If you are a blogger, travelling can provide excellent material for your readers. In fact, many travel bloggers make a living out of documenting their travel experiences and providing useful tips from the road. However, maintaining and updating a blog regularly when you’re far away from reliable internet connections can be challenging at times.
While you can edit and post photos and respond to comments with ease at home, if you’re on a long distance bus through Patagonia this can be more troublesome. Fortunately, there are a number of tools, apps, and organizational techniques you can use to keep your blog updated regularly no matter where in the world you may be.
Take Notes as you Go
Although apps like Evernote make it easy to jot down your thoughts, there’s nothing that can beat an old-fashioned travel journal. You can save laptop power or roaming charges and make the most of long bus rides by drafting your blog entries en route to your next destination. Even if you don’t write out a fully fleshed out entry, you can preserve first impressions and the details that will make your blog post come alive when the time comes to write it.
Bring the Right Tools for the Job
Whether you plan to work or blog on your travels, you’ll need the equipment to make the process run more smoothly. Get a strong laptop case that will protect your precious computer, bring backup copies of important documents, and you may need memory sticks, batteries, power cords, adaptors, and a SIM card depending on your destination. Sign up for cloud storage through a program like Dropbox so that you don’t lose any files on the road.
Download Time-Saving Apps
When travelling, you may choose to purchase a prepaid SIM card through a provider like www.lebara.co.uk to avoid roaming charges. However, you can use local WiFi networks to make use of helpful apps on your phone that can also keep you connected. WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr all have corresponding apps that allow you to take care of essential tasks such as editing and publishing posts on the go. Apps like Photo Editor are useful for fixing up your holiday snapshots for publication, allowing you to add text and drawings. You can also store rough drafts of your posts on Google Drive, syncing them across multiple devices as necessary.
Be Realistic about Blogging Goals
You may want to keep your readers happy by publishing daily updates from the road and responding efficiently to all comments and queries. However, be realistic about the time you will actually have to work. There may be times when you’re too tired, there’s no internet connection, or you simply want to enjoy the sights without the burden of work tying you down. Remember that your blog posts don’t have to be lengthy to keep readers interested. A few well-curated photos can speak volumes. Let your readership know you’ll be on the move and they’ll be able to forgive a day or two without an update.
By packing the right tools, staying realistic about your blogging capabilities, and downloading time-saving travel apps, you can stay on top of your blog and even find a whole new audience as a result.
