Are you planning a trip around the world? Or perhaps you’re already living overseas and considering starting a travel blog? Maybe you’re stuck in an office somewhere, considering a trip backpacking around the world – saving, and one day soon you’ll make it happen? If you fall into one of these categories, you should be writing a travel blog. Travel blogs are an option for all kinds of travelers, backpackers, or soon-to-be travelers or backpackers.
Let’s be straight. Long term travel isn’t easy – nor is maintaining a travel blog on the road (but these tips can help). Nonetheless, maintaining a travel blog will enhance your travel experience. Here are 7 Reasons You Should Write a Travel Blog.
1) You can share your experiences with the world
Whether you choose to write a personal travel diary updating your experiences while you’re on the road, or a more practical, informative, and useful travel blog, you’ll have the added benefit of sharing your experiences with the world. Okay, chances are you won’t get heaps of followers straight away. Yet you will be able to share your experiences with your friends, family, and past coworkers still stuck in an office.
2) Meet fellow travel bloggers who share your passion for travel
With the help of Twitter, you’ll meet other travel bloggers who are doing the same thing you are: exploring the world and writing about their experiences. There are heaps of us out there who struggle with wanderlust and choose to travel to far and away places – writing all the way.
These travel bloggers will eventually make their way to your blog and you’ll begin to develop a rapport with them. This community is comforting. It’s great to know you’re not alone out there either traveling the world or saving to do so. With any luck, you’ll cross paths with these fellow bloggers and meet up in person like I recently did with Amar from Gap Year Escape.
3) Learn from other travel bloggers
If you write your own travel blog, you’ll inevitably spend much of your time online reading other travel blogs. While you waste away hours at the office (or in a Parisian cafe) catching up on your RSS reader which is full of great travel blogs, you’ll learn things about travel you never could anywhere else. How else would I find out ways to deal with dodgy internet connections on the road?
4) You might just make some money along the way
It’d be great if your travel blog paid for your travels from Day One. That won’t happen. Your travel blog probably won’t be funding your travels on Day 181. Nonetheless, the longer you keep at it – posting often and generating quality content, the more likely you’ll be able to earn some money along the way.
Something as simple as selling text links to advertisers who only want your page rank will bring in some money quicker than you’d think. Even if you’re only making pennies off of Adsense, at least you’re making money doing something you love (cause you’ll love your travel blog).
If you’re serious about making money with your travel blog, Nomadic Matt’s eBook How to Make Money With Your Travel Blog is an excellent resource and a great place to start.
5) Free travel experiences along the way
While you arguably shouldn’t write a travel blog just to get free things, it’s definitely one advantage to being a travel blogger. Many companies understand the importance of marketing themselves online through social media venues: Facebook, Twitter, or Your Well Read Travel Blog.
If you present yourself and your blog in an honest, yet positive and appealing way, you will be shocked at the number of free or discounted travel activities you can get in return for a write-up on your blog. Just make sure you thank the company who provided you with the discounted rate, publish the review in a timely manner, and always disclose the freebie to your readers.
6) Participate in contests by doing something you love
Very often you’ll find travel companies who run contests available primarily to travel bloggers. You’ll be offered a trip to some far-off tropical destination if you write a post explaining why you want the trip and why you’re the best blogger for the job.
For example, the crew over at the Flightster Blog are looking for new travel writers for their blog and running a contest to find the next paid member of their staff.
7) Do it for yourself
If nothing else, you should write a travel blog for yourself. There are many benefits outside of the ones listed above – for example, you’ll feel more grounded on your long term trip having a responsibility outside of simply traveling. Maintaining a travel blog inevitably adds structure to your life.
Yet most importantly, you’ll have a chance to document your travels. A way of remembering the people you’ve met, the adventures you’ve experienced, and the places you’ve seen traveling the world.
What do you think? Why do you write a travel blog? Please add your comments below.
Backpacking Matt 
Good stuff MAtt. I really like your blog and I’m glad that you’re one the people who entered our contest :).
Cheers,
Srinivas
Coming from the perspective of an aspiring traveler and a somewhat newbie blogger.
I would add one more thing –
Do it for others, like my self and the thousands of other people that aspire to experience the world.
There is a saying that I try to live by “Help enough people get what they want and you will will get what you want”
If you approach it from that perspective plus a lot of persistence and hard work then good things will happen.
That is my goal anyways …
@Srinivas Glad you enjoyed it! See you around!
@Nick Hi Nick, thanks for the comment. Excellent point. That should have been one of the seven reasons, no question. That’s one thing I hope my readers walk away with – some inspiration to travel the world themselves. Love the quote.
Oddly, I don’t fall into any of the categories you listed, as I recently (last year) returned from some long term traveling and don’t have any plans in the future to do that again.
I do have a post coming up in my blog on why I finally started writing:-).
@Rebecca Great! I look forward to reading them. Certainly the categories of people I listed is only a start. Anyway with an interest in travel can write about it!
@Amanda Thanks Amanda! It certainly is a full time job. I joke with my mates if I’m off to do some writing or anything else that has to do with the blog by saying, “I’m off to do some work for that job I have that doesn’t pay the bills.” Yet as you said, there are so many benefits – especially the community. I’m really hoping I can make it to TBEX next year so I can meet more of the people that add to the enjoyment I get from maintaining a travel blog.
Great post, Matt. I joke sometimes that running my travel blog basically constitutes a second job – one that I don’t get paid for. It really does balloon into so much more than a simple hobby really quickly. But I’m okay with that. The travel blogging community is full of interesting people willing to share their tips and experiences, and willing to read the tips and experiences of others, too. The more I delve into it, the more I realize just how huge (and wonderful) this community really it. It’s inspiring.
My own reasons for writing a blog have shifted over time, but the core of it is your last point. It’s a great way to record memories and keep a living history of the trip. Memories quickly fade and photos don’t evoke all the senses that the written word can.
One of the reasons I started the whole “Brain Drops” thing was to start recording all the random encounters and thoughts that didn’t warrant a full post. There are little glimpses of the world I love to record along the way.
@Joel Excellent point. When I first started writing, my blog was a Blogspot blog called “A Year Abroad.” It was much more of a travel diary oriented blog and I still love going through the archives and reading up on my thoughts and experiences from the first time I traveled overseas. I love the “Brain Drops” series by the way. Safe travels!
@Eli Thanks Eli. Excited to follow your blog as you start your travels.
@Travelwriticus Thanks for the comment!
@Emily It is all worth it in the end, even though it’s heaps of work. It’s these (points above to comments) that keep me coming back for more!
@Mike Hi Mike, thanks for stopping by Backpackingmatt. Good luck as you prepare for your RTW trip. Let us know what you decide for a name.
Matt, I agree with everything you said here. I think that travel blogs are a great motivator for people trying to save up for a trip, keeping you excited and interested while you’re giving up some of the fun things you used to spend money on to save up for the trip. It’s helped us a lot.
Starting a travel blog only for 7) is a good way to start. 2) and 3) will follow soon and in the end you are at 4) and 5). Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Fabulous post! I couldn’t agree more with all of the above. Travel blogging is so rewarding in many ways. Honestly, it can be quite frustrating at times, especially when I’m trying to hold writing day job, do other paid freelancing, plan a wedding, etc! But I have to remember that it’s all self-imposed, and that it’s all worth it in the end ๐
Good article and inspiring. As someone setting out on a RTW in November, I want to start a travel blog. These reasons are pushing me even closer to doing it. Now to just figure out a blog name and get started.
I love writing and since I already write daily journals for myself as I travel, I thought I would share my experiences with others.
In my research for our upcoming RTW, I realized I learn more from reading travel blogs than any other resource. So, I thought, why not return the favor and try helping others.
In the long run, my blogs may only end up being read by my family and friends, but if I can inspire one person to take the risk and step out into the world, I will feel successful.
@Jenneil Travel blogs are an excellent source of information for someone planning a trip. There is no better way to learn about a country / city than reading someones experiences there.
@Michael I first started writing as a way to keep friends and family up-to-date, and it’s exploded to where it is now. The community is amazing – I can’t wait for #TBEX 11.
@Laura Thanks for the comment – it’s maybe not surprising how many of us have the same goals in writing. I guess this explains our closeness as a community.
@Nico Excellent point. As a writer, you’re inevitably forced to focus more on the small details of the place you travel to.
@Erin Thanks. It does help you stay focused on your travels. It’s one of my 7 Tips for Successful Long Term travel.
@Farnoosh Thanks for such a nice compliment!
@Akilia Thanks for the comment. Hopefully we (as bloggers) can inspire others to go out and see the world. I think you’re succeeded by the way – I’m ready to book a flight to Japan to … eat!
@Verity Thanks, sometimes we need to be reminded WHY we do the work we do!
@Suzy It’s somewhat amazing to think about: the sheer number of us doing the writing we do. It IS a huge time commitment. One that unfortunately doesn’t pay the bills yet brings us much satisfaction.
The friends I’ve made since I started blogging has become some of my best friends. The community alone is one of the best reasons to start a travel blog. Amazing people. I owe a lot of it to Twitter though.
And what Nick Laborde said: That’s the whole reason I started travel blogging. None of my family or friends knew about the whole backpacking thing so I figured I’d start one to educate them that I’ll be okay. Eventually that expanded to sharing the knowledge with the entire internet.
I started a travel blog as a way to inform friends and family of my travels and also to connect with the awesome travel community out there. Getting free things and discounts happens to be a really great perk to the gig as well. Hopefully, others feel inspired to travel when they read my blog.
Don’t forget that it *forces* you to learn more about the places you visit, like travel boot camp. I’ve found that if you know you’ll soon be trying to tell other people about it through writing, you pay more attention to details you’d otherwise miss.
I agree with you here, especially as a great way to connect with other travel bloggers. Writing a blog helps give you a purpose to your travels, and something different to do when you don’t feel like sightseeing. You also have to pay more attention to things around you if you are going to write about them. And if you set yourself challenges for your travels you know you have a readership waiting to see if you’ll do it.
A brilliant post, to which I will send some link love from my Tuesday post which is already scheduled. Matt, thank you! I don’t write just on travel exclusively but I do LOVE travel and I do write about my travels and someday perhaps I can do this much more often! Thanks for sharing sincere and brilliant ideas here!
Liked your thoughts. Have only just started my blog and for me I also think its great to travel through ones own writing, to be inspired to travel by what fellow bloggers have written and hopefully inspire others to just go and explore…..
Great post Matt! The number 1 reason I blog is for myself – so that I have something to look back upon in 10 years when we’ve quit traveling and then I can say – oh yeah, I did that. It’s also for me because it is an outlet for my writing.
But, number 2 is to share our stories with other people and to help inspire them to travel and eat and enjoy life. It makes me sad when I hear people tell me that they “hate” this place or that . . . and part of my job is to show people how simply amazing the world is. Yesterday night, we were watching the Discovery Channel and I saw their new slogan “Because the World is Just Awesome.” Absolutely love that slogan and I think that’s what we travel bloggers are doing – showing others that the world is just awesome.
Another great post Matt! It made me feel happy all over again that I started a travel blog ๐
Always something to remember when you write a travel blog…why are you doing this?! For me it has recently been really hard to maintain as I write for a living all day, travel, and then to write another post for myself can sometimes be daunting. With all the writing I do do, it is what I find the most fulfilling and satisfying. I will have loads of paid work on my list and yet find myself writing for my travel blog. I think I write mine for the comments from others and connections made. I hope my experiences and tips can have some impact on another, however small. It makes the world and people seem not so far a part.
Do you have any pointers on how to write a good travel blog? Maybe you should post one soon!
I’ve been writing my own travel experiences but when i compare my posts to other travel bloggers, mine almost always fall short (but it doesn’t mean i didn’t have a great time traveling, it’s the writing part that’s not so good). Although, everyone’s posts or travel recollections are unique and different from each other.
I came across your site through lonely planet, btw. ๐
Keep it up!
What a great post! You nailed all 7 reasons!!! Creating a travel blog has been one of the best things I have ever done. ๐
@Andi – Thanks for that. Happy travels, and happy blogging!
This is a great post especially talking about not doing it just purely for profit as regular travel blogs and blogs in general don’t make much at all unless they grow a huge following. Even some mid-size bloggers can probably pay for their travel with it and even receive some perks from hotels and other travel companies in return for unbiased reviews or coverage.
@Mike I agree. I think it’s important to have other motivations behind travel blogging other than simply making a living – while possible, it’s a long shot that requires lots of time and effort. Especially given you’ll have to focus on a job simultaneously that does pay the rent.
Hey MAtt,
Very informative and motivating to read this post. As I have just started blogging, I’m sure to get even more helpful tips out here that will help me in the long run. Thanks.
Jason R.
@Jason Glad you enjoyed the post and congrats on starting a blog. See you around!
@Aditi Excellent point. It keeps you connected with your family, and allows them to stay connected with you.
@Lauren Cheers for the comment. The freebies shouldn’t be the main goal, but it’s a great way to get ‘rewarded’ for the work we put into our blogs. Companies respect the option for publicity we can provide – let me know if you have any questions as you consider the media options.
I’m glad you’re set into the blogging scene – it’s quite addictive!
I totally agree, travel blogs are key. One more reason: It’s easy to get lonely when you’re traveling abroad, far away from close friends and family. But a travel blog let’s the people you love comment on your entries, so it feels like they’re going on the trip with you. It keeps you connected, almost in real time.
Hey Matt,
I came across your blog from the Flightster travel writing opportunity. I loved it! And it confirmed for me a lot of the reasons why I myself have fallen in love with writing a travel blog.
Thanks for the tip on seeking out some possible free travel opps in exchange for a great-write up. That had crossed my mind but maybe I’ll take a little bit more action on it now.
But I do have to agree, that if there is one great reason to start a blog its to do it for yourself. Its a great way to make something your own that inspires you and hopefully inspires some others out there. I never was really into blogging until about half a year ago I saw the light and now I can’t get enough.
Looking forward to checking out the rest of your blog. Happy Travels!!!! ๐
I love it when I read a post that validates my life!
@Adam I’m really glad I could do that for you. Good luck settling down for a couple months – hope everything goes well.
Thanks for this great reminder of why I’m doing this. Bookmarking this to come back to often ๐
@Christine Cheers for the comment! Glad you enjoyed the post. Look forward to seeing you around.
Great info, gives me a subtle push to keep going knowing I fit somewhere in one of them categories. I just recently stumbled upon this travel blog community after working on my blog for a long time. By community I mean I see you guys all over on other travel blogs and I think its great.
My first travel blog was a total failure I made on Ning. Didn’t know anything about wordpress blogs, websites, adsense, seo or anything. I guess I can’t say failure because I was really just doing it for myself but I wanted some readers and I was lucky to grab a friend and force them to sit at the computer and read it, haha. Eventually I just gave up on it and let it grow stale.
After spending a lot of time with trial and error, discovering wordpress and building a new one I really got into the web aspect of things. I enjoyed it, building, seo, trying to generate traffic and such. My new site is a combination of efforts just getting off the ground aimed at helping other travelers who don’t want to mess with all that. So far there’s a few good writers and myself. I think It’s off to a good start but we shall see. Keep up the good work here Matt.
@Michael Like you said, no blog can be a complete failure if you’re doing it for yourself in one way or another. As most blogs don’t make any significant amount of money, it’s good to see the many other benefits to writing a blog. Just checked out gearupandplay.com – looks pretty sweet. Adding it to my RSS feed now.
@Matt Thanks for the encouragement and adding us to your feed ๐ This endeavor is definitely a labor or love and I think it is for all of us interested in travel blogs. One great thing I’ve noticed however is the pure passion and creativity a lot of travel bloggers have. Some of the best looking sites on the web in my opinion and all with some unique ideas to spin. It’s good to see, its what keeps me saying “If I just keep trying as hard as everyone else I’ll probably succeed”
Thanks for this post, it helps give me an idea of what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. 6 months & counting, still learning how to communicate my story through my blog and agree with Joycee “Do you have any pointers on how to write a good travel blog? Maybe you should post one soon!” I would love to read a post like this from you!
@Heather Very glad you enjoyed the post. Check out this one for tips on writing a blog…
https://www.backpackingmatt.com/7-reasons-why-your-travel-blog-doesnt-get-as-much-traffic-as-you-want/
How about this one? Visit Austria here: http://austria-travelling.blogspot.com/ Lots of pictures done by us. Enjoy. Geo
Hey Matt,
I would like to add that, if all that ever came of my travel blog was that my family, and eventually my children, find my stories, adventures and attitude about life, in a neat online format.
I would be happy with that…
Of course the end game is to make money, but that is what affiliate marketing, CPA offers and writing eBooks is for… My blog is my baby and I will fill it with new, interesting content as I travel & some stories from my friends, with information that I think will be valuable to other people.
Your website rocks dude,
All the best
Adam
Great article! Could you please suggest a good website, to start a blog on?
Much appreciated,
Julia ๐