One of the best professions out there is being able to travel, write about it, and make money. For some people, that means becoming an influencer and making money from promotions; for others, it means publishing an ebook based on what they’ve learned as a digital nomad. And as a travel blogger, there are plenty of ways to make money once you have a large number of people following your posts. That’s why posting regularly is important--and why being active on social media, where you’ll make most of your connections, is important, too. After all, you aren’t blogging in a void. You’re blogging on the Internet, where the entire world is your potential audience.
And even if you’re posting regularly on social media, and interacting with followers, that isn’t always enough. Using the right tools makes a difference, and can transform your aspirations into actual success. To learn more about these tools, read on.
Buffer App
Once you’ve started creating regular content, it’s important to share it in all the right places, posting at the right time. But if you’re producing a lot of it, it can be easy to forget to post everywhere, and long-term plan when you’re sharing your content with the world. Some businesses are lucky enough to have a social media manager who handles all this, but chances are as a blogger that you’re working on your own.
That’s where the Buffer App comes in. According to WordStream, “While there are a variety of options for larger organizations and agencies, the free plan just may suit your social media management needs. Buffer’s free plan includes the ability to manage three social profiles, schedule up to ten posts, utilize their browser extensions and mobile apps (iOS and Android) feature, and create and schedule content using their image creator and GIF/video uploader.”
You can always pay for extras, of course, but using the free version will help you understand if you need them. Considering that their rating is 4.5 out of 5 stars on Capterra, this will be of great use to you.
SocialSteeze
As a travel blogger, you understand how important it is to be active on Instagram. Because the traveling lifestyle is something so many people dream of, there’s almost nothing as effective as posting a picture of the most recent beautiful place you’ve visited. Whether you’re climbing mountains or walking around Prague, posting about your adventures on Instagram is sure to make your blog more popular. But sometimes, that just doesn’t cut it. Even if you’re using the right hashtags and connecting with other bloggers in your industry, you need more followers and engagement.
That’s where you realize to buy real Instagram followers and a tool like SocialSteeze comes in. They help you gain Instagram followers (real ones!) using targets such as location, hashtags, and your competitors’ followers to find them. Considering that Instagram’s engagement rate is 4.21 percent per follower, using a service like this will quickly get you more blog readers.
Bundle Post
A lot of writers have the problem of writer’s block. Add that to the pressure to churn out daily content, and it can be incredibly stressful. Luckily, there’s a great solution to that, which will also help you figure out how to write relevant content: Bundle Post. Even though you’ll still have to force yourself down to write, Bundle Post is a tool that will get you inspired.
This tool starts at $19.99 a month (don’t worry, there’s a 30-day trial!), and it tracks hashtags and curates content from sources related to your industry, using sources such as RSS and Google Alerts. That means that you’ll have a window into what’s trending, and you can use that as a starting point for writing.
Canva
According to Income Artist, it’s smart to use a tool that will help you with design. Even though blogging is mostly about writing, having great images and design will keep readers interested in what you have to say. And when you’re posting images on Instagram and Facebook, they need to be stunning. That’s why Canva is such a great app. They offer design tools, tutorials, templates, and much more, which means you can use beautiful images and layout even if you aren’t an expert.
Considering that 71 percent of businesses used Instagram in 2017, you can see how important images are. So getting ahead in the design game is going to make a huge difference.
These are some of the best social media tools out there for travel bloggers. Are there any other tools that work for you?