Blogging as Business Beginner... (long)

[Danyelle]

(did u like that alliteration in the title?)

Hi Everyone - I've been reading a lot on these boards about business and creating passive income through blogs. Thank you all for the great info!

I've thought hard about what I could write about every day to provide (hopefully) interesting content for people to want to come back to.... What I love to do is: travel, eat, read/write, act, do photography, and meet (and help) new people. I know I have to brainstorm to figure out all the avenues I can take to make a living I love from these passions.

To start, I've decided to make a blog to chronicle my trip around the world that i'm taking in 09. I figure my niche could be backpackers but further broken down to female trekkers going solo. My plan is to build a reader base while I'm in my planning stages, keep people attracted w/ weekly updates during my year abroad, and then when I return have a means of providing further info from my first hand experience. In addition to the blog, I'm chronicling the world through photography and plan to either sell the photographs or create a photo book to sell. I'm hoping to use this trip as a base for becoming a travel writer/photographer or a travel show host or something.

Please let me know what you think of this idea. I'm quite excited about this and hope to make it a success.

I've started a wordpress blog, but am looking into buying a domain name to link to it, and I will put the adsense on it as well. Any other ideas for beginning?

Thanks so much for reading all of this! I look forward to your responses.

[Pegasus]

Sounds like you have an adventure to look forward to! Be sure to include a map of the places you decide to visit.

The most obvious venues for money would be writing for travel and photography magazines. However, other topics can be covered as well, such as comparative religion, poverty, or environmental issues. Keep us updated on your plans!

[byyp]

thats a brilliant and unique concept you have on your mind..just do it man..good luck..

and yes..for tips..amm..you said start of business..so try monetizing your blog with ads from good companies so that when someone visits or clicks on those ads you get the set commission..you can go for google adsense to start with and few other companies like bidvertiser or even widgetbucks..but yes..avoid too many ad networks on your site/blog as it will be causing slow loading of your site pages..

and the other things like RSS feed to have a stable set of readers..social bookmarking etc are other tools which will be providing basic as well as monetized look to your blog without much hassle and spoiling look of your content..and yes..it would be beneficial to have your own domain name and host..!!

[Danyelle]

Thanks guys!! I went ahead and bought a domain name for the travel blog and my photography work. I'll add adsense to it right away!

[Andreas]

Incredible. Your goals are not unlike mine, with a few differences.

1. Why not already begin to make shorter trips? Photograph them? I've already begun doing this and writing about it. Those articles are available under my "Photography Stories" category.

2. Why not experiment with video? I use Blip.TV

3. Do you really want to work for money by working for a magazine or do you want do have it work for you? You can turn your website into an asset that will make you money while you sleep.


It's good you've discovered Couchsurfing as it will be a valuable tool on your trip.

But what's the rush? Is planning 1 big trip the best way to experience the world? I would argue that it isn't. Instead, why not plan to enjoy and SAVOR the experience of one country at a time - it's a big planet. Spend a month in one country. Become engrossed in its culture. Begin to understand its people. And if you're really smart, find a way to make money while you're there. And if you're really really smart, choose a job that will help you learn about their culture.

Initially, a worldwide trip was my goal, as well. But then I realized that I would be missing the forest for the trees. Why not explore my own country somewhat adequately first? So that's what I'm going to do, and the advantage of this is that I can start sooner: Summer 08.

It's ironic because I considered posting about this here, but I kept finding myself resisting the idea. Thank you very much for providing a good opportunity.

I wish you the very best. I've never met anyone with a mission so similar to mine.

[Danyelle]

Hi Andreas!
Thanks for the input! I do plan on using video as well.
I have no desire to spend a month in each country only a few. And I definitely have no desire to work on this trip besides my shooting film/video and updating the blog. I am on a more photographic journey/vacation than all else with the happy byproduct of setting up career options upon my return. Working would kind of defeat my purpose. I'm only spending a month in 3 or 4 places and then troopin thru the rest of the year.

I hope your shorter trips idea works out well for you and you get a lot out of the rich culture of the place you visit. I hope you enjoy your trip and learn a lot!!