For about six months I’ve been running the Travel Writing Skool – a community where I help wannabe travel writers, as well as existing travel writers, improve their chances of scoring travel writing jobs, improve their pitches, learn what it takes to become a full-time travel writer and more.

One of the features of the community is a weekly ‘pitch review’ session, where people submit pitches for stories they want to write and I advise them on how to maximise their chances of making that sale.

I’ve done 15 of these to date, and so I thought it would be useful to boil down the key concepts that have emerged out of these reviews. With a little summarising help from AI, here’s what came up.

How to sell a travel article: 15 essential points for your pitch

1. Craft a Compelling Headline and Angle 

Your headline is crucial for grabbing an editor’s attention. It should be direct and literal, not vague or too poetic. Avoid common pitfalls like pitching a topic instead of a story, or using overly broad phrases like “in today’s world” that sound “very ChatGPTish”. Instead, inject a superlative (e.g., “best,” “worst,” “only,” “weirdest,” “most remote”) or an emotional word to make it unique and intriguing. The headline for your pitch can be longer, even “15 to 20 words,” as long as it encapsulates the key angles.

• “The headline is the keystone of your piece. If you can’t formulate a great headline that intrigues and inspires you to read on, you may not have a great story.“
  

2. Highlight the News Hook/Timeliness 

Editors constantly ask: “Why are we writing about this now?“. Your pitch needs a clear “news hook” that makes the story relevant and timely. This could be a recent opening (like Hong Kong’s new airport terminal), an anniversary (Jaws’ 50th), new data (doubled tourism numbers), or a trending topic. Place this news hook prominently, ideally “right up front” in your headline or summary.

• “Why is it relevant now? Why do we need to write about it now?“
  

3. Focus on a Story, Not Just a Topic 

An editor wants a “story” with a “narrative,” not just a “topic”. Your pitch should reveal something unexpected or unique, offering “more depth, a little bit more substance” than a simple overview. Consider a contrarian or opinionated angle. The story should provide specific details and examples, as this is “where the real interest is”.

• “It’s one of the big no-nos – if you ask an editor what are their least favorite pitches to get, it’s when people pitch topics rather than stories.“
  

4. Emphasize Your Access  

Access is key to a successful pitch. This includes your personal experience, unique access to places that “not many people have visited”, or interviews with specific individuals like “the head of oceanography”, “local experts”, or “a guide and conservation advocate”. Be ready to name these individuals and explain their authority.

• “What access do you have that makes your story really valuable and unique and special?“
  

5. Leverage Your Credentials & Authority 

Clearly state why you are the right person to write the story. This includes mentioning previous publications where you’ve been published, or any relevant personal experience such as being a “Portland local” or having a “Veggie background”. If you have a blog, mention it and include links. Transparency about press trips is also valued.

• “BBC travel is obviously an amazing one to get in there. Suddenly the editor knows, okay, this guy’s legit.”
  

6. Frontload Your Pitch 

Place the most interesting and important information at the very beginning of your pitch, just like a news story. Don’t “hide and bury all the exciting interesting stuff” in later paragraphs, as the editor might not read that far.

• “We always want to frontload our pitches with the most interesting stuff right at the top.“
  

7. Be Direct and Literal in Your Pitch Language 

The pitch should be “pretty straight, pretty literal”. Avoid “flowery and verbose” language, as editors “will fear that there’s going to be a hell of a lot to cut out when the story comes in”. The pitch is a sales document, not the final article, so focus on “getting the important information across to the editor”.

• “It doesn’t need to be beautifully written. it doesn’t need to be poetical and flowery; the pitch isn’t where you do that, the story is where you do that. The pitch needs to tell the editor what he wants straight away as directly and as literally as you can make it.“
  

8. Ensure Conciseness 

Pitches “should be tightened up”. Condense information and “strip out the repetition” to make it more impactful. While a pitch can be “quite long” if the information is good, avoid making it so long that it sounds like “an academic thesis or a Wikipedia entry”.

• The pitch “needs to tell the editor what he wants straight away as directly and as literally as you can make it”
  

9. Repeat Your Headline in the Pitch Body 

Even if the headline is in your email subject line, repeat it in bold within the pitch itself. This serves as a “signpost” for the editor, showing organization and making it “super simple and easy” to understand your offering.

• “You should repeat your headline… in bold because then he knows, okay, this is the story headline. Beneath this hangs the story description.“
  

10. Include Relevant Service Information 

Provide practical details such as “where to stay and how to get there”. This “service info” can be condensed, perhaps “just be included in one line”.

11. Mention Interview and Photo Availability 

Always mention if you can provide “interviews and pictures”. If you have good photos, send “two or three along” or provide links to a folder, ensuring file sizes are not too large.

• “It’s good to mention that you can provide pictures once you’re done.“
  

12. Consider Your Email Signature 

Use your email signature to include “your most recently published story, particularly if it was a big outlet,” and “where I’m going next”. This is a “clever idea” to provide additional credentials and potential future story ideas to editors.

13. Research Your Target Outlet 

Before pitching, research the publication to see “what they’ve written already” on your topic. Offer “something fresh” or even a “contrarian view” if they’ve covered similar ground. Understand the specific niche and tone they prefer.

• “It’s worth researching the types of stories that your target publications have already written. Check out what they’ve done before – you’ve got to offer something new, something fresh and ideally something that has good access.“
  

14. Practice Simultaneous Pitching 

It is absolutely appropriate to pitch the same story to multiple outlets simultaneously. This maximizes your chances of a sale and helps manage the “struggles freelancers go through”. If multiple outlets accept, it’s a “nice problem to have” – you can choose one and offer slightly “tweaked version[s] of the story” to the others.

• “Is it ever appropriate to pitch more than one outlet the same story? Yes absolutely. I’m a big advocate for pitching multiple outlets for every story idea you have.“
  

15. Follow Up Strategically 

Always follow up on your pitches. This can be “anything from three days later to two weeks,” depending on the time-sensitivity of the story. Follow up “twice at least,” offering a new angle if necessary, but if there’s still no response after three emails, “drop it and move on”.

• “I’ve got so many commissions from following up.“