Why I Write About Slow Travel
I have two strings to my bow (writing and photography) but my travel writing work forms both the foundation of my freelance business and my first foray into being self employed. When I first took the plunge into freelance work, it made sense to focus on writing work as that was what I knew. I had been writing editorial content as part of my previous jobs for the last five years and had been writing my own blog for seven years. I knew then, back in 2015, that I wanted to write. I just didn’t know yet what I wanted to write about.
Why I decided to write about slow travel
Prior to becoming self employed, I worked in marketing roles in the fashion industry. It would have made sense to continue writing about fashion, but this wasn’t where my heart was. I knew I wanted the majority of my work to be within travel, but it has been a journey to get to my current situation. My first writing assignments were all for either no or very little money while I built up my portfolio. Early commissions included writing for independent travel magazines such as Lodestars Anthology and Rucksack, compiling listicles for The Culture Trip, and writing regular editorial content for a travel insurance website and a footwear brand. The articles I wrote for the footwear brand’s blog all revolved around slow living and slow travel. The more I wrote, the more this way of travelling resonated with me, the more I read about slow travel and the more I adapted the way that I travelled myself. Everything slotted together for me when I began writing a slow travel column for Hotel Weekend in 2018. I had found a niche that I was genuinely interested in, that I enjoyed writing about and that other people wanted to read about.
What is slow travel
For me, slow travel is all about exploring the world at your own place, visiting destinations that are off the beaten track or seeking out quieter neighbourhoods, and disconnecting from technology while you are travelling. Slow travel is resisting the urge to try to do or see everything, wandering around without a map and indulging in the activities that truly interest you rather than feeling like you have to tick off a ‘must see’ list for your destination. Slow travel resonates with a more mindful, conscious and sustainable way of travelling the world, being aware of your carbon footprint and the impact that your travels have on the local economy and environment. The way that you travel makes a difference, trying to limit your flights and travel by train, boat or car but also how you get around once you’ve reached your destination. Rather than hopping in taxis or always relying on public transport, hire a bike or walk to see more of the place that you are visiting.
You can read more about the reality of slow travel here.
Why you need a niche for your writing
I don’t just write about slow travel, but most of my writing focuses around this niche. Your niche doesn’t have to be as tight as mine, but you do need a focus for the main body of your work. When you are sharing your portfolio and pitching to brands and magazines you’d like to write for, they will want to see similar work that you have done in the past. Within your niche (say, travel) it is helpful to have more of a focus of a particular type of travel (in my case slow travel, but this could also be family travel, adventure travel, luxury travel, etc.) and/or a particular destination or geographical zone. You can then concentrate on becoming an authority figure within this niche, and eventually clients will reach out directly to you.
It’s worth noting that not all of your work needs to fit snugly within this niche. I focus the majority of my website, portfolio, blog, newsletter and social media around my slow travel work as that is what I want to be known for and what I want to do more of. But I also write for sustainable fashion brands, homeware brands and more general lifestyle content.
How I find travel writing work
At the moment, I find travel writing work predominantly through two different avenues: direct enquiries into my inbox and pitching to brands and magazines I would like to write for. Looking back over the past decade, most of my favourite projects have been a result of clients getting in touch with me directly. Some of these emails have been cold pitches, but the majority of them have been from brands and publications that I have built up a relationship with through social media. Clients have discovered my work via Google on many occasions, but my Instagram has been the source of a lot of my work (both for writing and photography).
View my Travel Writing portfolio here.