At specific points, trends seem to change in travel blogging. Imagine if temporary global conditions influence global travel to virtually cease, at least for a little bit. Whether 1 week or 4 months, the issue matters not. Why? Eventually, human beings begin traveling again the moment one trend evolves into a new trend. Change is the only constant. Only fools blind themselves to this truth.
But for odd reasons, most travel bloggers follow the travel blogging herd in these trending moments. Imagine a few travel bloggers publishing blog posts proclaiming how nobody seems to be traveling now, so you better take a virtual trip, or do something largely unrelated to planning for and actually taking trips around the globe. A few bloggers follow this trend and a few more follow the trend. Eventually, 90% or more of travel bloggers parrot each other in publishing posts resigned to the fact that nobody seems to travel now. May as well take a virtual tour, right?
Wrong.
10% or fewer travel bloggers do not follow the herd. 10% or fewer think for themselves. Imagine this crowd publishing content geared toward planning and taking trips 24-7, 365, independent of global travel trends. Why? Free thinkers understand that travel will begin again, eventually. Who positions themselves to be even more successful? The 10% travel blogging crowd offering helpful travel planning content for people who will travel again. Guess what happens when people begin traveling again? You guessed it; the 10% crowd sprints out of the gates, ahead of bloggers publishing virtual touring content for months. Plus, the virtual tour content becomes largely useless because virtually everybody travels again, and cares less about taking virtual tours when taking real tours is on the table. Follow the herd. Step in poop.
Similar to large herds of herbivores, travel bloggers follow the herd being driven by fear. Water buffaloes fear being killed and eaten by tigers. Travel bloggers fear being criticized by readers and fellow travel bloggers. Travel bloggers also fear failing by doing something different, something that scared travel bloggers deem risky, foolish, or whatever scared human beings say. Choose to leave the herd. Stop following the herd. Branch out on your own. You are a human being intending to live your dreams, not a water buffalo trying to avoid being killed and eaten by a tiger.
Be bold. Blog your own path. Take your own blogging journey. We all walk our own path to become successful. Now, it’s your turn to walk your blogging path, well away from the herd of average travel bloggers. No top blogger – in any niche – became successful by doing what all other bloggers did, lock-step. Top pros pivot, and move away from the herd, carving out their own niche by zigging when all other bloggers zag. I never follow the herd. Even though I follow basic blogging fundamentals as all pros do, I never decide to do any one thing based on the patterns and habits of most bloggers because 80% of bloggers never make more than $100 online during their entire blogging careers. Do I genuinely want to emulate that? I don’t think so. But I do intend to step away from the crowd to inspire other bloggers to trust their gut and to succeed by adding their own, unique style to their blogging niche…..travel blogger, or not.
Stop following the travel blogger herd. Blog to the beat of your own drum. Position yourself to succeed.
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Ryan Biddulph
A Blogging Geek from Paradise.
Ryan Biddulph inspires bloggers with his 100 plus eBooks, courses, audiobooks and blog at Blogging From Paradise.