“I’ve already gotten more out of this first class than I expected to get out of the whole week!”
It’s Day 1 of our first-ever Travel Blogging Expedition in Costa Rica and one of our participants just gave us this compliment. Thirteen people have joined us in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica this week to enjoy the “pura vida,” (or pure life) as the locals say, and learn about how they can start a blog for extra or full-time income , as Paula does. They’ve come from all over the U.S. (and Scotland!) with a range of backgrounds in teaching, medicine, business, engineering, nonprofits, and more, each with a unique perspective and story to tell. And expert blogger Paula Pant wasted no time helping them decide what to say. I’m taking away two very important tips from today that I think could help you, too, if you’d like to start a lucrative travel blog:
- Make your blog about an intersection of two topics. Sure you can write about travel. A lot of people do. But if you choose both travel and pets, for example, you’ll appeal to a much larger audience – those interested in travel and also those interested in pets. Food, pets, wine, living abroad as an expat, RVing, cooking, traveling with kids or grandkids, medical issues, architecture, history – there are hundreds of topics that could intersect with traveling. Think about what you like and combine the two.
- The feeling is more important than the facts. As a former newspaper reporter, Paula used to write very factual accounts of events with dry, specific details. But as a travel blogger, she uses the power of story (with imagery and colorful descriptions) to grab readers’ attentions and encourage them to keep reading. “People forget the facts,” she told us. “But they remember stories and feelings.” Stories stick in our head, sometimes for years. The success of your blog will be mostly about how you connect with your readers. The better you get at storytelling, the more likely you are to succeed.
We picked up a lot of solid advice today but stay tuned for more blogging tips all week. Until tomorrow… Share on Facebook [Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up today here and we’ll send you a report, Get Paid to Travel as a Travel Writer, completely FREE.]