Travel BlogCamp

I hope you are learning from the series of posts on Blogging Q&A, the point of creating these interviews is for experienced bloggers to share their experiences so that we can all learn together. That’s the aim behind the Travel BlogCamp, to open allow people to pass on their knowledge and learn.

Here is today’s interview.

Please introduce yourself and your blog?

I’m Keith Jenkins and I’m based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I first started blogging during a round-the-world trip last year (to share my experiences with my family and friends). When I returned to Amsterdam, I realised I was hooked on travel writing and blogging. I launched the Velvet Escape and I’ve been having a ball with it ever since. I’ve learned so much about blogging and social media in the past ten months that I decided recently to launch a new blog Velvet Connect. My aim with Velvet Connect is to share my experiences with social media and how it can help businesses.

What would you say are your biggest challenges as a blogger?

I think every blogger faces more or less the same challenges. To me, the main ones are building exposure and channelling traffic to my blog, and the technical side of the blog. I revel in the first challenge. I love communicating and engaging with people so the marketing aspect of my blog came naturally. Funnily enough, so did SEO! The second main challenge freaks me out. Seriously, I start to quiver every time WordPress launches an upgrade! So far, so good though. Fingers crossed!

Another main challenge faced by most bloggers is coming up with fresh content, especially when the inspiration is hard to find. I’ve learned several ways to get around this. I’ve created various themes so I have something to fall back on if I’m running out of new ideas. I love themes as they offer a structure from which to write. It’s easier to come up with new ideas that way. The themes I’ve had so far include ‘Plane Views’, ‘Culinary Journey’, ‘Lone Traveller’ and ‘Velvet visits’.

Another method I’ve learned is to have guest series. Having others write on your blog ensures a fresh perspective and, most importantly, nurtures goodwill. I often have ad-hoc guest articles on my blog. In addition, I also use themes (there you have it again!) as a guide for guest writers.

I’m especially proud of the ‘A World of Inspiration’ guest series, which ran for 20 consecutive weeks. About a month ago, I launched a new guest series ‘My velvet escape travel tip’ and I’m hoping this series will run even longer!

If you started your blog again what would you do differently?

I would have made it my dotcom instead of my dotcom/blog. My blog has surpassed (on all counts) my original dotcom site. One of the purposes of launching the Velvet Escape blog was to have a dynamic platform from which traffic could be channelled to my dotcom site. Now, it’s the other way around!

What’s your experiences with Twitter, do you think it is having a negative impact on blogs?

I’m a huge fan of Twitter and I certainly refute the idea that it is having a negative impact on blogs. The fact that so many bloggers are on Twitter surely shows that it’s having a positive impact. I use Twitter for a variety of reasons. When I first started out on Twitter, my aim was to market the articles on my blog and dotcom site. I then realised that the Twitterverse is the ultimate networking and community-building opportunity. Marketing my blog became a secondary issue after a while.

Yes, I still tweet about my articles every day and I’m thankful for the re-tweets but to me, Twitter has become so much more than just another marketing platform. I get lots of new ideas and tips from Twitter – in that sense, it is an amazing resource. Twitter is also a place where many new contacts can be made easily and by engaging with your followers, solid relationships can be built. Business opportunities, assignments and true friendships are the fruit of these new relationships.

What tips would you give someone wanting to start a travel blog?

Just be yourself. Make sure the layout (colours, font, etc..) and the content are a true reflection of who you are. Always inject a personal element into your posts, interact with your readers (on your blog or Twitter, etc..), be generous and always say ‘Thank you’!