Here’s What it’s Actually Like to Be a Travel Writer
It’s not all memoirs and adventure stories
When people find out what I’m a travel writer, I usually get one of the following responses:
- “Oh, man. You have the dream job. It must be so awesome to get paid to go on vacation all the time and just write about your adventures and your stories. What’s your favorite place? Where should I go? Man, I wish I was a travel writer.”
- “So you’re a blogger? Can you even make money writing about travel anymore?”
What’s weird, is that both of these responses are equally right (and completely wrong) about what it’s actually like to be a travel writer.
If you’re interested in making money as a travel writer, settle in, because I’m going to share my experience as a travel writer for the past five years including who I write for, how I earn money as a travel writer, and a few ways you can get started as a travel writer.
Hopefully, I can dispel a few myths about the glamorous life of a travel writer while also inspiring you to pursue your interest in this truly awesome field.
What’s it like to be a travel writer?
Let me start by saying yes, it’s awesome to be a travel writer. Obviously. I like what I do, which is why I’ve been doing it for the past five years.
This isn’t one of those “don’t do what I do” pieces.
As a travel writer, I get to test tons of new travel clothing and gear, meet interesting people in the travel space, and share my experiences with a large audience of excited travelers. If you love to travel and want to write about your advice, insights, and experiences, become a travel writer. It’s great.
I’m currently on my second year-long trip around the world, and I’ve been working as a full-time freelancer for the past five years (minus a brief 8-month stint in the start-up world).
But that’s honestly not a great depiction of what it really means to be a travel writer.
A typical day as a travel writer
Like any freelance writer, I work (at least a little) most days writing for a handful of clients. I have deadlines every week, and when I’m not physically writing I’m usually drafting pitches or ideas, responding to emails from clients and companies, or testing travel gear for an upcoming article. Again, I like what I do, but being a travel writer usually means pulling out the ol’ laptop— even when I’m jetlagged and exhausted from a long travel day.
The freedom to work on the road is better than working in an office, but it isn’t always easy. I get pulled out of experiencing the places I visit more often than I’d like, and while I control my work schedule (within client deadlines), it’s frustrating to always be “on.”
You freelancers out there know what I’m talking about.
So who do I write for?
I’ve never written anything for The New York Times Travel section, Outside Magazine, National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveler, or any of the other huge travel publications you know. Heck, I’ve never even pitched anything to them. Maybe someday. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
About 80% of my travel writing work is for a handful of clients—mainly travel gear companies and clothing brands. Every quarter, I pitch article ideas and long-form content which usually includes packing lists, destination guides, gear reviews, travel tips, and general travel advice and blog posts.
I’ve developed strong relationships with these few steady clients over the years, and while I’m proud of the work I do, you probably haven’t heard of many of the companies I write for. And that’s fine.
For me, travel writing has been about a lot more than just selling adventure stories to the handful of travel magazines that still publish that (admittedly great) content.
How I got started as a travel writer
It all started with an email.
Yup. An email. Your overcrowded inbox is still one of the best ways to get work as a travel writer. (Notice that I didn’t say a “job” as a travel writer).
The founder of Tortuga Backpacks, a small startup at the time, announced in one of their newsletters that Tortuga was looking for a few freelance travel writers to help create content for their new blog. I submitted a few writing samples, chatted with the founder, and boom — I became a working travel writer.
Five years later, I’m still a senior writer and gear editor for their online publication, Packsmith.
Before that email, I’d written a few travel articles for sites like Matador Network and a few other random companies, but Tortuga was my first regular “travel writing” gig. And it launched everything that came after.
I highly recommend building a couple of strong client relationships—or even just one—instead of endlessly pitching travel stories to new places every month. The grind of pitching can wear you out, and I was lucky to avoid a lot of that in the beginning of my writing career.
But even if you don’t land a good gig out of the gate, there are other ways to earn money as a travel writer.
Other types of travel writing
Aside from my steady travel company clients, I pick up occasional one-off travel writing gigs from content marketplace sites like Contently.
These contract jobs are typically more lucrative, but also more constrained than the articles I normally write. They’re also not as frequent as my other gigs and don’t usually turn into long-term clients, so you have to take the bigger paycheck into account with the extra administrative back and forth contact and client churn rate.
These clients have included international hotel chains, travel rewards credit cards, tour companies big and small, and other travel and tourism websites. It varies a lot depending on your skillset and fluency in each industry sector, but a strong SEO background can make up for a lot.
I was also a freelance staff writer for a copywriting firm in New York City for three years while working as a travel writer. This helped supplement my income, especially when I was getting started, but it also taught me a number of valuable skills that were important for the business side of travel writing.
Travel writing (obviously) isn’t always steady work. Even when I’m working full-time I’ve never earned more than $25,000 a year. If you’re interested in travel writing for the money, you’re probably not going to make it very far.
Working as a copywriter ensured that I was still gathering writing experience that would further my goals of becoming a travel writer, as opposed to working part-time as a bartender just because it might pay better at first.
I highly recommend adding a little diversity to your travel writing resume. Contribute a column for a newspaper. Take a gig as a copywriter, or better yet, work as an editor if you can.
Freelancing for the copywriting agency taught me a lot about managing client relationships, writing with SEO in mind, bidding for jobs, contract payment, how to invoice and track my time, and writing for specific business objectives—not just my own loose style.
I know that may not sound like “travel writing” to you, but don’t forget, travel writers still work with clients. And your clients are paying you to achieve a goal, not just write about your sweet vacation.
So unless you’re one of the lucky few that really do just get to write about their adventures, you have to provide some measurable value to your clients with every piece you write.
How to find travel writing jobs
These days I mostly write for about three or four clients every month. Sometimes it’s more, sometimes less, but that’s a pretty typical billing period for me. Fun fact: I invoice at the end of the month, so I only get paid twelve times a year.
The point is, you don’t need a ton of work to make it as a travel writer.
Reach out to a travel company you like with an idea that speaks to who they are and what they’re doing. Then ask if they want you to write it for them. Follow their submission guidelines and follow through with an article or pitch. They have the “Write for Us” link on their website because they want travel writers.
Honestly, it’s not that hard to become a writer. You just have to start.
The recurring writing for Tortuga eventually helped me develop relationships with other brands while reviewing and testing gear, which eventually turned into client relationships. One travel writing gig will lead to more travel writing gigs. It just takes a little time.
One recent travel brand I know reached out for help with their blog. Another wanted help with an e-book. I get offers almost every week to collaborate with some company or another, and while I rarely take these offers out of the blue, it’s nice that the gigs are flowing my way instead of wasting time chasing up new clients.
It honestly doesn’t take that long to become a successful travel writer. I simply reached out to companies when I thought I could help them or I liked their products. But after a short while, the companies started reaching out to me thanks to my writing for Tortuga and a couple of other pieces in my portfolio.
I know that probably doesn’t sound helpful if you’re just starting out, but if you make yourself visible, valuable, and available you will find work as a travel writer.
Create an online portfolio as soon as possible and start writing for at least one steady travel client. The rest will follow. Heck, you can start your own blog (I don’t have one, but hey you might strike gold), or *gasp* write about travel on Medium.
Writing about travel on Medium
I’ve only really been writing about travel on Medium since October 2019, but it’s been interesting so far.
I became a top writer in the “Travel” topic after just three articles, which is faster than average, and I’ve been curated a handful of times which lead to some nice traffic. The point is, if you write interesting stuff, you can get into the game faster than you think, even without a built-in following.
That’s actually something I love about travel writing. Unlike some other content jobs, you don’t need to be an “influencer” to be successful—even in the age of social media.
- I have exactly 731 followers on Instagram
- I haven’t used Twitter in two years
- and I full-on deleted my Facebook account over a year ago. Not just the app. My whole dang account
You don’t have to have a throng of fans or a banging ‘gram account to make it as a travel writer on Medium or otherwise. You just have to add value to a company or publication and write something worth reading.
Travel writing isn’t about who you are, it’s about what you say.
As of now my earnings on Medium are pretty meager—only a few articles in the double digits—but they’re growing every day. And the beauty of the Medium Partnership Program is that once they’re online, they continue to earn.
I’ll update you when my first Medium only travel piece earns what I typically charge for a freelance travel article. Fingers crossed it happens soon.
How to become a travel writer
Reach out to travel brands that you like. Create an online writing portfolio. Use Medium as a launching pad for your travel writing career. Ask websites (and your real human friends) if they know anyone who needs a travel writer. Connect with someone and prove that your travel writing is worth paying for and you’ll be on your way.
Then you just have to make sure you write something worth reading.
Good luck, and have fun out there.