Keeping your travel blog up-to-date while traveling is not an easy task. You’re forced to balance internet time, with writing time, with traveling time, and of course – with socializing time.
I’ve been in New Zealand on a working holiday for the last four months. Throughout this time, I’ve done my best to juggle work commitments, along with traveling, and of course along with keeping Backpackingmatt updated. This is by all means no easy task. However, these seven tips will allow you to successfully balance your backpacking experience along with keeping your travel blog full of valuable content for your readers.
1.) Buy yourself an iPhone. Put aside all those stereotypes you may have about those who are constantly connected to their PDA and buy an iPhone. It will allow you to stay connected with your Twitter followers, keep on top of your emails, and the iPod feature will drown out that snoring man in the hostel bunk above you.
Don’t allow yourself to become constantly connected to it – otherwise, you’ll end up missing out on the experiences you go backpacking for. Yet if you can strike the right balance, you’ll be able to use your iPhone as a productive tool for maintaining your travel website.
Anil over at Tech Guide for Travel has a guide for jailbreaking your iPhone so you can use it on the road.
2.) Set up a weekly schedule of posts. Print off a calendar for the week or month you’re going to be away and pencil in your ideas for posts as they come.
If you stick to this schedule, you’ll have much of your planning done before you even start writing. I’ve found a weekly feature such as my Monday Escape or my Friday Travel Photo takes away much of the stress of deciding what to publish throughout the week.
3.) Make notes as you travel. Keep a small notebook with you and write down your ideas for posts as you travel. You know that feeling when you’re hit with an idea that’s going to blow your followers out of the water – have that notepad ready so you don’t forget any of the details to your post.
4.) Seek out help from others through guest posts. Instead of neglecting your blog for days or weeks at a time, look to others in the travel blog community for help. I think most of us are happy to help out fellow bloggers, it’s just a matter of asking. Also, don’t make them think of a topic. Consider their travel experience and their background and give them an idea of what you’d like them to write.
Also, don’t limit yourself to only seeking help from others in the travel blog community. Think about the people you meet on the road. I think many travelers who don’t have blogs have stories and advice they’d like to share. Often, they’ll appreciate the opportunity to see their hard work on your website.
5.) Don’t simply rely on your writing – mix up the content on your blog. Dealing with the stress of writers block? As they say, “a picture says a thousand words,” so add photo essays to you blog to illustrate your travels.
If you have the time, consider making a travel video. This will allow your followers to take in the areas you travel to in a whole new way. Realize there is a lot of work involved in making a video, but I feel a lot of payout as well. It allows your readers to see and feel the places you travel to.
6.) Plan ahead and seek out media rates for tours and other travel experiences. Don’t underestimate what you can offer travel companies – a chance at advertising to a large group of independent minded travelers and backpackers.
I’ve been shocked at the success I’ve had in sending out emails to New Zealand travel companies. You can offer them the opportunity to have their product reviewed on your website in return for a complimentary or a discounted tour. Present your website in an honest way, and tell them what they have to gain from you reviewing their product. They get the publicity, you get a post.
7.) Lastly, and arguably most importantly, don’t let the blog become work you don’t enjoy. If you wanted to be stressed out, you’d be sitting in that office cubicle working 8 – 5. If you miss a couple days or a week of posts, let it be. Enjoy your travel experience and go back to the blog when you have the time.
Do you have a tip for maintaining your travel blog on the road? Please share it in the comments section below.
Backpacking Matt 
A good schedule helps – both weekly and for content. It’s so much easier to write when you can have ideas marinate in your head for a bit. For me personally, without the routine of regular posting I’d lose the focus to do it. I hate planning but love a simple blog schedule. Take just 5-10 minutes a week.
Excellent tips Matt. So helpful. I’m just finishing my first week of blogging and got on the road yesterday. Any advice I can get from someone who’s been doing it for years is a big help. I had a vague schedule in my head. Looks like this is the area to address first for me.
I’ll be taking my blog RTW soon, and I’m sure maintaining it will be much more of a challenge. I really like the last one— your site will not implode if you take some time off! Thanks for the tips.
Some great ideas in the post. I love your idea of seeking out media rates! Thank you.
Wonderful tips! I can’t agree more about guest posts. They are so mutually beneficial if you give a link back to the writer — you get free content and they get a writing clip and a link back. Another quick and easy type of post is a Q&A interview — it’s still “your” content, but takes a lot less time to put together, I think, especially if you ask and receive the questions via email.
I also take a notebook with me everywhere when traveling to jot down notes about things to write about. Sometimes I will make a schedule of posts to write on certain dates so I can keep up, and if I have some extra time, will write a few of them before their “due date.”
Thanks everyone for all of the comments and advice.
I think it helps so much to have a schedule – it allows you to keep your content coming. The task of regular posts seems less daunting if you can see a couple weeks in advance.
@Leigh Media rates are the way to go. Again, it takes some tentative planning in advance, but the rewards of discounted or complimentary tours is well worth it. Christine at Almost Fearless has a great guest post with tips to get media rates.
@Emily Interviews are a great idea. I’ll look into using them more in the future. It’s also a good chance for some added publicity for your interviewee, a link, and content for your blog.
Great advice! We use all of them. It can be difficult to keep it going on the road but if you follow all of these tips, especially the scheduling of posts, it will make your life easier. Nice post Matt!
Great tips! I will definitely be using most of these this summer while I’m in Italy. Love your last tip as well.
Good perspective Matt. I will try to print off a calendar and think ahead of the posts that I want to schedule. I agree with your last point, create your posts about things that you are interested in so you don’t wind up getting frustrated and not enjoying it anymore.
Great tips. I’ve got Europe on the agenda in the next month or so. Going to have to pick up a few moleskin notebooks for travel notes.
Great tips. I could have used this before we went on our RTW. The last one is most important, imo. I’d get behind on posting sometimes, and then I’d get all stressed out. Luckily I had my wife there to talk some sense into me sometime. Even if you’re trying to make a career out of this, you’re still on a trip, you’re still traveling, so enjoy yourself, and if you get behind, DON’T let it stress you out. Just go with the flow, and you’ll get back on track in no time. Luckily you’re your own boss, so at least you won’t have to answer to anyone but yourself.
Thanks for these great tips Matt. I haven’t, so far been able to keep my blog updated while I travel, but after reading this it definitely seems more doable. Since I am planning a big trip next year this advice will really help me. Keep up the good work 🙂
@Dave and Deb – Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
@Suzy Hopefully the tips help you in Italy. Sorry I just missed your Stumbles section! 🙂
@Migration Mark I really think the calender makes life easier. At the very minimum, it gives you something to aim for. I missed my Monday Escape this week, but thanks to tip #7, I’m okay with that!
@Stuart Get a notebook – you won’t regret it.
@Adam Thanks for your comment. Sometimes you do need that voice of reason telling you not to stress about missing some posts or getting behind. Like you said, at the end of the day, you are your own boss and you only answer to yourself. If maintaining your blog is really a priority, you WILL come back to it when you have the time.
@Verity Thanks! Enjoy your travels and hopefully these tips help. Cheers!
a tip I’d add, Matt: I’ve been blogging at Music Road for almost four years now, and when looking to save time when traveling I find it’s useful to look through older posts. some of them can be rewritten, updated, and published anew, some lend themselves to discussion and linking in a new post, some hold sparks of ideas for that schedule calendar.
@Kerry Great point. I’ve done this once, and hope to more in the future. I call it my, “A Look Back” series and it features a story from my previous travels. Thanks for your tip!
Awesome ideas for on the road and off!!! And #7 is definitely the most important. Blogging should never feel like an obligation, rather it should feel like a creative outlet.
Good advice mate…don’t have the iPhone but iTouch will have to do…any tips on apps to download?
Steve’s top 7 free travelling apps…in no particular order
*****xe Currency Converter
*****Twitterrific
*****Wordpress
***Hostelworld – until Hostelbookers announced they were 8.7% cheaper
**NileGuide (Newly downloaded, more cities being added)
***HotelPal
****Moron Test (Entertainment)
Tried to stick with the theme of Top 7 but the ones that I use all the time are the top 3, HotelPal is quite good to check out places but doesn’t suit lower end budgets.
Good list Steven! I prefer Echophone for Twitter. If you have the iTouch, I recommend pulling up maps of the area you’ll be before you leave a WiFi area – they remain saved the iTouch and work really well without a signal.
I struggle to keep up on the road. I have so much I want to say and never enough time. But like you’ve pointed out, it never feels like work and I love (almost) every minute of it!
Hi Laura, it’s certainly a challenge traveling and keeping up a blog – or if you’re settled, working a keeping up a blog. And I certainly haven’t mastered the skill yet. Like you said, the most important thing is to never let it feel like a burden on your back – glad you enjoy it too.
Thanks for this–it’s a bit of an art balancing work and play, but even more difficult when the two are intertwined like this. Great tips I’ll be sure to keep in mind.
Good ideas Matt! I always make notes and if I dont have notebook with me, I just write the main ideas into my phone or on a paper!
Also remember that if you’re traveling with an iPhone, you can use the built-in notepad & calendar apps to further reduce what you need to carry with you. I’m constantly making notes in the notepad, and have typed entire posts on it.
@Vanessa The iPhone is clutch eh?! I couldn’t write a whole post on mine, but I do use the notepad to keep thoughts / ideas ready for new posts.