Do you want to up the ante with your travel content? It can be tempting to proclaim yourself a travel influencer, hoping that will translate into a free vacation, but remember that things are not that simple in this industry.

Any post you make has to be useful, add value for your followers, and push your audience to explore new sites. If you want to get the most out of every trip, it doesn’t make sense to leave everything to chance. You must be prepared to start working as soon as you touch down and find a balance between working and enjoying the moment.

Here are some ways to use your time efficiently on your personal trips, whether they are 48-hour getaways or two-week trips.

Plan, plan and plan
Start your research by browsing Pinterest to see what other influencers have already written about the destination you are going to visit. It is useful to see what is already circulating there, both to begin to inform you and to have the possibility of improving what is there.

For example. Is there little written on how to get from Valencia airport to the city center? If so, write it down to remember to include it in your posts.

Read travel articles to fill in any knowledge gaps about the place, and browse Instagram hashtags for great photo spots. Locate key areas on Google Maps to use as a starting point. If you are very interested, you can even take a look at the streets with Street View.

Prepare an itinerary
Now that you know where you will go, it is time to prepare a schedule. It will be useful if you are traveling with other influencers and it will help everyone keep up.

For this, Google Sheets is a perfect tool, since it allows you to share and update itineraries on different devices.

Start by including basic information, such as flight or hotel details, before planning your trip hour by hour. Is it possible that the hotel will only allow you to check in after 3:00 PM? Reflect travel times and any possible complications in your daily plan to see how much free time you will actually have to dedicate to creating your content. If taking photos is one of your priorities, check the hours the sun rises and sets.

Another good tip is to plan a walking tour on the first day, as it will allow you to orient yourself and get some more recommendations from a local guide.

Make a list of what you have to take with you
Nobody likes to arrive at the airport and find that a specific and special charger has been left at home. A list of what you have to pack is very useful when on vacation, especially if you are one of those who wait at the last minute to pack. Within that list, make a section in which you include adapters, chargers, lenses, memory cards, cases and suitcases.

To better organize yourself, keep your travel-specific items in your pockets and put them in your holster or bag. Prepare one destined to stay with you all the time, and put in it the safety pins, extra batteries and batteries or a portable charger.

Write down EVERYTHING
There’s nothing worse than coming home and realizing you’ve completely forgotten about that huge pizza place. That is why it is better to keep a journal in which to write down these kinds of things while you are still there.

It might be a good idea to grab some business cards if you see an interesting store, or use the Notes App on your phone where your notes are synced across several of your devices. Also write down the prices, if you want to explore the niche of cheaper travel.

Life Cycle is an interesting application that records all the places you visit. It is especially useful on your travels, where you tend to forget all the places you have been or how much time you spent in a particular place.

Stay awake and open minded
Do you remember that balance between working and enjoying that we talked about at the beginning? Some of the best travel stories are those that we do not expect and, although it is important to be prepared for what you are going to visit, it can always happen that you stumble upon an incredible museum or that you make unexpected friends.

Make your schedule flexible enough to adapt if an interesting opportunity comes along (as long as it doesn’t interfere with your flights). Any of these experiences could put the icing on your content and encourage your followers to visit the places you recommend.

And what would you do being a travel influencer? If you are interested you can see the media kit for you.

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