Quality Travel Content: Tips, Observations, and Nuances

The debate about quality has never died down. It will probably continue forever as long as there's an incentive to do so. There will always be disagreements on different perceptions of quality and that's okay. It means there's dynamics and everyone's not dead. If you're interested in my views about quality, you can check my post below:

I might create another content about consistency because I feel there's so much to expound regarding this topic. As a lot of new comers will certainly flock this space, there's a need to dispel any "get rich quick and easy" thinking. I realized that a lot of new comers have this idea that you will just post something and you'll earn. There should be a proper setting of mindset before jumping into the ocean of content creation. In the meantime, this post will be my perception of quality in the context of something that's familiar to me.

This time, I would like to share my thoughts and observations about travel content, its judgment of quality, and the specifics in Hive or Steem. Now, you might ask why I should tackle this when there are a lot travel advice out there. First reason is that I specialized in travel, that's a given. The second reason is that there are certain nuances that are specific to this community when it comes to travel content creation. These observations are accumulated in my more than two years of writing travel content exclusively for this community. I would not say that this is already perfect as everything is evolving. Again, these are just my observations as a travel content creator. Feel free to point out, whether you agree or disagree, in the comments below about anything that catches your attention.

If you're new to this platform, you need to read on as you might get something valuable out of this. I specialized in travel content creation because I thought it's the easiest form of content for me. I love travelling and I don't have talent in other forms of content so it's the most logical route. Through the years of writing exclusively for Hive/Steem, I have made countless adjustments and iterations in my travel content that I think worked for me. It may or may not work for you, but you can give it a try.

This doesn't necessarily mean that long form travel content immediately equates to quality. There are certain elements in travel content that should work together in order for that content to called top notch or superior compared to others. I believe that there are levels of quality and in order for your travel content to reach that "Wow!" level, first it should be in a long form. Why? Because 150 words won't be enough to cover the necessary parts of your travel.

Certain travel communities require a minimum number of words in order for your content to be curated. You can start with that criterion, but don't limit yourself there. I aimed usually at 1000 words, but not always the case. Between 500 to 1000 words is my acceptable length of travel content. The thing is, you can't force to reach a certain number of words. It should come naturally while writing your content.

There are a lot of things to talk about in your travel. May it be purely about the place, or you can add your thoughts and sensations while you're the area. You can add the history of the place and how it came to be. You can add interesting stories that surround the place. The best way to listen to your local travel guide when he's touring you around. That way, you can tell more insider stories and that would certainly make your travel content more personal yet professional. For me, first-hand accounts of locals, may he be a guide or not, should always be treated as treasures. Sometimes, you can't find those information or stories in the internet. Adding a certain element in your content that's referenced from the local will make your content believable and interesting at the same time.

Get your facts straight. Doing your own research about the place before creating your travel content or even before travelling itself will certainly make your content more professional. It will also set the type of approach that you can use in your content. This will also fill the details that you might have missed during the tour or just simply makes you remember what the tour guide had talked about during the tour.

Make your post universal. It's just an observation, but it's good to make your content universal. This means that anyone who reads your content can understand what you're saying. Since majority of content consumers can understand English, good command of the English language can certainly help you in creating your content. There's nothing wrong with creating your travel content in your own language, but it will only be limited to your own community. I would say that it's better that way though than force yourself to create an English travel content that's hard to understand. For me, as I'm promoting my country to the international scene, I should have at least good command of the English language even if it's just my second language.

What's the relationship between English language and long form travel content? Travel content curators in Steem/Hive mostly prefer English content that's free of grammatical errors and typos. If you are able to create long form travel content without errors, this means you have the higher chance of getting your message across to your intended audience.

This is a given. Your travel photos should compliment your travel content. No matter how good you are at telling stories, if your photos don't back it up, people won't read your content. They will get bored by simply reading 1000-word content without decent looking photos. You don't have to be a photographer to achieve this. You don't need a DSLR or mirror-less camera either. Recent phones can already achieve feats that only a camera can do before.

The thumbnail is the first selling point of your post because it's what people see first. Make sure that you choose the best photo that represents your post. This will entice your readers to check out your post. You should not describe what's in the photo. I'm stating the obvious, but sometimes I'm guilty of this one.

If possible, learn how to edit your photos. Minor adjustments will do just to make your photos better than the original one. I use Lightroom in editing my photos, but I don't usually stress so much in editing them. There's Auto edit in Lightroom so I just apply that one and then proceed to Exposure and Contrast if I'm not satisfied with the outcome. Next is Saturation; I just set it usually to 15~20 and them I'm done. If the horizon is not flat or level, I use Crop to level the horizon.

I don't hold back in sharing photos. This is because I noticed that the community loves photos. This is one of the subtle difference in other mainstream travel blogs. I noticed in other travel blogs that you can just post 4~5 photos to compliment your post and then it's done. Here, the more photos you share, the better. Proper placements of those photos is an added bonus. You can't just dump those photos in one place.

Share your story, but don't forget that you have a reader even if the reader is just yourself. You should package your story as if you're conducting a virtual tour of the place. Sometimes we are so into our story that we forgot it became boring to our audience. Stay relevant to the place and don't make everything to be about you. Remember that the highlight of the post is the place you visited and not you.

While you are supposed to be sharing about your experience, remember that you are just a narrator. The main actor should be the place, the people, or the culture in your travel post. Tell your audience what makes the place different for you and why they should visit the place in order for them to experience the same as experience as you did.

Even if there are countless travel blogs out there that talked about the place you visited, your blog is not less compared to those blogs. It's about your experience so it's valid, but it's not a good idea to copy those blogs. You can talk about what's different during your last visit. This will entice your audience to keep reading your blog.

Travel blogs are personal, but it doesn't mean you can't make it professional. You can always research and look for those professional blogs and make them your reference.

I receive several comments in my blog about my formatting. To answer, I memorized the html codes of the text formats that I want to see in my blog. While you can create a travel blog without those advanced html codes, they make your blog pleasing to the eye. Those first three observations would be fully bolstered if added with a neat-looking format. Sometimes, it's the fine line that divides a so-so travel content to a superb one.

Disregarding proper text formatting is one of the mistakes that newbies often commit. I was guilty of this one. If you scroll down my page to my very first post, you will see that my formatting is evolving. It will continue to evolve until I'm satisfied with the outcome. I often experiment on different formats to see which one works in a certain travel content and which doesn't. For now, I'm comfortable with my current format so I stick on that one, but it might change in future. If you're interested in different formats, this post is a good start:

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Often the requirement of travel curators is a magazine style of format. We all know travel magazines look magnificent with all their layouts. Placing your photos strategically in your content can also be done with proper formatting. Advanced formatting is sometimes an indicator that you went an extra mile just to make your content good. It signifies effort because it takes longer to format your post than to draft the post itself.

Almost all of my followed travel vloggers on YouTube would say that if you don't have anything good to say about the place, then don't make a content about that place. Of course there are exceptions to this as this is not a rule per se, especially when it's a warning or a life-and-death situation. You often hear or read something like "this is probably one of the best moments of my life if not the best" because that's what travel should be. Christian LeBlanc (Lost LeBlanc on Youtube) said that he enjoyed every travel he had as if it was his last.

Travelling is not always sunshine and rainbows. You might miss a flight, caught in a middle of a storm, scammed, or lost in an alley somewhere in the city. One traveller said that he was robbed at gunpoint, but that didn't deter him from travelling again. Real travellers are prepared to encounter these things. It's part of the whole package. The difference between tourists and real travellers is on how they react and adapt to certain situations. Tourists would often complain about anything they could complain while real travellers focus on the sights, the sensations, the thrill, and the beauty of it all. It's the same with writing a travel blog. If you are a real traveller, you share the best place to stay, the best spot to visit, and the beauty that they see in a place that they visited.

I should not be talking about these things as they should already be a common sense to travellers, but I can still observe blogs that talk about the negative things in a certain place even if it's very trivial. You are the one visiting a certain place which means you're away from your comfort zone. Learn to adapt and respect the place, its people, and their cultures. This is where preparation and extensive research about the place you're about to visit is very important. Don't go to places where there are records of things you're not comfortable with.

Complaining will ruin the mood of your readers, will be against the theme of your photos, and will not entice them to read further unless it is your prime intention. Don't forget your intention why you're into travel blogging in the first place. As for me, my intentions are to promote my country and to have a documentation that I could read in the future. Those are the reasons why I can't afford to say anything negative in my blog unless it is justifiable to do so.

Now, who says travel writing is easy? I bet this is the type content that is heavily scrutinized, but once you're doing it right, it is one of the most rewarded type of content in the platform. If you think you're posting quality travel content, try to compare your post to those who are curated using those five observations I shared and determine which part you need to improve. That's what I did before. Once you determined the parts, work hard and do your best to improve them. You will definitely see significant results.

_{Note: Photos and designs of this post are from Canva. It's a great app to use to beautify your blog.}

Kim Ybañez

_{Welcome to Kim's small corner in Hive. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits secluded destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines) and the rest of the world even if he's still a poor corporate slave with tons of bills to pay and two siblings to support in college.}

_{If you like my content, don't forget to upvote and leave a comment to show some love. You can also reblog if you want to. Also, don't forget to follow me to be updated with the latest posts.}