Why You Don’t Need To Start with $20 Articles and Work Your Way Up
People often ask me how I ended up writing The Six-Figure Travel Writing Road Map, and the answer actually relates to one of my favorite journalists and writing bloggers.
This One Thing Can Dramatically Change How Much Money You Earn Writing About Each Trip
What is the first thing you do when you are done with a trip?
When you board the flight home or finish packing for your return journey or next destination?
Do you start working on your to-do list for the following week? Upcoming travel plans? Photo editing? Social media posts? Read More
Are You Missing Out By Not Doing These 5 Types of Research Before Your Trip
I’ll never forget the first time I met Robert Reid.
The former Lonely Planet editor is known for his wry observations, being an aficionado of the varying mustaches of Siberia, and giving keynote speeches so fantastic and fantastically long that conference organizers let him go 20 minutes longer than he should. And during a short car ride from a conference party to dinner in Athens a few years ago, he paid me one of the biggest compliments I have received in this line of work.
Seven Unconventional Ways to *Really* Get the Most Out of TBEX Travel Conferences
Nearly two years ago now, I wrote a post for the TBEX blog on “How to Rock TBEX and Walk Away with New Friends and Business Partners.”
At the time, bloggers on the whole were just getting a handle on presenting themselves at conferences as businesses rather than individual freelancers or simply traveling nomads. Every single attendee wasn’t showing up with professional business cards, approaching their idols asking how they can work together, and bringing beautiful, printed media kits to speed networking detailing how they work with companies.
How to Analyze a Magazine to Ensure Successful Pitches
One of the first things I teach aspiring print travel writers (especially the ones come over from blogging or copywriting) is how to break down a magazine.
You need to take it from a pile of glossy paper that you put on a pedestal or can’t imagine seeing your own humble words in to a framework of component parts that is built from the ground up every month.
Are You Missing Out on 80% of the Travel Magazines Out There?
It truly boggles my mind when travel writers (or aspiring travel writers) tell me that they aren’t pitching magazines because they don’t know who/where/what to pitch for three big reasons:
(1) The money they are missing out on could be a huge game changer for their freelance income.
(2) If you know how to analyze a magazine, the ideas come on their own. (And if you can’t get a hold of the magazine, we can help you with that too.)
(3) There are thousands of magazines out there looking for travel articles.
How to Get Yourself an Ongoing Travel Writing Gig This Week
Before we launch into how, exactly, to set yourself up with a steady stream of travel writing work, I want to look at some reasons why having a recurring travel writing job is so, so important. Especially for people who are either:
- just starting out as travel writers
- struggling to have a sustainable travel writing income even after many months or years at it (and with a healthy pile of clips to their names)
Find Your Next Gig on These Travel Writing Job Boards
If you are new to writing, travel writing, just the particular geographic area or type of travel you’d like to write about, or if you simply need to get money coming in as soon as possible, it can be faster and easier to start with jobs that already exist rather than creating your own.
How Much Can You Really Make as a Travel Writer?
In my post on three ways to earn six figures as a travel writer, I looked at three different paths for earning six figures as a travel writer based on your interests (workwise, not travel-wise) and the type of work that best fits your schedule, motivations and work talents.
But I know the idea of earning $100,000 a year from travel writing seems both far away and a bit preposterous to many folks who are just starting out and trying to figure out how to even earn their first $1 from something they’ve written.
