Why Every Travel Writer Needs to Have a Travel Niche
I’m often asked by travel writers to look at their website and make suggestions. Because of this I’ve discovered a lot of really great travel blogs. I always offer constructive feedback, however, most of them make a common mistake that keeps them from getting any significant amount of site traffic, and few, if any, comments.What’s this grave mistake that prevents them from becoming authority sites? As great as they are, as well written as their content often is, they lack specialization, or more simply, a travel niche. They have no specialty that would set them apart from every other travel blog out there.There are some travel writers who do an exceptionally good job with their travel blogs – they travel frequently and regularly add fresh travel content to their blog. Their sites are well organized and easy to navigate, and I enjoy reading their travel articles. But let’s be honest here – there are thousands of travel writers out there, many of whom are also doing just as good a job.So how do you stand out from the crowd? The answer is simple – choose a travel niche. Find a specific topic that you are passionate about (and no, “travel” is not specific enough), and focus on writing about that topic.A perfect travel niche for you should be:
Something you love, and
Something you know a lot about, and
Something you have firsthand experience with
Your travel niche can be a specific place or a specific type or method of travel. Examples of some travel niches for which I’ve seen websites that are very well done include:
Place – bloggers who write about what’s going on in their hometown, expats who live abroad and write about their adopted place of residence as they explore it, and travel writers who focus on writing only about the Spas of the world;
Type – bloggers who write about solo travel, traveling with small children or pets, girls getaways, eco-tourism, voluntourism, adventure travel, and spiritual pilgrimages;
Method – bloggers who write about backpacking trips, bicycling or walking tours, river cruises, and even some of the worlds best train trips.
The reason these websites do very well is that they remain focused on a small travel niche that they can dominate by regularly adding new, interesting, valuable, and focused content about that niche. By doing that, it’s far more likely that people who are searching for information on that topic will find them.In addition to attracting more site visitors, when you write on a specialized travel niche topic, you have the opportunity to be perceived as an expert in your travel niche. And being an Expert is a good thing. People love to quote experts, especially in print. People love to ask experts for help and advice. Experts get offered opportunities – frequently paying opportunities – that others don’t get.When Publishers want content on a specific locale, they look first for writers who already know that particular destination well. When an Editor or Journalist needs a quote on a specific subject, they look for an expert on that subject. Experts get asked to sit on Panel and Advisory Boards, judge competitions, give speeches or lectures, contribute to new projects, and much more. The fastest way to become an expert is to pick a niche that you know very well and write about it. Teach others. Share your knowledge.The bottom line is that if you choose to write about all things travel and all destinations, you might be able to succeed and make a living from it, but it will certainly be challenging because you have a lot of competition in that market — some really good competition, too. But if you pick a niche, and work to become the go-to person in that niche, success will be easier and opportunities will come sooner.
The Modern Dilemma – National Health Care
National health care is a hot issue all over the world at the moments, but in no country more so than in the United States. As health care is not provided free as a rule, there are major debates regarding affordability and value for money. Fewer and fewer people every year have insurance cover should anything happen to them and as a result society is beginning to deteriorate. Very few people would be able to afford expensive health care and thus fewer people are spending on it and prices rise to recoup lost costs and profits. The medical services suffer as a result.Companies used to provide healthcare as standard in every benefits package, but fewer are now offering it. Instead, they are finding ways around it, like using agency applicants rather than taking on individuals to fill job roles independently. Agency fees are generally lower than those charged by insurance companies to ensure that employees are sufficiently covered. However, as hazards in the workplace increase, the nation’s health is beginning to suffer and calls for a national health care system are growing in momentum and volume. A national health care system has already been implemented in the UK and has proved successful so there is a good model to base a US service on.Health costs in the USA are higher than anywhere else in the world at the moment, which does price it out of range for the average person on the street. However, as other national health care systems have proved, health care that is readily available as well as affordable can improve the economy and improve the nation’s health on the whole!Affording National Health CareIt is not a question of whether individuals could afford national health care because, by its nature, it is whether the government can. There are a number of ways that it could be funded. In most cases, the cost is actually funded via taxes. Nobody pays for individual care but there is a flat rate of tax added on to a bill at the end of the year. It could actually be taken straight from an individual’s pay packet every month so that it is not as noticeable for an individual.If it is deemed desirable to keep health insurance as it is now then it may be possible to offer a flat rate for individuals looking to take out the insurance for a national health care system, with the government subsidising it. This would make it more affordable and health care more widely available without adding a tax. However, what would happen if some individuals did not have national health care insurance? Would they be refused treatment? As a result of this question, there are a number of arguments that pick at the flaws. There is also nothing to say that the overall costs can be lowered.National health care does work if it is implemented correctly and it can dramatically improve the nation’s health as a whole, but there may be problems with initial implementation. As long as health care is made available for all at affordable rates, anything is worth a try!