Are you a travel blogger? Are you someone who is just diving into the world of social media? If you’re anything like me, you probably have a ton of questions or you’re trying to figure out how to keep your blog going when you happen to be grounded at home or between trips. What about when you run out of post ideas?
Here are a few tips to keep your travel blog alive when you aren’t traveling, want to blog from the road, or you just run out of topic ideas:
Bring the reader into a specific moment of your trip. The attention span of your reader is between 400-800 words. Longer posts risk losing the interest of the reader. Most travel blog audiences are armchair travelers, seeking a few minutes’ break from mundane office work, or they may be travel planners searching for the activities or restaurants in a destination. Check out Barbara Weibel‘s Hole in the Donut Blog.
A picture says it all. Check out Trazzler if you don’t already know about it. A photo dominates each story with a slice of life that pulls readers into the moment of that photograph. Travel blogger Donna L. Hull posts Saturday’s Scene, a picture from her travels to introduce her readers to a specific location, and it also is an easy way to update your travel blog.
Guest posts are good for both parties. By allowing a guest post on your blog, you’re not only getting content, but you’re also introducing your readers to someone new. Also, guest posters sometimes bring you new readers. Mark from Travel-Wonders.com publishes guest posts every now and again.
Search the archives. Search your photo archives from previous trips. Did one photo stick out and make you think of a specific moment or experience? Share that with your readers.
Use your comments. Browse through comments from previous posts. Did one of your readers ask a question? Did they want to know something specific from a destination? You’ll not only find an idea for a post, but you just might help someone out.
Take advantages of pre-scheduled posts. Sometime we never know what may come up. There may be a power outage. Internet access may get messed up or you may be on the road unable to get access. If you have posts scheduled to go live at later dates, you’ll keep the content fresh and new for your readers and they’ll never miss a beat. This feature of my blogging software has been the source of entertainment for me while I’ve been ill. Readers assumed I was on location in California when in reality; I was actually having a procedure. This has to be my favorite feature of WordPress.
What do you do when you get writer’s block or you’re hitting the road and want to make sure your readers are still entertained and informed?
Shannon,
Thank you for sharing these blog tips. You do a great job of following all of these tips.
Respectfully,
Amanda Kehoe
Great suggestions! I already use some of these techniques, but you gave me some new ideas as well.
.-= Barbara at Hole in the Donut Travels´s last blog ..Jammin’ at Pastry Art’s Open MIC Night =-.
Great suggestion!
.-= Amy @ The Q Family´s last blog ..Experienced Disney On Ice Celebration =-.
we also travel locally and share that. and, we love to find great travel blogs, books, etc. and share those with our readers. great tips!
.-= jessiev´s last blog ..Mom Most Traveled – Exploring Family Life Abroad =-.
Great ideas – I’m an intermittant traveller but the photos and things I saw keep me going in the months between the trips. I wrote a similar article about ways to keep your blog alive
http://www.heatheronhertravels.com/when-the-magic-fades-keep-your-travel-blog-alive-between-trips/
.-= Heather on her travels´s last blog ..Going Downtown in Beirut – in Lebanon =-.
I think the secret is don’t tell all at once; divide it into bite-sized pieces, and feed it to ‘em one by one. People don’t want to scroll down a great long screed anyway; if you keep ‘em waiting, they’ll (hopefully) come back.
.-= Keith´s last blog ..Blackpool Trams =-.
Along the lines of what Keith suggested, breaking up posts into shorter series is a good way to save time by making a post last longer. I also like to plan out roughly what I want to write about on what day (something I do anyway). It’s easier to crank out posts when you’ve got an idea of what you want to write about.