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Starting a Study Abroad Blog: Platforms and Tips for Students

Started by CamilleDuval · 20 janvier 2026 · 10 replies · 📖 Read as Guide
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CamilleDuval
Study abroad blogger since 2023, 45k monthly readers
Joined: Jan 2018 Posts: 266
20 janvier 2026 #1
I started my study abroad blog during Erasmus in Lisbon and it now gets 45,000 monthly readers. Sharing everything I learned about platform choice, content that actually gets read, building an audience from zero, and why this is one of the best things you can do during your semester abroad.

Pour aller plus loin, découvrez destinations dog-friendly en France.

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WanderlustEmma
Travel blogger, 120k monthly readers, started during Erasmus
Joined: Feb 2020Posts: 157
January 24, 2026#2
Started my blog on WordPress.com free tier during Erasmus in 2019. Upgraded to self-hosted after six months when I realized I wanted to keep going. The free tier is perfect for testing whether you actually enjoy writing regularly before investing any money.
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SarahStudiesAbroad
Study abroad advisor who reads student blogs for program assessment
Joined: Oct 2022Posts: 169
January 28, 2026#3
We actively encourage students to blog and several have used their blogs in graduate school applications. The ones that stand out always include honest reflections alongside the practical content. Admissions committees see through pure highlight reels.
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MikeFromMichigan
Started a blog during exchange semester, now freelance writer
Joined: Oct 2022Posts: 33
February 02, 2026#4
My study abroad blog literally launched my career. A travel magazine editor found my post about budget train travel in Germany through Google, reached out, and offered me a freelance assignment. That was three years ago and I still write for them. Start the blog.
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BackpackerJake
Substack newsletter about budget student travel, 8k subscribers
Joined: Jul 2019Posts: 22
February 06, 2026#5
Substack's email delivery is genuinely powerful. My open rate is 52 percent, which means more than half my subscribers actually read each post. Compare that to Instagram where maybe 10 percent of followers see a given post. For a defined audience, email wins every time.
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NatalieVancouver
UX design student who built her portfolio around her study abroad blog
Joined: Apr 2022Posts: 111
February 10, 2026#6
I used my blog as a UX case study in my design portfolio. Documented the decisions I made about layout, navigation, and content strategy. Got asked about it in three separate job interviews. The blog itself was the content but the meta-story of building it was the portfolio piece.
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OliviaOxford
English literature student, writes long-form narrative posts
Joined: Jun 2024Posts: 161
February 15, 2026#7
The honest narratives section resonates. My most-read post ever was about crying in a Tesco at 11 PM during my first week because I could not find anything familiar. It got shared by three different study abroad offices. Vulnerability connects more than perfection.
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RyanToronto
Computer science student who self-hosted from day one
Joined: May 2023Posts: 160
February 19, 2026#8
If you are in CS or any technical field, self-hosting teaches you DNS, hosting, basic server management, and WordPress administration. These are all resume-relevant skills. The extra 50-75 dollars per year is an investment in technical education as much as in the blog itself.
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LiamLondon
Photography student who prioritized visual blog content
Joined: Oct 2022Posts: 21
February 24, 2026#9
The image compression point is critical. My early posts loaded in 8+ seconds because I was uploading full-resolution photos straight from my camera. After compressing everything with TinyPNG, load time dropped to 2 seconds. Half my readers are on mobile and slow pages lose them instantly.
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JessicaBoston
Marketing major who tracked blog analytics as a class project
Joined: Feb 2020Posts: 73
February 28, 2026#10
I used my study abroad blog as the subject of my digital marketing analytics course. Google Search Console data, audience demographics, content performance analysis -- it was the most practical assignment I ever had because the data was real and the stakes were mine.
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AidanDublin
Journalism student, used blog posts as published clips
Joined: Oct 2022Posts: 201
March 05, 2026#11
Three of my blog posts were accepted as published writing samples for my journalism master's application. The admissions committee said they valued seeing regular production over a long period more than any single polished piece. Consistency is the credential.
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