I’ve found cutting back to posting every other day is increasing my engagement per photo. Tag the location so others nearby can find your shots. I like using 2-3 hashtags in the caption, with another 20-25 targeted hashtags in the first comment. Longer descriptions seem to work well on Instagram — tell a story. Ask a question at the end to encourage engagement. For faster browsing & commenting on Instagram, I use Iconosquare Pro from my laptop.
Follow Me On Instagram!
Others…
There are other important social media platforms like Pinterest and YouTube. However I’m still learning how to best utilize them, and don’t feel qualified to comment just yet. Which just goes to show you that becoming a professional travel blogger is a never-ending learning process.
5: Get Yourself Some Free Press
Press & Media Tips
One of my Viral Posts…
Yup, it’s time to become your own PR agent and market yourself to the masses by securing features in major media outlets. If you think popular travel blogs have large audiences, it’s nothing compared to what major media outlets have.
You can actively pitch your story rather than wait around for someone to notice you.
This is what I do to get featured on all sorts of large websites and TV shows over the years.
Here’s my secret formula, so you can do the same!
Spend time researching media outlets that sometimes publish travel features. Especially those featuring bloggers. Pay attention to the authors of those articles.
Connect with the authors on Twitter or LinkedIn. Follow them. Add them to a public list. Share their articles with a mention. Ask a question. Send a compliment. But don’t be annoying.
Put together a polished project/article/idea with mass appeal. Something that many people will find fascinating, as I discussed earlier (do interesting stuff).
Finally, pitch them your great idea a few months later. I sometimes sweeten the deal by explaining that I’ll be sending out a press-release soon but wanted to give them the opportunity to cover it first.
Now that you’ve dedicated time developing a relationship with the writer, your chances are much higher that they’ll be interested in your pitch, landing you a feature on a major media website!