One of the topics to post on your travel blog when you haven’t traveled in forever is to make up an imaginary trip. Creating a series of posts on a place that you haven’t visited and writing as you have in an ‘imaginary post’ can be a source of interesting content for your travel blog readers if done well.
Imaginary posts can sound silly but with a bit of good planning and a touch of added personality they can refresh your travel blog and enhance your next trip.
1. Pick Somewhere You Haven’t Been
Pick a city or place they you haven’t been, know little about, or haven’t even thought about visiting. That’s why my recent whimsical 48 hours was in St. Petersburg – I knew little about it to start. This makes the process of researching what to do, where to eat, and where to stay more interesting for you. It also sets you up to rely more on your preconceptions and stereotypes. The mistakes you’ll inevitably make can help generate a discussion on your imaginary post and ultimately find out more about a place you knew little about before you began.
Do some Google hacking and search the Internet, read travel forums, and get in touch with other travel bloggers specializing in the area or city for your imaginary trip. You’ll connect with other travelers and get some insight with a personal touch. These connections will inspire you to travel and are important to building a successful travel blog.
3. Write In a Personal Tone
Most travel bloggers don’t have much trouble with this one but you really want to put your imaginary feet in the city you’ll be ‘visiting’. Chose a journal-like tone but anchor it with some information about real landmarks, restaurants, and other sights to keep you on topic.
4. Find A Partner
Think you’re the only one who hasn’t traveled in a while? There plenty of other travel bloggers who are experiencing a travel drought at any given time. Get in touch with one of them and do an imaginary post exchange. Pick a city you haven’t been to and the other has and visa-versa.
I did this with Final Transit a few weeks back. I wrote an imaginary trip to St. Petersburg and he wrote one on Manila (we split them up in 2 parts). The following week we wrote posts comparing the others’ perceptions with the realities (again in two parts) as guest posts. This worked out very well and at the same time provided both of us with 4 days worth of posts, a chance to write for new audiences, and certainly inspired me to visit St. Petersburg and have some plain (not mixed) vodka.
(Priyank also is an excellent writer who takes amazing pictures which really made the exchange a success.)
It’s important to let your readers know that a given post about a trip to a city is imaginary. You can play around with where you’ll disclose this (I prefer right at the top). Also make sure you explain the premise, especially if you’re exchanging posts, which can be tricky. (Looking back, I probably could have done a better job of it myself.)
Making It Work
Putting together an imaginary trip is easy and gives you a bit more creative latitude but is more ‘research intensive’, especially if your travel blog is more of a personal diary or log of your trips. Provide yourself with a very basic plan and structure to build your imaginary post around to make it work.
You can take this imaginary post concept in many directions and the keys to making it work don’t differ too much from any other travel blog post. Use the upside down pyramid and these 6 ways to keep a travel blog post interesting and have fun with it.
If you end up doing an imaginary post, send me a link or share it in the comments below – I’d love to read your take on them.
[photos by: MikeOliveri, bending light, Mrs.Maze]