Or why you should check the schedules.
Using events as a hook
This is repeating my previous point about using events as a hook for articles, but it’s one worth emphasising. A lot of people travel to go and watch sporting events, but even more importantly, a major sporting event puts a destination in the news.
Beijing, South Africa and Vancouver
Either way, it’s topical and will generate a lot of interest. Beijing got it last year with the Olympics, South Africa will get it next year with the 2010 World Cup, and Vancouver is already getting it with the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Other events
Other events that always generate interest about the destinations hosting them include obscure countries playing England at football, cricket and rugby tours, Superbowls and World Championships of any sport that gets a reasonable degree of television coverage.
Check the schedules
Given this, it’s always worth checking the schedules and knowing what events are on the horizon in the next year or so. Even if you know nothing about the sport, chances are you’ll be able to sell an article on the destination using that sporting event as a topical hook.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Monday, 23 February 2009
#90 – Resource: In Your Pocket guides
Or finding the local hang-outs.
Sources of information
There are many good sources for getting information on places to stay, eat and drink in a city. The people at the tourist board can usually give a few good ideas, while a guide book will often give a decent selection.
Off the tourist track
Unfortunately, however, these sources rarely veer off the usual tourist track. They’ll give plenty of suggestions for places that many visitors like going to, but not necessarily the places that give a real feel for the town or are local favourites.
Little secrets
And it’s these little secrets that editors want to know about. They make for an interesting story, and there’s a certain cachet to being able to discover a place that most visitors won’t know about.
Needle in a haystack
But how to find them? Well my preferred way is always to stumble across them randomly. I love going into somewhere on a whim. Unfortunately, this is often something of a needle in a haystack approach.
In Your Pocket
One tool that I’ve found really useful when I’ve seen it is the local In Your Pocket guide. These guides have quietly begun springing up all over Europe, and they’re generally written by locals. They give a view of the place from the standpoint of someone that lives there, and the listings are generally both comprehensive and honestly-written.
Interesting places
Amongst those listings, there are usually a few really interesting places that are not covered in the Lonely Planet or tourist board literature. They’re worth investigating.
Free online guides
Best of all, the In Your Pocket Guides are now available for free online (www.inyourpocket.com), so it’s possible to get a list of a few good ideas before you arrive.
Sources of information
There are many good sources for getting information on places to stay, eat and drink in a city. The people at the tourist board can usually give a few good ideas, while a guide book will often give a decent selection.
Off the tourist track
Unfortunately, however, these sources rarely veer off the usual tourist track. They’ll give plenty of suggestions for places that many visitors like going to, but not necessarily the places that give a real feel for the town or are local favourites.
Little secrets
And it’s these little secrets that editors want to know about. They make for an interesting story, and there’s a certain cachet to being able to discover a place that most visitors won’t know about.
Needle in a haystack
But how to find them? Well my preferred way is always to stumble across them randomly. I love going into somewhere on a whim. Unfortunately, this is often something of a needle in a haystack approach.
In Your Pocket
One tool that I’ve found really useful when I’ve seen it is the local In Your Pocket guide. These guides have quietly begun springing up all over Europe, and they’re generally written by locals. They give a view of the place from the standpoint of someone that lives there, and the listings are generally both comprehensive and honestly-written.
Interesting places
Amongst those listings, there are usually a few really interesting places that are not covered in the Lonely Planet or tourist board literature. They’re worth investigating.
Free online guides
Best of all, the In Your Pocket Guides are now available for free online (www.inyourpocket.com), so it’s possible to get a list of a few good ideas before you arrive.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
#89 – Revisit disaster scenes
Or why editors love recovery stories.
Cast iron rule?
There’s no cast iron rule about what stories editors will always accept, but the closest you can get to it is that they will always take a piece on a place that is recovering from a major setback.
Two years on...
Travel sections and magazines always have pieces along the lines of “New Orleans, two years on” or Bali, five years after the bombings”. The same applies to anywhere that suffers an earthquake, gets buried by a volcano or suffers massive hurricane damage.
Mumbai and the tsunami
It’ll happen with Mumbai soon enough, and there will be a glut of stories about the areas affected by 2004’s Boxing Day tsunami towards the end of this year.
Strong narrative
The reasons why such stories are liked by editors are fairly obvious. They’ve got a strong narrative, and already have reader recognition due to the catastrophe. Even the casual reader will know what the story is about, and is likely to have a passing interest in how the place is recovering.
Good ingredients for a travel story
These recovery stories are newsy, have strong human interest, and they’re clearly up-to-date. All are good ingredients for a travel story, even if it may seem a little ghoulish pitching it out.
Cast iron rule?
There’s no cast iron rule about what stories editors will always accept, but the closest you can get to it is that they will always take a piece on a place that is recovering from a major setback.
Two years on...
Travel sections and magazines always have pieces along the lines of “New Orleans, two years on” or Bali, five years after the bombings”. The same applies to anywhere that suffers an earthquake, gets buried by a volcano or suffers massive hurricane damage.
Mumbai and the tsunami
It’ll happen with Mumbai soon enough, and there will be a glut of stories about the areas affected by 2004’s Boxing Day tsunami towards the end of this year.
Strong narrative
The reasons why such stories are liked by editors are fairly obvious. They’ve got a strong narrative, and already have reader recognition due to the catastrophe. Even the casual reader will know what the story is about, and is likely to have a passing interest in how the place is recovering.
Good ingredients for a travel story
These recovery stories are newsy, have strong human interest, and they’re clearly up-to-date. All are good ingredients for a travel story, even if it may seem a little ghoulish pitching it out.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Caribbean jaunt
Posts to this blog may be a little sporadic for the next fortnight - I'm off to the Caribbean for two weeks and will probably have limited internet access during that time. I'll try my best, but if there are a few days between posts, you'll know why.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
#88 – Get away from the desk
Or why being unproductive can be productive.
The guilt factor
One trap that many freelancers fall into (and I include myself in this – I’m terrible for it) is thinking they have to work as many available hours as possible. The guilt factor comes into play – surely if I’m not working, I’m selling myself short?
Hours at the desk
And, with this attitude firmly ingrained, they’ll spend as many hours at the desk as possible, staring at the computer screen. This inevitably leads to procrastination.
Plodding
In fact, what happens is that, by dedicating so much time to work, you do as much in that time as you would in half the time under pressure. You plod rather than burst onto the page; you get distracted and draw the whole process out painfully.
Think counterintuitive
Sometimes it is best, therefore, to do the counterintuitive thing. Instead of hunching over the laptop trying to force some inspiration out, it can be better to stop altogether. Go out, do some shopping, go for a walk, have a swim, watch a movie – something completely detached from work.
The great recharger
That break or day off can be a great recharger. When you come back to the task, you’ll probably have a lot more enthusiasm and zest. Personally, I find that a lot of my best ideas come when I’m not working – they’ll come from nowhere while I’m doing laps at the pool or walking in the Peak District. And I know it works much the same way for other freelancers.
The guilt factor
One trap that many freelancers fall into (and I include myself in this – I’m terrible for it) is thinking they have to work as many available hours as possible. The guilt factor comes into play – surely if I’m not working, I’m selling myself short?
Hours at the desk
And, with this attitude firmly ingrained, they’ll spend as many hours at the desk as possible, staring at the computer screen. This inevitably leads to procrastination.
Plodding
In fact, what happens is that, by dedicating so much time to work, you do as much in that time as you would in half the time under pressure. You plod rather than burst onto the page; you get distracted and draw the whole process out painfully.
Think counterintuitive
Sometimes it is best, therefore, to do the counterintuitive thing. Instead of hunching over the laptop trying to force some inspiration out, it can be better to stop altogether. Go out, do some shopping, go for a walk, have a swim, watch a movie – something completely detached from work.
The great recharger
That break or day off can be a great recharger. When you come back to the task, you’ll probably have a lot more enthusiasm and zest. Personally, I find that a lot of my best ideas come when I’m not working – they’ll come from nowhere while I’m doing laps at the pool or walking in the Peak District. And I know it works much the same way for other freelancers.
Monday, 16 February 2009
#87 – Send copies of your article to PR people who help you out
Or smoothing the path in less than a minute.
Why PR people assist travel writers
When PR people assist travel writers, they don’t do it out of the goodness of their own heart. They’re sorting out itineraries, organising complimentary hotels and arranging meals because they are expecting coverage.
Lack of coverage?
When they get that coverage, they have done their job. If they don’t get coverage, the clients (such as the hotel or tourist board) start questioning whether they’ve employed the right PR people. Unfortunately, these helpful PR people aren’t psychic and often they won’t know that your article has come out.
Notify the PR person
This is why it’s always good practice to notify the relevant PR people when any articles that they helped out with come out. I always try and send a weblink or notify the PR chap(ess) that the magazine is on the shelf. It doesn’t cost me anything to do so, and it helps maintain a good relationship.
Less than a minute
From their end, it’s incredibly helpful, and they’re far more likely to help you out again in future. For something that takes less than a minute, dropping a line to say “the article’s out” is an incredibly effective way of smoothing the path for future trips.
Why PR people assist travel writers
When PR people assist travel writers, they don’t do it out of the goodness of their own heart. They’re sorting out itineraries, organising complimentary hotels and arranging meals because they are expecting coverage.
Lack of coverage?
When they get that coverage, they have done their job. If they don’t get coverage, the clients (such as the hotel or tourist board) start questioning whether they’ve employed the right PR people. Unfortunately, these helpful PR people aren’t psychic and often they won’t know that your article has come out.
Notify the PR person
This is why it’s always good practice to notify the relevant PR people when any articles that they helped out with come out. I always try and send a weblink or notify the PR chap(ess) that the magazine is on the shelf. It doesn’t cost me anything to do so, and it helps maintain a good relationship.
Less than a minute
From their end, it’s incredibly helpful, and they’re far more likely to help you out again in future. For something that takes less than a minute, dropping a line to say “the article’s out” is an incredibly effective way of smoothing the path for future trips.
Saturday, 14 February 2009
#86 – Don’t become a blog tragic
Or don’t forsake the shop for the shop window.
Earning significant money from blogging
I am prepared to accept that there are some people out there who make a significant living wage from blogging. But compared to the number of people that have blogs, they are in such a tiny minority that they may as well not exist.
Blogging community
Yet there is a whole community out there that seems to exist for blogging. There are people that seem to spend a huge amount of time writing their blogs, commenting on other people’s blogs, discussing the nuts and bolts of blogging on forums and Twittering drivel every few minutes.
Luddite
Call me a Luddite, call me a naysayer, but I think this is a horrendous waste of time. And that time could be better used doing paid work. As I have said before, there is a shop window effect to having a blog, but when you spend all your time dressing your shop window, you’re ignoring the customers that are in the shop.
Reaching the masses?
Another thing to be aware of is that most of your blog’s readers will be other bloggers. There’s nothing wrong with this per se, but don’t try and kid yourself that you’re reaching the masses as a result.
Blog or Facebook?
In many respects, I see maintaining a blog as another form of procrastination. It’s the equivalent of hanging out on forums or playing Scramble on Facebook three hours a day in a vain attempt to top your best score (guilty as charged, your honour).
Better off working
Yes, it’s a potentially useful marketing tool, but you are better off working. There’s a fine line between spending a few minutes a day updating your shop window and being sucked into a world where your time is spent StumblingUpon, Digging, Twittering and constantly exchanging comments with other bloggers.
Earning significant money from blogging
I am prepared to accept that there are some people out there who make a significant living wage from blogging. But compared to the number of people that have blogs, they are in such a tiny minority that they may as well not exist.
Blogging community
Yet there is a whole community out there that seems to exist for blogging. There are people that seem to spend a huge amount of time writing their blogs, commenting on other people’s blogs, discussing the nuts and bolts of blogging on forums and Twittering drivel every few minutes.
Luddite
Call me a Luddite, call me a naysayer, but I think this is a horrendous waste of time. And that time could be better used doing paid work. As I have said before, there is a shop window effect to having a blog, but when you spend all your time dressing your shop window, you’re ignoring the customers that are in the shop.
Reaching the masses?
Another thing to be aware of is that most of your blog’s readers will be other bloggers. There’s nothing wrong with this per se, but don’t try and kid yourself that you’re reaching the masses as a result.
Blog or Facebook?
In many respects, I see maintaining a blog as another form of procrastination. It’s the equivalent of hanging out on forums or playing Scramble on Facebook three hours a day in a vain attempt to top your best score (guilty as charged, your honour).
Better off working
Yes, it’s a potentially useful marketing tool, but you are better off working. There’s a fine line between spending a few minutes a day updating your shop window and being sucked into a world where your time is spent StumblingUpon, Digging, Twittering and constantly exchanging comments with other bloggers.
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