step 4:  Install WordPress.

Once you purchase web hosting with Bluehost, you can then install WordPress with one click.

Bluehost provides simplified and thorough tutorials to accomplish the installation step quickly. Once you have installed WordPress, you will be given your website URL, the admin login URL, your username, and your password. Make sure you jot this information down somewhere safe or store it on your smartphone.

Login to WordPress; this will take you to your dashboard. Now the fun begins. Everything, designing, writing, editing, and publishing. All right here in this magical dashboard.

Step 5:  Download a Theme.

OK…I know it is a lot at this point. But stay with me here. You can totally do this.

Choosing a theme is important, but you don’t have to lose sleep over it.  Themes can be changed up quite simply on WordPress with only minor adjustments.  You can see how several look before choosing “the one.”  Although, I wouldn’t be changing them up too frequently once you have selected “the one.”

What is essential in a theme?

  • How it looks (obviously).
  • How it reads on mobile and desktop.  You want it to be easy on the eyes.
  • Page speed, some are slower than others.
  • Options for customization.  It is helpful that these themes are designed for us, but you still want to be able to personalize your site.

WordPress offers free themes that are easy to use and look good. However, you can purchase a theme that a third party designs. Make sure that the new theme is compatible with WordPress updates.

I am currently using a Bluchic Theme Called The Maggie Theme. Bluchic has many themes to choose from that are easy to work with, even if you are not tech-savvy.

Start a Travel Blog.
Bluchic Feminine Theme.

Fair warning here: Prepare to spend lots of time with your theme customizing colors, menus, images, and your logo. Don’t get overwhelmed. Ask for help if you need it.

Step 6: Install Essential Plug-ins.

Ahhhhh…plug-ins! We are getting there.

Plug-ins add more functions to your blog.  Some plug-ins protect your blog from spammers, others keep track of your stats, facilitate email and social media marketing, and help you keep track of scheduling blog posts. 

Plug-ins are essential to your website, and you do need them.  However, be careful with too many, as they can slow down your site speed.  I think most of us agree with the basics you need to get started.

  • Yoast SEO.  Your very own on-page search engine optimization (SEO).  There is a free version as well as a paid premium version.  Yoast SEO is a must.
  • Akismet Anti-Spam.  Reviews and filters every comment that is shared on your website.  It is incredible that a website like mine would even attract spammers, but it did before Akismet.  Not today, Spammers!
  • Monster Insights.  Keeps track of google analytics.
  • Smush Pro.  Optimizes and resizes images to save space and speed up your website.
  • Editorial Calendar.  I didn’t think I needed this, but wow, this has made a difference in planning and increasing productivity.

Grammarly ~ Not really a plug-in, but you need this, too.  Proper grammar is essential if you want people to believe in you. and trust that you have credibility.  In general, I am okay with grammar.  But, I have made some ugly mistakes saved by Grammarly.

Grammarly Writing Support
Don't get caught plagiarizing

There are many plug-ins available — lots of social media plug-ins to try.  You will find the ones that you need and like after trying a few.  If you don’t like how a plug-in is performing, it can be simply deactivated and deleted.

Google this:  How to design a logo for your blog. 

What did you come up with?  So many awesome ideas out there for logo design. You need a logo for your website that is eye-catching, memorable and makes a great first impression. 

If you are the creative type (I am not), you can design your own. Some graphic design websites have logo templates, including Canva and PicMonkey. Or you can buy a logo from Etsy or Fiverr.

Start a Travel Blog.
Create a logo

Step 8:  Write a Blog Post.

OMG!  Already?

I know, at first, all you want to do is write.  I did, too.  And I wrote and wrote, pretty aimlessly.  I am still cleaning up after that new and way overzealous blogger self.  But, boy, was that fun.  I had a lot to share.

Have a plan for your blog post.  Come up with an idea.  Do your keyword research (we will get to that later), create a catchy keyword-rich blog post title, an outline, expand on your outline, and then write.

The technique that helped me the most I learned from Sasha Lassey’s Batch Blog Content Creation Mini-Course included in The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit for Beginners.  This course includes a downloadable workbook that will help immensely with productivity and organization so you can write and schedule multiple blog posts.  She teaches how to create one month of content in one week.

Start a TRavel Blog.
Batch Blog Content Creation Mini-Course

11 Tips for Writing Compelling Blog Post Headlines

Think of your headline as your sales pitch. And your blog post is the item that you are selling. If your sales pitch doesn’t spark interest, then guess what? No thanks, and no click.

Your compelling blog post headline is what people see first when searching for answers to their pain points. It has to be good.

You will spend tons of time researching your blog post topic, choosing keywords for SEO, writing the blog post, and looking at all sorts of stock photos — editing, editing, editing, then adding affiliates and promoting. However, your blog post won’t get clicks unless the headline is so dazzling that it is the chosen one for your audience and search engines.

Now is your opportunity to shine, to convince them that you have the answer to their burning question. Creating a killer headline for your blog post is as important as the content you write. Think about it; if they don’t feel they need to click your headline, they won’t even see your content.

These eleven simple tips for writing a compelling blog post headline will ensure a brilliant first impression for your audience as well as with search engines.

  1. List Post Headline. One of the most popular types of headlines that convert is a list post headline. The list promises multiple solutions to answer a question or solve a problem. For example, what to pack for a specific destination, what to buy your mom for Mother’s Day, or adventures to include on your travel itinerary. These headlines guarantee what information the reader will gain from clicking on the headline and reading your post—fun fact: odd number list posts convert better than even number list posts.
  2. “How To” Headline. “How To” headlines make a promise, similar to a list post headline. This type of post takes a problem or question and creates an in-depth solution, often providing a step-by-step guide on how to solve that problem. Both How-To’s and List Posts guarantee your audience will learn something valuable in return for clicking through to your post.
  3. Use Keywords in your blog post headline. You will discover your favorite tool in keyword research and use it religiously to come up with the best keyword for your blog post. Mine is Keysearch. And I learned a ton about keyword research from Mike Pearson’s course, Stupid Simple SEO. (I will tell you more about my favorite courses later).  
  4. Make it personal. Address the reader using “you” or “your” in your headline. Make your reader feel as if you are talking directly to them.
  5. Make it easy to read. Be concise. Get to the point and make it flow smoothly.
  6. What is the perfect character length of a blog post title? There are different schools of thought on exactly how many characters should be used in a blog post headline.  CoSchedule recommends anywhere from 50-70 characters per headline; and about 6-8 words per headline. Google and other search engines will cut off your headline if it is too long.
  7. Use one superlative in your headline; the superlative can be positive or negative. Some research has proven that negative superlatives have more click-throughs than positive superlatives. Possibly because positivity is overused or maybe negativity is more intriguing to some. For example, “The 11 Worst Plugins that I Used in My First Year of Blogging.” I would have to know about this to make sure that I am not making the same mistake. Or “Stop Doing This One Thing and Your Blog Traffic Will Soar.” Immediate click-through for me. Admittedly, I have not tried this tactic in my blogging journey and tend to stick with the more conventional positivity. But, definitely worth a try.
  8. Scare tactics. Similar to using negative superlatives, scare tactics are also irresistible. Don’t you want to know if you are doing something the wrong way? I can’t tell you how many times I have clicked through to a blog post promising me “11 Unusual Things You Should NOT Include in a Blog Post” or “15 Valuable Lessons I Learned From a Failed Blog.” Other negative words you can try are mistakes, risks, misconceptions, and failure.
  9. Use Power Words. The CoSchedule Headline Analyzer includes a downloadable list of more than 180 power words for writing emotional headlines. Here are some examples to get you started: new, limited, ultimate, surging, genuine, and superior.
  10. The headline should be pertinent to the content of your article. You need people to trust that your post will be what you promised in your title when they click through. Honesty, authenticity, and trust are critical to an enduring relationship with your audience. Don’t ever trick them. Clickbait is not honorable. According to Merriam-Webster, clickbait is “something (such as a headline) designed to make readers want to click on a hyperlink, especially when the link leads to content of dubious value or interest.” Clickbait will not make you popular.
  11. Spend time on this process. I mean, put yourself into this process. Start by writing down a generic title that includes your post’s offering. Build on that. I often have 15-20 (sometimes more) title options written down before I come up with one that I love. As a new blogger, I did not understand the importance of a clickable title, and it shows. I am slowly backtracking and working on better headlines (and content, for that matter). 
Start a Travel Blog

A couple more tricks.

Use the Yoast SEO Snippet Preview to see how your blog post title looks in real time. From there, you may want to amend the wording if necessary.

And the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer.

CoSchedule is a group of online marketing products to help organize your content strategy and increase productivity. Within CoSchedule, you will find the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer.

CoSchedule Headline Analyzer is a free tool that will help you come up with your blog post’s ultimate headline. The CoSchedule Headline Analyzer looks at the character amount, grammar, spelling, word balance, and readability. All you do is type in your headline and click “analyze now.” CoSchedule Headline Analyzer will provide you with a score (you should aim for 70 or more). It is kind of like that Yoast SEO light when it turns green; it’s a celebration.

When your score is low, you will receive an explanation of why and resources that will help you improve. And this is all FREE.

Don’t make the mistake of spending energy and time on creating the best blog post ever and not spending time on your headline. If you do this, no one will find your work, and that can be discouraging.

Step 9:  Edit, Edit, and Then Edit Again!

You must edit your post if you want to appear credible. I cannot say this enough. Edit! Edit! And then edit again! Read your post aloud; read it to someone, read it on your laptop, and then read it on mobile. Walk away for a bit, return, and read it again.

Make sure you have a clear structure, your post is easy to read, and you are using proper grammar (casual speaking is okay, but poor grammar is not).

Start a Travel Blog
Grammarly

Step 10:  Add Some Graphics.

I can spend hours (and I do) searching for graphics. I use my travel pictures if they are good enough. However, many websites have thousands of high-quality images for any topic you search for. I have four favorites:

  • Pixistock ~ I am going to start with Pixistock since this is my most recent discovery.  You can join Pixistock at no cost and receive monthly stock images via email.  I did this for a few months and fell in love with these stunning images; I now have an annual membership, and I cannot say enough about these images.  Take a look for yourself.
  • Unsplash ~ Free and full of super fun images.  The iPhone app is perfect for checking things in the doctor’s office or the car pick-up line.
  • Pixabay ~ Free also and just as fun.  Also, an iPhone app that I love.
  • DepositphotosDepositphotos.com has unique and specific images you won’t find on a free stock photo site. The different pricing plans depend on your needs. It is inexpensive to join Depositphotos, and you will find photos you won’t find anywhere else.
Grow your brand with styled stock photos & graphics, from Pixistock.

Step 11 in Starting a Travel Blog:  Hit Publish.

You are nervous; I have been there.

It took me about three days to hit “publish” after completing my first, way too wordy blog post. But, you know what? Just do it. Put it out there; you have to start somewhere.

Start.  Share your passion.  Everything else will come in time.

Nomadic Matt

You will learn from your mistakes and from other bloggers who have been where you are right now.  Maybe your first post won’t be your best post; mine sure wasn’t.  But your second will be better, and your third even better.  Build on that strong foundation and have fun.

How will you ever learn if you don’t just do it?

So, what do you say?  Hit that “publish” button.

And then celebrate.

Start a Travel Blog.
two glasses of champagne overlooking a body of water

Before I go, I need to share a few more things that are super helpful when starting a travel blog.

#1 ~ It’s not easy.

Blogging is time-consuming, and it is a lot of work. My best advice to keep you from wasting time and frustration trying to figure things out on your own is to invest in yourself and your blog.

These courses I have taken go in-depth into specific and essential aspects of travel blogging, from SEO to marketing to the business side of blogging. You need to do this. The financial investment will outweigh your time and effort spent trying to go it alone.

Discovering and utilizing the best blogging courses for your new blog can save you time, frustration, and maybe even money. Courses are abundant for a new blogger to navigate, and I have tried many. I have devoured course after course, some good, some not-so-good, and some amazing.

Blogger’s Glitterati VIP Hub

I had my blog up and running for about a year when I decided to join the Blogger’s Glitterati VIP Hub to learn more about how to do things the right way, keep it legal, and make a little money.

Sasha has added an abundance of useful resources and masterclasses to her newly revamped hub, from developing your website to creating content and graphics, monetizing, and marketing your blog. You will find the skills, strategies, and tools you need to grow your blog all in one place.

Here are some of the topics you can learn from Sasha.

Start a Travel Blog

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing, Simplified~ Cate Rosales teaches you all about affiliate marketing in a straightforward, easy-to-understand way. This course is for those of you who want to learn how to generate income from your blog.

Cate begins with teaching you how to choose proper affiliates for your niche, followed by how to get approved by these programs. Onward to how to write a blog post that converts to sales, plus disclosing affiliates legally to stay out of trouble. She will also teach you how to maximize affiliate sales on social media and through your email list.

Cate has also been approachable with advice and answers to many different questions via email. So helpful to be able to find a real person behind that email. She has several other super courses you can check out here:

Pinterest Ninja

Pinterest Ninja ~ Mastering Pinterest is crucial to success in your blogging journey. Megan from Love Family Health will teach you everything from setting up a Pinterest Business account to creating the perfect pin, increasing your traffic, using Pinterest to grow your email list, and using Pinterest in your Affiliate Marketing plan. 

We all know that Pinterest is an ever-changing world. As of March 2020, an updated Pinterest Ninja was published that added some extra goodies, and I can’t wait to dive in. Megan has now added Pinterest for Etsy, a new 30-minute Tailwind tutorial, a new Pinterest analytics video, a video on Pin Creation in PicMonkey and Canva, plus a video about Pinterest and Affiliate Marketing.

SEO

Stupid Simple SEO ~ Stupid Simple SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by Mike Pearson was highly recommended by multiple bloggers who have completed the course.

If you are ready to understand SEO completely and put some work into improving your ranking in Google in 2020, Stupid Simple SEO is for you.

While not a course for beginner bloggers, it is geared toward those new to SEO. Here are some of the topics Mike covers in this course.

  • Why Google is the best source of traffic.
  • How to set up your blog for SEO success.
  • Proper techniques to find keywords that you can rank for.
  • How to design and present epic content.
  • Why you need backlinks, and how to build them.

Mike runs a private Facebook Group for students in the course, where he posts Facebook Lives with practical and actionable tips for you to use in your quest to be on that first page of Google with your keyword or keyword phrase.

Social Media Content Calendar System by Pixistock.

I know this post is about courses that made me a better travel blogger, but I would be remiss if I did not add this bonus Social Media Calendar System by Pixistock.

Most of us, at the beginning of the year, are dedicated to creating that content calendar. The Social Media Calendar System takes the guesswork out of planning social media throughout the year, which can be tough and time-consuming.

The Social Media Calendar System includes the following and more:

  • A comprehensive guide to getting you started.
  • 365 daily social media post prompts.
  • Daily hashtag suggestions in more than 30 niche categories.
  • Pixistock photo, video, and Boomerang ideas.
  • US holiday ideas, the theme of the month.
  • Twelve blank calendars to add your custom prompts.

Purchase a bunch of blogging courses for a steal of a price.

This bundle is for you if you are a new blogger or a blogger ready to step it up.

Periodically, Ultimate Bundles releases The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit for just a couple of days. The most recent release dates were in May 2020. If you’re interested, click on over, enter your name and email address, and they will keep you informed on the next release date.

When you are ready to move forward to monetization, here are my favorite travel-related affiliates, all wrapped up in one quick post, The Best Affiliate Programs for Your New Travel Blog.

How to start a travel blog

I would love to hear from you, so drop me a line.  Let me know how you’re doing setting up your travel blog and writing your first blog post.

How to start a travel blog.
Jenny B signature, Traveling Party of Four
Start a Travel Blog
Deposit Photos for stock images