Land as many assignments as you can for each trip to increase your earnings per set of fixed travel costs. Photo by: Moyan Brenn
Any time you have an upcoming travel writing trip, do a pitch push and try to land more story assignments before you depart.
You have a compelling message for a pitch push – “I’m heading to Barcelona, and think my story about La Sagrada Familia on the 90th anniversary of Gaudi’s death would be a strong fit for your readers.”
If you have an assignment in place, this underscores your professionalism – you’ve already landed a paying gig elsewhere! By pitching other story ideas, you show your creativity and hustle, too.
Launching a Successful Pitch Push
The key to a pitch push is to land as many paying gigs per set of travel expenses as possible.
Always do a targeted 30-30 brainstorming exercise about any destination before you go. Sit down with a notebook and think about 30 story ideas for 30 different markets. Take advantage of a scheduled trip to focus your 30-30 and see what other story ideas you may be able to sell to paying markets.
Touch base with your current clients with a destination story idea.
Reconnect with past clients with a message that reinforces your experience in the destination, like “I’m returning to Barcelona next month, so I’m circling back about that idea we discussed about the Barcelona Beach Festival last year.”
Revisit dormant leads to see if the new trip sparks additional interest.
Identify any regional magazines or parallel content markets near your destination that you may not automatically think about for pitching, but should approach now.
Wherever you’re going, a pre-trip pitch push can only generate more leads and story assignments.
For example, if you’re heading to resurgent Detroit for a piece on the emerging industrial arts scene, are there Midwest titles you don’t normally target? Would this be a good time to approach business publications with an idea about new Detroit entrepreneurs?
Stretch your thinking.
What are your topics of subject matter expertise? Check your sources for other story possibilities when in town.
If you cover music, are there any shows to see? Is it street fair season in emerging or iconic neighborhoods? Did the James Beard Awards just spotlight an up-and-coming chef in the area?
Are you able to use a travel service like AirBnB, Hipcamp or Tripcase for the first time on this trip?
Is there something you’ve always wanted to try, like stand-up paddleboarding, or a class on cake decorating, that you can attempt on this trip?
The Economics Make Sense
A pitch push makes sense financially. Your fixed travel costs (transportation, lodging, food, admissions and incidentals) stay relatively the same whether you’re researching one story for a market or three.
But if you have additional paying assignments in the destination, your variable earnings increase.
When you travel somewhere, the more story assignments you have, the greater your potential for earning revenue.
If the main article covers your expenses, everything else you earn is gravy. So you may as well ladle out the queries, and work your network for more opportunities. The fact alone that you’re already heading out on assignment is a natural conversation starter with your contacts.
And here’s a key point:
Even if you don’t land any additional paying assignments before your trip, you can use that time in the market to craft pitches for future gigs.
When you get back, you have another reason to reach back out to those editors and content gatekeepers with more ideas.
One February I found myself researching weekend getaways from Washington DC. Driving around from Harpers Ferry, WV to Ocean City, MD, I thought about all the additional story ideas I had discovered.
Three months later, I was back in DC, on a completely different research trip, exploring District neighborhoods for a city feature in a food magazine.
I hadn’t had any followup story assignments during that February visit, but pitched new ideas upon my return and was back in the capital city in no time.
So make sure to spend some time researching additional story ideas in your destination, regardless of whether you have additional gigs lined up, or not. Pitch ideas when you’re back, land more gigs, and further develop your travel niches and beats.