by April Orcutt
Many thanks to Nick Wayland and everyone at TravMedia for such an informative and inspiring presentation to BATW members on Aug. 3rd.
TravMedia is a powerhouse resource for travel writers, editors and PR professionals – and it’s free for writers. Nick Wayland, founder and “Idea Man” behind TravMedia, gave BATW members tips about how to make the best use of TravMedia’s services, which include:
- Profiles – a showcase portfolio about you with postings and links to your stories;
- Journalist Alerts for contacting DMO and PR professionals to get help researching information for stories, finding appropriate people to quote, locating photos or videos, or getting answers to other questions about destinations;
- Editor Alerts where you can learn about what stories editors are seeking;
- Upload your news and updates, which may end up in the Daily News Alerts;
- Daily News Alerts, where you can see what stories other writers and PR pros are posting and where your own published pieces may be listed;
- Travel Plans so PR pros might contact you with story ideas for those locations;
- Upload Your Stories on your personal feed;
- Upload Photo Galleries and Videos;
- Follow others on TravMedia and, hopefully, others will follow you; and
- Best of all, it’s free for journalists and writers.
To join TravMedia, go to https://travmedia.com and click “REGISTER” to fill out the form. TravMedia will confirm the URLs to three recently published stories and email a welcome/onboarding note. (Remember: TravMedia is free for writers.)
Then, log in and click on the upper-right drop-down window. “My Profile” shows your home page. “Edit Profile” lets you add a bio and photo. Click “Save” when you’re finished.
To create a Public Profile (i.e. Personal URL): Scroll to the bottom of the “Edit Profile” page and in the box after “Public Profile Settings,” type your name as one word and click “Save.” Also, click the box after “Enable Public Profile.” Click “Preview your public profile” to see what your profile or portfolio page looks like to others. Share that link in your email signature to direct others to your work: https://travmedia.com/yourname.
TravMedia’s Kim Grant elaborated on how to post a free Journalist Alert:
You snagged the assignment … now you need to deliver!
Don’t get left behind. Use TravMedia’s technology to get assistance completing your assignment. Upload a ‘Journalist Alert’ to ask DMOs and PRs for help — with trip assistance, sources, leads on what’s new, data, ideas to round out listicles, photo, B-roll video, and more. It’s easy: Hover over ‘Submit’ in the upper right corner, choose ‘Journalist Alert’ in the drop-down menu and fill in a few fields (including the outlet/publication) and the deadline by which you need the info. The request goes to the inboxes of all DMOs/PRs. But your journo colleagues will not see it. Relevant PRs/DMOs will lend a hand if they can. Also, it keeps your name in front of them, even if they can’t help this time.
Poke around the TravMedia website. Most ways to upload stories, etc., are self-explanatory. For questions, contact Kim Grant kim.grant@travmedia.com
Members can watch the video of the webinar by logging into batw.org and clicking on the BENEFITS tab. You’ll see our Youtube channel listed.
Thanks go again to Nick and all the TravMedia team!