If viewers can feel they are with you, then you have made a great travel vlog. But how can one achieve that? In this intensive guide, you will learn how to create vlogs that would win you a significant content portfolio. Vlogs are engaging and should provide viewers a great way to experience the world through your eyes and ears.
There are various ways to approach your content creation strategy, and the fun part is: none of them are wrong. As long as you have the passion for pouring your adventures into vlogs, you are already on a great start.
But what about the process to captivate viewers and get them coming back to you again and again? Well, that’s what we are about to tell you!
You can follow the trending topics to cover in your next video. Use Google Trends to find out what people are searching in your area. And convert that search result into a dashing vlog. Trends tend to make content viral, after all.
Or you can simply create a series of short videos (20-30 seconds) with your narrative and post them on every social media you can use. The world is your oyster.
But what works most is put into a list of 12 Tips that you can use right away and become the next prominent vlogger
1. Always use the right and consistent tone
The first step in making an engaging vlog is to actually engage with your viewers. Interact with them. It is essential to keep the right tone in your videos. Be friendly and casual. While recording yourself, be energetic and earnest.
Act like you’re talking with a friend. And not like you’re on an interview with a stranger. People respect enthusiasm and passion.
There are generally three formats of vlogs you can follow. Entertaining, Informational, and Educational.
And whichever format you choose, make sure you stick to it. At least unless you have a large fanbase. When you follow a particular style, it becomes a part of your brand. And it’s always a good idea to stay honest with your brand. It not only builds authenticity but brings in loyal followership as well.
Entertaining vlogs are generally easygoing and fun to watch. These videos typically contain an “adrenaline” element to their videos and often do not have anything serious. Many vloggers who feature hiking, camping, and sports in their videos follow this format. The videos are fast, often humorous, and easy to watch.
Informational vlogs are made of news, facts, and knowledge. If you want to create calm and soothing vlogs with your experiences stitched together in the form of bits and pieces of information, this format might fit your style.
The third type of vlogs is generally educational videos. Tutorials, how-to guides, and reviews fit into this style. Vloggers who want to help fellow adventurers to have a better experience in their travels usually make this format. There is no right or wrong choice when it comes to vlog format. Just follow your heart and decide which style of vlogging would take you up towards mount success.
2. Keep your videos concise and crisp
One of the biggest reasons some vloggers get more followers than others is their ability to avoid boring elements in their videos. And one of the biggest culprits that can make your video boring is its length. No one is going to watch a 10 minutes long video from a newbie travel vlogger.
Try to keep your videos under 3 minutes. Anything more than that might make viewers lose interest. While traveling, shoot a lot of clips no longer than 3-10 seconds. It’s easier to edit small clips into a minute compilation and necessary to capture viewers. Keep in mind, a crisp and short video can take you long ways. Start with less.
Take Mark Harrison as an example. He started off his YouTube channel with one-minute videos. Now he is a popular travel vlogger who posts videos of 15-minute length. Before a loyal fanbase, you need followership.
3. Show the world with your eyes
What distinguishes a travel vlog from regular travel videos is its ability to carry the first-person narrative towards the adventure your viewers are seeking.
A good vlog holds your personality and perspective. It gives the personal touch which a regular travel video cannot deliver.
Unlike travel videos, travel vlogs focus on your temperament. Make a fantastic experience for your viewers by including many first-person point-of-view (POV) shots in your adventure.
Lost LeBlanc creates travel vlogs and shares his adventures to the world from his eyes (or a GoPro Hero action camera tied to his chest).
People love POV videos because it makes them feel the adrenaline of jumping in the air while being seated at the comfort of their sofas.
Although, never be afraid to show more of you. Shooting POV is more straightforward than speaking into the camera. Especially in a public place where stares can make you uncomfortable. Always be confident and sincere in your task at hand. A smile and a nod help a long way. While facing the camera, imagine you are talking to a friend. It will help along the process of getting familiar with the camera.
4. Select your niche but don't forget to expirement
We have talked to many vloggers, and most of them had the same answer when we asked, “which was your biggest mistake when starting vlogging.” It was not sticking to your target audience.
If you do not have a particular niche or theme for your videos, you might lose viewers fast!
When someone follows you for your surfing videos, they might find it odd to see street food videos from you. It’s okay to release an out-of-context video once in a while. But consistently changing niches can hurt your growth as a vlogger.
Many vloggers found success by not following the niche-rule, but that’s a risk you shall not take when beginning your journey. Once you have a decent following, you can start producing vlogs in other genres but in a different channel or medium. That way, not only you safeguard your fanbase, but you can also generate another stream of revenue with less effort.
You can start writing all the niches and choose one that appeals most to you. You can be a foodie, hiker, biker, cruiser, streets explorer, and what not!
5. Be a storyteller
“There’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place.” - J.K. Rowling.
If your videos lack a story, then it’s plain and meaningless. Storytelling is the art of revealing meaning without having to define something.
You are wandering in a jungle, connect viewers with the crisp sound of fallen leaves. Let them smell the moist soil from the drops of rain that traversed through the trees. Give them the sensation of cold wind drifting through the woods.
Let viewers feel what you feel while walking through the forest. If your viewers find it refreshing and feel emotionally connected to you, they become your regular fan.
If people watching your vlogs can’t connect to you, they will not find any reason to keep watching you.
6. Choosing the right music
You’ve created great shots of nature while you are at it. Now it’s time to go back to your hotel room and rest. You can’t wait to post your vlog and hear the awes and wows of your viewers. After compiling the clips into a stunning video, you put a soundtrack of exorcists in the background and pressed that encouraging share button.
The following day you woke up to find people horrified by the video. All your hard work went through the drain just because you put the wrong background soundtrack.
Music in your vlog can make or break your video.
You can choose not to include any music whatsoever. Many vloggers do it. But it’s always a good idea to put some music that helps with the watching experience.
7. Include other people in your vlogs
When you travel, you find people everywhere. Native to that particular area, or perhaps other travelers like you. Some might approach you. You might approach some. Asking for directions, or maybe a “hello.”
It is fascinating what we might find. Travel guides or Google might not do justice to a particular place you’re visiting or exploring. It’s always a great idea to engage with strangers when you’re away. You can forget about the advice your parents gave to you, to avoid strangers.
Talk with strangers. Or even include them in your vlogs. Interactions can be humorous or informational. Either way, it’s excellent content for your videos.
8. Cross-promote with other vloggers
Self-promotion is one of the biggest favor you can do for yourself. After crafting an excellent vlog, you need viewers. You can pay dollars to get sponsored on people’s social media feeds. You can also ask your friends and family to share with their circles. But another and most practical method is to ask other travel vloggers to give a shout-out to you.
Many might not promote you for free, but some might.
There is no harm in asking.
They are already producing videos for their audience, which you can take advantage of.
You can exchange favors for shout-outs as well. Another method is to comment on other travel vloggers’ videos. Give them an honest review, and let their viewers know that you’re also producing interesting vlogs if they are interested. This way, you can start building your followership step by step.
It’s essential to have excellent video quality for this to work. Otherwise, you might attract some bad publicity.
9. Never compare yourself with others
It’s easy to get intimidated by successful vloggers. They have made it into the world as renowned travelers. And the metaphorical road can be harder to travel than the Svalvogavegur road.
But remember that most of them started at point zero. With cheaper gears, almost no viewership, and even shaky confidence. But they learned with each experience and reached where they stand today.
Vlogging is nothing if not satisfying and enjoyable. If you find yourself having fun while doing it, then it’s not worth every second doing it.
10. Cut the fluff out
It is essential to keep your vlog concise and crisp. The final video should not contain anything that doesn’t add value or interest to the vlog.
That being said, never hold back while filming yourself. Sometimes the passion for exploring and talking to your camera makes us rumble a bit. And that’s a good thing. It means we have enthusiasm which is requisite for any vlog to be successful.
We can remove the fluff and cut out the unnecessary shots while editing. The process called “jump cuts” makes vloggers natural on camera and avoids boring the viewers. It balances the pace of the video and makes every second interesting.
During editing, we can also get rid of those annoying “uhm” and “uhs.”
Good editing can shorten the video, kill the dull moments, and make an overall good experience of watching a vlog.
11. Be in a community
When you talk to your audience instead of at them, it makes a huge difference. Remember, actual human beings will see your vlogs. It’s essential to engage them verbally. Be in a community, ask people questions, interact with people who follow you.
Everyone loves to feel belonging in a group of like-minded people. Find and interact with vloggers like you. Collaborate with other vloggers in your locality. Interview them and other people who want to be a part of your vlogs and add tremendous value to your stream.
Vlogging is the art of connecting yourself with nature. And being in a community can bring you closer to the very nature itself.
12. Use right gears
Our last tip for you is to utilize proper gear and hardware for your vlogging journey. You can shoot with your mobile phone and AirPods, but it’s better not to compromise your vlog’s quality.
Depending on the type of vlogs you want to produce, it is a good idea to research and invest in reasonably good gears.
Camera:
Most travel vloggers use a GoPro Hero action camera. It is waterproof, dustproof, and very rugged.
Besides shooting high-quality 4K videos, GoPros are small and easy to carry.
Always carry a DLSR in your bag as well.
Mount:
A tripod stand can make your vlogs look more professional and stable.
They are not expensive and can act as a selfie-stick too.
Mic:
A collar mic and a boom mic can add even more substance and makes it easier to edit. The more world you will explore, the more vlogs you will make. It would get easier to understand what fits your needs as you go along.
Storage:
High storage SD cards and hard-drives can protect you from the frustrations of low-memory errors while shooting at the top of Hvannadalshnukur Peak.
4K quality footage can take up to Gigabytes of your storage. So always carry at least 3-4 Terabytes while traveling.
Before we wrap up this guide, we have an extra golden tip for you to have success and fun as a travel vlogger.
BONUS TIP: Hire a professional video editing team
Editing can drain the fun when you’re on the move and plan to produce many vlogs for your viewers. You can edit yourself; many vloggers do that. But having someone at your disposal to edit your vlogs can make your life easier.
Undoubtedly it takes a lot of effort to make vlogs. But it is soul-relishing once you get the hang of it. Exploring and telling your adventures to people. It feels heavenly.
So, now you have it. Use this guide alongside your passion for creating vlogs everyone is waiting for.
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