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1. 

   Martha56
   Member

   Why do I need a blog? Can't I just submit my writing to other sites?

   Posted 2 years ago #
2. 

   Amandah Blackwell
   Moderator

   Thanks for the question. A blog (we recommend WordPress) is a great way to showcase your travel writing. This is great is you're new to travel writing. You can start by documenting and writing about your travels. When you apply for writing gigs, you can direct people to your blog so they can look at your writing. Once you become comfortable with writing, you can take your writing further. Try on different styles and tones. Try writing in the 2nd or 3rd person. It's a great way to challenge yourself as a writer. Hope this helped!

   Posted 2 years ago #
3. 

   Angela
   Member

   Blogs are great because you can create a free blog and make it your own. It started off as being a "personal diary," but businesses have blogs to entice readers. I'm glad I started my blog because it has helped me improve my writing. Submitting to other sites is fine, but you want people to visit your site.

   Posted 2 years ago #
4. 

   MetroCity1
   Member

   You do want to submit to other sites in order to get back links to your site. But, change up your blog post. You don't want to submit the same blog post. The more eyes that see your posts, the more visitors you'll get to your site.

   Posted 2 years ago #
5. 

   Richard
   Member

   Blogs are important, but don't make the posts lengthy. I've now heard that you want to keep blog posts to 300 words, no more than 400 words. I'm not sure how true this is, so if anyone has any information on this, it would be greatly appreciated

   Posted 2 years ago #
6. 

   Amandah Blackwell
   Moderator

   Hey Richard, I also heard that blog posts are supposed to be 300 words. However, people still write more than 400 words (no more than 700 words). I think it depends on the type of website you have. If you have a more "informative" site, you want to give people great content. On the other hand, if your website is more entertaining (think Perez Hilton), stick with 300 - 400 words.

   Posted 2 years ago #
7. 

   Trisha Miller
   Administrator

   Hi Martha - sorry to take so long to chime in - my stepdaughter graduated high school this weekend so it was a very busy one with lots of family and chaos!

   The MOST IMPORTANT reason to have a blog - if you're a travel writer or any type of writer - is to have an online portfolio of your work -- this is critical because many Editors will ask to see examples of your writing, and often these days they prefer that it be online so that they don't have to wade through loads of paper....so your blog is your way to promote yourself as well as a way to self-publish.

   Richard is write that most of your blog posts should be in the range of 300 - 400 words, although you can write lengthier articles when you have what is commonly called an "authority" article that educates your readers on a specific subject. People are willing to spend more time reading if they are learning something, but if you're just rambling, keep it short.

   You can also break up posts into a "series" of connected articles if you have something you want to write about and just can't edit it down - keep your thoughts organized and find natural 'breaking' points and end each segment with a 'teaser' for the next one to come, to keep readers coming back for more.

   Posted 2 years ago #

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