The 7 Deadly Sins of Travel Blogging

 

The world of travel blogging can seem idyllic; a whirlwind of enviable adventures, cappuccino-fueled writing sessions, brand partnerships and networking events. Like one of the black and white cookies I love in New York, travel blogging has a dark and light duality-on one hand a supportive community of like-minded travelers with a passion for storytelling, on the other hand inflated egos, sassy attitudes and appalling behavior. These are the 7 deadly sins of travel blogging I’ve come across in my foray into the travel world.

 

1. Bragging about travel bloggers you know.

Travel blogging sin #1: the dreaded name drop. There is a distinct difference between realizing you share mutual connections and bluntly bragging about the one time you shared air space with that top blogger of 2015.

 

2. Start by telling us the number of countries you’ve been to.

Yikes, this is one travel blogging no-no that drives me up the wall. I was once on a press trip where within 5 minutes of meeting one of my fellow travelers, this blogger proceeded to talk about the number of countries they had traveled. Now, don’t get me wrong–it’s an amazing thing to see the world, but there’s just something irritable about putting a number to it and then throwing that number in people’s faces! Travel is measured in experiences and memories, not the number of places you can brag about visiting later.

 

3. Rub upcoming press trips in each other’s faces.

On a previous press trip, one of the girls always made sure to flaunt upcoming press trips and invites while on the current press trip. This was rude to the PR person who organized the trip and was annoying to the rest of us who truly had no interest in hearing about her press invites. It’s one thing to share upcoming travel plans and quite another to rub press invites.

 

4. Ask everyone to take your photo…all the time

We are all documenting our travels for our respective travel blogs and stories; so we can all be guilty of the occasional selfie ask. Unfortunately, there are those bloggers who take it to the next level and will incessantly ask for a photo of themselves striking a model pose. The beautiful background will be blurred and sacrificed for the sake of another twirl, cartwheel and jump; while the rest of the press trip waits impatiently. I recommend purchasing a Gorilla Claw Flexible Tripod, which allows you to take selfies virtually anywhere you wish.

 

5. Bragging about your brand partnerships.

Blogging is a competitive world and one of the more coveted opportunities to snag is a truly good brand partnership (for the ins and outs of working with brands, check out my BLOG TIPS section). Brand partnerships offer exposure, publicity and consistent payouts that lend the sporadic world of blogging a bit of normalcy. A few of my fellow bloggers have landed some stellar brand partnerships (and I myself have a few) and I celebrate their success wholeheartedly. Then, there are the bloggers I’ve just met who feel the need to monologue and brag about their brand partnerships–yikes!

 

6. Going on about how much you make.

The world of travel blogging is unlike the corporate world in many ways–there is no clear path to success, not even the promise of financial gain. There is only passion, art and the ambition to have your stories shared. All too often, I overhear bloggers brag about how much money they are making from advertising, sponsored content, brand partnerships and even press trips. It’s one thing to offer coveted advice and quite another to rub success in the faces of other bloggers struggling to make a name for themselves.

 

7. Skewering another blogger in public.

I have been on my fair share of press trips and have gotten along with some bloggers better than others. It’s human nature to not jive with everyone–people have different styles, personalities and egos and when traveling together for days on end, those differences are accentuated.

 

Blogging is first and foremost a business and it is totally unprofessional to air your grievances with another blogger on social media. This happened recently to a dear friend of mine and I was appalled by how her naysayer acted. We are all trying to make a name for ourselves and push our blog into the spotlight, so always treat your fellow bloggers with respect.

 

 

What do you think? Share your opinion on the worst things travel bloggers do in the comments section below!