How to Write the Perfect Blog Post

How to Write the Perfect Blog Post

Hints and tips on writing the perfect blog post

Travel blogging is a great way to keep track of your gap year and share your adventures with your friends and family. Then when you get home you'll have a perfect log from your trip that you can look back on for years to come.

Blogging is also a great way to help travellers who are planning a trip as they can use your blogs posts for tips and inspiration.

Writing the perfect blog post can take a bit of practice so we've put together some hints and tips based on what we've found makes a great post. These aren't strict blogging rules because every post is different but these should help you create a blog you'll be reading for years after your trip.

Write an exciting title that tells us what your blog post is about

If you want people to read your blog post then you need to entice them in with a good title. Online titles work best if they describe the content of the post. This makes it easier to search for the post through gapyear.com and through Google. Aim for eight words or less and it's a bonus if you can get a joke or a splash of colourful alliteration in there.

Keep it to around 500 words

Online audiences have a very short attention span and people tend to get bored and move onto the next thing quickly. Make it easy for them to read your post by keeping it short and breaking up the text with short paragraphs and headers. Headers make your writing 'scanable' so people can skip to the sections of the post that interest them the most.

Have a focus or ‘hook'

Every day is an adventure while you're on your gap year and you'll have loads to talk about but try to focus on one thing at a time. If you spent five days in Sydney, split your blog posts into different themes such as:

1. Nightlife in Sydney
2. Your favourite sites in Sydney
3. Staying in Sydney Hostels
4. Taronga Zoo
5. Visiting Manly Beach or Bondi Beach

Use photos

You know what they say, a photo speaks a thousand words and this is especially true with travel photography. If you're looking for a few pointers on travel photography we have loads of great articles so here are a couple to whet your appetite:

Travel Photography: A Guide by Lucy Cartwright

The Art of Travel Photography

Give us some facts

If your blog post is well written then you'll have inspired your fellow gappers to follow in your footsteps and live your adventure. Give them some tips and facts on how they can do the same by letting them know how you got there, where you stayed, how much it cost and some insider secrets like the best place for breakfast or where to find a cheap beer (basically all the important facts).

This may seem a bit dull but these are the things people want to find out while they're researching a destination so if you've got some useful facts, get them into your blog post!

Proof read your blog

Proof reading your own writing can be tough, not to mention boring, but nothing puts a reader off like typos, spelling mistakes and general sloppiness. Read it through a couple of times and get your mates to give it a quick scan before you hit publish.

Share your blog!

Here's the fun part... sharing your blog with your friends and family. Post it on Facebook, share it on Twitter and make friends with the gapyear.com community to make sure other gap year travellers are reading it. Read other user's blog posts and comment on them, get involved with the discussions on the message boards and share your travel photos and before long you will have a huge community of gap year travellers reading about your adventures.

Further Information

Here are some of our favourite blog posts to give you some great examples:

A tale of coca, crawling and colonization by Dharmabum
Tom's first person narrative from Potosimakes a great read. He's got some facts in there, some personal thoughts, some thoughtful observations and, most importantly, some great photos.

Observations on India by gemknight88
This blog post is recommended for anyone who is planning a trip to India. Gem is funny, she gives some great information and you will learn a lot about life in India. She's included some really helpful tips too like ‘always eat your rice' and where you can find the best view over the Ganges.

Is it better to backpack solo or with friends? By Andy
Andy asks the questions that all travellers ask at some point; should I tag along with a friend or go it alone? There's no right or wrong answer but hopefully this blog post will help you make up your mind. 

About the Author: Monica Stott

Monica is the social media specialist and content writer for gapyear.com. She's a Twitter addict, travel blogger, iphoneographer and all-round travelaholic. She took an extended gap year after uni, spending eight months in South East Asia and over a year travelling and working in Australia. She worked on a diving island and drove all the way around the coast of Australia in a rusty old campervan. Her favourite destination is Thailand where she spent two months scuba diving, practising yoga, parting during full moons, half moons, quarter moons, black moons (any excuse for a party) and eating far too much Thai red curry.