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 
