Travelling is one of the best ways of exposing yourself to what our beautiful world has to offer. That is why its importance has led to the rise of a whole branch of writing. But how can you venture into travel writing to inspire and help other travellers? Just like every other type of writing needs guidelines to excel in, an aspiring travel writer needs to take time and master this niche. This post shares out insights that will enable you to excel in your writing service and build a flourishing career in travel writing.

Start by travelling

Before you become a good travel writer, you should be a good traveller. The reason is that this is not a merely research-based, but rather, experience-based writing. Well, this should not scare you into thinking you need to live on the road or in the skies flying the world to become a good travel writer, no. You just need to take qualitative time and travel even within your own country to write. This kind of approach will expose you to different environments and experiences that you will share with your readers. While you write, you must also be careful to steer clear away from possible content claims with a trusted plagiarism checker.

Develop a writing culture 

Don’t forget the two keywords here are “travel and writer.” You, therefore, need to develop a writing culture to be a good travel writer. If you just travel, you have just covered half the journey. You need to have an objective view of all the journeys you make in different locations and record all your experiences there. However, you don’t need to travel with the mind of tourist. For a travel writer, you need to treat your journeys as parts of your “fact-finding missions” where you gather first-hand information that you will take back to your readers. So, you have to carry a diary with you whenever you set your foot outside your house.

Invest in a quality camera

Nothing will tell your story louder and clearer than perfect shots taken in the places you have visited. As a smart travel writer, you should invest in a camera you will use to capture all those beautiful memories. For instance, if you posted a cool shot you took with the Maasai warriors in the lion jungles of The Maasai Mara National Park (in Kenya), that one shot is more powerful than a whole article about the beauty of the Mara. Excellent photos will give credibility to your writing and inspire your audience to want to visit the same locations.

Bring voices with you, not just photos

Another way of bolstering your travel writing experience is bringing back the voices from your travel sites. In as much as it is necessary to bring static images, you should also bring the voices of the land with you. You can interview the locals and capture their sentiments in your articles. It is even more impactful when you capture those interviews on video as proof that “you went, you saw, and you heard it all.” That is why you should invest in a video camera to capture those memorable and nostalgic clips.

Market yourself

Travel writing is just that—writing. Just like every other form of writing, you need to make every effort to market yourself so that your work can get readers across that board. You need to look for online and offline channels of promoting your work. You can knock on the doors of travel or tour magazines and pitch them with your works. You can also target national or local newspapers, lifestyle publications, and other possible channels that can give you the limelight.

Build your personal base

Even though it is not a must to have a physical address, you can have a virtual address where you can display your works. You can build your personal blog or website where you can refer your prospects to view more of your work. Having such an online address will enable you to cut a professional image for your work and help you to market it better. Also, running a blog will create an opportunity to interact with your readers so that you can cast your net wider.

Aside from building an online address, you need to build your profile too. In this age, you need to create a LinkedIn profile so that you can give your work a worldwide exposure among more than 400 million professionals from across that world. Another thing about LinkedIn is that it gives you a free platform to publish your work in the eyes of serious business-minded people. You will not find this privilege on Twitter or Facebook because most of the people there are passing time.

Go social

To build your profile better, you need to tap into the potential that social networks present. If you want to maximise the power of your videos, then you need to leverage the platform that YouTube offers. If you want your travel photos to speak louder on your behalf, then you have Instagram to do that. If you want to get a platform to market your text alongside videos and pics, then you will need to leverage the opportunities that Twitter and Facebook offer.

Whichever platform you use, getting social is a great way of building your career. All you need is to create a corporate profile page that looks professional and keep it active.

Get tools to sharpen yourself

Travel is a big and dynamic industry. As an aspiring travel writer, you need to take efforts to keep yourself abreast with what is going on in the industry, and in particular, your niche. You ought to subscribe to reputable newsletters and magazines to stay informed so that you can write with authority and relevance.

Don’t be in a hurry

In as much as travel writing can be a very fulfilling and lucrative career, you have to understand that just like all other niches of writing, it does not offer overnight success. That is why you need to build it with the same patience and perseverance you need to build every other career in life. If you are looking for a career that will make you an instant success and give you overnight riches, travel writing is the wrong choice.

Choose a niche

Another way of setting yourself up for success in your new travel career is selecting a niche you have strength in. The reason is that travel is a wide area, and if you feel there are areas you can excel in, it is better you focus your time and energy to develop them. For instance, if you find you are good at Safari writing, specialise in that niche.

Follow all the rules of writing

From the start, we saw that travel writing is still writing. This reality means you can only excel here when you follow all the rules that regulate other forms of non-academic or scientific writing. That is why you need to take your time, master all the rules of grammar, and apply them to the letter if you want to pass on your message successfully.

Conclusion

This post has shared all you need to excel as a travel writer. If you need further assistance to succeed in your writing service, you can talk to our experts.