When I used to go on vacation with my family, we would sit around and discuss where we’d still like to go and what landmarks we’d still like to see. No amount of time ever seemed like enough unless we wanted to cram six weeks of activities into our one week vacation.
That’s the real problem with going away, isn’t it? Not only do you have weeks of preparation to try and figure out who is going to watch the dog or water your plants and whether or not you can get the time off from work, but you have to try to narrow down all of the things that you want to do into one single vacation.
I would go through vacation blues once our trip had ended. I’ll be back on my couch, working as a freelancer while binge watching on Netflix and reminiscing about my recent trip. That is until I became a travel blogger.
Now, I have no one to answer to when I want to take time off, and I never waste my precious vacation time on the trivial, overcrowded tourist spots because it’s my job to know what to hit up and when. The best part of it all is that I get paid to go on lavish vacations.
I know it probably seems hard to believe, but I’m walking proof that it is entirely possible. Not only is my travel blog monetized, which means I get paid simply to write about my trips, but I also get free vacation offers all the time. I truly am living a dream.
If you are interested in potentially starting one yourself and joining me in this dream, it’s easier than you could ever imagine. Just follow these simple steps to get started.
Step One: Come up with a unique domain name
One of the most important things that a blogger is going to choose is their domain name. It sets the mood for the rest of the site and there is no denying that catchy names get more “click bait”, so to speak than those with generic, boring names.
By choosing something catchy and unique, you will catch the eye of your potential visitors and make them interested in clicking further. Here are some rules to keep in mind when choosing a name:
- Skip the cliche travel synonyms. Don’t go for being a traveler, a nomad, a vagabond, etc.
- Don’t use anything too difficult to read and/or type. This means no numbers, no hyphens, no underscores, and no alliteration. I know you may think that TinasTerrificTravels.com sounds catchy, but don’t do it.
Step Two: Go to InMotionHosting and click the “ORDER NOW” button to host your travel blog.
There are plenty of blog hosting companies to choose from. For the purposes of this tutorial, however, we have chosen InMotionHosting because they’re affordable, newbie friendly, and have an awesome customer service support team.
Once you click the “ORDER NOW” button, you will be asked to choose a plan. I highly recommend the “LAUNCH” plan, especially if you are first starting out.
Step Three: Enter your domain name
Here is when you’re going to enter your domain name and things really get started. If it is available, you will be able to continue. If not, you may need to go back to the drawing board and come up with something else.
Once your domain name has been accepted and you’ve pressed the “CONTINUE” button, you are going to be asked to enter some personal information.
Step Four: Enter your billing information and click “INSTALL WORDPRESS”
The “BILLING INFORMATION” portion of this is as simple as it always is. We’ve all bought something on the internet, so it should go without saying that you can fill this out with ease. Once you have double checked for errors, you can and should continue on to the bottom of the page.
For “Domain Privacy”, if you want to keep your private information hidden, select this option. Otherwise, you can select “No Thanks”.
For Content Management System, click “Install WordPress”. This will automatically install WP for you, and save you a step later on.
Once that has been done, click “Purchase Account”. You will receive a confirmation email within minutes, so be on the lookout for that. The email will include your username, password, and a link to your Control Panel. This link is the lifeline of your blog, so make sure to keep it safe.
If you lose the email including the link, don’t worry. All you have to do is go to your website and add /cPanel to the end of it.
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