Seven ways for travelers to empower themselves by blogging

This article from CNN.com is worth a read for aspiring travel bloggers (even though it was published a few months ago):

Pushy bloggers to travel industry: Be nice

While all of Christopher Elliott’s suggestions are worth following, pay special attention to his second tip: “Find a specialty.”

There are thousands of general travel websites on the Internet, many of which are owned by media outlets or barons with more resources than you have. Don’t try to compete with The New York Times, Rick Steves, or Weblogs, Inc.

Instead, find a quirky aspect of travel that appeals to you and you are an expert about (or at least want to become one).

Examples of such niche blogs include

• European travel for seniors making their first trip outside of the United States
• tips for traveling with a musical instrument
• travel for the professional travel writer

Talking travel strategies for 2009 on MSNBC.com

From Christopher Elliott’s “Nine essential travel strategies for 2009“:

“Home exchanges have been rising in popularity during the past year,” says Zach Everson, a travel blogger. “I think they’ll see a sharp spike next year.” (He and his wife just bought a house in Louisville, Ky., and they’re looking for ways of making it more attractive for a home swap.)

Update Jan. 19, 2009: CNN.com also picked up the story.