{"id":120,"date":"2018-12-27T13:54:55","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T13:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nomadicmatt.com\/?p=41576"},"modified":"2018-12-27T13:54:55","modified_gmt":"2018-12-27T13:54:55","slug":"9-ways-to-become-a-successful-travel-blogger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourfunjourney.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/27\/9-ways-to-become-a-successful-travel-blogger\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Ways to Become a Successful Travel Blogger"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nUpdated:<\/strong> 12\/27\/18 | December 27th, 2018<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t write articles about how to be successful at blogging often because this is a consumer travel website not<\/em> a blogging website, but I\u2019ve seen a lot of articles on travel blogging lately, which have many points I disagree with and I think offer a lot bad advice. <\/p>\n

As someone who has been blogging for over ten years<\/a>, I want to offer a counterbalance to some of the prevailing (and wrong) wisdom out there on how to succeed. <\/p>\n

(Especially in light of that Instagrammer selling a scam course on how to grow your following!) <\/p>\n

Travel blogging is a crowded field \u2014 and it gets more crowded by the day. After all, the idea of “getting paid to travel the world” seems like an amazing thing to try to do. You get to visit wonderful places around the world on someone else\u2019s dime! <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a dream job, right?<\/p>\n

Well, first, running a successful travel blog – or any blog in any industry – is hard work and time-consuming. Putting posts up is not<\/i> going to result in money falling like rain (though judging by some of the people I\u2019ve seen on paid trips, it can at least amount to a drizzle). You have to work for it. <\/p>\n

Blogging takes persistence. <\/p>\n

Unless you hit the Internet \u201cviral\u201d lottery, you should expect to plug away for a least a year before you start to see sustainable income coming in.<\/p>\n

Building a blog is like building any other business: success takes time, patience, and dedication.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Think of travel blogging like the restaurant business: Just because there are a lot of restaurants doesn\u2019t mean that they are all good or that you shouldn\u2019t open one of your own! Instead, people who open a restaurant or desire to be a world-class chef look around and say, \u201cI can do this better<\/i>.\u201d That\u2019s <\/i>the mindset you should have about your travel blog.<\/p>\n

Take a look around and go “I can do this better!”<\/p>\n

Just because someone can travel and write doesn\u2019t mean they can write well or become a good travel writer. No, most travel blogs are terrible so don’t worry about the number of blogs out there. Worry about the quality of blogs out there.<\/p>\n

It’s not a crowded field when you look at it that way.<\/p>\n

Here are nine things you can do to succeed in travel blogging (or any blogging field, really) and jump ahead of the crowd. Doing them will make you far more successful than most of the bloggers out there.<\/p>\n

1. Read a Lot of Books<\/h3>\n

I am always shocked at how few travel bloggers develop their skills by reading. Very few read any marketing, strategy, business, or self-development books. Running a blog is<\/em> like running a business, and if you don\u2019t go to \u201cschool\u201d and constantly learn, you\u2019re going to fall behind. Every successful person I know is a voracious reader. They constantly try to improve their skills and knowledge. You must always be a student. You must always learn.<\/p>\n

After all, why reinvent the wheel?<\/p>\n

Read what experts have to say, learn what works, and apply the tips you pick up to your blog. If someone has been there and done that, why try to learn that through trial and constant error? Read the best way to do it… and do it! I read a lot besides travel books<\/a>. I consume marketing books, management, writing, history books, and biographies. Even if you only get one idea from the book, that book was worth it. I read at least one book a week and am often reading multiple books at a time. Travel, history, business, fiction \u2014 I consume it all.<\/p>\n

If you only do one thing from this list, make it this one.<\/p>\n

Some of my must-reads are:<\/p>\n