If you are a blogger, here is how you develop a professional reputation to catch the eye of tourism and hospitality organizations that offer press trips and fam (familiarization) tours….
Start in your own town.
Yes, start with the assets right under your nose.
Not coincidentally, this is precisely the sort of advice that new writers get when they ask how to get published in the big national print glossies/magazines – “Get something in your local publications and newspapers before you get the big head about your stuff belonging in the New York Times.”
What was my first big break in a national magazine? When National Geographic Traveler accepted my article proposal about a historic highway that was only a few miles from my Florida home.
I watch with some bemusement as newish bloggers wonder aloud in Facebook Groups and at conferences about how to get invited on press trips (which are work, not play, and come with their own drawbacks and requirements) and then when I ask the person if he or she has approached tourism assets in their backyard, they usually have not.
So here it is, bloggers: reach out to your own local CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) or Tourist Office – town, regional and/or state or province – and see if they’d be interested in a “Like a Local” series on your blog, for example. The same thing might work with a nearby heritage highway or wine, microbrewery or quilt trail.
Even pet bloggers could do a series for their CVB on dog parks and leash-free play areas; visitors to your destination need that information if they travel with pets.
Don’t sit passively by the phone or in your email IN box, waiting for things to magically happen. Craft a proposal about why someone’s support of your travels might be beneficial to them, and pitch it. Your town’s CVB may not even know you exist. Pick up the phone or even go by the Visitors Center in person. You have a big advantage over a stranger, especially if they’ve never worked with a blogger before.
Starting out, you won’t get and don’t need press trips to far-flung places. Build a base first: experience, content and reliability. Demonstrate your chops in Des Moines before worrying about Rio de Janeiro.
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Thanks for the plug for Des Moines! Loads of stories there and elsewhere in Iowa.
Well, that’s very true, Jessica. Too many writers and others dismiss the things that are right in the town where they live.
Great points Sheila. Too many people only think of far away and exotic travel. There are stories and opportunities right in your own backyard all the time. We are actually going home in September to be travel ambassadors for a company that is located right in our own back yard. Their whole campaign is about finding adventure right in our home province of Ontario. Cheers
I’m really glad you guys dropped in, Dave and Deb – you do a lot of work with tourism and hospitality organizations, so I really appreciate your agreement on the “think local” issue. Glad to hear that Ontario values what you can do.
Also, I know you’re on the Mongol Rally right now, so thanks for taking time out to say hi!
Sheila – thanks for the reminder. While I do get to go to some fun places on press trips (as well as my own dime), I sometimes forget that I LIVE in South Florida and tourism is the major industry down here. Yes, it’s time once again to write about my own backyard.
Hi Zippy,
Absolutely – all sorts of interesting story angles to South Florida. Good luck!