Starting a travel vlog may seem glamorous, but hours, months, and years go into reaching the point of dream adventures and sustainable income. That’s why many travel vloggers give up after a few subpar attempts. That’s also why those who work tirelessly succeed.
But it’s not just hard work that takes travel vloggers from beginners to “made it.” A mix of creativity and business savvy — not to mention technical comprehension — are essential for any travel vlogger’s career.
To help you pave your travel vlogging way, we talked with four top travel vlogging experts to hear the trials, tribulations, and mistakes they’ve made on their road to success. Here are the biggest mistakes they made when first starting their travel YouTube channels so you can avoid these problems from the get-go.
1. Chasing Trends Instead of Passions
“I think it’s important to choose one area to focus your content on, especially when you’re starting out. Until people get to know you, it’s easier to connect when you have a common interest. For me, that’s a love of travel. Once you decide what you’d like to focus on, be consistent with your uploads and make the type of content you’d like to watch. Be yourself, be consistent, be patient, work hard, and remember to have fun. It’s so important to enjoy what you do and not be so worried about documenting a moment that you forget to be in the moment.” – Eileen Aldis, a Canadian travel and adventure vlogger who jetsets and films with her boyfriend, Marc
2. Plan your Content
“From the outside, it might look like travel vloggers are just turning their cameras on and recording whatever happens. But most of us who find success in this game put a lot of planning into our videos. When you know you have a trip coming up, it’s time to do some keyword research. Search for your destination and see what videos already exist. See what’s popular, see what’s not. Or plan a fresh idea that hasn’t been done before! But I found my success when I made the shift from filming randomly to filming with a purpose.” – Dan Vineberg, the travel vlogger behind The New Travel, which highlights unique cultures and meaningful stories from across the world
3. Get Past Vanity Metrics
“I spent far too much time in my first three to six months on YouTube trying to promote my channel and gain a following, rather than actually providing value to my audience. I hated the idea of not looking like a credible creator by having a low subscriber count. I used to comment on other channels, and share on FB/Reddit like mad in the hopes of generating a few more views. That time would have been far better spent watching YouTube tutorials on how to film/edit better and making more videos.
At first, I tried too hard to be this ‘vlogger’ and I realized that my sweet spot was being an informative guide who just feels like a friend. When I really figured out the types of content my audience enjoyed the most, I made that a large percentage of my content strategy.” – Jon Barr, the face of the Here Be Barr travel vlog series, designed for the savvy traveler
4. Think Before You Speak
“I wish I was more careful about how I said things. One of my first videos I ever posted was ‘New York’s Worst Tourist Traps’ and I was a little harsh about certain things. Fast forward a year and that video has over a million views. Looking back, I wish I would have thought about things and phrased them in a way that is more open minded. You never know who is watching your videos and it is important to state your opinions in a way that is non-offensive and well thought out. Also, make sure that you clarify it is your opinion, not a fact! We are all allowed our own thoughts but when you put yourself out there you need to be aware that people from all different background might be watching.” – Sarah Funk, a travel vlogger who’s best known for her NYC insider tips on the YouTube channel, Sarah Funky
5. Invest in Audio
“A lot of new vloggers think they can just buy an expensive camera, do a backflip off a waterfall, and they’re good to go. But really, it doesn’t matter how cool the footage looks if the sound is off. And if no one wants to hear you talk, you’ll never engage an audience or grow your brand.” – Dan Vineberg
For ideas on how to improve your audio quality, check out this guide with quick ideas on the best on-camera microphones for vloggers.
Feature photo by Paolo Conversano on Unsplash
