One of the most important aspects of starting a travel blog is building an audience – which unfortunately, is much easier said than done. Luckily for you, I’ve spent the past ten years working as a travel blogger, figuring out all of the nooks and crannies, and I’m now ready to share all of my little tips and tricks.
Before you learn all about the mastery of audience building, be sure to check out the first instalment of my blog masterclass.
** Psst – I also run an online course which goes into all the gory bits of starting up a travel blog! **
BE PERSONAL
People in general are emotionally-driven, and if you can really market yourself towards the emotions of your audiences, they will be more likely to connect with the content you produce and stick around.
You should be open and honest – and even a little vulnerable – with your audience, and this will make them resonate with you. You can then use this to connect further, addressing your readers personally, and bearing them in mind of everything you do. You need to be able to answer the following questions for each post:
- How will this blog post solve the problems of my reader?
- How will this blog post impact their lives? Will it add any value to them or their knowledge?
- How will this blog post make my reader feel?
- What is the ideal outcome from the reader of this blog post?
FACEBOOK GROUPS
I’m just going to jump right into it. One of the best things that you can possibly do when trying to grow your online presence is to join all relevant Facebook groups. For example, I’m in several Facebook groups regarding female travel, solo travel, and travel blogging. I find that this is a great – and yet often under-appreciated – way to grow a blog, especially as these groups often work like little communities.
To find a group suited to you, simply head over to the Search section of Facebook and type in keywords relating to you, such as ‘Travel,’ ‘Blogging,’ ‘Female entrepreneurs,’ whatever it may be. You will then find that a lot of these groups operate by following a schedule. For example, one of the groups I am in has a schedule like this:
- Monday: Social media engagement. On this day, everyone leaves links to their social media under the post, specifying which type of engagement they would like. If it is Instagram, they often ask for followers, comments, and likes; if it is Pinterest, they often ask for scheduled pins; if it is Twitter, they often ask for likes and comments and retweets.
- Wednesday: Blog link swap. This is where two or three people get together and share organic, helpful links from another travel blog to their posts. This brings up your Domain Authority, and is great for SEO.
- Friday: Guest post. On Fridays, people wanting to write or include guest posts add a comment to the main post stating exactly what they’re looking for, and this form of posting is great for both blogs. One gets to build more organic links to their blog, and the other gets to feature great content! We talk a little more about guest posting and its importance later.
- Sunday: Blog share. This is, of course, where you share a link to your most recent post, and ask for people to comment on it, spend time on your site (again, good for Domain Authority), click through to other posts (great for showing Google people enjoy your content and find it useful), and share it on their social media.
Of course, Facebook group schedules vary – but at the heart of it all, joining these groups is invaluable, regardless of how far into your blogging journey you are.
As I said earlier, Pinterest is my favourite type of social media to use, as it is so easy to grow!
For this, I highly recommend that you download a plugin relating to Pinterest, such as the WordPress Pin it! plugin, as this creates an easy way for readers to share your content on the site. On mine, you simply hover over an image and it comes up with a little Pin it! badge in the corner, where readers can click and save that image to their own Pinterest boards.
The trick with Pinterest is to be consistent, always uploading new images from your blog and engaging with other Pinterest boards, sharing images relating to your niche. On my Pinterest, 30% of it is my own content – guides and pretty pictures – and 70% of it is me sharing related content from others, such as beautiful photographs of Italy, road trip guides, food guides to my favourite cities, etc.
The key then is to post beautiful enough images that people want to share yours – and that’s when you can really start growing!
PROMOTE OFFLINE
Vastly underestimated, promoting your content offline as well as online is a sure way to bring in more readers. Be it via newspaper ads, partnerships, related fairs, business cards, speaking events, or simply just word-of-mouth, getting people talking about your work in the real world is one of the best forms of marketing.
Personally, I leave my business cards wherever I go – on friend’s fridges, in Airbnb fruit bowls, in books in libraries…
It can cost as little as a tenner to buy 200 business cards, and you can find the best company suited to your needs online. It’s always good to carry a card on you – you never know who you’ll meet!
WHAT IS GUEST POSTING? WHY SHOULD I DO IT?
Guest posting is such an underestimated way of reaching new audiences, but along with widening your market reach, you’re also able to improve your Domain Authority by getting loads of healthy, organic links to your site. Especially as you progress and write for bigger and better blogs, these links are going to be invaluable for growing your own, truly getting into that SEO headset.
A guest post is basically where you hop on over to another blog that isn’t yours, and produce content for it. In return, expect links and mentions back to your own blog. To get involved in guest posting, simply reach out to other bloggers or post in Facebook groups, asking if they would be interested in a guest post from you. Sometimes, they may then ask to do a guest post on yours – and then everyone gets exactly the same thing, and it works out perfectly.
If you go down the lane of emailing or messaging other bloggers on social media, start it by stating exactly why you want to guest post on them. They need to know that you appreciate their content and that your values are the same – if you’re a travel blog aimed at mothers who travel the world with their kids, you’re probably not going to be the right fit for a young male travel blogger who only writes about bachelor-hood and all the ladies he gets with abroad. Make sure that your audience is their audience, and draw them in.
Along with that, you should send over a link to your current blog, along with any examples of past guest posts.
To find blogs that widely accept guest posts, you can easily do a Google search for the primary keyword, e.g. South Korea or Solo Travel, plus the words “write for us”, or “guest post guidelines.” Then you can work your way down the results, starting with the most popular blog with the best SEO and working your way down.
As mentioned earlier, some Facebook groups offer guest posts and link swaps, so be sure to take advantage of them when you can!
GET AUTHENTIC COMMENTS
Along with everything mentioned above, you should be constantly connecting with other blogs and bloggers. Find blogs similar to your own niche and comment on them, leaving genuine comments that they will appreciate receiving. If you think their photographs are beautiful, tell them! If you want to go to the restaurant they’ve mentioned because they serve what the blogger called ‘the best dumplings in the world’, then let them know!
Commenting on other blogs not only lets other bloggers out there know of your presence, but it means that you can get into the community. This will create a long-term relationship with other bloggers across the world – and that can only be a good thing!
Bear in mind that when you leave comments on other blogs, avoid leaving generic comments such as, ‘Great post, visit my blog!’ or ‘Nice pictures. Check out my latest post about the top ten reasons to take a road trip around Warsaw this Christmas.’ Because not only is it annoying for the person receiving these comments, but it also makes it more likely that those are the only types of comments you will receive, too.
GIVE AWAY FREE STUFF
Because who doesn’t love free stuff?! For example, hosting giveaways can be a brilliant way of reaching new audiences and expanding your current audience. By hosting giveaways where the applicants have to follow rules such as, ‘comment on two other posts, share to Twitter and Instagram, and follow me on Pinterest to enter’, your blog will be seen by many new eyes!
This can build brand awareness, drive traffic to your blog, increase engagement, improve sales of any items you may already be selling on your blog – and best of all, it can improve your readership!
Also on the topic of free stuff – one great way to build readership trust and let your readers know that you have created a blog to serve their needs rather than yours, is to have free things readily available on your blog. For example, I have a free guide to Wales and another comprehensive free guide to Victoria that you can access easily on my blog. I give away this content in exchange for things such as them joining my email subscription list – meaning that I get more subscribers, my work is being seen by more people, and my audience trusts me just that little bit more because they know I have their best interests at heart. It’s a win-win!
And so, I hope that you have enjoyed the second part of this Blog Masterclass series – believe me, there’s plenty more to come!
Stay tuned for the third part of this four-part series: How to Get Paid for Blogging. And then, whilst you’re waiting, why not read my previous post on how to build a better blog, or check out my interviews with successful travel bloggers?
WHILST YOU’RE AT IT, WHY NOT SHARE THE LOVE AND PIN THIS POST?
i finally, finally, finally started working on creating a mailing list this year! i still have a bit of work to go in that area, but i’m so glad i’ve finally taken the plunge after meaning to do so for well over a year. pinterest is my favvvv, i absolutely love the platform itself & am so happy with the traffic it’s brought to my site x
Hello Amy, I hope everything is going right on your side!
Thank you so much for these meaningful tips! I have been blogging for many years but of course I always want to bring my blog to another level, so these recommendations are crucial and useful!
I have to admit that I don’t use Facebook anymore, but Pinterest is definitely a good way to attract audience, also promoting offline…. many people read my blog just by a recommendation out of the digital work, I also have a signature on my email 😉 But I definitely need to add the newsletter thing! Will do, promise! But I still need to figure out some stuff 🙂
Pablo
Very useful tips ❤
I don’t strictly have a travel blog (I do lifestyle as well as travel and self care) but these tips are amazing and will help me out so much!
Keeping this post saved so that I can refer back to it in the future! I need to work on my email list haha!
These are all brilliant suggestions, thank you so much for sharing! I will be sure to follow it like gospel 🙌
Going out of your way to get authentic comments is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to build a blog audience. I have been blogging for over five years now and it does my absolute head in to still get those really “thanks for sharing, now go like my post!” comments. When will they realise that this just gets them blocked?!
Been following your blog building series from the start and think that this post is super underrated! Gonna have to work harder on my audiences.
Two words: EMAIL LISTS! Invaluable suggestions, as always.
These are all such good ideas, thank you for sharing! Cannot wait for the third installment.
You said about comments but I was wondering if you ever get hate comments? How do you deal with them? I had my first one the other day and I want to be prepared.
Oh no, I’m so sorry that you’ve received hate comments! I remember the shock that I had at my first negative comment, but honestly, I got over it pretty quickly. It sounds silly but now I actually love receiving hate mail – it means that the person commenting or reaching out has actually read my work, which is very rare :’)
Personally, if I were you, I would just treat hate mail as reassurance that you’re doing something right. So long as you aren’t fighting against basic human rights, there’s not a lot you can say that actually warrants negative comments – so just assume that they’re haters that are, more than likely, jealous of what you’re doing and what you’re producing. So congrats, girl!! <3
I am yet to start up a travel blog, but the second I do, I will be coming right back to this post. I have always wanted to share my writing online, and I think this might just be the way to do it.
Thanks for the useful tips, all of these advices are definitely a good way to push our blogs and websites to a goal we all must set.
I would say it is possible (but very difficult) to live out a blog, but the reward is amazing. I would say the most important part of the process is to provide good quality content (as you) and then promote it not only on social media (this could be tricky sometimes).
Will save this in my bookmarks, such an interesting topic to discuss!
Great post!
Thanks so much for these tips! I’d love to put more time into promoting my blog but it’s a bit hard with uni at the moment. But when I have a bit more time, I’ll definitely take up some of these tips. I spend way too much time writing and not enough time promoting. It certainly seems like you know what you’re doing 🙂
i really appreciate these tips. thank you so much for sharing them 🙂
I’m in the process of rejigging my blog so your tips have come at the right time! I would love my audience to grow but have been having so many issues with it, so this is perfect.
Such honest and helpful tips!
Nice tips my dear. A perfect guide for bloggers!!!!
Kisses from Italy,
Eni
Really helpful post. Blogging is fun as well as hard work. Growing an audience is so important to success! Thanks for this inspiring post, Amy! 🙂
Thank you for sharing such a comprehensive and detailed post! It was really helpful reading through it! I feel with bogging, you always keep learning something new no matter how long have you been blogging for! I am still learning about how to draw more traffic and get engagement! 🙂
Hope you’re having an amazing week!
xx