Us travel bloggers are everywhere and I love it. A quick search on social media can lead you to hundreds of destination guides, reviews and stories from people all over the world. Whether you love drooling over luxury hotels and indulgent meals or finding hidden bargains and street food, you’ll almost always be able to find what you’re looking for. But after planting my feet back in the UK again recently, I’ve felt myself wondering about travel blogging. I thought it’d make a great discussion point so let me know what you think…
Do you have to travel full time to be a good travel blogger?
I’d already decided that I was going travelling when I rebranded to Wander with Laura almost two years ago and no doubt, it played a huge part in helping me to find my niche. But there were times when I worried that I’d simply run out of content. After all, if you don’t travel, how can you be a travel blogger with authority to write in a meaningful way? Back then, I could push these concerns out of the way knowing that soon I’d have absolutely heaps of travel content! But once I’m back in full time work again – unless £50 notes rain down from the sky one day – my exploring days will be much more limited.
Travel blogging on the road
That’s not to say that travel blogging is easy even when you’re out on the road. I mean, it’s absolutely amazing to come home after a brilliant day and spill out all that love to the internet. That’s one of my favourite things in the world!
But what I’m talking about seems to resonate with so many people recently and it’s those soaring standards. The content bar is set so high these days that the pressure to keep up or die (your traffic, that is) is oh so real. Raise your hands if you’ve ever felt personally victimised by high blogging stakes? Even if I’ve visited and loved a place, I’ll find myself reluctant to write about it if my photos aren’t up to scratch. Or – even worse – if I’m enjoying myself so much that I forget to whip my camera out. I’ve talked about this before as part of my blogging identity crisis post.
It’s also hard to find the time which sounds RIDICULOUS when I blogged for years alongside uni then a full time job. But what I mean is that it sometimes feels wrong to spend hours writing on a laptop instead of exploring.
Being a travel blogger with a 9 – 5
Most of us can admit that a full time job isn’t exactly supportive of a travel blogging lifestyle – unless you are lucky enough to travel for work! But this doesn’t mean that we’ll never leave home again, even if 4 weeks holiday out of 52 does sound sparse. When I started writing about travel, I worked full time and went on trips in the UK, short city breaks and week long holidays. You can still create brilliant content without the nomadic lifestyle and that’s so important to remember. In between trips, you can still make so much travel content. Actually, I might write a whole post with ideas soon if anybody would be interested in reading it?
I suppose what I’m trying to say is that, despite my initial worry, you don’t have to live on the road forever to be a successful travel blogger. If you love designer clothes but can’t afford them, would that stop you from writing about fashion? Probably not; you could find cheaper dupes, create more affordable style posts or collate inspirational images. Why should travel be any different?
One of the best things about blogging is that anybody, anywhere can do it! So what if you aren’t travelling right now? Maybe you’ve got a whole backlog of holiday snaps that you’re itching to share. Or perhaps you’ve lived abroad and want to share your experiences. You could even be an expert on your local area with tons of insights and reviews to share. If you love travel and love writing about travel then doing it whatever way you can is always a good thing!
Do you think that you have to travel full time to be a good travel blogger? Chat to me in the comments!
Laura x
16 Comments
Caroline (www.packthesuitcases.com)
July 14, 2017 at 10:00 amDefinitely not – I also think people who travel full time will have a v different perspective on places compared to people who have a normal job and just use annual leave. I’d much rather hear about a place from someone on annual leave like myself because we’re going to be coming at it from the same angle!
Laura
July 14, 2017 at 6:07 pmThat’s true about having a different perspective! I almost wonder if you appreciate being in new places more when you’re using annual leave but I suppose that depends how you travel. On a budget, I definitely missed my home comforts at times – not that I’d have changed travelling for the world xx
Libby
July 14, 2017 at 2:00 pmI love this! It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed with blog posts saying how easy it is to quit your job and travel the world – which for some people just isn’t an option! I love my 9-5 job, and I also love to travel. More people should be talking about how you don’t just have to have one or the other. It’s really easy to fit in plenty of travel with your annual leave and making the most of weekends and bank holidays.
Libby xxx
(www.lifeoflibby.co.uk)
Laura
July 14, 2017 at 8:07 pmI’m really glad that you liked it! You definitely don’t have to be one or the other – I was lucky to leave work for a bit and travel but not everybody is in that position so it doesn’t have to all or nothing thankfully 🙂 xx
Hannah
July 14, 2017 at 8:53 pmThis is very interesting! I completely agree with you. I’ve never actually been “travelling” as such but I have been to 9 different destinations in the last 15 months! So I guess travel is going to mean different things to different people. I LOVE reading other blogger’s posts about places I’m hoping to visit regardless of whether they are on the road full time (the dream!) or whether they just popped there for a long weekend. Really great post to read! XX
Laura
July 15, 2017 at 8:56 amThanks so much Hannah, it sounds like you’ve had an amazing, holiday-packed few months! x
Fayebeline
July 14, 2017 at 10:55 pmCompletely agree with this Laura! I’m still working on getting so many posts about my travels out there as a way to remember and reflect on my travels now that I’m back in the UK. I think that content will always be there, we’ve just got to look for it and put our own stamp on it too! Xx
Laura
July 15, 2017 at 8:57 amYou’re definitely right there – writing them make me miss being away but also I love having those memories to look back on xx
Rosa
July 15, 2017 at 1:08 pmI love your blog – and I don’t think you need to travel full time to be a travel blogger and sometimes you can just explore things that are near you.
http://ohduckydarling.com
Laura
July 16, 2017 at 11:07 amThank you Rosa! Definitely true 🙂 x
Shannon
July 19, 2017 at 9:47 pmI’m not a travel blogger but this was still so relatable! I sometimes think there is too much pressure on bloggers to act or live in a certain way no matter what niche their blog is so this was quite refreshing to read! It was a nice reminder that your blog doesn’t have to fit into a mould.
Laura
July 20, 2017 at 10:08 amI’m so glad that you liked it Shannon! I definitely feel this way a lot – should I post something unrelated to travel or will my readers abandon me!? Haha. But we’re all made up of so many different interests that it’d be a real shame to hold them back xx
Jessica Riley (@thecrownwings)
July 20, 2017 at 7:50 pmTHIS. I blog about travel too and work full-time whilst studying and caring for relatives. I manage it and it’s not impossible. Full-time travel would be a dream, but I’m pretty happy with making an escape every now an again.
xoxo
J
from
The Crown Wings
Laura
July 20, 2017 at 9:19 pmThat’s an amazing to-do list and good on you for getting the holidays in too! xx
WhenTwoWander
July 22, 2017 at 12:36 pmFirstly, I think you can definitely create great content when you’re not travelling, if you have a creative mind. There are so many angles to take on the stories you have from your travels. A long weekend can be a bountiful trove of blogging possibilities!
Secondly, blogging as a nine-to-fiver will expand your audience to that demographic. You might currently appeal to long-term travellers, but I bet the market for full time worker eyeballs is huge. How many times have you wanderlustfully sat at a desk googling amazing destinations?
kasiawrites
August 7, 2017 at 8:49 pmAs long as you travel I don’t see why you can’t be a travel blogger. I travel quite frequently despite having a 9-5 job and that doesn’t prevent me from thinking I can’t blog about travel because it’s not a full time gig. Everyone had a different perspective and I love reading them all 🙂