I was asked what makes a good travel blogger at an event the other day and couldn’t really answer the question, because it depends on so many things – but I thought I’d have a little go and then maybe get some other opinions along the way. I’ve just done a post on how few risks we are generally prepared to take in life, so we have already narrowed down the numbers of interested parties! Firstly, we are already into the argument about whether there is a difference between a blogger and a journalist – or should everyone just be called a “writer” these days? Should I be asking “What Makes A Good Travel Writer”, instead? Is everyone going to be called a “content creator” moving forward? Journalists are qualified and know how to structure a story and what to look for – but bloggers have the advantage of not being edited and can have strong, interesting voices. They can be totally authentic and honest and are great at presenting things in a different way and looking for the sub-stories.
The problem is these days that it is not just about the writing – it’s about the photos and the presentation. In fact maybe the writing isn’t as important anymore as we all become so immediate and visual and everyone does stuff on their phones. You need a good eye for an image – or somebody to help you do that. Lots of the HUGE young lifestyle/travel bloggers seem to have photographer partners they travel with. Good team. But we can’t all do that.
Should a “proper” travel blogger be young enough and solvent enough to make travelling their full time career. That, I guess is the dream, but so many of us can’t do that. Some have children and a job and partners and therefore responsibilities that stop you from simply upping sticks and buggering off whenever you want.
WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU NEED?
Can you be a travel blogger if you don’t travel very much I ask myself on a regular basis? I would have loved to have gone somewhere over Easter with the kids, but they all wanted to stay in London – that counts doesn’t it? Lots of people travel to London – how lucky are we to live here all the time? So I’m going to do a post on my favourite places in London instead. But, in the meantime back to the point.
BE PREPARED!!
Here I am about to get on a boat to the edge of the Victoria Falls – you can see it in the background – all spray and rainbow lights – turns out we had to swim to The Devil’s Pool through the torrential Zambezi river. I was clearly fully ready for the experience and had done my research (not):-
The story maketh the good blog post. You need to be a good storyteller with a strong, recognisable voice with a desire to share. You also need to have a clear niche. The attraction is that if you’re travelling for a living you can give great insight into insider knowledge. It’s not all about beaches and hotdog legs. You can’t just go to a place. You have to make something happen. You have to be active. You need to talk to people.
You certainly need to be passionate about travelling and probably have an adventurous nature – willing to try anything once, even if it’s a certain food you don’t like the look of. You don’t have to be fearless and jump off cliffs (if you don’t want to) but you do need to have an open mind and not be prejudiced against other cultures or races. Although you obviously wouldn’t choose to go and blow up cows in Laos (thankfully my son declined the offer). When I lived in Hong Kong my father went to China and came back with tales of having to eat live monkey brains and bear paws. That’s difficult because whilst you can’t be disdainful of other cultures when you’re there, what about the use of rhinoceros and tigers in medicine? The ivory issues? Trying to change perceptions? Not easy.
Press trips are interesting, because a lot of travel writers won’t go in a group. They want individual trips or they won’t hang out with the group and will do there own thing. I think a good travel writer, blogger or journalist has to be flexible enough to go with the flow, but still do the group thing – it can be fun – and it might help you with additional stories when you come to writing everything up.
CAN YOU MAKE A LIVING AS A TRAVEL BLOGGER?
Yes, you can but it’s not easy. It’s become more of a business these days. You need to plan content. Know what you’re doing with SEO etc. I do know a few key bloggers making money, but it’s a full time career and you have to work hard at promoting yourself. It’s hard to make a secure living as a writer, no matter your specialty, and travel writing is no exception – unless you manage to write books or stand out in some way. If you’re an established blogger then press trips are an option but you don’t necessarily get paid. If it’s a social media campaign then that’s different. But the payment thing is an issue with bloggers that isn’t there with journalists. Bloggers are meant to be unedited and fully authentic. Is it possible to be totally honest if you are getting paid to write about somewhere? I’m just throwing it out there – I think it is possible, but it’s not easy. Mostly, travel bloggers aren’t in it for the money, they’re in it because they’re passionate about the world.
If you are a freelance writer then you can probably syndicate your stories to different publications, which obviously increases your income.
Many of the very successful travel blogs have moneymaking partnerships with corporate clients – it’s not easy to make it as an individual blogger these days with so many out there.
HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?
Just do it. Write something down. See how you go. If you are passionate about writing, it will flow. Read lots. There are great books about travel writing and check out lots of travel blogs to see what you like. There are also online workshops.
Take a photography course as well. You will be expected to do your own photos and maybe even video.
Be brave, get in touch with bloggers you like and ask their advice. They’ll be happy to help I’m sure!
Any further thoughts to add and another question – do you think travel bloggers are here to stay?
