Travel Blogging: What Makes A Good Travel Article

If you want to make your travel blog stand out from the crowd and so attract readers, focus on providing practical tips and information on your travels as well as reportage about where you’ve been and what you’ve seen

Stuart from the mighty Travelfish made an important point to me about writing a good travel blog after reading my previous post Make Money While You Travel With A Travel Blog:

“I’d say one of the best things a potential travel blogger can do is write stuff that is useful. Catching a train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya — don’t waste words waffling about the scenery, how about some timetable info, how to get to the train station etc etc — these are hard facts that so often people can’t find. May not be the best prose but it helps others plan their trips and that’s what will have people returning to the blog.”

As editor of the one of the best and biggest websites covering Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, Stuart knows what he’s talking about. (Indeed, Travelfish has recently been the focus of an article in Slate magazine as a lifesaver for travellers looking to explore South East Asia).

Certainly it’s been my experience that the more magazine-style articles I’ve written on Travelhappy – like my 1500 word attempt to explain why I love Hanoi in Vietnam – have been the ones that have received the least response and visitors, even though I think it’s some of my best writing.

I think the reason for this is simply that it’s too much. Even though I broke it up with lots of photos and videos, it just seems quite overwhelming, and, crucially, its focus is too general. In retrospect, I should have written several, shorter articles about different aspects of Hanoi that are easier to digest and also can lead the reader on from one article to another.

As such, Stuart’s advice is invaluable if you’re starting out as a travel blogger. Practical advice from first hand experience is golden, especially if you can keep it short and to the point. Of course, it doesn’t have to be all practical advice – mix up your posts with all sorts of stuff (like the Hello Kitty / Sin City handbag!). But those nuggets of practical advice are what will probably initially attract readers to your site through search engines and referrals and so help get your travel blog noticed – and in turn, to begin earning revenue.

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