If you remember my 2014 goals, I mentioned taking a travel blogging course with Amanda from A Dangerous Business. In 2013, I had to self-teach myself how to be a better blogger and worked on branding Angela Travels. What I learned on my own was reinforced in Amanda’s Travel Blogging 101 course.

To be honest, the course should be taken if you are looking to start a travel blog or just starting one. Some of the hosting and design lessons were not super beneficial especially if you already have your blog established. However, the ability to connect with others in the course via the Facebook group was extremely helpful for tweaking my site and finding a new theme for my redesign.

The lessons had optional weekly assignments for establishing your blog and brand. One assignment I would like to complete would be the media package for pitching to tourism boards and companies on travel partnerships.

I am not going to share all the secrets to the course, but I will share the weekly topics we discussed. It was nice to ask a veteran blogger her tips and tricks of being a successful travel blogger.

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Week 1: Welcome to the Course

  • This course covered a background of A Dangerous Business, along with setting up your blog via hosting. She also introduced all the course members, so we could connect with each other.

Week 2: So you have a blog. Now what do you post?

  • This lesson covered different types of blog posts seen on travel blogs.

Week 3: Don’t Let Your Travel Blog Die

  • Not letting my blog die is one of my fears. Since I am a full time worker and part-time blogger, I definitely found this lesson to be helpful on keeping content flowing.

Week 4: Branding and Your Blog

  • I had a hard time figuring out the brand of my blog the past year. The information provided helped me fine-tune the direction for Angela Travels.

Week 5: A Crash Course in Social Media

  • Since my focus last year was to get my brand out there via social media, this lesson was a high level refresher confirming my current social media tactics.

Week 6: Self-Promotion Without Becoming an Internet Whore

  • Self-promotion built further on the social media lesson.

Week 7: The Things Your Blog Should Have

  • The necessities and style of travel blogs. It was a broader lesson since everyone’s tastes differ.

Week 8: The Dreaded SEO and What You Need to Know About It

  • Always an important topic to discuss.

Week 9: Breaking into the Travel Blogging Community

  • I had been having a hard time with getting into the blogging community. With TBEX’s North American conference yet to be announced, I was excited for this lesson.

Week 10: Your Blog as a Business

  • Helpful if I ever decide to monetize my blog.

Week 11: Creating a Media Kit and a Solid Pitch

  • The last formal lesson was by far the most helpful for me. I am starting to think about building a media kit and pitching tourism boards and companies for partnerships. Fingers crossed I get at least my media package done soon!

Week 12: Success! You’ve Completed the Course!

  • Congratulations of finishing the course. I agreed to take a survey and have a Skype date with Amanda. She critiqued my site per my request and was available for final answers. It was a pleasure to finally meet her via video chat.

The course flew by. I am excited to continue to follow the other bloggers in the group and was happy to meet new bloggers to bounce ideas off of. If you noticed, I have been contributing to interviews and collaboration posts recently with my fellow classmates.

If you (or anyone you know) are interested in taking this course, head over to A Dangerous Business for more information. Since I was part of the beta class, the course was discounted, so Amanda could adjust the course based on feedback. The amount of work that Amanda has put into the course justifies the course cost. Head over to get more details of what the class will include. Hurry, the next course starts at the beginning of May.

I mentioned the media kits and pitching was the most beneficial lesson. Amanda is providing a mini course on Working with Brands that will start at the beginning of June.

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*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If used, I will receive a small percentage of the course fee at no additional charge to the participant. Also, I was asked to write a review for the course and share what I learned. All opinions are my own.

Know of another travel blogging course? Please use the comments to share.

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