When I decided to reinvent myself and start a second career in life, my goal was to work part-time while satisfying my wanderlust.
I love traveling and wanted to earn money while seeing the world. Great Escape’s travel writing course was a perfect fit for me.
I soon learned that researching and pitching stories was the most time-consuming part of travel writing. One of the best tips I took away from the course was to start by writing local articles.
I had recently moved overseas so my new hometown—Medellín, Colombia—became a great source for articles. However, in South America, local publications need articles written in Spanish… and I wasn’t fluent enough to pitch my stories to local periodicals.
Then, while flying to Aruba for a vacation, I picked up the in-flight magazine which was written in both English and Spanish. I reached out to the editor and pitched a story about my recent Caribbean trip. The editor agreed to a two-page story, accompanied by some of my photographs.
The editor, after accepting my Aruba story and learning that I live in Colombia, also requested a full, four-page essay about Medellín, with more photos.
Score! I now had an editor ready and waiting to accept my local pieces. I then suggested two more stories based upon our world-famous flower festival and renowned Christmas light celebration.
Another way I write local came by accident. At a party, I was chatting with a local investment firm and I mentioned that I’m a travel writer. Since their target clients are from English-speaking countries, they asked me to write a series of articles for their website focusing on the gastronomic scene, art and culture, and other fun things to do in Medellín.
These two anchor clients aren’t clients I imagined. But they’re open to my suggestions for new stories, and they pay well for the articles I write.
It’s helped me realize that writing local is easier, faster, and one of the most efficient ways to be a travel writer—even though this isn’t what I envisioned when I first became a travel writer.
Other writers spend a lot of time in the air, on the ground, and in front of a computer doing research. But by writing local, I can be as busy as I want. I have an excuse to leave the house everyday while also enjoying the semi-retired, traveling lifestyle of my dreams. It’s great!
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can fund your travels and make an extra income with photography, travel writing, blogging, and more in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Five Fun Ways To Get Paid To Travel: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]