To Travel Writer: Hunt for Freelance Employment on the Internet

Updated: Mar 24th, 2010

Dear Travel Writer,

Are you still searching for employment? Do you look to the heavens each day and pray for freelance employment opportunities? Did you look on the internet?

You must have some form of daily employment to sustain your life. In addition to your full-time or part-time job, you can begin your travel writing career on the side. You may want to keep this information to yourself because some employers get a “wee bit” upset if you have something on the side. If you know and understand networking, then you can help your 9 to 5 employer obtain new customers. Unfortunately, your employer probably did not think of that. “Duh” is not enough for that mentality!

Travel writers who understand SEO (search engine optimization) will go far. SEO is the process by which you, the writer, will “improve volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results” (from wikipedia). When you write your articles or blogs, use specific keywords or phrases that you know people will use when they do a search. In fact, you may be provided with a list of words to use. Keywords and phrases help an organization rank in Google and other search engines. The result will be a top-notch website with major traffic.

You could write for academia. Organizations, such as Mediabistro offer travel writing courses. Perhaps they’ll be in need of a re-write for one of their courses. Maybe there will be a travel writing contest for “essays on travel.” With your travel writing experience, you can apply for these opportunities with confidence. Who knows, you may take first place in an essay writing contest!

Benefits of Employment from the Internet

  1. Work at home aka telecommute opportunities. No need to get in the car, waste gas, or spew emissions into the air. If you’re physically challenged, telecommuting may appeal to you. Just walk (if you use crutches) or roll from the bedroom to your office! You can be at work in no time.
  2. Build your writing skills. You can find many writing resources on the internet. Check out Grammar Girl for “quick and dirty tips.” Daily Writing Tips is another great resource. Don’t forget about Writer’s Digest. All of these resources are at your fingertips.
  3. You manage your time. Time is very precious. You set your hours and the time it will take you to complete a travel writing project. No one will be standing over shoulder every five minutes to check your progress. Remember, this is a huge responsibility so make sure you’re up for the freelancing lifestyle.
  4. No more office life or politics. Congratulations on becoming the boss!
  5. The potential to earn more income than a regular day job. How much income you make is up to you. The more freelance travel writing jobs you have the more chances to increase your income. You may even foster relationships with some people that will lead to ongoing writing opportunities. The power and freedom is within you to decide!

The internet has become the number 1 place to find employment opportunities. You can find countless job boards such as CareerBuilder, Indeed.com, Monster.com, Oodle.com, and even Craigslist posts employment opportunities! It’s a testimony to how far we’ve come as a society. There’s no escaping technology, it will find you.

Travel writers, scour the internet today to unearth writing opportunities. Start today because tomorrow you could be one of the top travel writer’s on the internet. Visualize many readers engrossed in your writing. You never know, an editor from National Geographic may read your writing, like it, and contact you for an assignment. It can happen, if you dare to reach for the stars and dream big!

Rebecca

About Amandah Blackwell 198 Articles

Amandah Blackwell is a creative, freelance and ghost writer for industries that include but are not limited to the arts & entertainment, travel, publishing, real estate, pets, personal and professional development, and much more.

Amandah's personal writing projects include screenplays, teleplays, YA, non-fiction, short stories, and poetry. 

You can find more of her writing at www.MisticCafe.com, savvywritingcareers.wordpress.com, and www.savvy-writer.com.

You can follow Amandah on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/savvy_writer

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