Tapping Into Travel: Pitch Writing Tips

Tapping into the travel industry is not just for travel PR agencies.  As a lifestyle PR agency, we love to tap into the travel sphere to find new communities that connect with our brands! Even though not all of our clients are directly part of the travel industry, how can we tap into travel and effectively pitch to journalists? Let’s jump right in!

 Locate the Top Outlets and Research

If you’re not up-to-date on the top travel outlets, no sweat.  A quick Google search will pull up the top reputable outlets in the travel industry to get you started.  Once you’ve gotten a list, it’s time to do your research! 

Our recommendation is to look at the outlet’s sub-categories. This tells you what they primarily cover.  Is it food, destinations, trip ideas, travel products?  Now take a closer look, what type of articles are they writing: round-ups, listicles, first-person perspective narrative, etc.  From there, read their “about” section.  What’s their mission statement?  From this research, you can gather the most important information: demographics.  Are the readers young or older?  Do they prioritize luxury over budget?  Perhaps it’s mostly women-centered? Do the readers seem like they prefer “adventure” or prefer “relaxation” in their travels? This preliminary research can help choose the journalists who would best represent your client in the travel industry!

 

The travel industry is quite nuanced- it’s not all about planning vacations.  There are many sub-industries and vibrant communities to tap into that intersect with travel. For example, journalists could specialize in travel and wellness, travel and food, travel and art, etc.  Whether or not your client is part of the travel industry, it’s possible that your client could be featured in something related to a community within the travel industry.

Perhaps you have an eye mask that would be perfect to wear on a long-haul flight for your upcoming summer trip – there’s an  angle right there!  There are many writers who are ‘travel product writers’ that may want to feature your client’s product!  They could cover beauty, wellness, or even accessories.  Or maybe your client is a destination like the Roundhouse Aquarium which is a fun, educational, family-friendly, and free attraction.  Find a travel writer who writes about family-friendly activities in So-Cal, or even free attractions in So-Cal!   The travel industry is a very powerful industry if we can find the right community to tap into.  And that all depends on how much you put into your initial research.

 

Last but not least, write!  We always recommend double-checking your journalists on MuckRack if they have pitching guidelines.  Be mindful of their guidelines, journalists receive tons of pitches each week, so this could make or break your initial impression.  Your pitch and headline should be concise, relevant, and personal. Give them just enough to want more information about your client.  If your client isn’t directly related to the travel industry (like a hotel or tourism board), our job is to make the connection to travel clear for the journalist.

 

After you’ve re-read your pitch a million times… don’t forget to hit send and voilà- you did it! Want more pitch writing tips and tricks?  Click here to learn how BLND crafts their pitches as a lifestyle PR agency!

ORIGINAL POST HERE.