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

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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A Warm Welcome to the World Words Team – Melissa, Staff Content Writer

This week, we are delighted to announce the arrival of our newest member of the World Words team – Melissa.

Melissa will be joining our Edinburgh office as a staff travel content writer, so you can expect to hear a whole lot more from her here on the World Words site, whether it’s writing on the blog or contributing to our client projects.

Let’s find out a little more about her…

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The Key to Travel Writing? Be Specific

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

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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