Snigdha TiwariThis post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy here.
If you’re wondering what it takes to run a professional travel blog? Then don’t worry at all – I am here to make everything simple for you.
I absolutely love being a travel blogger + travel vlogger and that is an amazing feeling to be able to earn money writing about a topic that I’m passionate about by living your dream life.
And know what? The great thing about blogging is that the costs of running your blog are pretty affordable.
Now, that being said – It’s time to find out all the tools (free and paid) I use to run my travel blog.
Here are the Tools I Use to Run My Travel Blog:
1. Web Hosting
Bluehost: I personally use and recommend Bluehost for all bloggers especially to those who are just starting out. I run my other blog through Bluehost and I am quite happy with their services. Their customer service is great, and they have helped me out many times when I was in a problem with my blog.
Web hosting is something you need if you want to start a professional travel blog because without web hosting you can’t run your travel blog.
Bluehost can get you started with a hosting plan tailored to your website’s specific needs. Bluehost also has the most affordable web hosting plans out there, the 36-month plan is the best deal at $2.95 a month, but you can also pick a 12-month plan at $4.95 a month for an overall lower cost. And when you start your blog with Bluehost they will provide your .com domain name for FREE the first year (a $15-$20 value.)
You can follow my step-by-step guide to starting a travel blog which contains detailed instructions for how to set up your blog using Bluehost. (It’s super easy, trust me!)
2. WordPress Theme
Blossom Themes: I use a WordPress theme from Blossom Themes and I love the way it looks! They have amazing and beautiful Feminine WordPress Themes that are SEO-friendly, feature-rich, and easy-to-use WordPress themes.
They have great options for travel bloggers or any kind of bloggers! Especially if you are looking for a pretty, feminine WordPress theme.
WordPress themes aren’t too expensive and typically cost between $49 to $75.
While purchasing a premium WordPress theme for your incredible travel blog is not an absolute must but it’s a great investment and I highly recommend it.
Because having a premium theme gives you access to more customization options compared to a free theme, along with customer support in case you have any questions. It also looks a lot more professional compared to a free theme.
3. Email Marketing
ConvertKit: Supercharge your email marketing with automation, A/B split testing, and more. This is the email marketing platform I use for all my blogs.
Having an email list is not necessary to be a successful blogger, but I would personally recommend it for sending newsletters to your subscribers.
ConvertKit helps you connect with your audience faster.
4. Pinterest
To be honest, LinkedIn and Pinterest are the ONLY form of social media I use to promote Travelholicq. Insane, I know. I tried out other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flipboard, Mix, etc, for my blog, and none of them offered the same return on investment that LinkedIn and Pinterest provide.
I spent hours and hours on those all platforms attempting to drive traffic to my blog by joining different groups on Facebook with very little success.
Compare that to LinkedIn and Pinterest, where I spend a few minutes a day and drive 10,000+ page views to my travel blog every month. It’s definitely a platform that I think all travel bloggers should focus on more. They should just choose two or three social media platforms and start building their audiences there.
Here are the Pinterest tools I use:
Canva: Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design tool that I use to create my Pinterest images. Images with text overlay do a lot better on Pinterest and get more clicks than plain photos do. I create a variety of Pinterest images for each of my blog posts using Canva and for different Pinterest Group Boards.
Tailwind: Tailwind is a social media scheduling tool that schedules your photos/videos for the best time of the day. I use Tailwind to schedule my Pinterest pins that saves me a lot of time by scheduling Pinterest pins in bulk & share them at the best times. So, I can focus on some other things. Tailwind is one of the best Pinterest tools that I highly recommend.
5. Online Video Editor
Invideo: InVideo’s online video editor helps me make professional videos from premium templates, images, and music for my social media promotional travel videos.
I highly recommend using Invideo for your video promos because with that you can create high converting videos with their powerful and easy-to-use video maker.
6. Learn Languages Online
Pimsleur: As a travel blogger, before visiting any country we need to have a basic knowledge of that particular country’s language. I use Pimsleur to learn new languages before visiting any destination so I won’t face any language barrier and I really suggest that too.
With Pimsleur, you can discover new worlds. Experience life-changing adventures. Create unforgettable memories just by spending 30 minutes a day!
7. WordPress SEO Plugins
Rank Math: Rank Math SEO is another popular WordPress plugin that’s available for free. If you’re on the fence about getting Yoast SEO, this plugin is a great alternative to it.
I know everyone loves and suggests Yoast SEO but it never worked for me. I have wasted my days while doing SEO of my posts using Yoast SEO. It takes so long to make everything in green and perfect that is why I will never suggest you use Yoast SEO especially when you’re starting out.
I recommend using Rank Math SEO Plugin for your blog because, with more than 200,000 users, Rank Math SEO is easy to set up, supports Google Schema Markup, provides detailed SEO analysis, and much more.
You can read my post here on the Top 6 Best SEO Plugins For WordPress for better understanding.
8. Social Media Scheduling Tool
SocialBee: I use SocialBee to effortlessly repost my evergreen social media content for maximum impact. It helps me share my content on all my social media platforms by automating my social media posting, so I can focus on other things that truly matter.
I highly recommend using SocialBee for your social media scheduling tool as it helps you repost your top evergreen content to drive more engagement to your high-performing content and to save even more time.
9. Create, and Sell Your Own Online Courses
Thinkific: If you are looking to create your own online courses and want to sell them then you can do that happily with Thinkfic.
You can easily upload videos, build quizzes, and organize all your learning content with Thinkfic’s drag and drop builder.
Set pricing, schedule lessons, and automate your content to curate a learning experience your readers/audience will love.
