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Nobody will like your blog if it sucks.
Luckily, today’s goal is to make sure it doesn’t.
Welcome back to Blogtoberfest, everyone! Genuinely, I am overwhelmed by the positive response from last week’s launch of The No BS Guide to Travel Blogging. While I did have a feeling that this was a resource people wanted, I wasn’t expecting the outpour of support and “yas queen!”s that soon flooded my inbox. THANK YOU for allowing me to feel the closest I’ve ever felt to Beyonce. That’s the real gift.
Okay now back to the issue at hand.
*Puts on honesty hat*
So, let’s get one thing straight. If your content is garbage, nobody will want to read it.
As a blogger, you probably know that 99% of your time is spent doubting yourself. You hit Publish and then the sweating game begins. “It’s been 30 seconds. Why has no one praised my genius?” followed by a sad wait period in which a stranger’s thumbs up can validate your entire existence. I get it. I’ve been there. I’m constantly there. Besides this subtext that you should go like my stuff, I’m also saying that self-doubt is a normal part of being a blogger. So how do you battle this doubt and work towards creating really good content that you’re confident and excited about?
Well I believe that at the heart of epic blog content is one simple idea: providing a unique value proposition to your readers. In this post we’ll discuss the specifics of how we can do that.
A little warning in advance…
Content is a deeply personal thing and I’m about to unleash a no-mercy shitstorm of do’s and don’ts/things to avoid. Unless you’re some kind of Great Blog Deity, I am certain that you will identify things that you’ve done/do. BUT please take all this as fodder for growth rather than ammo for angsty self-destruction. Everything I’m writing is 1000% based on my own mistakes… many of which I still make and are clearly present in my old posts. I am happy to admit that my blogging used to suck, that sometimes it still sucks, but I’m constantly working to make it suck less. That’s the attitude you should adopt. We can’t retroactively fix our mistakes (well, apart from a mass deleting spree like I did), so let’s focus on moving forwards, shall we?
(By the way, I’m sorry – you’re gonna find that I use a lot of buzzwords like ‘awesome’ and ‘epic’. It’s just part of who I am. I’m as excitable as a baby corgi, and am just as easily distracted by shiny objects. So sue me… except don’t, because I don’t have a lawyer.)
Most importantly, work only with genuinely good ideas
We’re going to start with your content ideas. As a blogger, your time is precious, so don’t waste hours of work on lame ideas that don’t carry much appeal. Many top bloggers advise that you should write a lot in your first few months, pushing out posts as much as you possibly can. This advice fails to work however if your content is crap. Don’t ever produce content just for the sake of producing content.
Be choosey about your ideas, and focus on delivering an excellent quality post rather than 5 mediocre ones. I started embracing this quality > quantity idea about a month ago. 1-2 blog posts a week, that’s it… and my traffic has never been better.
The other important piece is that your blog posts should offer something new to the Internet, a hefty task considering how much information is already out there. If what you’re writing is just a regurgitation of an article that already exists, then that’s boring and lame. Breathe new life into topics by either offering your unique voice or creating something bigger and better than anyone else has. That was the logic behind my post 99 Ways to Save Money for Travel. In the mega-saturated field of ‘budget travel’, I decided to up the ante and create a crazy thorough resource that bordered on psychotic. The result? It’s one of my best performing posts to date.
So remember, quality matters, and offering unique content is a big part of this.
Action items:
- Keep an ‘idea book’ (or even just a special note on your phone) where you jot down potential post ideas as they come.
- As you pluck an idea from this list, Google it first. If it exists, scrap it OR think of a unique spin that you can offer [e.g. your own experience, incorporating interesting bits of history, etc.]
- Think: will someone find this valuable? Better yet, ask a brutally honest friend. If the answer is no, burn that idea and run.
Write with your audience in mind
Before you start writing, you need to make sure you have a firm understanding of who it is you’re writing for (see my chat about avatars from last week). This is because good writing is subjective. If I wrote on this blog like I do in my academic papers, there’d be a you-shaped hole in the wall right now. Instead, I write like a slightly crazed cat lady, and it seems to be working okay. After all, you’re still here right?
*crickets*
… okay.
Well the point is, always keep your audience in mind when you write. My online voice is very similar to how I speak in real life, but that kind of voice would not fly if I was, say, a luxury opera review blogger. Practice the art of putting yourself in your audience’s shoes and think “Would I like this?” Defining the wants and needs of your audience are crucial to ensuring that you speak to them effectively.
Action items:
- Define your ideal audience and write it down on a post-it that you can keep close to your writing space at all times.
- Think about what this audience likes, how they like to be spoken to.
- Find popular bloggers that target this audience and take some time to read their blogs. Figure out what this audience likes by
stalkingreading their comments.
Now some of you did ask, how do you choose that ideal audience? What if there’s several different groups that enjoy your blog and you can’t just choose one? Now, I don’t think you necessarily need to cut off a specific segment of your audience just to make things more niche… rather, think about what you offer that makes all these people fans of you already. Is it because you’re a hilarious storyteller? Is it because you offer really honest and practical travel advice? Find the common denominators and continue to slay those aspects of your blog.
In moving forward with your content creation though, one important consideration is what you’re an expert in/what you’re good at. If you have a lot of expertise on couples’ travel, then write about that, even if it means alienating some of your solo travel audience. It’s impossible to please everybody, so instead, prioritize serving a smaller group well. You’ll certainly get readers from outside this target audience too (trickle-in reads through Pinterest or Google for instance), but the whole ‘defining your audience’ bit is crucial to creating a loyal readership of your biggest fans.
Avoid clichés at all costs
Alright, you’ve worked hard enough, so let’s play a drinking game.
I want you to hop onto some travel blogs and take a big gulp every time you read the words “20-something”, “winding cobblestoned streets” and “incurable wanderlust”.
Now let me call you an Uber because you’re hammered.
I have to confess, there was a period in my young blogging life where I suffered from special snowflake syndrome, thinking I was so unique and cool with my dope travel quotes and worldly perspective on life. That all fell apart when I started reading more travel blogs. I thought I was such a quirky baller with my “travel bug” bitten “restless feet”… Turns out my stupid feet were only 2 in a sea of 13439249024043 others.
… well crap.
Mom lied. I wasn’t special.
I think my lowest point was when I somehow referenced “winding cobblestoned streets” 3 separate times in a single paragraph. THREE! That’s when I realized it was time to develop a more unique way of writing. Why do we all fall into this cliché trap? It’s because we tend to internalize the writing styles we see often. The good news is, we are now aware of this tendency, so the question shifts towards what we can do to turn it all around.
much writing. so wow.
Action items:
- Think of more unique ways to describe things. “Beautiful” works, but that’s what everyone says. Try a different way to convey the same message.
- Expand your vocabulary. Sure the view was picturesque, but what else was it? What made it so gosh darn wonderful? Unpack that description a little more.
- Google your topic and read how others have written about it. … and then make it your mission to sound different and bring a different voice to it.
Polish your personality and let it shine
This is so freaking important. I would underline this a thousand times if I could. Robots, while pretty cool in sci-fi movies, have absolutely no place in the blogosphere. Sadly, that’s how many bloggers sound today – like soulless droves of robo-adventurers who take nice Instagrams. Bland Blogger Syndrome is all too real, and if you’ve read all the posts out there that sound the same, you’ll probably agree.
People read blogs because they reflect someone’s personal experience. Why should someone read your ‘top 4 things to do in Paris’ rather than Lonely Planet’s guidebook? The answer is because they trust you and want to hear about what you did, how many croissants you ate, and how many macarons you managed to sneak home in your suitcase.
I have personally noticed (and some of you may agree) that the most popular bloggers out there are by no means the best writers… and honestly, I find much of their content to be lacking substance. So you might be (bitterly) wondering how they got where they are. The answer lies in a million different factors, but at the heart of it is they’ve managed to capture an audience that appreciates them not just for their content, but who they are as people. The big bloggers don’t just have readers, they have fans and that’s an important distinction. Fact: without a prominent blog personality, it will be near impossible for you to have fans. If helps of course that many of these top bloggers have the aesthetic of top models, droves of designer clothes and an impossible lifestyle that makes you hate yourself, but that’s a different story. The takeaway here is that your posts need to have personality.
Action items:
- Sit down and identify your brand voice. Pick a few adjectives that define what appeal you want to have for your audience. Me personally, it’s important that I’m relatable, funny, helpful and honest. For others, their selling point might be different. Know what your ‘thing’ is and channel that every time you write.
- Think about what makes you unique and incorporate those elements into your blog. I for instance am also very crafty and love DIY, hence my DIY section and posts like 19 Gorgeous Travel-Inspired DIYs. I also openly write about my lack of common sense (and low-key laziness), which have led to plenty of misadventures. Include these unique things about you because they make your blog different from any other.
Be real
Far too many travel bloggers fall into the trap of being ‘permapositive’. I certainly did. In fact, at one point in my failed “niche planning”, I wanted to become the most optimisitcally positive travel blog on the Internet.
WTF was I thinking?
That kind of psycho Disney outlook is not a niche, it’s blog suicide. Readers want to know that you’re human, and on a pretty twisted level, they thrive on stories where you’ve majorly screwed yourself. Why? Because these stories are relatable and entertaining.
Being an overly positive blogger is the equivalent of meeting someone who smiles a little too much. Kinda like “oh you see Jeremy over there? He’s definitely a serial killer”. Being too scary happy all the time feels fake, weird and offputting. This is why you should talk about all aspects of your travels, because the ‘real talk’ and the lows are likely what readers will connect with most.
This is especially the case when you’re creating content that’s sponsored in some way. When things are free, it’s mighty tempting to write that everything is flawless and life-changing. I get that. But, you have to remember that as a blogger, trust is your currency. If your readers don’t trust you, you’re screwed. That’s why I always try to mention some kind of negative/downside to any review I do. You need to provide a balanced and truthful opinion.
Action items:
- During a trip, if something strikes you as particularly negative or noteworthy, quickly jot it down in your phone so you don’t forget. We all suffer from something called ‘rosy retrospection’, where you remember things more positively than when you initially felt it. That’s why nostalgia is such a real thing!
- If doing some kind of recap or review post, always start with a quick list of pros/cons. This way you have all your thoughts on paper already.
That said, if something is genuinely amazing, don’t feel the need to be a Debbie Downer just for the sake of it. The key here is honesty, not the simple act of being an asshole. That doesn’t quite sell the same way.
Remember that titles matter
Honestly speaking, you have maybe half a second to grab a reader’s attention, so please ensure that your title is one that hooks you in. Note: this is not the same thing as being click baity. If I wanted to be click baity, this series would be called “I started a travel blog and what happened next WILL SHOCK YOU”. … but that’s not what it’s called, because (surprise!), I still have a few shreds of dignity left.
I have a very alert ‘hater’ radar so I’m going to tell you right off the bat: this advice is highly subjective and dependent on your blog, niche, audience, etc. What I’m about to share is based on what has worked for me, and what I look for as a reader of blogs. There’s no magic sauce when it comes to writing good article titles, so please put those tomatoes away and do not hurl them at me if you disagree with my tips.
Anyways. *puts on tomato-proof poncho* People read blogs for a reason. They’re usually looking for something, whether it’s a specific piece of travel advice or just wanderlust inspiration in general. You need to think about this when you create your titles, because if you’re creating content that nobody’s really asking for, then you’re wasting time that could be spent eating tacos.
Based on my own preferences (and what I’ve noticed with my readers), here are some examples of titles making a big difference. Let’s say there’s an article out there about Alsace, France. What title appeals to you more?
Option A: 5 Reasons I Loved Alsace
Option B: Alsace: France’s Real Life Fairytale
Me personally, I’d go for Option B… which I did in the actual post of that same title. It’s one of my most shared posts (despite being so new) and I feel like the catchy title is part of the reason for that. In my opinion, posts like “5 things to do in ____” or “5 reasons ____ should be on your bucket list” aren’t really that attractive to an ordinary reader. Sure, if you’re searching for destination specific information, these titles are good for SEO and whatnot, but think about it this way. If “10 Cool Things to do in Las Vegas” popped up on your newsfeed, how likely would you read it (unless you were planning a trip to Vegas)?
These days, my titling strategy has two branches. 1) I title it so that it has very wide appeal, e.g. Titles that imply ‘Check this incredible place out!’ rather than ‘Here’s 4 places you can eat in x city’. OR 2) I title it with such a ‘wow’ factor that it makes people curious to read it e.g. ‘99 Awesome Things to Do in Munich‘.
But then the question becomes (as some of you have asked): how do you balance clever titles with SEO? Yes, it’s a bit of a trade-off, and there really is no right answer, but my personal opinion is that catchy titles are more important. There are many ways to increase your search engine ranking beyond a boring title. For me, my effort is better spent making my blog unique and building a loyal readership that always comes back for more. In my mind, a blog filled with “10 things to do in ____” and “5 places to see in ___” won’t build that loyalty.
Remember though: once again, the effectiveness of titles is so dependent on a variety of factors. What works for me might not work for you and vice versa, so this will involve a lot of trial and error, but keep at it and I’m confident you’ll find a formula that works for you!
Action items:
- Head to some popular travel-related Facebook pages in your niche (bloggers or otherwise) and take note of what content is popular/getting a lot of engagement. Look at how their titles are crafted and try to identify common themes.
- Try renaming some of your older posts to give them a shiny new title, then reshare on social media to see if it’s getting more clicks. ** Not an exact science, but this should give you a brief idea of what’s working and what’s not. IMPORTANT: Be careful not to change the permalinks of your post because this might cause broken links!
- Bounce your ideas off someone who IS your target audience, give them a few options and see what they’d be more likely to click on.
- Leave a comment on this post with the type of titles that make you go *click!* This way, we can all share what we like and hopefully help each other write more effective titles.
Doll up your visuals
A lot of people assume that good writing = a good blog. Sadly, we live in a very visual world where this isn’t the case. The truth is people have an affinity for pretty things. That’s why you’ll find Instagrammers standing on chairs to get aerial views of their brunch. So how can you take advantage of this human hardwiring? Simple: make your blog beautiful!
Action items:
- Audit your photography and make it better. Good photography is a whole other series in itself, but at the very least, your photos should be sharp, not blurry, [usually] bright and of course, vibrant/colourful. These are the kinds of images that readers like. You don’t need a fancy DSLR to take great photos these days. What it all comes down to is editing. For mobile photos, Snapseed is my go-to for amping up the brightness, sharpness and saturation.
- Get yourself a nice WordPress theme. I love the selection at ThemeForest. The one I’m using right now is called 15zine and it’s glorious.
- Find a good gallery plugin to more effectively display your photos. I’ve listed all my favourite free plugins in my Ultimate Resource List for Travel Bloggers.
Don’t neglect grammar and flow
It’s okay to not have the best spelling or punctuation, but in a really good blog post, any errors should be so minor or insignificant that they don’t disrupt the flow of content. So do use spell check, and even have someone proofread for you (because hell hath no fury like a Grammar Nazi).
Now flow on the other hand is tricky business, as it’s an incredibly difficult thing to gauge. If you were to ask me how I go over my blog posts, the truth is I just read things over and question whether or not things sound “right”. It’s most definitely not an exact science and is something that all writers struggle with. Just like how not everyone is born with perfect pitch, not all people have this ‘inner flow radar’.
So how do you go about developing one?
The answer is to read good writing. Constantly. Obsessively. The more you immerse yourself in effective writing, the more you absorb it and get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. This goes beyond blogs. Read books, read magazines. You’ll find that “travel journalism” is substantially different from anything you’d find in a blog. I remember the first time I actually read one of those in-flight magazines on-board (thanks EasyJet) and I remember falling in love with the punchy, vibrant and informative writing style of the different journalists. That said, it’s not just about travel writing. You should be reading novels, news articles, everything… Trust me, it makes a huge difference.
Action items:
- Proofread with the fervour of a grammar freak, enlist the help of a friend or if you’re really keen on help, grab a pro for only $5 on Fiverr.
- Read your content out loud. Things should roll off the tongue. If you sound awkward while reading it, it’s probably because the flow is off and you’re not writing the way you speak. Change that.
- Again, not to sound like a broken record, but read good writing!!
Make it easy for readers to find what they’re looking for
Good content means nothing if your readers can’t find it. It is honestly mindboggling how many travel blogs aren’t optimized for reader browsing. One time, I came across a blog I liked and then realized she didn’t have a navigation menu at all… only a front page with posts in chronological order. My reaction was a simple head shake and a real sassy “guuuuuuuurl…”
So the takeaway is this: Don’t make your readers jump through hoops. Make their lives as easy as you possibly can.
Action items:
- Make sure you have a navigation menu split into interesting categories. Put yourself in the shoes of a reader… If you were on a travel blog, how would you want the info to be organized? For me, I do by Destinations and by ‘type’ of travel, and also have a general section for “Wanderlust Inspo”. From a reader’s perspective, just a page called “Travel” isn’t so helpful, because it’s too general.
- Make sure this navigation menu is easy to see and find. Don’t be a weird hipster who buries it in a button or something. Humans on the Internet have the shortest attention spans of all time. If you don’t make it easy to find more content, they’ll be gone immediately.
- Think about your user experience. Your goal is to keep your reader engaged on your site right? So how can you keep them reading even after that post is done? A few tricks: Use a sidebar with links to your most popular posts/related posts or install a Related Posts plugin to lead readers through your site. This will all be discussed more in-depth in two weeks, when we discuss how to build traffic.
Bring everything you do back to value
Last but not least, throughout the entire content creation process, remember to think about the value your piece of content will offer. In my earlier work, one of my biggest mistakes was that I never thought about what my readers were really getting out of the deal. But that doesn’t really make sense, does it? As I said last week, readers come to you because they’re trying to get something out of it. Understand the value that you’re providing, and work hard to really knock it out of the park. As a travel blogger, here are a few different types of value that you might provide:
Entertainment:
If your “value” is entertainment, you better make sure that story is written with amazing wit and lol-worthy punchlines, because otherwise, you’re a dull option compared to the myriad of entertainment channels out there.
Inspiration:
For this to work, your life and story need to be not just unique, but incredible. These days, it’s not enough to just sell all your stuff and move to Southeast Asia. There’s too many others already doing that.If you’re going to rock this category, you need to offer a unique angle that no one else can…
Some of the most influential bloggers do this not just through their stories, but through their flawless wardrobes and modelesque looks. That’s how they provide unique inspiration, so for you to be of value, you need to find what makes you uniquely inspirational (which, I know, is a lot harder than it sounds).
Information:
This is the type of value I go for. The Internet is a massive reservoir of information, and bloggers have the unique power to offer practical tips and advice based on personal experiences. For this type of value to work, you need to make sure you content is really packed with solid facts and information. This way, you’re able to establish yourself as a trustworthy authority.
Side note: spending 2 days in one country will not make you an authority. If you write a complete guide on a country you’ve been in for 2 days, it will probably suck. Never masquerade as an expert of something you’re not, because it will be really obvious. In these cases, stick instead to telling a good story or posting gorgeous photos. Create a unique offering.
Action items:
- Before starting any post, write down your post goal. What is it that you want your readers to get out of this? Is it inspiration to visit a certain place? A good, funny story? Informative tips that are destination-specific?
- When writing your post, continually make sure that everything you write contributes to that goal.
….. and exhale! Yeesh, what a read. If you haven’t passed out yet from all that information, here’s a virtual lollipop as a little congrats. Writing good content is no easy task, but it is so unbelievably important…. and no good blog can survive without it. I hope that you found value in the tips I provided today, and that you can immediately apply these to your own blog. In the comments, I would love if you could share a bit about what kind of content and post titles make you *click!* This way, we can all get a feel for what works and what doesn’t across different niches and audiences.
Alright, onwards! Next week, we’ll be continuing with a very very critical piece of your blogging presence: social media. Are you sick of terrible advice that literally just says “Use social media to promote your posts”? Yeah, same here… That’s why next week, we’ll go crazy in-depth into the different platforms you should be on and specific strategies to use for each.
So, that’s it for now. Take some time to digest all that info, and I’ll be back soon with loads more practical tips. Rock on, blogger cool cats!
Emma says
Totally agree on the whole quality vs quantity advice that’s dished out to new bloggers, when really we should always start like we mean to go on. I think that’s why many new bloggers give up so quickly – they get creative burn out and resent their blogs. It’s much more rewarding to put your energy into one good post and then promote the hell out of it because you’re proud of it.
I’ve been enjoying the blogging series, you’ve been saying the things that I’ve been thinking 🙂
Christina Guan says
So true! Plus a lot of guides out there promote the ‘overnight success’ dream, which leads to a lot of newbies getting discouraged when they don’t see results immediately. So happy to hear you’re enjoying the series, Emma! <3 Stay tuned for plenty more.
Heather says
This is great! I read a lot of crap in the course of learning how to do this blogging thing and on the one hand, I want to not read crap. On the other hand, reading crap gives me a good idea of what NOT to do, and (hopefully) also makes some of the things I write stand out from the crowd as not crap. You have a lot of good tips here.
Christina Guan says
Hahah I love the liberal use of the word ‘crap’ throughout this comment. Yes totally, and I think after a while you start to forget what good writing actually sounds like too, which is why it’s good to read more than just blogs. So glad you liked the tips! <3
Eulanda says
Great tips that are practical and actionable! Loved the section about knowing your audience. The industry is saturated, and it’s important to really understand what connects with your audience. Thanks for sharing!
Christina Guan says
So true. Glad you liked the tips. Thanks for reading, Eulanda <3
Steph of Big World Small Pockets says
This is a great piece, full of loads of easy actionable tips. I thought your stuff on headlines was particularly helpful, thanks so much 🙂
Christina Guan says
Yay! Glad you got some use out of it. I look forward to seeing some jazzy titles on your blog haha 🙂
Christina says
Gosh I absorbed your article. And it evokes everything between “waaah why don’t I get there life suuuuucks”, hiding beneath my blanket, and “omg this is so helpful I wanna get started right now and write at least 10 darn mindblowing posts right now!”.
Well.
Thank you for that 🙂 It really sets me down to do some earthdown thinking time about what you suggested – what’s my honest real authentic voice, who is my actual audience, and how do I answer their problem (that they even might not know of yet) in an enjoyable way.
I’m just getting started (I gave a hysterical laugh about your “I’m worth more than 5000 klicks, no???”). So far, my “10 easy tips for ___” post is among my best, but I agree on being catchy-genuine instead of stubbornly SEO optimized.
So, my suggestion for a post title that I would click:
“How the hell do I juggle 9-5 corporate life with my urge to wander the entire freaking world” instead of “The ultimate guide to balance work and travel in 10 easy steps”. Yep.
All the best to you! Keep it coming 🙂
Christina Guan says
Hey fellow Christina! Aw your comment made me SO happy, and yes I would definitely click for that title too haha. nice one!
Safia @ Nomad Junkies says
Awesome post! Having launched a travel blog myself over 2 years ago, i can say that we are in that “phase” of having to redefine ourselves by going back to our roots. We need to ask ourselves “why did we start this in the first place” and “how can we keep the same voice that made us so distinct and unique”. I feel like at 25K visitors a month, we’ve reached a plateau and It’s been increasingly frustrating to not be able to get over that funk. I really enjoy your first two posts in this series and will definitely be following for the next ones to come. Keep it up 🙂
Christina Guan says
25k visitors a month is amazing already! Congrats on the big achievement. I know how it feels though to not see any more steady growth… even if your numbers are pretty impressive as it is. Hope this guide helps propel you forward!
Ana says
You give such good tips! It was so helpful xxx
Andreas says
Great post. It is really a peace of blog that i will read more than one time. Best points for me are “be different in your headlines” and “give your readers a real value”.
Christina Guan says
thanks Andreas. So happy you got value out of it!
Emily says
Ahh thank you for this post! I’ve just read it and gone through and made my navigation menu more specific and I think my blog is better already haha
Christina Guan says
Emily that’s SO awesome! Stoked that you went and made changes immediately haha. Your navigation menu looks great to me – super clear. Great job!
Helen Leddy says
Great post Christina! I have a list as long as my arm now of things to get sorted on my website! Looking forward to next week!
Helen x
Galavanting Ireland
Christina Guan says
Yay that’s what I like to hear. Best of luck with your massive to-do list, Helen!
Jo says
Awesome post filled with very useful tips! I’ve always found it difficult to find the best title for my posts, so your insight comes in handy. Thanks!
Christina Guan says
Hey Jo, so happy to hear that. I look forward to many cool titles coming from you in the future 😉
Lulu says
What piece of advice can you give to someone who has hit a creative low? It’s been almost two months since my last blog post (yikes …) and although I’m still traveling I can’t seem to come up with any good content! 🙁 Great advice on the titles by the way! I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s getting sick of the click bait.
Christina Guan says
Hey Lulu, that’s a really good topic that I didn’t think about! I’m definitely thinking of doing a post on this in the future, but for now I have one main suggestion. I read this piece from the Oatmeal a while ago that compared creativity to breathing. He was saying that when you create content, you’re exhaling, but you can’t exhale forever or you won’t survive. That’s why to be a creative soul, you need to inhale too, through the form of consuming content. So my suggestion is to consume awesome content, whether that’s through blog posts, books, movies, videos, anything. I hope through that, you’ll find something that inspires you and motivates you to write again! Another tip is to perhaps think about what motivates you to write. For me, it’s writing useful content that people find helpful. So, when I feel low/uncreative, what I do is I read positive comments where people have told me that my writing has helped them. This makes me feel motivated to create again! Hope this helps and feel free to send an email if you’re feeling uninspired 🙂 always happy to help out!
Caitlin says
Jesus. That was a lot to get through. I think I need to reread multiple times to make sure I really consider everything!
Overall, I reckon you’ve got some solid tips there – many of which I had thought about myself. I’m still working on pushing my own blog into my niche and properly setting myself up to write in that way. My problem is more that I don’t want to be confined to the main stuff I want to write about. Yes, I want to be helpful, inspiring and give people the information they need to make adventures while travelling, but I also like my blog as being my means of saying “mum, I’m still alive”, which doesn’t always mean I’ll be writing about hiking, diving or whatever adventure it might be that week.
As for what makes me click? I reckon that’s a lot harder to determine than you’ve explained, and that’s only because it’s crazy hard to explain. I click only on what interests me. That means I’ll click on something about hiking, diving, blogging when I’m in the mood. I don’t know specifically how the title pulls me in, but I will occasionally click on the 5 thing to do… posts, but only when I’m going to that place. Otherwise, it just won’t happen. I really think it’s hard to specify what post titles work. It really just depends on who wants that stuff at the time.
Anyway, this is now the longest comment I’ve ever written haha. Thanks for the tips. I’ll be sure to reread many times when I properly knuckle down and hash out the real purpose of my blog in the coming months!
Christina Guan says
Haha thanks for being a champ and reading through it all, Caitlin! I know it’s a lot to take in. I think it’s awesome that your blog still has a “mom I’m aliiiive!” component to it… a lot of bigger blogs miss that piece now, and it always feels a little less personal when it’s non-stop sponsored/guide posts all the time. I think this is where a solid personality/storytelling skills come in handy. And yes the titles bit is SO tricky and dependent on a lot of different variables. I guess that’s why it’s important to have a strong understanding of your audience, so it’s easier for you to put yourself in their shoes and imagine what they’d like. Anyways thanks for your input haha I look forward to reading more from you!
Juliette | Snorkels to Snow says
Special snowflake syndrome ahhhh ha ha ha you make me laugh! I love it! Love your no BS writing, it’s so refreshing. Excellent, in depth guides here. It’s easy to try too hard with travel blogging and go for the headlines that other people have written – but then you lose the personality & your unique voice too. Great writing here! Look forward to the next instalment.
Christina Guan says
Yay Juliette, glad you like the real talk style 😉 Excited to have you follow along this month!
Allison says
This is fantastic Christina! THIS —> ‘trust is your currency’! Like you, even I am reviewing a free item I always like to be honest and call out some negatives even if they are minor. I love your writing style!
Christina Guan says
Thank you so much, Allison!! <3
finja says
thank yoU!!
Christina Guan says
you’re very welcome!
star lengas says
Take me to church why don’t you! I really appreciated this post, it validated some things I’ve been trying out and has prompted me to try new things. I definitely love that you mention reading your posts out loud — we often write so fast, that we miss the conjunctions or adverbs that make our sentences flow. All in all, great post!
Christina Guan says
Thanks so much, star! glad you got value out of the post. <3
Kari (Happy Coconuts Travel Blog) says
I love this! Very well written and easy and entertaining to read. I agree about writing about what you are passionate about and not just anything in order to product content. If I am not inspired about what I’m writing about, it shows in my writing. I wait until I am inspired on a topic before plunging forward as I hate forced writing.
Christina Guan says
Yesss that is SO important. Sometimes I read back on sponsored content I’ve written and it makes me really sad, because it all sounds so robotic and uninspired. I’m a lot more wary of that now, and try my best to make every piece as vibrant as possible before publishing!
Manon @ The Dutch countryside says
You have no idea how refreshing these kind of posts are. Just to be you, to share your experience, to be real. These are so true, but nowadays many want to look like they have the best life where nothing goes wrong. But then on the other hand they want to read the truth haha. I´m going for the truth and honesty all the way!
Christina Guan says
Thank you, Manon <3 So happy to have another truth and honesty crusader on board haha.
Bianca says
This is great! Such an informative post. Very complete. I will keep this in mind and bookmark this for future use! Thank you for this 🙂
Christina Guan says
No problem, Bianca! I hope it’s helpful 🙂
Emily says
Very helpful advice on how to make your blog not suck! =P I like the idea of finding a unique spin on something as you’re 100% right that most articles you can think of probably are out there somewhere!
Emily
Christina Guan says
Glad you liked that piece of advice, Emily! 🙂 Hope you follow along for more guides this month!
Kathy says
Thanks for the great advise here. Also I love the action piece after each section. That’s awesome! I am going to save your post and read it once a week to get my mind set to making great content. Thank you so much 🙂
Christina Guan says
Thanks Kathy!! Having an actionable section was important to me since it seems like that’s lacking from most mainstream blogging guides. I hope this is useful for you in the weeks to come!! <3
Deni says
I’ve been having a lot of trouble finding unique ways to talk about different destinations, and this has definitely inspired me to try different avenues to make my blog content more diverse! Also love how witty you are throughout this- I may just need to mark your blog for inspiration when my brain refuses to go into writer mode. Thanks for all the advice!! (P.S. Definitely signed up for Blogtober emails! Can’t wait for next week!!)
Jabeen Waheed says
Such a detailed and handy guide!
Thanks
Jabeen x
https://www.spilling-the-beans.co.uk/
Christina Guan says
Thanks Jabeen! Hope you get good use out of it 🙂
Steve at Take The Highway says
I enjoyed this article, and got some good pointers from it. Biggest thing I agree with is to continuously read great writing. Very true!
Christina Guan says
Thanks for reading, steve! 🙂
Clazz - An Orcadian Abroad says
This is such a great post!! There are too many travel blogs these days that are just FULL of ’10 things to do here’ and ’10 reasons you should visit this country’ and I find it’s got boring really fast! However it’s worked for some people so I guess it depends if you find the right target audience. Likewise most of my favourite travel blogs have both exceptional writing and phenomenal photos, while some more popular bloggers I find don’t actually write that well and/or have sub-standard photos (gives me hope – I don’t have a DSLR so not all my photos are top notch!). Or their layouts aren’t as crisp as others.
I also find that certain WordPress themes are SO over-used. I went on a bit of a blog discovery spree the other day (actually that’s how I stumbled across yours!) and I literally had about five open at one point that looked EXACTLY THE SAME.
Needless to say, yours is one of the few from that spree that I’ll be following. 😉
Christina Guan says
clazz, so honoured to make it past the spree stage haha. <3 and omigosh I know what you mean about the themes. The first version of my blog was called "Hello Guanster" (lame, I know) and I used a popular theme (even though I did pay for it). A few days after spending some good money on this theme, I came across the blog of a famous vlogger whose site looked 100% identical to mine, right down to the logo (Because the template came with the theme). I almost cried!
Abbie says
I am a noob when it comes to photoshop. I loooooooove snapseed but I’m bummed they don’t offer it for Macbook. I have a sh–t ton of photos and transferring them to my phone for snapseed takes waaaay too long. Do you use any easy to use editing tools like snapseed on a desktop??
Christina Guan says
Oh gosh I know what you mean! Getting photos from my Macbook to my phone for Instagram is such a hassle. I only use Lightroom to edit on my desktop, but that’s quite pricey. Google’s version of Lightroom is now free to download though! I haven’t used it myself but it looks legit. Check it out: https://www.google.com/nikcollection/
Liz says
Interrupting my reading to comment now, because I am SOOOO guilty of the cliche “winding cobblestone streets.” Oops. I actually went to my Europe blog and Instagram posts and searched for “cobblestone” and yep, there it is: variants of twisted/winding/romantic cobblestone streets all over the place. *hides face* And I was feeling high-and-mighty for not using “like-minded individuals” whenever I introduced myself in a Facebook group. :p
Okay, back to reading. 😀
Christina Guan says
ahaha don’t worry – I’m the exact same way!! I’m scared to read back on any old Europe posts for this precise reason. You’re not alone!
Enrico & Zuzana says
Amazing post!
Thanks for sharing this. Loved the most the Title section. It’s not easy to find attractive titles, and those “5 reason to xxx” are becoming just boring nowadays.
Christina Guan says
happy you agree! <3
The Dame Intl says
What an absolutely fantastic resourceful blog post! Thank you! I am just now breathing life back into my old blog so I am brushing up on technique etc and this post really helped in reminding me what to focus on, big thanks xo
marusa says
Christina great post! Keep on with the good job. I have the biggest issue when it comes to confidence and clicking that submit button. I always believe that things are not good enough. You blog post helped me to understand that I’m no the only one with this issue. So thank you. 🙂
Christina Guan says
You’re very welcome, marusa!! I think we all struggle with that confidence sometimes, (and being a perfectionist just makes that worse), but remember that practice makes perfect and that we’re always our own harshest critics!
Dana says
Hi! I just started a blog and have been looking at yours for inspiration and advice because I love the voice you bring to yours! I think your advice on catchy titles is definitely worth taking because every time I read one of your blog articles, I end up opening like 8 new tabs from the links you put throughout.. and then I find myself in a deep internet vortex for the next couple of hours ! haha
Fenne says
Thanks for the tips!
Arzo Travels says
When it comes to travel blogging advice you are my blogger! I love your writing style and your humour! Your advice is always so precious, and I can learn so much from you… (p.s. the only difference I have noticed on Pinterest is that the “top 20” post work the best. The more numbers and the more precise my tottle is the better it performs).
Kristen says
You have no idea how helpful this was and how glad I am that I found your blog! You’re fricking hilarious XD But these tips are amazing, I’m so tired of reading about how to make my blog “better” with SEO and all that stuff. I mean, it’s important, but I want to add substance and value to my blog and to bring out my voice through storytelling. You cover everything I’m actually interested itn! Now excuse me while I go read all your other posts like a crazy person…
Christina Guan says
This is the best comment ever!!! <3 Thank you Kristen for appreciating my weird sense of humour and unconventional advice haha. Hope it's all helpful!
Ocean Scuba Dive says
Great blog post Cristina!! This will be really handy when writing my blog. Thanks so much for taking the time to share all of this information 🙂 An inspiration!
Christina Guan says
<3 Thank you so much for reading!! I hope it helps you out!
Leila says
I’ve been doing a loooot of research on how to improve my blog and writing skills. This is the FIRST article that is smart, well-written, clever and innovative. You just scored a new fan, yay!
(also: loving your tone of voice, stay badass)
Chris says
Hey Christina, thanks for your refreshingly awesome post! Haven’t read something this useful and engaging (flow!) for a while from a travel blogger – maybe I’ve just been looking in the wrong places, and there are so many posts that sound very (brochure/textbook) same’ish, yawn .. lol. The Travel content marketing space is really crowded at the moment and (being more techie) I’ve been struggling to get word out about our app on an early startup’s budget. Your post is very concrete and based on the new info I’ve just learnt (from you!), I’m very inspired now as I can see *real* steps on how to bring our content game up to the next (10x) level. Thanks again, you rock! (And have obviously got yourself a new fan here.) Keep up the great work!!
Pooja Thakur says
You are amazing and I guess this is one of the guides I read till end. Great and easy tips. You way of expressing is just wow..
Christina Guan says
That is SO sweet, Pooja. Thank you so much!
Anisa says
Oh man, this post is so full of good reminders and fresh advice. It’s fresh to me, anywho. My blog is still infant stage and I’d love to work on it daily but my day job gets the best of me. I want to add value too and wish I had an audience to guide me in what content they would like to see. For now I will go with what I know and roll from there. Thanks for the reminder to write as I speak. I was always told I did this well. So glad I found your inspiring blog. See you around.
Dani says
Hey! I just wanted to pop in and say how incredibly helpful this guide has been for me. I’ve been building my blog for the past 6 weeks and I *swear* I am going to launch tomorrow (trying to force myself not to chicken out and stall another few weeks!!). I’ve re-read your guide so many times over the past month – it has resonated with me much better than all the others. So, here is a huge THANK YOU for inspiring me to get to the point that I’m at. You’re awesome!
Smith says
Hi Christina, such an amazing ideas to start a blog on different niches. Really an useful post with clean and clear details. Thanks for sharing this post. Keep sharing.
sam says
Enjoyed reading the article above, really explains everything in detail, the article is very interesting and effective. Thank you and good luck for the upcoming articles
Akma says
Wow Christina! your post is a bomb, TMI alert! hahah! Such great content! I love it and I had to share it with my friends.
I love it especially when you mentioned about ‘Being real’
I’m a beginner blogger and I write about travel post recently about 10 useful tricks for travelers here –> (https://lustydreamer.com/top-10-useful-brilliant-travel-hacks-every-traveler-needs-to-know/) and I would love to hear from you
I’m not good as you but you’re really my fav idol, your blog, your content is truly a bombastic!
Hope you’re having a super amazing day Christina, Cheers!
Megan Holliday says
Your post was full of amazing advice! I will be sure to use some of your suggestions!
syphax says
this is amazing post thanks for sharing