(There's more to it than wearing a flowy dress in pretty locations)
It’s such a cliche, but boy, does time really fly when you’re having fun. Back in April, this website celebrated its seventh (seventh!) birthday, and to say running a travel blog has been a journey would be an understatement.
Running a blog today keeps me a lot busier than it did when I first started in 2017, and these days I usually wind up spending more time focusing on the future than looking back at the past. But with a few moments to breathe between trips, I thought it would be fun to pull back the curtain a little and share a list of things I wish I had known before I started blogging.
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Because let’s face it: baby blogger me didn’t really know much about blogging or running a website.
In hindsight, that’s a blessing.
If I had known all of the things I’m sharing in today’s post, I might have said “no thanks” and moved along on my merry way. Instead, I blindly plunged into this world thinking it would be a fun hobby and creative outlet that merged my passion for travel with my inability to stop talking about the places I visited.
Fast-forward seven years, and here I am, dedicating countless hours a week to this *gestures wildly*.
Today I thought I’d share a list of things I learned along the way – a list filled with incredible surprises I discovered as well as some things I still kick myself over from time to time. If this list reads like a list of complaints, well, that isn’t my intention. So much of the internet is curated to be a highlight reel, and at the end of the day, blogging truly isn’t glamorous work (she writes while wearing yesterday’s sweatpants, sitting motionless on the sofa like a lizard in the sun). That doesn’t make it unenjoyable – it just makes those wins extra sweet.
So without further ado, here’s the scoop I wish I knew before hitting publish on my first post (I hope anyone considering embarking on a blogging journey finds this helpful!):
WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN BEFORE I STARTED A TRAVEL BLOG
Don’t think – just start now.
While I often wish I had known more about how to structure my website or implement SEO best practices before I started, I’m kind of glad I naively jumped right in. I have certainly made a few mistakes in running this site over the years, but overall, blogging is a long game. By starting as early as possible, you give your site more time to be indexed by search engines and you give yourself the chance to start publishing helpful content sooner than later.
The moral: don’t let perfect get in the way of the good.
Running a travel blog is far more expensive than you think.
Sure, it is possible to start a bare-bones blog for only a couple hundred dollars a year by utilizing free tools and inexpensive hosting (or completely free, as many are now doing over on Substack!), but efficiency often comes at a price. Plus, there’s one incredibly expensive resource required for running a blog: time. But more on that in a moment…
No one wants a soulless guide or a diary.
A quick note: If your goal is an online travel diary with cell phone photos to share with your friends and family, by all means, that is a wonderful thing to create and I know your loved ones will cherish reading it. I started my website to share my travel posts with strangers (not even telling friends and family!), so most of the information in this section isn’t going to be as helpful for you.
After years of experience and toying with format, I’ve found the magic of travel content is in the middle: creating informative posts with a personal touch. People who are seeking a matter-of-fact travel guide will turn to all the big names for guidebook information and pure opinions without context isn’t very engaging for a broad audience. For me, the Goldilocks spot is weaving my experiences throughout helpful, informative posts of a manageable length.
I’ve been told that my guides and tips are like getting a recommendation from a friend, and I truly can’t think of a better compliment.
Blogging takes way more time than you think.
It’s not uncommon for me to spend a full week creating a travel guide after I return home from a trip. The research, outlining, writing, editing, formatting, linking, and oh yeah, photos, required for a full-scale guide is a time-consuming and occasionally frustrating task (words are hard sometimes!). And that’s just getting the post live on the site – getting the word out about a new post adds even more time, whether it’s creating Pinterest pins, TikToks, or sharing it in Stories. Which leads me to…
Most of your time isn’t spent blogging.
At a certain point, it starts to feel like your job is mostly email. Sending emails for upcoming trips, following up with past partners, or deleting guest post and link insertion inquiries left and right. I spend far less time typing into my WordPress editor than I do muddling through email, creating social content, and taking meetings.
You’re expected to be everywhere.
Once upon a time, it was enough to write a few short paragraphs and toss up a few pretty pictures on your clunky website, but today that’s not enough. I’ll choose substance over style any day, but today’s expectations for bloggers go way beyond that.
Modern bloggers are essentially expected to be one-person, full-scale media companies with a robust online presence on every social platform. It’s impossible to do this all on your own, which is why so many of the big names hire VAs (virtual assistants) to handle the routine tasks. I don’t know if I could ever release enough control to do that, so it means I’ve had to redefine my definition of success and scale back on where I show up.
You do need more than a phone and laptop.
While I still shoot videos for social media on my cell phone (and occasionally on my drone), by and large, most of the photos you see on this site are taken with a real camera. Not only is the photo quality better, but I find that people take me more seriously with a camera than without it. I also had to upgrade my laptop recently and start paying for storage for all of my photos, adding to the costs of running a site.
Beyond compact electronics and cloud storage, the rest of my setup is still pretty minimal: a set of business cards (they’re travel-sized!), a small notebook, and a good pen.
Travel = work.
I never wanted to get to this point, but I’ve had to accept that travel is no longer just travel – it’s work, too. I’ve pretty much found my stride balancing enjoying the destination and documenting it, but it’s not as easy as just enjoying a delicious meal or strolling through an incredible museum. I have to take the time to get the shot right and step out of my experience to note all of the things visitors should know.
The flipside of this is that my trips are incredibly well researched and I leave with a deeper understanding of the destination than if I waltzed right through. While I might lose a little bit of time exploring, I get much more out of each experience.
Still, the real work always begins after returning home!
Your content is valuable.
It took me way too long to figure this out (to my own demise!), but a quick glance into my analytics or scroll through messages from small businesses is proof that my words shared here directly translate into dollars for those companies. I truly believe in the importance of highlighting small businesses, but don’t always feel that the cost and time required to do so should fall on me – which is why I’ve started partnering with tourism boards (who receive tax allocations for this exact purpose) and handpicked boutique hotels (who are often searching for ways to get the word out).
It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly, of course; I’d never recommend a product or service I wouldn’t personally pay for myself.
People always want something from you.
For those who aren’t bloggers, if your boss asked you to travel for work but you had to pay for your own travel, hotel, and meals, would you say yes? What about if you also had to work on your trip and fulfill your regular job duties back in the office? Probably not, right?
I never thought I’d spend my time having to explain why I can’t pay to work (or why I can’t spend several hours creating an Instagram Reel in exchange for a pair of $12 socks), but here we are. As fun and juicy as it is to read those articles showcasing the wild and entitled messages that influencers send to brands, the reality is that a lot of brands are asking bloggers and influencers to not only work for free, but to provide photographs and video for the brand to use however they’d like in perpetuity. It’s the reason why there are now services like FYPM that promise to level the playing field through transparency (you can sign up with code WAYWARDBLOG-FYPM to snoop for 24 hours 👀).
You need to grow a thick skin, quickly.
From online meanies who show zero hesitation when it comes to commenting on your appearance to being passed over by brands in favor of other bloggers, there are a lot of opportunities to feel bad about yourself in this business. I’ve learned to delete the comments (or occasionally “heart” them, when I’m feeling a little chaotic) and developed a new mantra for when things don’t work out: Make them regret saying no.
It can be a little isolating.
I treasure the relationships I’ve formed with others in this space, but on the whole, the blogging world can feel a little lonely. When it comes to things like optimizing your site or dabbling in brand partnerships, it often feels like navigating an unfamiliar space in the dark, groping around to find your way.
I know there are some blogging Facebook groups out there, but that’s one social platform I don’t particularly enjoy using and haven’t found a good alternative to (know of a great blogger Discord or group chat? Feel free to send it my way!).
The goalpost is always moving.
This world is a numbers game: first, it was “How many visitors do you get per month?”, then it was “How many followers do you have?”, and currently it’s “How many subscribers do you have?” While I’m grateful people are starting to recognize the fragility of relying solely on social media, it’s left me realizing that no matter what that number is, it will never be enough – and when you realize the goalpost is always moving out of reach, that’s pretty freeing.
I’m sure someone could write a thesis on how this is a byproduct of our society as a whole, but for now, I simply acknowledge it and turn my focus back to things I can control (like writing here!).
It is incredibly rewarding.
I should reiterate that this is not a post for the sake of complaining (though who doesn’t groan about their job now and again?). I’m immensely grateful to be able to do what I love and to share that joy with others so they can experience it for themselves. If the challenges ever collectively outweigh the benefits, I think I’d be okay with walking away – which is enough of a sign for me that travel blogging is still a worthwhile pursuit, even in 2024.
If your spidey senses have been tingling that there might be a launch for a “how to blog” course at the end of this post, well… Your spidey senses are malfunctioning today. I have no intentions of pivoting to blogging about blogging because 1) My imposter syndrome could never 2) I think it’s boring and 3) I have far too much on my plate.
But if you ever have any questions about getting started or are just curious about something, I’m only ever an email or message away!
FINAL THOUGHTS ON STARTING A TRAVEL BLOG
Starting a travel blog has been the most incredible adventure.
Despite some of the external hassles that come with the territory, my world has become much more enriched by travel and I’m thrilled to find myself in a role that I’m passionate about. Every day I am grateful to my past self for leaping before looking and building a resource for future travelers.
I know this world is going to continue evolving and this space may look so different in another seven years’ time, but if you take anything away from this post today, let it be this: blogging is most certainly not dead.
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Questions for you
What have you always wanted to know about blogging, but been too afraid to ask?
If you started a travel blog, what would you call it?
Where to next? You may also enjoy:
- Let’s get social! Find me on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and LTK
- All Travel Guides by Destination
- All of My Packing Lists
- Checking In: Hotel Reviews
- Airline Reviews
- Shop My Closet
- All Style Reviews Sorted by Brand
- How I’m Approaching Travel Differently in My Thirties
- Exclusive Promo Codes + Discounts
Thanks for sharing this! Super interesting. (I only ever kept a blog as a kind of personal diary.)
I’m curious what your day job is, if you’re willing to share! If not, no worries at all. 🙂
It takes so much time! I’ve only done a few travel posts, and those took more time than my usual posts of clothing or housewares reviews, so I salute you for keeping it up. And what is up with rude people who comment on your appearance? (It’s happened to me as well.)