The 8 Worst Travel Blog Mistakes We Have Made so Far and Need Time to Fix

Being Travel Bloggers has been a dream of ours ever since we can remember. This year, thanks to My Peak Challenge and the support of the best team members we could ever ask for, we set ourselves the challenge of setting up our own website.

However, we also impulsively reared headfirst into it without much planning ahead. We had thought a lot about it, but then actually dived in once we had made up our minds. Below is a list of mistakes we feel we have made and wish you wouldn’t if you, too, decide to start a travel blog.

1. Paying for a Domain and Add-Ons

This one is actually necessary if you want to be serious about your blog. BUT, paying for a domain and add-ons without taking a blogging course and knowing exactly what it all entails basically means that you will be throwing yourself into the deep end without knowing how to swim.

We ended up forking out much more money than we thought we would and have not made a single penny since. We should have taken a proper course. Some people are self-taught – and you can very well be, too, but it will eat away HOURS of writing trying to understand how everything works on your own.

2. Not Having Enough Blog Posts

We were EXTREMELY eager to set up our website, so much so that we made the mistake of going live with only 3 blog posts! We had read it somewhere and thought it possible. Of course it was, until we realised that learning how to navigate the setting up of the website without prior knowledge would take up ages! It’s boring and exhausting work which can give you awful writer’s block for a few days.

What’s more, publishing the same blog post on a social media platform can put followers off, which is the opposite of what you need. So we suggest you don’t rush into it. Take your time writing before going live with your website. It will be worth the wait.

3. Not Setting Up a Contact List

We had read a few posts on getting followers and contacts before actually having the website, but we did not do this because we were too impatient. Nobody knew about what we were planning to do. This meant very little traffic and this can be very disheartening. Having a contact list can make all the difference to your website because you are, after all, writing for an audience.

4. Not Writing and Publishing Posts Often

There are thousands of full-time bloggers across the globe – being one of them must mean that they write incessantly. Unfortunately, not publishing often can mean you end up fading into the background, so keeping at it is a total must. Travelling can sometimes take a backseat so you would feel like you are out of ideas. This is when you have to get more creative and make sure you do not stop publishing. Other responsibilities may take over, and because the blog does not generate money, it may feel like a waste of time, so you end up not giving it your full attention. It can be a vicious cycle.

5. Thinking of Making Money

We’d read articles claiming that bloggers could make up to a $1000 in their first month of blogging, or even more! Obviously we were very much intrigued and dived into it straightaway. We spent money and have not made any yet, so it could either be a big fat lie, or bad planning on our part. Could be bad luck too – or all of the above!

6. Neglecting Social Media Platforms

Nowadays, social media is part of everybody’s daily lives. We did not set up a Facebook or Instagram account right away, and we should have because we knew this already. Sharing your posts on these platforms enables you to be seen much more easily than by hoping to rank quickly on search engines – especially if you promote your posts.

This ties in with having enough blog posts, photos and fun tidbits to share. People will not want to see the same thing over and over again. If you fail to keep your social media accounts updated, you run the risk of being forgotten, and that’s not nice at all, considering how much time and effort you’d have put in all your posts.

7. Not Dedicating Enough Time to Your Blog

We do not get much time off. The little time we do have, we try to dedicate to friends and family. Squeezing in time for our blog ends up being awfully overwhelming sometimes. Learning to manage one’s time well to avoid burnout while at the same time keeping a blog up to date is a skill better learned early on in this field.

8. Losing Heart

We have poured our heart and soul into the few blog posts we have written. Although we are aware of all the mistakes we have made, we tend to keep making the biggest of them all – losing heart. Self-doubt starts creeping in and we wonder if all the time and money will be worth it in the long run. There are a lot of things we need to fix, and we know that if we do we might be successful. We know we will overcome more doubts with every post we write, so our advice to you is this: be well-prepared before rushing into it, so that you avoid all the hassle that unpreparedness can bring with it.

Best of luck with your blog!

Please share any tips, comments or questions below. We’d love to hear from you!

Passport and Pathways x

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t had time to do so, pin it for later, or share it with your fellow aspiring bloggers.