Justine Waddington is the founder and director of Encounter Travel, a company that creates holiday groups exclusively for solo travellers. As a solo traveller with 60 countries under her belt and 15 years of arranging travel groups, Justine is in the unique position of being able to offer tips and advice from the perspective of an experienced solo traveller and also that of a travel agent.
Inspiration from Others. Starting to Travel Blog.
HOW TO GET STARTED TRAVEL BLOGGING
Travel blogging – thought about starting but never quite found the right time, motivation or inspiration to get started?
I was once in your place and the same goes for many other travel bloggers. I’ve got some stories to share from some of those bloggers, who like you once hesitated, or they weren’t sure where to start for so many different reasons.
For a new comer to travel blogging the roadblocks to starting could be anything; from having the confidence to share your stories with the world, getting the story ideas, or the ‘how to’ with all things tech when it comes to creating your blog. Or if you’re like me, it is all of these.
I first started in a small way in 2014, and it’s only been more recently I’m writing more regularly. Like so many travel bloggers, I am self taught, and as the saying goes ‘practice makes perfect’, or at least it’s easier and better the more you write. From the tech side, it’s easier than ever before in the sense that online software and apps have developed in leaps and bounds; there’s easier ways to now to start blog websites and also the investment in starting your own travel blog is so much less than yesteryear, in the early days of online blogging. A Google Search is a great place to start, and just read and read and investigate. Little by little the tech side of blogging comes together.
If I could only give one piece of advice when it comes to the writing and how to get started with travel blogging I’d say – come up with one main question/problem or theme as the centre of your message, and come in up front, loud and clear when you start writing, that this is what your blog is about. As you’re writing, always remind yourself of it, and stick with this idea throughout your blog article.
Perhaps you may enjoy reading their stories not just because it may be the motivator that gets you started but also because all the travel bloggers featured didn’t start out early; these travel bloggers started in their late 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s – it’s never too late to write a travel blog.
GETTING IDEAS – START BY LOOKING AROUND
There’s links to their travel blogs as your read their stories; visit their sites, and you can see how each is unique; the scope for your blog is endless – it’s about finding your style and how you want to see it on our online world.
Everyone has a different story with what finally got them on the road to travel blogging. They’ve also never looked back since and just found it easier over time. Many of us started from the same place; not being sure if we had what it takes to make it happen. Start with a small step, and ‘keeping walking’, it all comes together.
JOSIE KELSH
JOSIE WANDERS
I was a late bloomer to travel, only starting to explore the world in my late thirties. After my first few trips I started to document our family’s adventure on a now-defunct platform called Travelpod. This was just for family and friends. I loved sharing our travels and it gave me something to look back on as a memory. As we geared up for our adult gap year in 2017, I decided to instead start my own blog, Josie Wanders. I was no longer just wanting to share with family and friends but wanted to share with anyone interested in travel and a one year adventure sounded like the perfect time to start. I still didn’t know that this would become my full time job.
Travel blogging was a big difference from my previous life as an accountant, but I embraced it during our travels. The learning curve has been huge, and there is a lot more to blogging than just writing a nice story. Every day is different, and almost four years down the track I still love it and can’t imagine doing anything else.
Alison Armstrong
ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
Years ago I wanted to send some photos of our apartment to family in Australia. My sister took the photos, and my niece created a blog for me and uploaded the photos onto it. I emailed the link to my family. And there my blog languished for years. It was called Apartment Photos. Then in 2010 we went on a trip to Australia and Vietnam and friends asked if I’d write about it. I suddenly remembered – I have a blog! So I started writing about our travels and learned how to upload photos. What really got me going was a major life change. My husband and I figured out the only way we could afford for him to retire was to sell our home and car, and everything we owned and be homeless and nomadic for as long as it felt right. We started in September 2011. I was 61 and my husband 69. After nearly six years we re-established a home for medical reasons. Somewhere along the way I changed the name of the blog to Adventures in Wonderland and acquired a handful of followers and it grew from there.
LARCH GAULD
THE SILVER NOMAD
In 2014, I sat down to write my five-year plan, I thought that at 50, it was about time I made one. I had been a self-employed web designer for 14 years but wanted combine this with travel and writing. What better way to than to become a travel blogger?
Looking around the internet and most of the travel bloggers I found were young and beautiful. Who would want to read the musings of a perimenopausal woman? I was filled with self-doubt and it took me a couple of years and a few false starts, before I had finally got the gumption up to set up The Silver Nomad in late 2017 and kick myself for not doing it earlier. I have travelled to places that I have wanted to go to for years: India, Bali, The Caribbean as well as exploring more of Europe. In 2019 I qualified as a professional drone pilot to add another dimension to my work and to what I can offer.
It has not been easy learning about all the social media, photo editing, affiliates, SEO, the list is endless, but the satisfaction is immense.
HEATHER MARKEL
HEATHER BEGINS
My travel blog, Heather Begins, started when I began living life on my terms. At 48, I quit my job to travel the world. I planned for 3 - 6 months, but 2 1/2 years later, I'm still going. I began my blog as a chronicle of my journey out of corporate life and into my own, starting in Costa Rica. I started posting about my personal growth through travel. As I kept going, I wrote more and more about travel insights. I don't travel with a bucket list so my blog speaks to what it feels like to travel and many of the inner and outer experiences I have while doing it. It's about the people I meet, the things I do and the thoughts I have while discovering new places. The deeper theme, though, is inspiring others to follow their heart to create a life they love! I think the hardest part about starting a blog is figuring out your writing theme. I’ve learned it comes with time, and changes over time. It’s best to start writing and let the bigger picture come into view. As for the technical side, with almost 15 years entrepreneurial experience making my own sites, I used Wordpress and Elegant Themes.
SUE COCKELL,
SUE WHERE? WHY? WHAT?
Back in 2014, at 45, I tragically lost my husband after 18 amazing years together. I had always travelled & used it as a way to escape, grieve & heal. I created my Life List of all the things I wanted to do & see as a way to give me direction. As I started to explore these, I realised that I am not the only woman who finds themselves alone but wants to see more of the world. I have many friends who are going through major life changes & may be considering solo travel for the first time. I created my blog suewherewhywhat.com for exactly that reason. For me, it’s not the places you go but the adventures you have & the people that you meet which make travelling such a magical experience. I decided to share my stories & ideas to hopefully inspire other women not to be afraid to go out into the world on their own. Blogging has given me a drive, focus and accountability. It has helped me to retain my sanity & construct a new life for myself.
Emma Jones
EMMAONLINE
Despite travelling for the last 25 years and owning a domain name for 20 years I only started travel blogging at 42. Better late than never I guess! Originally, I started by sharing stories from my travels. However, these days most of my trips involve attending events. Along the way I’ve met many people doing the same so I decided to focus on event travel.
From building a trip around a music festival, sporting spectacle or cultural event to arriving in a new place and looking up what is on. Either way, incorporating an event is a fantastic way to make a trip extra memorable. It is also a great way to explore places you may not have thought about visiting. I’m not sure I would have visited Gibraltar and I’m pretty sure I’d still have no idea where Lucca was (it’s in Italy!) if my favorite band hadn’t played at festivals there.
Travel blogging has been a wonderful way to make new friends, learn new skills and most importantly get out and see the world. It’s never too late!
JAY ARTALE
ROVING JAY
I launched Roving Jay in 2008 when blogs were online diaries and known as web-logs. I was an Executive Director in a global corporation, and blogged under a pen name—I didn’t want anyone to know I was sharing my life online. Blogging became the connection between the life I had and the life I wanted. My first blog posts were about buying a home in Bodrum Turkey—a stepping stone towards a semi-nomadic lifestyle.
My blog evolved from an erratic online diary featuring different topics into a collection of primarily travel-related articles, told from a personal perspective. A couple of years after my first blog, I launched my Bodrum Travel Guide, and this blog became the impetus behind my two self-published travel guides about the area. Little did I know that my first shambolic blog posts would trigger a dramatic chain reaction—turning me into an avid blogger and author. A few years ago I abandoned my corporate career to live in Turkey part-time. I’m the proud owner of eight travel and writing-related blogs, and I no longer care who knows it!
Sinead Camplin
MAP MADE MEMORIES
I started my travel blog Map Made Memories two years ago, aged 46. I travelled extensively in my twenties, back in the day when we wrote airmail letters and phoned home once a month due to the cost!
After getting married and having three children, I explored the U.K with my young family and then, in 2016/2017, we took the children out of school and embarked on a year long, round the world backpacking trip that included travelling overland from Hong Kong to the U.K by train. When we returned home, I found myself answering the same questions about destinations, family travel tips and budgeting. I was happy to help (I love talking about travel!) but eventually decided to start a travel blog aimed at helping other families travel on a budget. I love writing about the places we visit, experiences we have as well as the ups and downs of family travel. The technical side of blogging is very challenging; SEO, editing photographs, writing code - it was, and is, a steep learning curve. As a technophobe who didn’t use social media, I also had to learn the modern lingo for blogging and social media!
Angela Price
WHERE ANGIE WANDERS
As an avid traveller it had always been a dream of mine to put my adventures into words for others to enjoy and take some inspiration from, but it just never seemed to be the right time.
In 2018 I embarked on a 3-month journey around the world with my 18-year-old son and that all changed. We travelled to 8 countries and had the time of our lives while continually sending updates on our whereabouts to my husband, family and friends. I realised at that point how much everyone was enjoying our journey and a few friends said they were vicariously living our trip with us through my weekly updates.
When we got home, I couldn’t stop talking about our trip and so my son suggested that I start a travel blog and share my stories online. In 2019 on my 52nd birthday my blog WhereAngieWanders went live, I decided starting a travel blog would be the best gift I could give to myself. It is coming up to its 1st anniversary and I have loved every minute of writing content and making great connections with other travel bloggers. Long may it continue!
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