• LAUNCH YOUR DREAM
  • BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
  • STARTING OVER MIDLIFE
  • HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM
  • TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • GET HEALTHY & FIT
  • BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
  • BRAVE LIVING
  • WRITE WITH US

8WomenDream

Dream Big Stories

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • CONNECT
You Are Here Home » TRAVEL THE WORLD » What I’ve Learned from a Year of Travel Blogging

in TRAVEL THE WORLD

What I’ve Learned from a Year of Travel Blogging

Last updated on November 26th, 2012 at 03:53 pm

Above the clouds in Switzerland

It is a few months past my first blogiversary but passing the 100,000 views mark in October prompted me to think about what has gone wrong and right during my first year of travel blogging, building the travel blog www.worldwanderingkiwi.com.

Wow I’ve been travel blogging for a year already! How did that happen? It has been a steep learning curve and I’ve had to learn many times from my mistakes but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

More and more I turn to travel blogs rather than guidebooks when researching my own travel, searching for an authentic voice about destinations. As I strive to “make the pages of the atlas real” with my blog I hope I’m helping inspire others to travel.

So what do I wish I knew when I first started my travel blog?

Be active on Social Media

Being involved in the wide community of travel bloggers and writers out there in the social media universe has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my first year travel blogging.

Social Media is one of the most important ways you can promote your travel blog. Travelers now use social media to plan, book and enjoy their vacation time. The number of users researching their travel on their mobile devices is expected to rise 51 per cent by the end of 2012. Travel bookings made on mobile devices is expected to triple in 2013!

While travel blogging I have worked regularly with Twitter, Stumbleupon and Facebook and to a lesser extent Pinterest and Google+. Stumbleupon has been my biggest success in terms of driving traffic to my blog. The main tips I have about using social media are:

  • never share your own material on Stumbleupon (or you risk being blocked) and
  • make sure you include your Twitter handle in your RT button to make it easier for readers to tweet your posts.

I have been nothing less than overwhelmed by my discovery of the incredibly supportive and friendly world of travel bloggers out there. So many have helped me and so many have become friends. Just this element of travel blogging along has been immensely satisfying on a personal level.

Ready to hike the Pyrenees

Sort out your SEO

By no means do I mean you need to be an expert on SEO to be a successful travel blogger but my previous experience as an online travel editor certainly stood me in good stead when setting up my blog.

There are a number of good WordPress plugins to make SEO easy so make the effort to create your metadata, create an xml sitemap (there’s a plugin for this), optimise your images and think about keywords. Not that keywords should ever dictate what or how you write. But do keep an eye on what phrases people are searching on to find your site. Build a web of links within your site.

Looking at the numbers

I don’t obsess about my traffic figures or rankings or SEOmoz or Alexa for my travel blog but I do find them a useful barometer of performance. I keep an eye on what stories are doing well but that has ranged from some of the world’s biggest attractions to seemingly obscure activities and destinations.

Posting often and posting well over a long period of time is the best way to improve the performance of your travel blog. The bottom line is that the search engines love fresh, unique content so give it to them!

A Lebanese restaurant in Cairo

Niche is not necessarily king

Somewhat contrary to a lot of travel blogging advice I’ve read I have chosen not to define myself too narrowly to a sphere of travel. It is quality content that is important. The blog posts that have gone ballistic in terms of traffic are often my best ones – epic writing, epic photos.

Making money from your travel blog

I have had some success in generating moderate revenue from travel blogging but it is a very insecure way to (not) make a living and I need to supplement that with freelance travel writing and editing work. The next step in my travel blogging dream needs to be creating products to sell online, including e-books and a digital magazine.

I’ve read so many times that you have to blog about what you are passionate about and for me that is travel. I live and breath it. I’d be writing this blog if it was never going to make me a penny. Travel blog like you mean it!

I wouldn’t be travel blogging if I wasn’t passionate about sharing my travel experiences, inspiring others to travel, and ‘making the pages of the atlas real’ as it says in my tagline.

Natasha

Related Stories:

  • Positive Thursday: Lessons Learned from my 14-year-old Sister
    Positive Thursday: Lessons Learned from my…
  • 7 Things Learned After A Photography Dream Is Denied
    7 Things Learned After A Photography Dream Is Denied
  • my sunny kitchen
    4 Lessons Learned Clearing Clutter
  • heather-run-5k-start
    Avoid These Dream Planning Mistakes: Things I…
Natasha VonGeldern
Natasha VonGeldern

Natasha von Geldern is a travel writer, editor, and blogger who is passionate about making the pages of the atlas real by traveling the world. She is a contributor to Travel Wire Asia, Wild Junket Magazine, Yahoo! Total Travel, and Travelbite. You can find her on her travel website and blog, WorldWanderingKiwi.

Note: Articles by Natasha may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.

Filed Under: TRAVEL THE WORLD

Some of the posts on 8WD contain affiliate links or links to purchase products or programs from 8WD contributors. This means 8WD or the contributor may make a small commission if you make a purchase. The 8WD affiliate links help offset the cost of hosting this website and the contributor links help support the dreams of the contributor. Please check out the 8WD Legal Page for more details.

Thank you for your continued support!

« 8 Reasons to be Thankful for the Dream of Becoming a Triathlete
How to be a Dream Junkie Just Like Me »

Check it out

  • LAUNCH YOUR DREAM
  • BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
  • STARTING OVER MIDLIFE
  • HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM
  • TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • GET HEALTHY & FIT
  • BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
  • BRAVE LIVING
  • WRITE WITH US


The 8WomenDream Dream Tote Bag

About the 8WomenDream Tote Bag
US – 10oz Cotton
Dimensions (External Dimensions)
• Height – 18″ (45.72cm or 457.2mm)
• Width – 15″ (38.1cm or 381mm)
Handle Dimensions (Internal Dimensions)
• Length – 29″ (73.7cm or 736.6mm)

Recent Dream Stories

  • 8 Solstice Traditions for Focusing on Your Big Dream this Year
  • Winter Solstice: What Will You Do With 1 Minute More?
  • Why Halloween Costumes Can Help Discover Your Big Dream
  • How the Equinox Can be a Catalyst for Change
  • 5 Strategies to Live Your Wildest Dreams
  • Starting Over as a Single Mom Wasn’t My Big Dream
  • Warning: Big Dream to Be a Motivational Speaker Won’t Always Obey Your Plans
  • Dance to Relieve Stress to Focus on Your Big Dream

Inspiration

More About 8WD

WE BELIEVE EVERYONE HAS THE POWER TO ACHIEVE BIG DREAMS.
 
IT IS OUR SINCEREST WISH THROUGH THE SHARING OF PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO TRY TO ACHIEVE A BIG DREAM THAT WE WILL INSPIRE YOU GO AFTER A BIG DREAM TOO.
 
YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 8WOMENDREAM, HERE.

8 WOMEN DREAM | COPYRIGHT All RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025 · LEGAL

Welcome to 8WomenDream Where Big Dreams Are Shared
The 8WomenDream website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPT REJECT READ MORE
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT