Starting a travel blog can be a lot of fun and a great way of both remembering and sharing your travel adventures. If managed in the right way, you can also use your travel blog to make you money. The good news is that you don’t have to be a genius when it comes to IT in order to do it. Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Choose an interesting idea
There are numerous different travel blogs to be found these days, so you need to make sure that you blog stands out from the rest. Choose an aspect of travel that you can talk about with passion and make sure that you actually visit the places you write about as experienced travellers will easily be able to spot a fraud.

2. Selecting the right name
Choose an interesting name for your blog that people can remember and will want to make them read more.

3. Register your domain name
Once you have chosen the name for your blog, you will need to register the domain name so that nobody else can start a blog or website under the same name.

4. Pay attention to the layout of your blog page
A well designed and laid out blog is much nicer and easier to read than a messy or cluttered page. Make sure you pay close attention to the layout and people are more likely to return to your blog.

5. Don’t use too many widgets
It may be tempting to add lots of different cool looking widgets to your blog such as maps, clocks and other eye catching widgets. However, this can seriously detract from your writing, so make sure that you only use widgets that are strictly necessary.

6. Get advice from your friends
Ask friends to take a look at your blog before you decide to launch it officially. Getting a few close friends to check out your travel blog can save you a lot of time and trouble in the future. Your friends should be able to make constructive criticisms on the quality of your blog and let you know if there is anything that is missing or needs changing.

7. Devote a little time to your blog every day
Adding fresh content to your blog every day will make it feel fresh and interesting. Visitors to the blog are more likely to keep returning if there is something new for them to see. The things that you post each day may vary, from blog posts to pictures or other information. Doing daily maintenance is also important to avoid spam and other unwanted problems creeping up.

8. Market your blog
If you want your blog to be popular, you need to let people know it is there. You can do this is several different ways, such as advertising on related forums, sending out promotional material and making pages on social networking forums.

9. Take advantage of link exchange
Many websites also offer free link exchanges, which allow you to advertise your blog by placing a link on their site. Just don’t overdo it linking to hundreds of sites, especially unrelated ones.

10. Create a buzz
Generate attention by thinking outside the box and offering something a bit different. This could be something simple like free giveaways or perhaps special games and competitions.

Amy Sawyer writes regularly for a number of travel blogs and writes travel guides for Alamo car hire in the UK.