Are you thinking about starting a travel blog? You’re not alone.
Travel blogging has taken the travel industry by storm and has become one of the most popular ways of getting paid to travel.
Now, there are so many travel blogs available it can be difficult to break through the noise and get your blog noticed.
However, with the right guide and dedication, you can start a successful travel blog too.
That’s why I decided to write my own, more simple guide on how to start a travel blog in 2024 and make money from it.
So, without much ado, let’s check it out.
Table of Contents
How to Start a Travel Blog [Step-by-Step Tutorial]
There are certain prerequisites that you have to meet to start and succeed as a travel blogger.
Step 1: Find Your Niche
The first and foremost step for starting a successful travel blog is choosing the right blogging niche.
You know, traveling is a vast concept on its own. So, if you want to succeed in travel blogging you should narrow it down and come up with an exciting micro-niche.
Here are some popular niches you can start your travel blog on and make thousands of dollars every month.
1. Budget travel: People love to travel without spending a lot of money. So it’s always a great idea to blog about how to travel within budget.
2. Solo Travel: Planning solo trips comparatively requires more research that is eventually done on the internet. So, you can start a profitable travel blog while sharing useful tips and tricks on solo traveling.
3. Adventure Travel: If you’re the one who loves to travel forests, deserts, mountains, etc., and do adventures, starting an adventure travel niche blog certainly is for you.
4. Travel Photography: You know, as a travel blogger, you can sell your photos online and make a hell of a lot of money. So, if you’re into photography and like traveling too, it can be a deadly blogging niche for you.
5. Traveling Gear: Traveling gear is an essential part of traveling and their demand is increasing day by day. So, if you love to review products, you can start a niche blog around traveling gear and earn huge affiliate commissions.
6. Make Money Online: People are crazy about making money online. If you can teach people how to start a travel blog and make money while traveling, you can try this niche.
Step 2: Register a Domain Name and buy Web Hosting
After finalizing your blog niche, you will need to choose a relevant domain name and web hosting plan.
If you’re not aware of these two, let me tell you that a domain name is the address of your blog, for example, BloggingBeats.com, and web hosting is the space to make your website accessible on the Internet.
There is a hell of a lot of web hosting providers available in the market these days where you can buy a domain name and web hosting package for your website within a few clicks.
But for newbies like you, I would advise you to go with Bluehost which is not only an affordable option but also recommended by WordPress.org.
The best thing is that a free domain name is provided for 12 months with all Bluehost hosting plans.
I also started my blog on Bluehost and have continued with them for the last 3 years.
Some more reasons to buy Bluehost WordPress Hosting
- Free SSL Certificate included
- 1-Click WordPress Install
- Free Professional Email Accounts
- Free Cloudflare CDN
- Free Website Builder
- Free Migration Service
- 30-Day Money-Back Policy
- Expert 24/7 Support
- cPanel, the leading control panel
Ready to host your website on Bluehost?
Click on this link that will take you to the Bluehost official website.
Hit on the “Host Your Site” button and select a suitable plan.
I would recommend you go with the Basic plan which is priced at $2.95/mo only. This means the total cost for 12 months will be just $35.40 including the domain.
Next, you need to choose a domain name. Try to keep it short and easy to recall. Including a keyword within your domain name is a good idea too.
Finally, enter your information, choose a package, and provide payment details (credit card or PayPal) to check out.
On successful purchase, you will be displayed a confirmation message as shown below and a payment receipt will be sent to your email address.
Congratulations, now you are just one step away from having a working travel blog!
Step 3: Install WordPress
To start working on your blog, a blogging platform or you can say CMS (Content Management System) is a must that lets you create, edit, publish, and store digital content.
And when it comes to the best blogging platform, WordPress excels on the list.
It is extremely easy to use and comes with a ton of themes and plugins, making website design a cakewalk for everyone.
Because of its powerful features and capabilities, WordPress powers 43.3% of all websites on the web.
Enough said, let’s find out how to install WordPress on your Bluehost account.
Click on the “Create Account” button above.
Provide your domain name and a strong password.
Once your account is ready, log in using the domain name and password you created above.
After that, you will be asked for your website name and tagline which will be visible on your blog.
Enable blog and online store options.
Next, you need to select a theme. We will be discussing WordPress themes in the next step, so you can go ahead without choosing any theme.
Bluehost will automatically install WordPress on your account and you will see your Bluehost dashboard in front of you.
Click on the “Log into WordPress” button and you will be taken to the WordPress dashboard immediately where you can start customizing your website and posting content.
But before that, change your password so that you can log in directly to the WordPress dashboard anytime.
Go to the Users section. Click edit below your name, scroll down, click Generate Password, enter your desired password, and finally hit the update button.
Now on, simply visit your domain name/wp-admin to access your WordPress site working area. For example bloggingbeats.com/wp-admin.
Step 4: Choosing a Blog Theme
Your blog’s theme not only determines how it looks but also the speed which is further one of the Google ranking factors.
So, choosing the right blog theme becomes very crucial.
Luckily, there are plenty of free and premium WordPress themes available but that might leave you confused.
So, without wasting your time, I would recommend Astra which is a multipurpose WordPress theme best suited for travel blogs as well.
What makes Astra the best Travel WordPress theme;
- A clean and minimalist look
- Lots of demos built for travel websites
- Customizable colors and background
- WooCommerce capabilities
- Highly responsive design
- Optimized for super-fast performance
- Site and blog layouts
- Advanced typography options
- In-built schema implementation
All in all, it gives your website a stunning look and ensures more visibility on Google searches.
To install the Astra theme on your blog, go to your WordPress dashboard and click Appearance → Themes → Add New and search for Astra.
Finally, install it, activate it, and let your site visitors “wow” about your website.
Step 5: Install Essential Plugins
WordPress Plugins are one of the things that makes WordPress so awesome.
They help you add new functionality to your site without having any technical knowledge.
Here are some helpful plugins you should install to take your travel blog to the next height.
1. Rank Math SEO: Probably the best SEO plugin for WordPress websites.
2. WP Rocket: The most recommended caching plugin to optimize the performance of your WordPress site.
3. Social Snap Lite: The ultimate WordPress social media plugin to drive more traffic and increase engagement.
4. WPForms: The world’s best drag-and-drop form builder for WordPress sites.
5. OptinMonster: The best lead-generation plugin for WordPress to grow your email list.
6. NextGEN Gallery: Industry’s leading WordPress gallery plugin that lets you share your travel pictures in gallery and album styles.
7. Soliloquy: The best WordPress slider plugin to create image and video sliders with just a few clicks.
8. Maps Widgets: A great plugin to create personalized maps with a thumbnail & lightbox in minutes.
9. TravelPayouts: A powerful solution for travel bloggers that helps your visitors find the cheapest flights, hotels, etc.
Step 6: Create Important Pages
A WordPress page that is normally static in nature is the right way to highlight some important and helpful information about your website to your site visitors.
You should add these pages to the primary menu or footer bar of your website so can anyone can discover them easily.
Here are some of the important pages that every WordPress blog should have in 2024.
Homepage: Once you set up a WordPress blog, your blog homepage where thumbnails of your recent posts are displayed will be created automatically.
That said, you may also create a separate page for your blog posts to design a customized landing page to drive traffic and build your brand.
About Page: On this page, you can tell about yourself, your business, your mission, your values, and what users can expect from your blog. This page will help you build trust with your readers.
Contact Page: Here you can add a contact form, your email address, social media profile, phone number, and address based on your business profile so that your blog visitors, advertisers, and potential business partners can connect with you with ease.
Disclaimer Page: Create this page to inform users about how you make money from your blog.
Privacy page: This is where you can let users about the data you collect on your website and how you and third parties may use this data.
Step 7: Publishing Content and Building Audience
Next, you will have to produce interesting content so that you can build an audience base.
For writing blog posts, you will need a writing app. I would highly recommend you stick with Google Docs integrated with Grammarly.
If you’re new to writing, you may also take advantage of AI writing software like Jasper to overcome writer’s block and write at 10x speed.
Apart from that, you should be doing proper Keyword research for every post and follow best SEO practices.
At BloggingBeats, we have been using Semrush to perform all such activities and grow to this level.
If you also want to grow your blog faster, you may grab the Semrush free trial from here.
Nonetheless, adding social media share buttons, social media marketing, and building an email list work great for growing a long-term audience.
Step 8: Tracking Your Website Traffic
This is another important aspect of blogging.
If you don’t want your efforts to go in vain and analyze how to get the most out of your efforts, you should be tracking your blog traffic on a daily basis.
It helps you know about your site’s top pages, the total number of visitors & their geographical locations, traffic sources, bounce rate, and so on.
All in all, traffic analysis will help you build a better website and convert more.
Now you must be confused if you’re new to this all.
But let me tell you, tracking website traffic is easier than you think, and all you need to configure Google Search Console and Google Analytics on your website.
Both tools are designed by Google itself and website owners can integrate these tools into their websites for free.
Google Search Console lets you measure your site’s organic traffic and performance in Google Search results.
This is what the GSC data looks like;
Google Analytics offers detailed insights into the website’s page views, traffic channels, user behavior, and much more.
This is what the GA data looks like;
Now, you must be wondering how to earn money from your travel blog. Here we go…
How to Make Money From Your Travel Blog?
Once you start getting traffic on your blog, it’s time to reward yourself. Here are the top ways to make money from your travel blog in 2024.
1. Affiliate Marketing
Whenever someone asks me how to make money blogging, my first pick is always affiliate marketing.
Being a travel blogger you can become an affiliate for accommodation providers, insurance companies, travel gear, web hosting, and so on.
In return, you can earn huge commissions every time someone purchases from your affiliate links.
Take a moment to review our latest affiliate earnings, a handsome $3500, originating from a single affiliate network.
It’s quite remarkable, wouldn’t you say?
Some of the best travel affiliate programs you may join to earn more commission are:
- Expedia
- Agoda
- TripAdvisor
- Booking.com
- Amazon Associates
2. Advertisements
Next, you can opt for displaying ads on your blog to monetize your blog traffic.
When it comes to choosing an advertisement platform, Google AdSense excels in the market.
Google will place ads relevant to travel on your blog and you will earn revenue when visitors click on those ads.
Having said that, you may also choose from Google AdSense alternatives to boost your site revenue.
3. Selling Ad Space
Like Google AdSense, you can directly approach travel-related businesses to advertise their products & services on your blog and generate decent upfront revenue.
4. Sponsored Posts
You will get ample opportunities to get paid by reviewing travel-related products on your blog.
5. Selling Traveling Products
You can also sell essential travel gear like travel scarves, packing cubes, portable daypacks, water bottles, rain covers, and so on for a high profit margin.
6. Donations
Once you have a dedicated readership, you may add a donation button to earn some extra money from your travel blog.
FAQs About Starting a Travel Niche Blog
Here are some of the most common questions asked around starting a travel blog that you may find helpful.
Keeping aside the domain and web hosting which are a must for starting any niche blog, and becoming a successful travel blogger, you will have to learn copywriting skills, SEO, and social media marketing to effectively create and promote your content.
Yes, why not. You can start creating content by sharing your past travel experiences. Moreover, you can get inspiration from others by checking out their blogs and YouTube channels to create your own content. Asking your friends & family about their travel experiences and then sharing the same in the form of articles or interviews is also a good idea.
Yes, you can monetize any niche blog. All you have to put effort into building a reader base and after that, you can utilize any of the income streams to earn your first dollars with your travel blog.
There are several ways you can start earning money from your travel blog such as affiliate marketing, advertisements, selling your own products, writing paid guest posts, sponsorships & partners, etc.
To start a travel blog, choose your travel niche, set up your web hosting & register your domain, choose a theme for your website, download some plug-ins, design your website’s important pages, and finally start producing content and monetize your efforts.
Also Read:
- How to Start a Food Blog and Make Money Online in 2024
- How to Start a Soccer Blog and Make it Profitable in 2024
- How to Start a Micro Niche Blog and Maximize Profits in 2024
- The Comprehensive Guide on Fashion Blogging 2024
- How to Start a Weight Loss Blog And Make Money in 2024
- Event Blogging: Unlocking the Potential to Make Money Online in 2024
- Top 16 Blogging Mistakes To Avoid in 2024 (For Amateur Bloggers)
- The Future of Blogging in 2024: Trends and Predictions
- Benefits of Blogging: 9 Reasons You Should Have a Blog in 2024
Final Thoughts On Starting a Travel Blog in 2024
Travel blogging is hot right now and there’s never been a better time to start one.
It’s not just fun to write about your travel experiences but it also helps you make enough money to travel the world.
So, what are you still waiting for?
Get web hosting and start creating content to fulfill the dream of building your own money-making travel blog.
That said, it is necessary to create a plan and set some goals to get fruitful results.
Above all, consistency is the key to a successful blogging journey.
Did you like this post? Still, have any doubts about starting a travel blog? Let us know in the comments below, we’re happy to help you!