Should You Become a Food and Travel Blogger?

So you dream of dream of traveling, having fun and eating well and getting paid for it? After all, how hard can that be? You start a travel blog, then promote it on on Instagram or other social media with a lot of beautiful photos. If only it were that easy. So here are some of the challenges awaiting a novice blogger on the way to success and some tips to help content creators getting started.

First Steps To Becoming A Food and Travel Blogger

The minimal equipment you will need is a camera, a computer and appropriate software.

A food and travel blog without beautiful photos of fascinating destinations and delicious food can’t exist in any way. The world is increasingly a visual place.

Sure you can used the camera on your smartphone. Mobile photography can become a feature of your blog.

You will need photo and video editors to make attractive content. That artlessly thrown together shot you see on your favourite blogger’s article? Trust me, that photo was edited.

A high-quality feed can significantly increase loyalty to your blog.

How do you create visually beautiful and harmonious content for your feed? To do this, you should understand  essential points like composition, photo styling, and color scheme. Unless you are already a photographer, then you will need to read up on these points.

It’s the same story for writing and publishing. For example, unless you have a coding background, you will spend hours learning how to make your blog style reflect what you want.

Learning simple computer coding, photo skills and editing skills can make a big difference in your earnings. Any time you ask a professional to do something that is more money you have to spend.

Regarding software, an online screen recorder or desktop screen recorder, as an option, is recommended. Other software that we have learned to rely on include photo editors like Adobe Lightroom or Canva and a writing platform like WordPress.

Pros and Cons of Working as a Food & Travel Blogger

Make no mistake, the blogging world is saturated. You will need to stand out to get anywhere. The days of posting your trip to Asia and getting a million followers are long gone.

Some things to think about:

• You will need to invest money to make a name and a reputation for yourself.
• You will need to market your brand to get coverage.
• You will be asked to work for free in return for “positive coverage” which, of course, does not pay your bills.
• You will have to chase people to get your bills paid.
• People will ask you to work for ludicrously low fees that are not worth your time.

And yet, every year there are more travel bloggers trying their luck. If you can make it, you will reap the rewards of which there are plenty.

Steps to Take to Become a Food & Travel Blogger

Step 1. Identify a niche

Before you start a travel and food blog, you should define your niche. Write about a specific destination, region or topic. Or cater to specific clientele, such as Disney lovers.

Newer blogs have a defined niche. For example, we have a 2 year old blog on Massachusetts/New England in the USA, Martha’s Vineyard Tourist, which is doing as well as Just Go Places even though this general travel blog is 8 years old.

On the other hand, go too niche and you will run out of topics. We discovered that our niche blog only brought in money during the summer months when Martha’s Vineyard was a hot vacation destination. Massachusetts and New England, on the other hand is a all-year destination.

Keep up with market trends.

For example, due to the recent market trends and approaches to a healthy life, information about healthy food, recipes, and healthy food restaurant reviews is a hot topic. Learning interesting food facts and debunking popular food myths are also brilliant ideas.

Environmental concerns also means that slow travel or mindful travel are also popular now. While people may no longer be interested in the 15 countries in 10 days in Europe posts, there is lots of interest in cycling in Europe.

Step 2. Determine the audience of the blog

Identifying the niche will also help identify the audience that will read your blog. For example, are they young adult backpackers or families with kids?

Step 3. Come up with a name for the project

You already know who your audience is and what you’re going to write about, so choosing a name should appeal to both.

This step while important is hardly a game-changer.

Many people who obsess over their names then find they have outgrown their names. For example, you start a a broke backpacker and then a few years later wind up as a family travel blogger.

You can always change your name but note that changing names can also effect search engine optimisation (SEO).

Step 4. Understand the basics

Know what you are talking about whether it is travel or food. This will require research and planning.

A trip isn’t just a fun jaunt somewhere. Any press trip will make you work long hours so that they get value for their money.

If you are travelling on your own, you will need to take time to get the right photos NS correct information on places etc.

So many places do not update their information online that you can’t just rely on using that for yourself. For example, we went to Vicenza Italy to see the Villa La Rotunda which was the inspiration for Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate. The internet said it was open Wednesday and Saturday but when we got there it was only open on the weekend. Our Wednesday trip was a bust.

Step 5. Make a content plan and write

Create a content plan. The best pieces are answers to what people are looking for. Information on where to go, what to do, and what to eat.

Only your family cares about a detailed recounting of your trip. And, maybe even they are being polite.

Start writing. Keep writing. Your first posts will be an embarrassment to look back upon once you hone your skill but it’s essential to start.

Analysis paralysis is real. The only way to get better is to just start. The writing, editing etc. is the hard part but also the money-making part.

Step 6. Promotion

You could have written the most perfect, most knowledgeable piece in the world, and, yet, no one will read it. There are 4.4 million blog posts published every day worldwide.

Lost in the abyss that is the internet, the only way to get your blog post noticed is to promote it. That’s where effective SEO strategy comes in and social media.

There are plenty of free resources out there to help you learn how to navigate SEO and social media.

If you are ready to spend the money, you can also run targeted ads. You have already analyzed the audience of your blog (step 2), so it will be easy to set up ads.

Final Thoughts

So still want to be food and travel blogger? It’s slightly more complex than it looks but it’s hardly rocket science.

Sure, there are lots of blogs out there but if you think you have a unique voice and perspective on things, then you won’t know until you try!

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