Nancy Kitur

Crafting Compelling Travel Narratives as a Freelance Writer Almost every one of us has a dream destination saved on our phones. If you are lucky enough, you have already been to your destination, but if you are like most people, then you have gathered all the information you need about your destination, thanks to travel writers, and are still saving up for that plane ticket. People worldwide rely on content from travel writers to plan and budget for their travels. Hence, travel writing is one of the most lucrative niches. To stand out as a travel writer, you must know everything travel-related. Always look for new information about hidden gems that travelers love. Opportunities in Freelance Writing for Travel Whether you want to be a full-time or part-time travel writer, the travel niche is a good starting spot. It is a bonus if you have good photography skills and are into traveling. All you have to do is take some good photos, attach them to your writeups, and share them with readers worldwide. The travel industry is vast, and there is much to discuss. For a freelance writer, some of the writing opportunities in this field include: Travel copywriter: Copywriting is one style of writing that will never go out of fashion, especially with how businesses worldwide are moving to the digital space. Creating captivating copy for various hotels, travel destinations, Airbnbs, tour companies, and agencies can be a great way of making money for any travel writer. Your prowess with words and good marketing skills will get your clients more money, and for this, they will also pay you handsomely. Travel content creator: A travel writer can create content about anything; it can be blogs, reviews, articles, or even content on travel websites about various destinations. Detailed and precise information about different travel destinations is highly valued by travelers worldwide as this helps them make wise decisions and plan accordingly before they start their journeys. Most travelers love hacks that can help them have the best experiences within their budgets, and for this, they greatly value concise descriptions of places. Travel guides author: Before any traveler starts their journey to a destination, they always search to see what others say about that place. They will want to know if the place is a safe destination or not. A travel writer is the best person to offer this piece of information about a place, of course, after thoroughly researching about it. When writing about safety, you must be very detailed and never assume that the traveler will guess some things. Do not leave anything to chance. You can also suggest things one can do when they visit and recommend hotels (estimate hotel rates and their proximity to tourist sites). This will help a traveler enjoy their stay. Travel e-book ghostwriter: You can create E-books about travel as a travel writer. Talk about all the questions travelers will likely ask, their fears when traveling solo or as a group, rank countries and their cultures, currencies, and whether they are secure. You can even provide information about countries that are visa-free for certain passports. Such information is crucial for travelers traversing countries and cultures as it helps them pack and prepare adequately. Travel magazine contributor: Many travel magazines are always hiring journalists, editors, and writers who are well-versed in travel content. If you are knowledgeable about travel, you can work with them and contribute to their columns because travelers are always looking and ready to discover new travel gems. Tools and Techniques to Improve Writing As a writer, researching should be your second name. Being able to do your research thoroughly should be the first thing you learn before you even think of any tools. Once armed with your research and creativity, you will need some tools and techniques to make your writing work easy, fun, and credible. Technology has brought many tools to simplify a writer´s work. Some of these tools include; Grammarly: Grammarly is a famous tool among writers and even editors. It helps you with sentence structure and arrangement and corrects tiny errors that a writer might miss when writing. This tool is invaluable in improving the final copy of your work as a writer. Google Docs: Google Docs is one of the many tools Google provides its users. It is such a good tool that, at times, it is hard to believe it is entirely free. This tool does many things for you, like correcting grammar, sorting headlines, and even sentence arrangement. All you need to worry about is putting your ideas into words; then, it does the rest for you. ChatGPT: This is one of the most efficient AI tools. It comes in handy when one needs to research on some information as it provides several details about a topic. Semrush: If you are a writer focused on optimizing your content, this is one writing tool you will appreciate. Semrush provides keywords related to any topic you are writing about. This helps your content reach a wider audience and helps them get relevant information pertaining to what they were researching. Success Stories in the Travel Industry There are many successful writers in the travel industry. Some that you can look up to for inspiration include Kym Backer, a lifestyle journalist and editor. Kym has worked for various publications as a magazine columnist and contributor. Bianca Bujan is another successful travel writer focusing on family travel and food. Bianca travels and shares her experiences through renowned magazines like Lonely Planet and WestCoast Families. Other successful travel writers include Demarco Williams and Phaon Spurlock, who also travel and share their stories with readers. Conclusion Each traveler has a unique preference for destinations and should be treated as an entity. It is essential to understand travelers and what they look for when traveling. This way, you will never go wrong with helping them choose a destination. A good travel writer should travel or have good background knowledge about various travel destinations. I know this is a hard truth that no one is ready to hear, but you cannot write about a niche you are not part of. Take your time to explore, starting from your locality. This way, you can mingle with other travelers, gather authentic content, and even have first-hand information about a destination. Are you a writer interested in travel writing but don’t know where to begin? Get in touch for details on some in-demand travel opportunities and where to start!