I am a fledgling travel blogger. That’s right; I’m a newbie, a rookie, a noob. Although I’ve been travelling much longer, I’ve only been blogging about my travels for four short months.
During that time I have yet to really crack the formula that makes so many of my contemporaries’ blogs so popular, but what I have discovered is a great number of handy blogging-related websites, articles and eBooks that are incredibly useful for new travel bloggers like myself.
I thought I’d share some of the best ones with you:
Helpful articles for new travel bloggers
Basic, beginner travel blogging tips and advice: This blog post over at Go See Write is an excellent introduction for aspiring travel bloggers. It covers essential topics such as going self-hosted, descriptive URLs and driving traffic through social media.
Essential resources for new travel bloggers – setting up: The Road Forks’ guide to setting up a travel blog is fairly comprehensive with tons of links to other useful guides and travel blogs. It covers all the essentials to getting set up: getting motivated, picking a niche, developing a site and designing it.
How to improve your travel blog and get on the top 100: If you’re looking to crack the top 100 travel blogs then you’re going to want to give this blog post by Nomadic Samuel a read. He’s the one who collates this list, which is based on SEOmoz and Alexa indicators, so naturally his advice is worth paying attention to.
Travel blogging tips from the experts: An entertaining and informative series of interviews with well-known travel bloggers. These posts at Finding the Universe discuss everything from social media and traffic analysis through to the greatest challenges facing bloggers and ideas to generate income.
Useful websites for new travel bloggers
Blog Tyrant: Strategies, tactics and tips to help you dominate your blog’s niche. Don’t be put off by the overzealous guide to building a blog worth more than $50,000 (I’m a cynic), Blog Tyrant is a useful one-stop shop for guides on how to drive traffic to and monetise (or “monetize” to our American friends) your blog.
Problogger: An expert’s guide to the wonderful – yet challenging – world of blogging, Problogger is packed to the gills with useful resources for bloggers of all descriptions. From guides to the best WordPress themes to search engine optimisation and how to make money from your blog, you’ll find it here.
Think Traffic: Another think big, aim high website that promises a lot, Think Traffic is all about generating more traffic for your blog. It’s packed with helpful blogging resources and inspiration.
Travel Blog Advice: What would a formally educated anthropologist and former computer hacker know about travel blogging? A lot, as it turns out. Anil Polat has been a travel blogger for more than five years and this is where he shares his experiences, tips and advice about travel blogging.
Travel Writers Exchange: A community of travel writers, bloggers and journalists exchanging blogging tools, tips and resources. It has a great discussion forum for exchanging ideas with other travel bloggers and you can submit articles for the good of the travel blogging community.
eBooks for fledgling travel bloggers
How to Make Money With Your Travel Blog: Okay, so I’ve only read one eBook designed to help new travel bloggers – but I promise it is a good one. Starting with the basics, Nomadic Matt Kepnes (usually around #1 on the top 100 travel blogs list) takes you through creating a blog, building it and optimising it for search engines, before looking at ways to raise its profile and monetising it.
I do hope this list was useful. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be qualified enough to offer fledgling travel bloggers some advice…
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The Guy
17 January 2013 at 07:47 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Many thanks for this list Simon. I suppose I’m in a similar position to you. I’ve been a very frequent traveller for over a decade yet only began my travel blog four months ago. I look forward to exploring all these links.
Are any of the links your favourite for tips?
Simon Petersen
17 January 2013 at 17:28 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Cheers for the comment! When I started I was completely new to all of this – even WordPress. That’s why I found Nomadic Matt’s book particularly helpful. I realise you can probably get all the information for free somewhere else but I didn’t even know what to look for! As for the free stuff, Problogger continues to be informative and inspirational. Good luck!
Alana - Paper Planes
21 December 2012 at 00:32 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Just came across this at a time where I fee like I’m in as bit of a slump…the initial energy and drive after just launching my own blog has lagged a bit and I needed something like this to help get refocused again – thank you!
Simon Petersen
21 December 2012 at 07:39 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
No worries! I think we all go through slumps like that. Good luck!
Michelle
17 October 2012 at 16:24 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Thanks so much for this post, it was very helpful!
Simon Petersen
17 October 2012 at 22:45 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
You are very welcome – good luck!
Sophie
17 October 2012 at 01:30 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
This is great! I just started properly a month ago so going to take a look at all of these links and give it all a go!
Simon Petersen
17 October 2012 at 07:31 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Good luck, Sophie!
Venkat Ganesh @ India Backpack Motorbike
2 October 2012 at 06:33 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Great list, but not just for newbies. As a 9 month old travel bloggers some of these resources that you listed were unknown to me. Thanks for putting this up.
Cheers
Venky
Simon Petersen
2 October 2012 at 07:35 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Glad to help! Cheers mate
alyson
1 October 2012 at 20:54 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
I’m hitting your list hard! I’ve only been doing this whole blogging thing for 2 weeks, it’s really hard work!
Now to find out how to make some money out of it. Cheers for the list Simon.
Simon Petersen
1 October 2012 at 21:06 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Welcome to the wonderful world of SEO, Google Analytics and the constant writing of more blog posts! Haha, good luck!
Sophie
4 September 2012 at 03:28 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Brilliant list of resources Simon. I’ll make sure to tweet it out!
Simon Petersen
4 September 2012 at 10:54 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Thanks heaps, Sophie – you’re a star!
Dan Arif
25 August 2012 at 16:12 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
thanks for sharing this.. I guess there’s still much to do to improve my blog.. I should start now.. cheers!
Simon Petersen
26 August 2012 at 20:56 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Happy to help. All the best!
Tracy Kalmar
17 August 2012 at 04:41 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
I’m about a month in to my new travel blog, and it is, indeed, overwhelming! So much time and energy goes into the blogs, it’s easy for one to not equal the amount put into the site, especially the less tech savvy, like myself! Thanks for the info and quick links! I will be up all night reading them!
Simon Petersen
17 August 2012 at 12:23 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
You’re preaching to the choir, my friend – I’m not very tech savvy myself! That’s why so many of these resources are useful.
Richa
16 August 2012 at 09:40 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Just started my own travel blog so, I am gonna bookmark this site and keep checking out all these great resources you have so helpfully collated! There is so much to learn!
Simon Petersen
17 August 2012 at 12:22 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
All the best with the new site!
Tom Stockwell
15 August 2012 at 15:21 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
The eBooks are total scams – that’s all I’ll say on that subject without delving in further. Not worth it at all and really it doesn’t tell you much that you can’t find for free anyway.
And Alexa? It’s a joke. Mine has improved in leaps and bounds – but I’ve been doing nothing different. It also only takes into account page views by those who have downloaded the toolbar. Outside of the blogging world, I don’t know a single person who’s even heard of Alexa, let alone downloaded it. Although I do approve of Sam’s other great recommendations on that article
Now the rest of the stuff – some good resources that I’m going to have to check out!
Simon Petersen
16 August 2012 at 04:54 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
I know what you mean about the ebooks but, for me, the one I purchased was very useful because I was starting from zero. I didn’t even have any idea what to Google to find out the information for free! It’s the only book I bought and I don’t think I’d ever need to buy another one.
As for Alexa – I still have no idea what it’s all about except that mine keeps going down, too! Haha. But that’s supposed to be a good thing, right?
Cheers buddy!
Vicky
15 August 2012 at 15:17 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Argh, been on this for three hours and I’ve only just got to #3. Great suggestions and links, thanks!
Simon Petersen
16 August 2012 at 04:51 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Thanks Vicky!
kay dougherty
15 August 2012 at 03:28 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Thanks for sharing this info. I’ve been doing my blog since the end of May. I love doing it but it’s very time consuming. I spend more time working on it than learning how to do it right ! I’m going to hit “pause” tomorrow and look at some of the resources you mentioned. Will you be going to the TBEX conference in Girona next month by any chance? My sister, travel crime partner, will be with me.
Simon Petersen
16 August 2012 at 04:47 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
I’ve been doing mine since the end of Feb so I’m still very new myself! It’s incredibly time consuming but rewarding at the same time. I wish I was going to TBEX! Have fun!
Kellie
1 August 2012 at 17:05 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Timely article for me, being a newbie to this sometimes overwhelming blogging world! Some great advice in these links – thanks for sharing!
Simon Petersen
1 August 2012 at 20:12 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
It can be very overwhelming! Thankfully most bloggers I know are really friendly and helpful – so you could always give someone a shout if you’re after advice about something specific
Doc Wends
1 July 2012 at 17:19 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
this is very useful and find it very useful. Great post Simon.
Simon Petersen
2 July 2012 at 21:20 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Cheers buddy!
TomarHawk Tom
15 June 2012 at 16:18 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Thanks Simon. Great tips. It is really useful for newer bloggers like myself who are trying to improve.
Thanks for sharing!
Tom
Simon Petersen
16 June 2012 at 19:46 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Glad you found it useful, mate!
Nomadic Translator
7 June 2012 at 23:36 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
great great tips on many websites have never heard of. I’ve been travel blogging for almost a year now and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot of new things thanks to your article–awesome!
Simon Petersen
8 June 2012 at 09:59 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Glad you found it useful! They say you can’t teach and old dog new tricks – I’m not sure that’s true in the world of blogging!
Jardness
4 June 2012 at 13:26 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
I just changed my blog niche’s from lifestyle to travelling. Thanks for the post. Will help me a lot! =)
Simon Petersen
4 June 2012 at 14:48 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Wicked. I’ll check it out sometime!
Ayngelina
4 June 2012 at 10:02 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
I wish all of these sites were around when I was starting two years ago. Once you get the knack of those I highly recommend ViperChill the guy is a prodigy. But you kind of need to understand the basics first.
Simon Petersen
4 June 2012 at 14:49 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
I’ve heard of ViperChill. Will have to check it out once I’ve got the basics down pat. Cheers!
Diane
1 June 2012 at 13:17 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Really informative post with lots of links I can’t wait to read.
Travel blogging has always interested me and maybe it’s a niche I’ll crack one of these days. Thanks again!
Simon Petersen
1 June 2012 at 15:19 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Thanks for the comment and RT. I’m trying to crack travel blogging myself – it’s a lot harder than it looks!
Laurence
1 June 2012 at 03:38 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Thanks so much for featuring me in such great company
Simon Petersen
1 June 2012 at 09:49 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
No worries! Hope it helps other newbies like myself
Michael Hodson
31 May 2012 at 17:08 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Appreciate the mention on that post. I had to go back and look at it to make sure it was still relevant after all this time and turns out it is. Shocked even me
Simon Petersen
31 May 2012 at 18:43 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
No worries, mate. It’s been very handy!
Akila
31 May 2012 at 14:28 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Thanks so much for including us here! This is a great list of resources!
Simon Petersen
31 May 2012 at 14:53 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
You are very welcome. When I stumbled upon your list of resources I couldn’t not include it with mine!
TammyOnTheMove
31 May 2012 at 12:33 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Great links. Thanks for sharing. I am a novice blogger myself, so this is really handy and perfect for taking my blog to the next level. Cheers.
Simon Petersen
31 May 2012 at 12:37 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Brilliant! Happy to help.
Sylver Blaque
31 May 2012 at 12:11 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Very cool post! Lots of helpful links here – thanx! Happy trails!
Simon Petersen
31 May 2012 at 12:33 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
No worries – just sharing the wealth!
Leif aka The Runaway Guide
31 May 2012 at 11:56 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Hey Dude,
Nice links on here. This is a great resource, thanks for writing this.
I bought NM’s book as well. It definitely helped.
I’m down for a link exchange if you are.
-Leif
Simon Petersen
31 May 2012 at 12:00 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
Yeah, that’d be great! I’m always looking to swap links. Cheers.
Nomadic Samuel
31 May 2012 at 10:39 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
I totally appreciate being featured with such other great blogs/resources. Some of these, such as Blog Tyrant, I’ve never even heard of before. I’m going to head over and check them out now
Simon Petersen
31 May 2012 at 10:56 (UTC 12) Link to this comment
My pleasure. And I’m glad there’s something new here even for you!
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