Table of Contents
Lots of you have asked me about travel blog writing and how I run my travel blog, so I want to share with you today the tools that I use to run my travel blog and systems I use behind the scenes that you can use today. The tools that I use to run my travel blog are include what has actually helped me get started and what I have picked up along the way. Keep on reading because this is going to be a good one.
Having a travel blog as part of my side hustle has genuinely helped me fund parts of my travels around the world. I have been able to fund my hotels, spending money and activities to experience. Things I probably wouldn’t have booked otherwise. So if you’ve ever thought:
“How do people actually make money from travel blogging?”
This is your starting point for you today. I’m about to give you some useful travel blogging tools.
Related Post: Choosing Passion Over Profession
My Travel Blogging Journey
The great thing about blogging especially travel blogging is that the costs of starting and running your blog are fairly low. I have been blogging for well over a decade. Yes a decade on and off.
My blog, MyBreakingViews, actually started as a political blog before I started working in government. Over time, I pivoted into travel and then food travel blogging through CookingTravelTalks and more.
The world of blogging has changed since I started. In some ways it’s easier and in some ways its harder.
- It’s easier because there are more tools to use which make it so much easier.
- It’s harder because there’s more competition and more requirements that you need to meet.
The key difference now? Well now you need structures in places, things like:
- Headings (H1, H2, H3)
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Content planning and consistency
- Affiliations (if you want to monetise)
- And much much more…
All matter now. So to help you. I have created a list at all the tools I use to run my travel blog. Some are free and some are of course paid for. And if you want a quick MBV’s Plugin Starter PDF Kit here to just get you started the real stuff is below.
Related Post: 11 Mistakes I Made When Starting a Travel Blog (So You Don’t Have To)
11 Tools That I Use To Run My Travel Blog
1. SubStack
If you’re a complete beginner, I will always recommend starting with Substack before even thinking about building a full website. A website can be quite costly if you don’t stay consistent. One of the biggest mistakes people make is spending too much time trying to “set everything up perfectly” instead of actually just writing. And writing is the most important part of travel blogging. Substack removes that pressure, you won’t need hosting and the design stress is not needed and you can actual build a community right from scratch if you are new to blogging.
You can also use affiliated links on Substack, but you will need to follow the guidelines set by the affiliated programmes which you can find on their platforms. This can then potentially fund your website when you are ready.
I recommend you start you travel blogging or blogging journey by writing at least 10 blog posts on Substack or at least writing a post for 6 months every week.
This will help you:
- Build consistency
- Find your voice
- Test if blogging is actually for you
Then move to your own blog when you’re ready to a direct website.
Note: If you already have a travel blog and want to give it a revamp and get consistent again I would go straight to number 4.
2. Web Hosting
Once you have showed yourself that you are consistent and ready to take your blog seriously, you’ll need a web hosting. Think of hosting as your blog’s home on the internet.
In the past I’ve used GoDaddy, but I currently use SiteGround, and I’ve found it much more reliable as my blog has grown. There are a number of different web hosting you can choose from, my advise don’t overthink this step. Pick a reliable provider and just get started.
3. WordPress Theme
Your blog needs structure and layout a nice skin that makes it unique to you. If you use SiteGround it will lead you directly to WordPress. For your themes you can either use a free one on WordPress. However, if you are serious about your blog I would highly recommend purchasing a theme via EventoTheme. I use Soledad Theme and it is such a great theme for beginners. It is SEO friendly (will get more into that in the next tools I use to run my travel blog). I would say that it has beginner friendly templates, works for lots of niches outside travel blogging.
You don’t need the absolute perfect design, you just need a functional one that says this website belongs to me and that also allows you to monetize later – if it is something you would like to do later.
4. Keyword Search is a Perfect Tool That I Use To Run My Travel Blog
One of the key things about travel blogging or blogging generally is having keywords so that people can find you. This is where most people go wrong with their travel blogs. You can write an amazing blog post, have an amazing blog, but if no one can find it… it won’t grow and you won’t ever be found.
This is where Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) comes in. SEO is basically how you help your blog show up via a search engine like Google, Bing etc. Think of it as yourself where you are literally typing something in Google or another search engine. If you type something like ‘budget solo in Cape Verde’ or travel tips for Houston, itineraries, or guides in Serbia, you ideally want your travel blog to appears first in the results.
If you leave this guide today with anything is to understand that SEO is key tool that you must use to bring you organic traffic from around the world to your blog.
For help on looking for keywords on your blog I would recommend websites like Keysearch (my fave) or SEMRUSH which both are good for blog idea, identifying key words and understanding search demand.
Neil Patel also does an SEO analyser with Keyword suggestions which you can find here.
A simple way to look at SEO is to think about how you can stand out. For example. Instead of writing:
“My Trip to Guatemala”
You write:
That’s how people find you and lets face it you want to be found so that you can make some income right?
5. Email Marketing
An email list is not required to be a successful blogger, but I highly recommend it. Something that I very much delayed when I first started my travel blog. Your email list is owned audience. A community and a direct channel to communicate with your most engaged audience, so the sooner you start building your list, the better!
I’ve used or come across the following:
I have recently just moved over from Mailchimp and I am currently MailerLite, which I think has been brilliant so far and it’s FREE.
5. Pinterest
Pinterest is one of my biggest traffic drivers and my favourite tools I use to run my travel blog. A lot of people think it’s just for inspiration, but for me it’s actually a search engine tool that can actually lead to lots of hits for your travel blog. I use Pinterest to repurpose content, sale my e-products and up-skill myself on travel blogging.
For every blog post, that I publish. I create 2-3 pins and schedule them via Canva. Right now, I have pins scheduled 6 months in advance meaning my content is working for me daily. This is a key system that I have put in place to for my travel blog. And is a key part of my strategy.
I’m hosting a Behind The Scenes Travel Blogging (BTSTB) Workshop where I break down:
6. Canva and/or Tailwind
I pay monthly for Canva and it’s worth every single penny. If you need stock images and want to have templates people don’t always use I would say it;s worth the expense. It costs me about £27 a month, but it’s paid for through my travel blog. I mentioned earlier that I create and design Pinterest pins, blog graphics and more.
I’ve also used Tailwind for scheduling my pins. It is a free tool to use to run your blog, and you will need to pay a fee if you would like to have more pins scheduled.
7. Facebook Pages & Groups
Now Facebook (Meta) groups are great when starting out but I would also say that are maybe not a huge tool I use to run my travel blog. They are not relied on heavily, but I have seen that they can be very helpful. You can also use them for:
- Link building
- Guest posts
- Collaboration opportunities
Here are a few that I have used:
- Women Travel Bloggers
- UK Bloggers (I am also part of their board on Pinterest too)
- Superstar SEO
- Influencer and Blogger Opportunities
Again as I mentioned use these lightly, as a starter I think they are great and you can also search around by typing in the search box ‘travel blogging’ ‘SEO tips’ etc. You can also follow me on Facebook here.
8. AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic is a great tool if you are just starting out on your blogging and don’t know what to write about or are curious on what people are searching in your niche. You can use AnswerThePublic to:
- Generate blog ideas
- Understand audience questions
- Support SEO strategy
If you don’t know what to write about, then AnswerThePublic is great and it will help you with some blog posts ideas. Otherwise here is a list of Blog posts you can write about from just one trip.
9. Affiliated Platforms
The great thing about travel blogging is that you can literally start making money the day you start your blog or the day you start taking your travel blog seriously. But what is affiliation? Affiliate marketing is a performance driven platform that enables people like you and me to have a rich ecosystem of partnerships to reach, influence, and convert travellers at every part of their purchase journey.
Below are a list of platforms that I use (you can sign up using the links below):
Click on all or at least two of these above to start monetising your travel blog
Now how does it work. It’s so simple. When I write a blog post, I naturally include:
- The hotels I stayed in when I travel. I will hyperlink the hotel with an affiliated link.
- Any activities I did while on my travels. . I will hyperlink the activities with an affiliated link.
- Tours or Cooking classes I participated in.
And I link them using affiliate links. If someone books through my link, I earn a commission. It’s so simple and easy that if you have a blog I would highly recommend you get started now. You can literally write [brand] affiliated link and see if they have a programme.
Note: I never recommend anything that I have not experienced or used before and if I do I make it very clear that I haven’t used.
10. Courses & Learning
I know there are many courses to use for travel blogs, but I think if you are just starting out or rebuilding you need to just start with some genuine consistency.
A lot of people will sale things myself included but if i am really honest with you I would say it’s not just the tools. What makes a travel blog is the consistency, the structure and knowing what to post. This is what actually grows your blog and how I have been growing my blog.
How to Start Your Travel Blog (Simple Steps)
If you’re ready to start today:
- Choose a domain name
- Buy hosting
- Install WordPress
- Pick a theme
- Install plugins – RankMath or Yoast for SEO, WooCommerce (there are other plugins which you can use for your website by downloading. If you’re serious about starting or growing your travel blog, this is exactly what you need – MBV’s Plugin Starter PDF Kit here)
- Write your first blog post – hit publish make sure you are adding backlinks, and updating your posts.
- Stay consistent and I mean stay consistent once a month, once a week. Just stay consistent.
Want Me to Show You EXACTLY How I Do It?
If you’ve read this far and thought there is just so much to travel blogging you are not wrong. Blogging is hard man and it requires a lot of work. So if you are serious and saying out loud…..
“Okay… but how do I actually put all of this together?”
Then this workshop is for you.
- How I started my blog
- How I became consistent
- How I turn 1 trip into multiple blog posts
- How I’m building a small income from my blog
This free workshops is perfect for:
- Beginners who want to start a travel blog but don’t know how
- Travel bloggers that feel stuck and want to take their blog to the next level
- Aspiring travel bloggers who just need a little nudge
[Join the BTSTB Workshop Waitlist Here]
Final Views
And there you have it. An actual useful list of tools that I use to run my travel blog. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing more and more systems and tools that I use to run my travel blog. But what I want to say to you today is if you take one thing from this post, let it be this: consistency and SEO is what will grow your travel blog. I have seen the difference.
If you haven’t already join the waiting list so you can join The Behind The Scene Travel Blogging (BTSTB). I have a few more guides to get you started and will share more details soon. And If you’re serious about starting or growing your travel blog, this is exactly what you need – MBV’s Plugin Starter PDF Kit here
If you have any questions please do leave comments or you can email me info@mybreakingviews.com and I will be happy to answer any questions. Otherwise I will be sharing tips on how to build your own travel blog so subscribe now and get a free travel toolkit – so easy!
Speak soon,
MBV x
