A Distant Mentality Turns One!

This is been quite a year! I started this blog mainly as a travel diary and a much-needed creative outlet, but it turned into so much more.

Over the past year I’ve been able to share my family’s previous trips, I’ve highlighted my favorite places in and around Los Angeles, and the blog also became a career advice column of sorts. When I started out, I knew that I wanted to teach others how to incorporate travel into their work but this outlet has really allowed me to do so much more in that area; inspiring others to pursue the field of psychology.

The year’s highlights for me have been a road trip through the Southwest, exploring the far-flung Pacific Northwest and Alaska, a work-turned-family trip to Denmark, and collaborating with other creatives and academics.

I’ve learned so much this year and I thought I would share with you one of the biggest tricks to travel blogging; how I go about scoring travel sponsorships. Really it’s a healthy mix of things I already do in my real work life, networking, good writing skills, and being dedicated to the effort. Here’s the step by step:

1. Once you have a travel spot in mind (in my case it usually revolves around a conference), start making a list of accommodations in the area. If you want to know which ones have worked with bloggers before, Google something like “Copenhagen hotel blog” and follow the blog sites for hotel names. 
2. Next you will need to reach out. This is going to happen via email so scour the hotel sites for email addresses, preferably those for media or public relations associates. In your email, you will want to include the following: dates of travel, number of occupants, your blog’s niche, and who your target audience is. Specify what you will highlight in your posts/ social media (museums, hotels, outdoors activities, etc.) and lastly inquire if they “work with travel bloggers.” Include links to your site and social media under your signature so they can check you out and see if you are a good fit. If you want a sample template- email me! 
3. Leave plenty of time for communication and research. I try to reach out as soon as I have secured my travel dates. There can be a lot of back an forth communication with a hotel and they don’t like to accommodate discounted rates with short notice requests (plus it lacks professionalism). 
4. Be ready to book within 48-72 hours after you are given a rate via email. Once you have committed to a hotel, try not to back out. Keep the rest of the travel community in mind and help encourage the positive working relationships with the blogging world! 

In closing, big thanks to my readers and I hope you are looking forward to some more valuable content and gorgeous photographs in our sophomore year!