The challenge of being a travel blogger when you’re not travelling
The challenge of being a travel blogger when you’re not travelling
Think of a travel blogger and you think of Instagram feeds full of sandy-covered feet and posed photos in front of iconic buildings. You think of landing at one airport and then immediately jetting off to another, with barely chance to do your laundry in between. Maybe you think of press trips and free trips and being ferried around by PRs anxious to showcase the best of their destination to 15 journalists and bloggers who are all having the same experiences. Or backpacking around south east Asia, using Internet cafes to keep the world apprised of your every move. You think of digital nomads, for whom “the world is my office”. You think of a solo female traveller, writing about how liberating it is to travel alone.
I’m a travel blogger, but I’m none of these things.
I’m a travel blogger who doesn’t always have the time or money to drop everything to travel. I’m a travel blogger who holds down a full-time job with 26 days of official annual leave, has a fun and fulfilling social life and is trying to sell a house. Also, I’m a travel blogger who is terrible at pitching and marketing myself so doesn’t get invited on press trips or free trips. I’m a travel blogger who loves all kinds of travel. City breaks and U.K. staycations. North American road trips. European rail travel. And yes, all inclusive holidays.
So why call myself a travel blogger? Well for starters, that’s where my blogging journey started. An online diary of our 2010 US West Coast road trip. I didn’t write about anything else at that time so blog posts were few and far between. And the only people who read it were Ma and Pa Lee and Mr Fletche. It wasn’t until five years later that I decided to move my Travelpod content into a WordPress site and do something a bit more interesting with it. Which was good timing, as Travelpod soon became defunct.
So what makes me a travel blogger now?
I felt under pressure for a while to try and fit in as much travel as possible, and to tick off new countries so that I could have more and more travel content. But, you know what? Real life gets in the way. So my travel blogging content reflects that. It’s not about luxury holidays, or travelling on a budget, or stretching my comfort zone. It’s about content that other “normal” non-travel-blogging peeps can relate to. Trying to fit in a weekend away by leaving an hour earlier from work on a Friday and travelling back on a Sunday evening. Easy 2 or 3 day itineraries for city breaks. Places to eat and drink that won’t break the bank. Appreciating what’s on my own doorstep rather than always hankering for new destinations.
But even when I’m not travelling, I’m always thinking about travel. I lap up travel magazines the way that fashionistas lap up Vogue. I have Pinterest boards full of places I want to go, and Instagram collections to inspire future travel. I read other travel blogs. Lots of travel blogs. I participate in Twitter chats (when I remember) about travel. I plan trips we’re going to take. I plan trips we’re not going to take. And that’s what makes me a travel blogger.
Lovely post – your advice is likely to be much more relevant as you’re living the 9 to 5 life and fitting holidays and trips in the way most people do in real life!
Thank you my lovely, that’s exactly what i want to achieve x
I love this Em. Yep it’s not all glitzy and glammy as Insta makes it out to be. Totally understand how our everyday routines cannot cater for that travel blogger lifestyle people think we have! I think appreciating what is around us locally, is so important too. Xx
Thanks Lorelle, I’ve stopped being envious of that “travel blogger lifestyle” and concentrate on carving out my own little corner of the world in my own way! I know your blog is very similar in that respect x
Totally agree Em. I actually prefer it this way!! We are blessed to have the lifestyle we have ❤️
Great blog.work full time too – my travel adventures are UK based and I have a free rail pass. I don’t necessary do glamour, I just love new sights 😀
Thanks Lana… UK travel can be just as exciting and we treat it just like a trip further afield (without having to exchange money and – mostly – understand the language!) Thanks for dropping by 😄
I think staycations are valid for travel bloggers. The person who is reading your blog might want to visit your area based on how you present it. Even though you might want to go somewhere else for vacation, someone else is looking to go on vacation where you live.
Absolutely! That’s why I did a Birmingham city guide – why not give useful information about the city I know best of all?
I hear you loud and clear! My travel life consists of one major holiday a year and one or two little trips around Australia and/or a trip home to NZ to see my mum once (or twice a year if I’m lucky).. but I am also a travel blogger. I also struggle with what to write because I don’t travel so much and I feel like I am letting the team down. It has taken me a long time to realise that it doesn’t really matter how or when I travel, just that I do and I have a place to share my adventures 🙂
I think it means that you enjoy your travelling that little bit more, simply because it’s a break from “normal” life. I still haven’t made it as far as Australia or NZ yet but I’ll definitely be tapping you up for suggestions when I do 🙂
Hopefully I can help haha
Lovely post, Emmaline it’s very difficult to plan a holiday with day to day work, job & that’s the biggest challenge a travel blogger faces and conquers.
It’s not such a bad problem to have! If I didn’t work full-time then I wouldn’t have the funds to travel part-time 🙂 Thanks for popping by!
I love your posts Em – I work full time too and as much as I’d love to be jetting off somewhere exotic every month I can’t so posts like many of yours are more real and meaningful to me! I might get to go to some of your destinations!!
Thank you so much Rachael! That’s exactly the audience I want to target… the would-be travellers and travel dreamers!
I really enjoyed reading this post. When I was first contemplating possible blog ideas, my first thought was a travel blog, but. . . I ran into the same problem of how can I keep a travel blog when I am hardly travelling. I enjoyed the spin that you put on it and look forward to reading more from you.
Thank you so much! I’m lucky that i can ramble on about other things in between the travelling 😀
For a new travel blogger who is balancing her time between a 9 to 5 job and blogging, I can relate to it on a level where it felt like I was the author of this piece. Loved the read!
Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting! It’s great to see there’s such a community of part-time travel bloggers out there 😁
I so get you on this. There was a time when I considered myself an accessible travel blogger, on the lookout for accessible travel opportunities and chronicling my (mis) adventures. Now that includes family road-trips, a house that owns us, and a medium level depression and anxiety that I’m not doing all the things and showing my kid all the places, with a husband who thinks caravans count as travel. I still love him, though.
Sometimes you have to adapt and we’re all best at writing what we know best! I love reading about your roadtrips because it’s grounded in reality, and it’s about YOU and YOUR family, and how YOU travel – which is what I want to know about cos I’m a nosey sod 🙂
I feel much the same as you- I only have 15 days of paid leave a year, though, and flying within and outside of Canada is cripplingly expensive, so I’m a terrible travel blogger haha! I have to say, you are the type of travel blogger I love because you are based in reality. Most people CAN’T eschew all responsibility and head off as a wandering monad, and blogs like yours tackle that well!!
Thank you Jess – I don’t even aspire to that lifestyle, it’d send me doolally!
nice blog. We sometimes on the same boat:) It is nice to see the photos back and write the travel memory:)
Absolutely relatable! There are definitely some who travel 24/7 but for us who are not at that point yet, this was a great reminder for those of us who work a 9-5 or have vacations two weeks a year, that we are not alone. Thank you for this! Love from Canada!
Love this! I’m in the same mindset. I read travel blogs and Instagram posts and dream about traveling a lot. And I also have a full time job, and family, friends, and other responsibilities that I cant just fly away to Rome on a whim. I’m starting small with weekend trips and even day trips close by that are wonderful places to write about. Eventually I’ll take those big trips, but for now my own back yard is worth telling!
Thanks Julie… I think travel bloggers come in all shapes and sizes!
Now that is what a real travel blogger looks like. This felt so honest and raw.
Thank you so much ☺️
Very down to earth post and I completely relate. I’ve started a travel blog but I definitely spend more time at home than jetting off to faraway places! 🙂
The challenge of being a travel blogger WHILE traveling! 🤪
That sounds like a blog post just waiting to be written 😁
Love this, can totally relate having just moved from the States to New Zealand. There’s lots to explore in the country, but being this close to Antarctica can make it challenging to visit some of the more popular destinations in Europe, Central and South America, and Africa.
You have to work with what you have don’t you? And if you’re passionate about travel, you’ll always find some way of incorporating it into your life! Thank you so much for dropping by Eve!
Loved reading this. Most of us do have full time jobs and hectic schedules which allow us little time to travel. One of my goals is to write about small local attractions and fun family activities in addition to our once or twice a year “big” (one week) trips.
And that’s exactly the kind of thing I like to read! Thank you so much for stopping by ☺️
oh I can relate so much!
Ohh god!!! Each word is so relatable!! Loved reading it.
Thank you for your lovely comment! I’m glad there are so many of us non travelling travel bloggers around ☺️
I love this! It brings this whole travel blogger world into real life and shows how you can love travel without always travelling! That it simply being on your mind is enough sometimes! I just love how real this is! ♥️
Thank you so much! Travelling is definitely something that’s always on my mind, even when I’m doing the mundane stuff at home!
This sums up exactly how I am feeling at the moment. I’ve had some great travel experiences, and have some planned for the future, but real life / work / annual leave / finances get in the way of just jumping on the next plane or train to another great destination.
I focus my posts around the photography aspect of travel, so it’s a good challenge finding those interesting shots in the locations you can squeeze in over a weekend.
I like the idea of the link up’s – need to do some more research into those kind of things!
Thank you for stopping by (I loved your Wales waterfall piece by the way)! It’s a constant challenge to come up with content when you cant just hop on a plane to the other side of the world; we’re lucky that the UK can still provide us with some gems 😀
Wouldn’t it be amazing if were were all rushed off to new places by PR companies?! Anyone who thoroughly loves exploring some corner of the world can write about it. I love hearing about new places and also writing about them too. Thanks for sharing. Kelly
Thanks for stopping by Kelly! I always say that my main hobbies are thinking about travel, talking about travel, reading about travel… 😀
I like that!
This post is realistic beyond anything! I completely understand. My time also goes in working 5 days a week with minimal leaves. I’m balancing my money to take small weekend getaways and also saving up for one International holiday! Would love to read more of your posts in the future! 🙂
Mansi | https://stylepsychic.in/
Thank you so much for stopping by and your lovely comment! It makes us appreciate even more the time when we can get away!
Lovely post, Emmaline it’s very difficult to plan a holiday with day to day work, job & that’s the biggest challenge a travel blogger faces and conquers.
Thank you so much for dropping by and commenting! It’s certainly frustrating at times when the day job gets in the way of having fun!
you steal my thoughts
This post was really relateable. Although I am living abroad right now, I have never been more poor. I feel this pressure to look like I am “living the life” but really I am sleeping all day, staying up all night, in my flat in Bordeaux, trying to just feed my cat and somehow afford the presets that “I need” to make my instagram popular. Like, how?! It is so easy to get discouraged when I look at other, more popular, blogs. But then I realize that they have had more time, money, ect. So I am just trying to take inspiration from them and not envy. Thanks for the much needed post.
This is so great post! I totally agree about this! Sometimes we can’t not doing what we want or we need but we always can find a solution ❤️
i can relate. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. I happen to go through the same too.
Great post, Emmaline it’s very difficult to plan a holiday with day to day work, job & that’s the biggest challenge a travel blogger faces and conquers.
Very down to earth post and I completely relate. Báo giá cát xây dựng I’ve started a travel blog but I definitely spend more time at home than jetting off to faraway places
Great Post !! Very interesting topic will bookmark your site to check if you write more about in the future. i will definitely visit on your site Belgium Visa Appointment