Do travel writers need to be good marketers?
And can you do it without being obnoxious? Steph has opinions
What words do you use to describe your career within the travel industry? Do you prefer to go by the term travel journalist — one I’ve always opted for as a smokescreen to hide the fact that I have zero journalistic training — or plump for the more generalist ‘travel writer’?
The most cynical amongst us might argue that we are, in fact, travel marketers. Whether you don’t take press trips and travel entirely unsupported or work closely with PRs, the aim of the vast majority of all travel writing is to promote a particular destination, activity or event. There’s very little space within the travel media for negative travel stories; our job is to capture the essence of a place and make the idea of it so captivating that our readers cannot help but follow in our footsteps.
Many story ideas are even more intimately tied to the marketing efforts of the places we write about: they might find their genesis in a press release or are only made financially viable under the express expectation that a certain place, hotel or business gets a favourable mention in the copy.
That’s not to say that what we do isn’t a real skill. I’m sure the above paragraph will mean RIP my mentions for the next 24 hours (yep, please head over to X and shout at me), but my point is that marketing, whether we like it or not, is in our DNA as travel writers. So shouldn’t we be embracing these skills when it comes to our careers?
I’m talking specifically about self-marketing and the act of promoting yourself to your industry colleagues. For the British amongst our readers, you’ve probably just vomited a little into your own mouth. I apologise profoundly for this; as a nation, the idea of self-promotion is about as popular as starting a conversation with a stranger on the London Underground. If you’re from the US, you might feel more comfortable with the concept. Whatever your perspective, self-marketing is something you certainly need to consider.
Before I sat down to write this piece, Lottie and I spent some time debating what should go into it. We agreed that neither of us feels particularly good at self-marketing. My feelings towards talking about myself on social media, for example, are along similar lines to those I have about burger pickles or polio. Lottie has always had a far better punt at her platforms when it comes to both networking and to showcasing to editors and PRs where she’s travelled and what she’s writing — tools that we’ll discuss later this month as we look at specific ways you can self-market. But really, the most powerful piece of self-marketing that either of us has done is this very newsletter.
Lottie was certainly far more established in the industry than I was when we started out in 2020, so I’ve probably benefited most from the profile raising that sending out emails to 5,000-plus people every month achieves. But we’ve both enjoyed the results. First up, there’s the ego boost: thank you to every one of you who makes us feel like celebrities every time we turn up to an industry event and you tell us how brilliant we/the newsletters are. But, more importantly, we’ve been able to showcase more about who we are and the beats we cover. We’ve not actively tried to blow our own trumpets, but I will accept that there has been a good deal of semi-accidental trumpet blowing, nonetheless.
While I’m not suggesting you all go out and start up a travel industry newsletter (no, seriously, please don’t do that), it is worth considering how you can promote yourself and the work that you do. PRs need to know what you’ve been writing so that they can get in touch when you become the perfect fit for a new campaign a client is working on. Editors need to see what you’re up to and where you’re going in case they have a story that needs writing from that part of the world. Self-marketing is, to all intents and purposes, very similar to networking and, as Lottie likes to say, much success in this industry relies not just on who you know but on who knows you.
A word of caution, however. We’ve all come across those who are a little overzealous in their self-marketing efforts. Yes, you most definitely should be sharing a piece that you’re incredibly proud of or posting about how thrilled you are to have been nominated for a prestigious industry award. But relentless self-promotion that ignores the fundamentals of healthy social interaction, such as celebrating others’ wins or making an effort to engage on a meaningful level with your industry colleagues, can get a little tedious.
We’ll be chatting with editors later in the month about what makes them decide whether they want to work with a writer and whether your social media presence can help or hinder on that front — so the jury’s still out as to the impact of being a braggart. But self-marketing doesn’t need to be like that. Making it your goal to read and share a couple of pieces from other travel writers across the industry each week will not only help you meet your good deed quota for the period but also be a chance to show that you’re a decent human being.
I recently suggested several writers to an editor for a guidebook commission I couldn’t take on and I narrowed my recommendations down based on not only who would be good at the job but also who I could be confident would be a pleasant person for the editor to work with. Our industry is a small place. Reputation matters.
If you’re British or otherwise and still cringing from the prospect of standing on the rooftops bellowing to anyone who passes about your latest piece for The Telegraph, then rest assured: the act of self-marketing can, and should, be a lot less obnoxious than this. Make sure you’re a paid subscriber to read next week’s newsletter when Lottie will be talking to marketing experts about how we can become kings and queens of promotion.
Is marketing yourself something you need to do for a short period and then live happily off the fruits of your labour? There are plenty of travel writers who no longer have to pitch; work just comes to them based upon the fact that they’re nailing at least two of the three elements of the ‘golden trio’ that Anna Codrea-Rado introduced in her newsletter A-Mail and Lottie talked about back in November. The networking and self-promotion they did during their career’s early years have served to keep them in bountiful commissions years later — a place few writers don’t aspire to reach. Would they be earning more money if they continued self-marketing? Perhaps. Would it be worth wrangling with social media platforms or worrying that you sound like a dick when you’re trying to self-promote? Who knows.
But, anyone who takes a step back from interacting with the rest of the industry runs the risk of being forgotten. If you’re like Lottie and I and working towards two big book projects that leave little time for hopping on X and chatting about what you’ve been up to, then self-marketing probably feels like it’s at the very bottom of a long, never-to-be-finished to-do list. However, when you escape the shackles of your laptop and emerge back out into the world of chasing commissions and throwing yourself into the endurance event that is WTM, you want to make sure people still remember who you are.
Tweet of the week
Who to follow
One of our excellent mentors for 2024’s first cohort is Jamie Lafferty and his Instagram is currently a big old billboard for Antarctica. Follow at your peril, you will get assignment-envy.
Industry must-reads
Rory Boland laid out his wish list of how the travel industry can improve in this piece for the i, touching on everything from greenwashing in aviation to supporting local businesses growing under energy prices and punitive booking sites. Check out the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards shortlist here. The Evening Standard has run a story on the questions travellers should ask of their operators to get a more sustainable holiday, but these are also questions we should be asking as travel journalists all the time. And there’s an important discussion on baked beans in hotel buffets going on at The Times here.
This is the first newsletter in our series on how to market yourself. Upcoming newsletters for paid subscribers only will cover:
Ask the expert: What are the golden rules of marketing and how can they apply to travel writers?
Editor's perspective: how do you judge someone you've never commissioned before
Tips for marketing yourself
Fabulous newsletter, as always! I think it's a fine line between shouting out about your work and being a braggart. Beyond networking, self-promotion, etc., the best thing you can do is try to be a nice person and pleasant to work with. That counts for far more than self-aggrandising on social media or, worse, being snarky about your fellow writers. The number one rule for any industry is not to be a dick. xx
Self promotion makes me a cringe a bit so I do it only as much as I feel comfortable with, which is probably not enough.
The first travel story I ever pitched was a negative story that I thought was worth telling. I pitched it to several publications over 2023 and it was all crickets. That might have had something to do with the fact that I am brand spanking new to the industry, but I'm certain it was also because of the negative nature of the piece. I still felt it was important enough so I ended up turning it into a blog post for my newish website (www.juneisyhawkins.com, not the one associated with my Substack newsletter). I doubt anyone has read it but I got it out of my chest. I really dislike how most of travel writing is done through rose colored glasses. I've traveled extensively and seen quite a bit of the world with my own eyes. Sometimes the truth is ugly and it is just as valid a story as any.
To be clear, I'm not blaming writers, or even editors. It's a much complicated problem.