We write a lot of travel reports and have perhaps changed our writing a bit over the years. We wanted to tell you why we write the way we do and share some thoughts about it. Of course, we'd love to hear your reflections!
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Moderate travel report
If you follow our blog, you may have noticed that our travel reports are getting fuller and fuller, especially those that summarise an entire destination, such as our post with tips for things to do in Budapest. For those of you who follow our blog every day, these posts may sometimes seem 'heavy', so we thought we'd explain our thinking.
This is how we blog while travelling
We always try to blog "in real time" (somewhat anyway ...) when we are travelling. I (Helena) always have the most inspiration to write when the experiences are fresh and it is also fun to get comments when we are in place. Sometimes we get restaurant and sightseeing tips from your readers, and we love that!
Fuller blog posts after returning home
When we come back from a trip, we tend to write all those "full" posts that we don't have time to write while travelling, such as "7 restaurants in Budapest you don't want to miss”.
A summary post about the destination
Finally, I write a summary post about the whole destination, like the post about things to do in Budapest. Here I summarise all our tips, and link to all the different blog posts from the destination. For those who have followed the entire trip, there will probably be some repetition, but the purpose of the post is to:
- Have all our destination tips (e.g. Budapest) in one place.
- Be able to offer a good guide to the destination, which can be found both via our blog and via Google.
Why so many travel reports?
We write full and rich travel reports because we want to offer good travel guides. We hope, for example, that when you are travelling to Hurghada, you will visit our site to find our travel guide. Guide to Hurghada. But there is also another reason.
A large proportion of our readers are people who google something, and then find one of our stories via Google. We want many people to find our blog, so our stories have to be high on Google's search results. And there's only one way to get to the top: write long, full, rich and informative articles. The competition on Google is also getting tougher and tougher, so it takes more and more to get noticed.
However, the fact that we sometimes write long posts has nothing to do with sponsorship. (I take the opportunity to write this because we have been asked about it.) It happens that our posts are sponsored, and then, as usual, it says at the top of the post who our partner is. No partner has ever demanded extra long posts (nor would we accept demands on how/what we write), so this is in no way related.
We mix different posts
We're only writing this post because we want you, the reader, to understand why we write the way we do - sometimes shorter and sometimes very long and informative. We blog every day, and will continue to mix our food guides with shorter and more personal posts. We hope that we will continue to have you on the "train"!
If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to drop us a line!
Top photo in post: Tata in Hungary, photographer Daniela from Discovering the Planet
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Solan says:
It doesn't matter if you write long Helena, you have a good flow in the text! So easy to read! Of course, I read everything that has to do with the motorhome / living on the boat.
So FreedomTravel is serving up a varied smorgasbord, just give and take! ??
07 January 2020 - 6:57
Helena says:
Thank you Solan, for your nice comment! 🙂
07 January 2020 - 18:18
Lisa says:
I like your blog very much and your approach is clear and you often get tips. Keep it up ?
07 January 2020 - 9:21
Helena says:
Thank you Lisa! Glad to hear it!
07 January 2020 - 18:19
Ama de casa says:
Yes, I'm on board. Even though I am very fond of the Little Train, I like big and fat trains too 😀.
07 January 2020 - 9:25
Helena says:
Haha, yes trains are good! 🙂
07 January 2020 - 18:19
Ditte says:
I check in with you almost every day and enjoy reading your various posts. As far as travel guides are concerned, I always buy one, often Lonley Planet, Berliz or another and bring it with me on my travels. (The map shop in Stockholm has a good selection.) Then I also use tips from you, other bloggers and friends when I'm in the place as a good complement. But I think a small travel guide to carry around a city is good. And of course one does not exclude the other (I have collected a whole bunch of different travel guides that are well used).
07 January 2020 - 9:58
Helena says:
"Real" travel guides can be a bit nice sometimes! I use them more rarely now than before, but it happens! 🙂
07 January 2020 - 18:20
Åsa says:
You write very well, but I wonder about the tables of contents. Personally, I don't think they are necessary. I scroll past them!
07 January 2020 - 10:35
Helena says:
Hi Åsa! Do you get the tables of contents in "unfolded" mode? Fold it in once, and they should always be folded in afterwards! Maybe we have them more for Google's sake. If someone searches for a subheading, it can bring them up in searches in a clearer way.
07 January 2020 - 18:22
Emma, sun like sun? says:
I understand the concept of writing on the spot, in detail and finally a summary. Yes, I have sometimes thought that it is difficult to stop writing, you want to tell everything! But I think you do it well and it is so that if I feel that it does not interest me (at the moment), it is just to skip.
07 January 2020 - 11:51
Helena says:
Yes, that's how it is! And of course you read what you feel like, and everything else you skip. Not the point that everything needs to be for everyone, of course 🙂
07 January 2020 - 18:23
bmlarstravellingblog says:
It's probably most fun to read posts written in real time, but I understand exactly why you have this arrangement. When we plan a new trip, we like to go to different bloggers' sites to get more tips and then these slightly more impressive posts are worth their weight in gold.
Keep up the good work!
07 January 2020 - 11:54
Helena says:
Real time is fun to write too! But as I said, it doesn't always work. And thank you, we'll continue 🙂 .
07 January 2020 - 18:24
Anna, New York - My Bite of the Big Apple says:
Very interesting post! I absolutely understand why you write the way you do - and appreciate it too. 🙂
Personally, I almost only use long, moderate posts (a little more rarely). I prefer to update briefly via Instagram or Facebook during the trip itself. Wonderful that you reason and are different!
Perfect with your collected travel guides! You really do a fantastic job.
Have a good rest of the year!
07 January 2020 - 13:25
Helena says:
Thank you, Anna! And it's good that we all do something different. Wishing you a good continuation!
07 January 2020 - 18:25
Sandra Lifsresor.se says:
I say perfect. 🙂
07 January 2020 - 18:37
Helena says:
🙂
08 January 2020 - 18:48
BP says:
I also understand your approach, and you do it fantastically well. Even if posts are sometimes too long, I can either speed read or skip the parts that are not of interest to me.
Your posts/guides are great for people who actually plan to visit a certain destination.
So carry on as before!
07 January 2020 - 20:45
Helena says:
Thanks BP! And scrolling is great when it's long! 🙂
08 January 2020 - 18:49
Ninny says:
I think it's great with collected info and tips about different travel destinations, and easy to find the info you want. Very inspiring and very good info, and good with a lot of pictures and films. Perfect!
I also like to read about some "everyday life" in between travel posts, nice! Thanks for a great blog, and all the work you put into it!
07 January 2020 - 21:36
Helena says:
Glad to hear that you appreciate our blog Ninnie! Thank you for your kind words!
08 January 2020 - 18:50
Ruth in Virginia says:
Have no interest in caravans, parking spaces, etc.
What got me hooked was your long journey in Europe.
It was a wonderful report, which I followed all the way through,
has since been checking in almost every day, sometimes at night, as the
you release at midnight "my time".
Getting great pleasure from reading about your life in Stockholm.
and life on board and on land. Don't understand how you put up with
all the fairs and mingles and stuff. And all the food and drink! Perhaps
it's not as much as it sounds, but my stomach would probably...
not. Even out in the archipelago there was a lot of food. 🙂
What I want - To meet you IRL and sit and talk.
in peace and quiet about anything.
PS It's snowing !!!!
07 January 2020 - 22:55
Helena says:
It's so nice that you want to follow us Ruth! Even if we sometimes keep you up at night! 😉 And all the events, haha, sometimes it's really fun actually. And you don't have to eat everything, but sometimes it gets a bit much ... 😉 Meeting up would be great fun!!!! We just have to get over the "puddle" on occasion 😉 I also want snow!!!! 🙂
08 January 2020 - 18:52
Lena - good for the soul says:
I think the mix is great. If it had only been long posts, it would probably have been a bit too heavy for my taste. Now I like them long. I'm really not the least bit interested in Hungarian food (food at all), but it's still something that makes me read the whole post 🙂 😉 Now I have another one of those "unnecessary knowledge" that plankstek is from Hungary 😉.
Hug Lena
08 January 2020 - 6:01
Lena in Wales says:
I think you have a good organisation.
Sometimes I read everything and sometimes I skim, depending on my interest.
Unfortunately, I don't often have the opportunity to write in real time, even if I wanted to.
Wishing you a happy new year of travelling!
08 January 2020 - 10:24