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Wednesday, August 19, 2015

What is your travel blog doing for you?

A travel blog can do these things for you:

Are you writing daily for fun, for pleasure or profit, and could you do more of less of one and more or less of the other? Are you buying, keeping a record of travel and tours you bought, doing PR for others and yourself, paid or unpaid (if a paid advertisement or PR you must declare your interest/bias), or selling a place or product or experience for money?

You can make money by selling items for pennies to millions of people. Alternatively sell an item costing millions to one person.

Not sure? Use a blog to test the market. Use three websites or blog posts try all and see which is most successful.

(If not successful, or not willing to do all this work, admit you are retired and doing it for pleasure. If so, at least you have a positive answer for those business people who ask - are you making any money out of this?)

1 Personal:
 Help you keep a record of your travels. For your own use. Just in case you ever need it. Write a book for your family or descendants. Fill in your c.v. Prove from pictures of your passport and suitcase where you lost an item you are claiming on insurance and give the brand name.

2 Public or semi-public:
Enable you to share your records - with friends; and/or family; and/or acquaintances and/or colleagues. Just in case you ever need it. (Go into travel business. Start a new travel business. Start a new career. Write a book for the public.

3 PR:
Retired or interrupted career due to change of job, country, divorce, retirement, enable to show you are still in the know.

4 Focus:
Enable you or others to see your unique focus to start a business or book. Find out which posts get most readers and from which countries. I get most readers on
1) Where I am expert because I was there first -
for example restaurants in my local high street in London, or other countries.
2) Researched and tried and tested consumer advice
For example, travel advice on wider interest subjects such as travel suitcases attracts readers worldwide but two to one from the USA
3) Wild and wacky or unusual restaurants/theme parks/attractions
For example a botanical garden in Singapore with great photos gets readers from a range of countries.
4) Newsletter:
Gather readers or followers as you draft a newsletter. Send out through scheduling. Spend less time on blogging or use blog to direct readers to newsletter and link blog posts to other blog posts.

Angela Lansbury, author (books); photojournalist (travel/consumer shopping) and speaker (serious and humorous).

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