How to Start Travel Blogging Without Social Media
Looking to start travel blogging without social media successfully? You can totally do it!
Blogging is a great way to share your thoughts and ideas with the world. Not only is it a great way to connect with people who share your interests, but it can also be a great source of income.
However, there is a misconception that you need to be highly active on social media like Instagram and Facebook in order to be a successful blogger. And that just isn’t true.
Social media can promote your blog, but you don’t need to have social media in order to claim your spot on the internet.
You can create a successful blog — learn how through this FREE webinar!
In fact, did you know that over 90% of people who start blogs fail? This is because aspiring bloggers don’t have the right tools to succeed and expect to be a success overnight.
Let’s talk about what you can do instead to promote your blog and earn money while doing it.
Blogging Without Social Media
How to Start a Blog Without Social Media
There are a few surefire ways of starting a blog without social media. I know this because I have done it. That is to say, I do keep an Instagram and have a Facebook page for my blog, but I haven’t posted consistently nor have I touched them in a few months.
Even still, my traffic has shot up tremendously. Here’s how:
1. Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving the ranking of a website on search engines like Google by using specific keywords.
The higher the ranking, the more likely people are to find your site. Typically you’ll want your blog post to rank on the first page and among the top 3 on Google.
So how do you find these keywords exactly? You can use free tools such as Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, and Answer the Public or paid ones such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Keysearch (my favorite).
I mastered the art of SEO through a travel blogging course I took called Scale Your Travel Blog to Six Figures. If you’d like to hear more, check out the FREE live webinar!
Just type in a word or phrase related to your blog post and see what comes up. These tools will show you how many people are searching for that keyword as well as related keywords.
Choose keywords that have the highest monthly searches with the lowest competition. You can then insert these keywords into your blog post titles, headings (H1, H2, H3), meta descriptions, and throughout the body of your text.
2. Guest Post or Join a Collaboration with Another Blogger
Guest posting can be a great way to promote your blog without using social media.
Guest posting is when you approach another blogger who is similar to your niche and ask if you can write a post for their blog in exchange for a backlink (or two or three) to your website.
This is beneficial because it allows you to tap into their audience and reach people who wouldn’t have found your blog otherwise.
In the same way, you can also join a collaboration or round-up post. This is when bloggers are asking for a short blurb, usually 200-400 words about a specific topic.
If you are able to contribute and your proposal is accepted, your blurb would be added to the round-up post with other contributors.
You can usually find these collaborations in Facebook groups or if you have multiple blogger friends who want to join in on one post.
Email marketing for bloggers can be a great way to connect with your audience and promote your blog content.
Your email list is a collection of people who have shown interest in what you have to say and have willingly given you their email to hear more.
The best part about having an email list is that the list belongs completely to you. If Instagram or Facebook decide to shut down one day, you won’t have to worry about losing your audience because you have access to their inbox.
The best tip for email lists? Start now!
This can be done through a sign-up form on your website or when people opt-in to receive a product on your website like a packing list, travel planner, etc.
Once you have a subscriber list, create an automated email sequence that sends out content related to your blog posts. This will help keep your readers engaged and coming back for more!
Finally, use email marketing to drive traffic to your latest blog post. You can do this by including a link in the email message and asking people to click it to read the full post.
Pinterest can be a great way to share your blog posts with a larger audience. When you create a Pinterest board, you can add pins (or images) to your blog post with a brief explanation of what the post is about.
I wouldn’t consider Pinterest to be a social media platform per se as it has become more of a photo search engine. Do note that specific niches like food and travel work better on Pinterest.
The goal though is to get viewers to click through to your website from an image you pinned.
When creating your Pinterest board, be sure to use keywords that are related to your blog post. This will help pins show up in Pinterest search results.
You can also use a tool like Canva to create pins for your blog posts. Canva is a free online design tool that makes it easy to create beautiful graphics.
5. Increase Your Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness for Google
Expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EAT) is a set of Google guidelines that essentially states that Google wants to see content from credible sources.
The best way to show Google that your content is credible? Write authentic and true content on your website. These tips will also help you increase your EAT with Google:
- Create an About Page on your website which should be reflective of you or your brand. This is an opportunity to let readers know who you are, what you stand for, and why they should care about what you have to say. Be transparent and vulnerable on your about page so that readers can get to know the person behind the blog.
- Create a Privacy Policy page for your website letting readers know how you collect, use, and store their data. This page will help build trust with your audience as they’ll know that you’re taking measures to protect their information.
- Link out to credible sources in your blog posts. When you link out to other websites or articles, Google sees this as a sign of trustworthiness.
- Make sure your website is secure by adding an SSL certificate. This ensures that all information passed between the web server and browser is private and secure. You can usually purchase an SSL certificate through your web hosting provider.
Blogging Without Social Media
Can You be Successful Blogging Without Social Media?
In a word, yes. You can certainly be successful blogging without social media.
It will take hard work on your part to build an audience and promote your blog posts, but it is completely possible.
The best way to be successful without social media is to focus on mastering SEO, creating quality content, and building an email list. These 3 things will help you create a loyal following of readers who are interested in your blog.
I have personally seen success with consistent traffic to my website by mastering SEO. It’s because I took the course Scale Your Travel Blog to Six Figures that gave me the expertise I now have.
My blogging coach Laura has generated over $119k on her travel blog without using social media. Check out what she has to say with her FREE live webinar!
You can also read my full review of Scale Your Travel Blog to get a better picture of the course.
Blogging Without Social Media
The Benefits of Blogging Without Social Media
Social media can be a time warp. It’s easy to get lost in the world of likes, comments, and shares and before you know it, hours have passed by.
Instead of spending countless hours on social media, here are the benefits of blogging without social media.
Better Time Management
One of the benefits of blogging without social media is that it forces you to be more intentional with your time. When you’re not relying on social media to drive traffic to your blog, you have more time to focus on other methods.
You can put more time into keyword research so you can write content that brings traffic, which will eventually bring in the big bucks.
You can also focus on email marketing–sending a newsletter or updates of your website to your readers through emails. This is a great way to keep your audience updated on your latest posts and content.
And because you’re not spending time on social media, you can also focus on creating high-quality content that will keep readers coming back for more.
Create Better Content for Your Blog
Another benefit of blogging without social media is to create better content for your blog.
If you’re not spending time on social media, you can use that extra time to research and create in-depth blog posts that will really help your readers.
Because you’re not worried about getting likes or shares, you can focus on creating content that is truly helpful and informative, which will make the Google gods smile on your blog.
Gain Control Over Your Blog
Blogging without social media gives you more control over your blog.
You’re not at the mercy of the algorithm or what’s popular on social media at the moment. You can create content that is timeless and evergreen because you’re focusing on creating a resource for your readers, not just chasing likes or comments which won’t bring people to your website.
Plus, if you’re driving traffic to your blog through SEO and other methods, you’re in control of the traffic coming to your site.
Gain Confidence and Motivation to Keep Blogging
When you’re not relying on social media for traffic or motivation, you start to gain confidence in your blogging abilities. In fact, social media itself can bring in a sense of inadequacy.
You may find yourself comparing what you do to what other bloggers are doing and feeling like you’re not good enough. Blogging without social media takes away that constant comparison and allows you to focus on your own blog and content.
This newfound confidence can also help motivate you to keep blogging, even when things get tough.
You’ll see that you can still bring people to your website and generate traffic without social media. The excitement of seeing people click on your posts will motivate you to keep going and find keywords to bring the right people to your website.
This motivation will keep you blogging, even on those days when it feels like no one is reading your blog
Blogging Without Social Media
FAQs: Blogging Without Social Media
A blog is a website where you can write articles, stories, or posts about any topic you choose. If you are self-hosted on WordPress.org, then it means that you are the owner of your website.
A social media site is a platform where people can interact with each other, usually through sharing photos, videos, or comments. Social media platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Twitter.
The best way is through SEO or search engine optimization. This means creating content that is optimized for the search engines so people can find your blog when they’re searching for information on the internet.
This course is how I took my page views from 0 to 50,000 in just under a year!
You can do anything you’d like to promote your blog. However, if you do decide to use social media, then you would be dividing up your time between managing your accounts and providing quality content.
Because of that sacrifice, I personally have decided to focus my energy on keyword research and generating better content for my readers.
Yes, social media can be helpful in promoting your blog and connecting with your audience. However, social media is more focused on collecting likes and comments on photos rather than getting clicks through to your website.
If someone is very interested in what you have to say, they will go through a lot of work to go to the “link in bio” and onto your website. However, the probability of this is low as many people would rather keep scrolling.
Do I need to have a niche in order to start a blog?
Having a niche would be very helpful when you start a blog. You could choose a topic that you’re passionate about and have some knowledge of such as travel, food, finance, etc.
You can also start a niche website by going even deeper into those general topics. For example, a niche website about travel could be about solo female travel or luxury travel on a budget. A niche website about food could be gluten-free or budget-friendly meals.
If you don’t have a niche, it may take a longer time for Google to recognize your authority and start ranking you on the first page. But if you master SEO for your blog posts, that in itself will help you rank quickly.
Is commenting on other blog posts help?
Commenting on other blog posts is not necessary. Google has recognized that commenting doesn’t affect SEO, which is your main goal as a blogger. Therefore, you could be spending your time better by doing keyword research or writing content.
However, commenting on other blog posts is a great way to get your name out there and connect with other bloggers in your niche.
Blogging Without Social Media
Final Thoughts: How to Start Blogging Without Social Media
The final verdict? You can be successful blogging without social media. I have seen this success myself. I have consistent traffic and the bulk of that comes straight from Google.
If you want to blog without social media, focus on SEO for your website and create quality content that your audience will love. These are the two most important factors in driving traffic to your website.
Hear what Laura has to say about SEO by joining her FREE webinar!
Save your time, energy, and will for finding amazing keywords that will bring traffic to your website directly. In our blogging world, traffic = monetization!
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