What do you think makes a good travel blog?

[Deleted member 12023]

I always love reading blogs with a mixture of humor, information and great photos. Sometimes I'd much rather have the photos tell the story or allow the writer to transport me to where they were at with their words…I'd be taken.

I'm still a new blogger. I've taken lots of photos from our hikes and backpacking trips but I plan on documenting our pre-trip plans to overland countries on the lower half of the equator.

This^

That is what keeps me reading as well. There are many blogs out there that are overly descriptive and long. Keep them short and sweet!

On a side note…one of my biggest pet peeve is all of the self promotion now. I have recently stopped following several others that I once followed and unliked their Facebook as well. You have to think about why do you travel? Some people seem to travel for fame and to make money. It is creating this "travel blog rage" now and many are trying to do the same. Share your trip with the world because you want to, not because you want/need recognition

 

[photo_i]

On a side note…one of my biggest pet peeve is all of the self promotion now. … Share your trip with the world because you want to, not because you want/need recognition

And how do you distinguish between these two goals?

 

[Deleted member 12023]

And how do you distinguish between these two goals?

Good question! I don't know the answer to be honest. I believe in work hard/play hard. Not "Like my page, fund my life, I'll draw you a picture".

 

[Wainiha]

Lightcycle's is my favorite thread because of the style.

 

[photo_i]

I believe in work hard/play hard. Not "Like my page, fund my life, I'll draw you a picture".

BTW, we've liked your page - TLWS Facebook - quite a while ago .

 

[withalittlemoxie]

this was fun to read.

I get bored REALLY easily too (not saying you do; but you did say you get bored). I like blogs to be well written with great photos. Open minded. Without bull**** or pretense. I do not mind people making money off of it or trying to make a buck off it or self promotion - there is simply no way to grow a readership now if you don't engage in some of it. And the way I look at it is blogging well is story telling: in the old days, people would feed or gift their story tellers; now it's ads, whatever. The work I do on my own blog and the work others blog do is a gift and I do regard clicking on their amazon links as a gift I'm giving back, saying thanks (I actually go to Life Remotely and buy my Dora dolls for my daughter off their links because I want them getting as much money as possible since their blog is so useful!)

But yeah. It's not easy. A balance between humor, sensitivity, teaching me something new, photos, and writing with regularity....

 

[joneseyyy]

This is a great thread and a helpful one to hear what everyone views as "good". For me, I really like blogs with a great "voice", and I strive to emulate that - but don't know if I am there...yet. To me, what makes a blog interesting and gives it a hook is the human element, how do you think, how do you personally deal with dilemmas your target reader is likely to be experiencing. That can be done through more than just writing, some people communicate that human element best through photo or video vs. words.


www.dirtroadtrip.com is all about scratching the itch for off-road adventure one weekend, one vacation at a time.