Category Archives: Travel Writing Advice

Always Plan Ahead: Why Every Travel Company Needs an Editorial Calendar

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In the past, we’ve discussed some of the content weapons every travel brand should have in their arsenal, from a company blog to the all-important style guide. And this time around, we’re focusing on another must-have: the editorial calendar. As the old saying goes, ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. It is advice we should all heed. Try to tackle a marathon without any training or embark on a desert trek without water and the outcome won’t be pretty.

If you’re looking to make a significant impact with your travel content, first you must make a travel content plan…

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The Key to Travel Writing? Be Specific

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In travel writing, details are everything. What good is it to describe a paradise beach if you neglect to mention the giant development looming up behind it? Why write about toe-curlingly expensive haute cuisine if your audience are budget travellers? How can you justify promoting cheap off-season travel if you don’t mention the monsoons?

We have discussed a number of travel writing tips and techniques in the past on our blog, from crafting a winning opening all the way to ending with a bang. But today, we’re offering a much broader piece of advice; one that can be put into practice at every stage of your writing journey, from pitching and research through writing and editing.

Be specific.

The fact is, specificity is key throughout the writing process, from identifying your target audience to conducting research to telling your story. Here are just some of the ways in which it pays to be specific in your travel writing.

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Still Life in the Old Blog: Why Travel Companies Should Keep On Blogging

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Blogs have been around a long time. In fact, with a history stretching back into the dark days of the 1990s, in web terms they’re positively ancient. Yet there’s still life in the old blog – in fact, it has never been more essential for travel brands to have their own blog platforms. Research firms like PhoCusWright conclude that just shy of half of all travel sales in America and Europe now take place on the internet, while the number of people researching about travel online is likely to be even higher than that. The percentages are consistently growing year-on-year.

Yet despite the ever-increasing number of customers online, too many travel brands still steadfastly stick to old-fashioned marketing methods, failing to make the most of those exciting digital tools available, such as blogging.

Holidaygoers doing their research on the web are looking for up-to-date, candid and compelling information – so whether you are a hotel or a cruise company, a travel agent or a tourist board, you’re doing yourself a disservice by not having an active, relevant and regular travel blog. Below are five more reasons why blogging still matters.

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Avoiding Writer’s Block: How To Keep Your Travel Content Flowing Freely

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Content, content, content. Quality travel content is in hot demand. Google is constantly on the hunt for it and so too are social media users. But how can you generate quality content day after day, week after week, month after month? When faced with a blank screen and — even worse — a blank mind, the prospect can be a little daunting.

What will I write about now? What will resonate with readers? As professional travel writers, these are questions we ask ourselves regularly. Letting the idea bank run dry is simply not an option. Nor is waiting for creativity to strike because, as any writer will attest, inspiration is nothing if not tardy.

Fortunately, there are ways and means of keeping content flowing and combating the dreaded content drought. Drawing on the broad experiences of our expert travel writers at World Words, we’ve come up with six tried-and-tested techniques that will help you generate fresh and engaging content ideas. Wave writer’s block goodbye…

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