How to Become a Female Travel Blogger

If you’re sitting at your kitchen table with six open tabs titled something like “how to become a travel influencer” and “how much do bloggers actually make,” I’ve been exactly where you are. I started with a $400 camera, a free theme, no formal training, and zero clue what SEO even stood for.

I was horribly broke while attending community college, often procrastinating on studying and Googling images of faraway lands. I had never left the country other than a five-hour road trip to Niagara Falls. When people asked what I wanted to do after college, I replied "travel," to which they would snicker and reply like "well, don't we all!" 

But the difference is that I was a dreamer. And one day in 2014, I stumbled upon the travel blog Young Adventuress by Liz Carlson. She was a solo female travel blogger, and the blog was her job. In a time before TikTok and social media influencers graced our phone screens on a daily basis, I couldn't believe that travel blogging was her actual job.

That night, I went to my college roommate and told her I wanted to start a travel blog. I had effectively been zero places that made me qualified to be an actual travel blogger, but I was living on delusion and a dream. Turns out, that's all it took. 

It wasn't easy, and it took 4 years of blogging consistently before I made a dime. Most travel bloggers give up within 12 months of starting because they don't realize the time and effort required to be taken seriously. But have grit and determination, and the world is at your fingertips.

Here’s the truth no Pinterest graphic will tell you: becoming a female travel blogger is not about buying a hat and flying to Bali. It’s about building something sustainable, learning real skills, looking beyond a huge follower count on social media, and choosing to keep going long after the “new hobby” phase fades.

1. Find a niche (and no, “female travel blogger” is not a niche)

“Female travel blogger” describes who you are, not what you create. And...it's completely oversaturated. Your niche is the overlap between what lights you up and what other people need. That’s where your blog becomes more than a diary; it becomes a resource.

Ask yourself:

• Who do I actually want to help?
• What problems can I solve through travel
• What do people already ask me about?

Examples of actual niches:

• National parks travel for beginners
• Budget-friendly international travel for Americans
• Solo hiking for women
• Overlanding and truck camping
• Traveling as a couple and working full-time
• Region or state travel

Your niche can evolve (mine absolutely did), but trying to “write about everything” usually results in writing to no one. When I started my blog, I had virtually no grand adventures in my resume. But what I did know well was the Midwest and my home state of Michigan, which was my first niche. 

I was already driving to all corners of the state, exploring beaches, ice cream stands, and campgrounds. I wrote all sorts of guides on the things I knew best: 

"Best Beaches in Michigan"

"Best Winter Weekend Trips in Michigan"

"Where to Go on an Upper Peninsula Road Trip"

Before I was a worldwide female travel blogger, I was a Michigan travel blogger. And I became the top travel blog in Michigan long before I had any roots internationally. If I never focused on Michigan first, I never would have made it. 

2. Invest in learning SEO (it’s unglamorous, but it changes everything)

SEO is the reason travel blogs make money while Instagram accounts burn out. 

Search Engine Optimization is how people find you on Google, and yes, you can learn it without being a tech person. I taught myself SEO in college, which built my travel blog, and eventually my brand. To this day I run SEO programs for other brands to help build their visibility online as well. In fact, most of you reading this piece likely found it by Googling some sort of phrase.

If you want your blog to rank for “best hikes in Arizona” or “how to visit Iceland on a budget,” SEO is the path.

Think of it this way:

Social media = moments
SEO = longevity

A TikTok can last 48 hours. A good blog post can bring traffic for 8+ years. Trust me. 

What to focus on first:

• keyword research (what people are actually searching for)
• formatting posts for readability
• title & header structure
• internal linking
• writing content that actually answers questions

SEO isn’t instant gratification. It’s slow compounding growth — which is why most people never stick around long enough to see results. Be the one who does.

3. Build your website on WordPress 

This is non-negotiable if you’re serious.

Do. Not. Build. Your. Business. On. Social. Media. Or Wix. Or Squarespace. 

Platforms change. Algorithms sink creators overnight. WordPress (the self-hosted version, not WordPress.com) is the most powerful website platform in the world. If you want to rank higher, be found against competitors, and customize your site to its highest potential, it's a must. 

Wix is a starter website platform that will never rank well against high-performing websites. It's meant for those who solely need an online presence or have a hobby website, but not for running a high-ranking business or blog. Wix = low SEO power.

Squarespace is between Wix and WordPress. You can use it to start your blog, but if you want to be a serious competitor in the space, you will eventually need to upgrade to WordPress. But moving all your blog and content between web platforms is a major headache. It might take longer to invest in a WordPress website to start, but it will save money and headaches in the future.

You have two options for getting a WordPress travel blog up and running:

1. Learn the platform yourself. Get set up on wordpress.org, find a theme (I use Beaver Builder). And take 1-2 months to learn the platform and build your first website. And remember, your website does not need to be perfect in order to launch. It can evolve and grow as your brand does. My first website was ugly, clunky, and needed serious work, but producing high-quality blog content was my first priority.
2. Hire a web designer to build your website. If you have the money to invest in your travel blog, the easiest way to get started with a fully functional and beautiful website is to hire a web designer. You can expect this to cost between $2,500 to $5,000, depending on the company you hire.

4. Build your photography profile 

You don’t need the most expensive camera to be a great photographer. But one of the most important aspects of being a travel blogger is visual storytelling. 

Photography is the visual doorway into your writing. It’s often what makes a reader stop scrolling, click your article, and actually trust your experience. Images are also one of the most powerful SEO tools for AI and Google Images.

Embedding good images into your content keeps readers engaged and also helps bring more organic clicks to your website from various platforms (Pinterest, AI results, Google Images, etc.) 

5. Go to unique places (skip Paris, Bali, New York, and Sydney at first)

There is nothing wrong with visiting iconic cities. They’re iconic for a reason. But every travel blogger in the world probably has a post on these destinations. Think smarter with content. What destinations & topics can you write about that most others can't? 

Ranking a new blog post for “things to do in Paris” is like entering a marathon where everyone else already started ten years ago. Choosing less-saturated destinations gives your blog room to grow and makes your brand instantly more interesting.

Some of my best-performing posts have been about places most travelers overlook completely. Be curious, not trendy. The internet doesn’t need another Eiffel Tower photo — it needs someone willing to go left when everyone else goes right.

6. Grind & post consistently

This is the hardest part about becoming a travel blogger, and the one where most people fail. 

There will be months where you pour your heart into content and your traffic doesn’t budge. You will wonder whether anyone is reading. You will question whether you’re “good enough.” 

When you launch a new website, it takes six months for Google to even consider ranking you, and up to 12 months before you even start to show up in rankings. So many new female travel bloggers get frustrated and quit when, after three months, no one is reading their content.

If you want to become a successful travel blogger, you HAVE to do these three things:

1. Blog weekly for an entire year with NO expectations
2. Understand that the content you write now won't rank for at least 6 months
3. Prove to Google that you're website is here to stick around

Even to this day, I write content in a 6-month timeline. It's January now, which means I'm writing content that I want to rank high in June. If I post this blog tomorrow, it won't be #1 on Google tomorrow, next week, or next month. It takes time.

7. Invest in your brand for at least a year (and probably longer)

Most people quit right before things begin to work. Don’t rush the process. If you show up consistently for a year or two, it’s very hard not to make progress. 99% of the time, traveling blogging HAS to be a side gig before it becomes a full-time gig. 

I spent 5+ years working a full-time job and running my blog on the side. It wasn't uncommon to work 60+ hours a week doing both. But now I work 30 hours a week, travel for a living, and employ my husband as well. It pays off in the long run.

Blogging is not a quick investment. You are building:

• authority
• trust
• skill
• an audience
• search engine credibility

Those things take time.

Plan to invest at least a year (and realistically more) before expecting serious income. That investment might be money (hosting, camera gear, courses) or time (writing, editing, learning SEO, improving photos). Ideally, it’s both.

If You're Reading the Blog, You've Already Taken the First Step

The fact that you are researching what it takes to become a female travel blogger means you're already on your way. Trust me when I say YOU can do it, you just have to spend a few hard years grinding with content. 

You do not need to be a world traveller yet and you do not need to have 100k followers on social media. The only thing you really need is the determination and stubbornness to make it happen.

Start messy. Learn publicly. Keep going.