Expanding Your Content Offerings

To take your travel blog to the next level by building your brand awareness and establishing your subject matter expertise travel bloggers need to expand your content offerings over and above simple blog articles.

As a travel blogger, it’s vital to optimize your time to become more efficient. One of the best ways to achieve this is by leveraging your blog content and showcasing it in another format. This approach helps you reach a broader audience because some people learn and consume content differently.

Not everyone wants to read a blog post, some want to watch a video, take a course, or download an app, or download an ebook. By making your content available on as many platforms as possible, you’re broadening your reach.

Here’s some content options from Travel Bloggers:

An Audio Podcast

Chris Christensen hosts a podcast destination guide that focuses on must-see and must-do travel experiences. He has a radio-voice, which makes his podcast easy to listen too and peppers his podcast with historical facts, cultural observations, and interactions with locals.

• http://amateurtraveler.com
• https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=79424011

Amy Scott, Nomadtopia, publishes a website that is a hub of information, inspiration, community, and support for others who also want to live their ideal life, anywhere in the world. Part of her brand includes Nomadtopia Radio, a weekly podcast that features interviews with people all over the world who are living their version of Nomadtopia. Amy also offers a Destination: Nomadtopia ebook, and a Work From Anywhere Toolkit.

• http://www.nomadtopia.com/
• https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nomadtopia-radio/id916414461

Lindsey Tramuta is a food & travel writer based in Paris (by way of Philadelphia) and her blog, Lost In Cheeseland, focuses on the food, life and travel opportunities in Paris. She hosts The New Paris podcast that takes a closer look at the people, places and ideas that are changing the fabric of Paris.

• http://www.lostincheeseland.com
• https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-new-paris-podcast/id1225708803?mt=2

1. A Vlogger Broadcast

Nike, White Spot Pirates – Untie the Lines, is hosted by a German girl who bought a sailing boat in Panama and sails around the world sharing her adventures with the intent of encouraging others to put their travel dreams into reality.

Mark Wiens, Migrationology, hosts a food-based vlog. Based in Thailand, Mark shares his Asia culinary experiences.

Blogger, Bo on the Road, hosts the Authentic World Food blog. Her show is partly recipes and partly documentary about local people’s lifestyles. She’s a solo traveling surfer girl, who focuses stringing on capturing and sharing authentic cooking experiences.

An Online eCourse and Coaching

Whether you host a courses on your blog or via one of the established course platforms, this approach it an obvious way to share your knowledge and establish your expertise. Each course platform operates a little differently as far as what content they accept and how they split the course royalties.

Dave Fox, Globejotting, is a travel writer specializing in humor, and personal memoir at his online “home for global storytelling.” As well as writing Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip!), he hosts various travel writing and humor writing courses on his website and Udemy. He also offers online writing coaching

I’m currently working my way through Dave’s ‘Travel Journaling: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Diaries” Udemy courses and he’s a great presenter with a strong travel writing pedigree (he used to work with Rick Steves.)

Online Magazine

Vanessa Anderson and Ian Usher, Diverging Roads, launched a House Sitting Magazine which is available via email or through the App Store. They also host a House Sitting course on Udemy, and Ian’s website features inspiration, information, and tips about house sitting.

Travel Apps

David Lee, Medellín Living, chronicles his experiences living in Medellín and traveling around Antioquia and Colombia. He published an ebook, Medellín Travel Guide: Insider Advice from an American Expat in Colombia, and partnered to create a custom-built Medellín Guide iPhone app.

Simon Fairbairn and Erin McNeaney, Never Ending Voyage, used Simon’s design and development skills and their years of experience on the road to create Trail Wallet. It’s a travel app that helps you track your travel expenses quickly and efficiently, and is just one of the many apps available on their Voyage Travel Apps website.

Repurpose your Travel Blog Content

These content offerings make it easier to establish your expertise by repurposing your content. But, unless you have the right skills you may have a steep learning curve to compete in the marketplace. So I believe that the most efficient way to expand your reach is to leverage the skills you already have: writing.

So maybe it’s time to compile your blog posts into an ebook. Not only does this allow you to reach a broader audience, but now you can cash in on the marketing power and reach of Amazon to expand your audience. Did you know that more people use Amazon, rather than google search, for purchasing decisions?

Read more articles in my How to Write a Travel Guide Series

I’m putting the finishing touches on my How to Write and Self-Publish a Travel Guide Series, which details a step by step approach for writing and producing your own travel guide. It’s part of a four-part series aimed at helping travel bloggers achieve passive income based on their passions and existing content.

Each month I host a monthly free prize draw and give away a travel writing e-book to the lucky winner. Sign up to join my mailing list to participate.