Do you love experiencing adventures all over the world? Are you the sort of person who keeps a detailed journal of your travels? Do you post thousands of photos, with commentary, to Facebook? Do you write about your trips on a blog, give meticulous reviews of every hotel, restaurant and attraction you visit, or tweet constantly about your adventures? If you answered yes to any of these, then you should consider becoming a travelling journalist.

You may think travel journalism is a dream job but are just not sure how to pursue it. You can learn how to follow that dream by following this advice for becoming a travelling journalist.

Be realistic

This is an extremely competitive occupation. You need to have a passion for it, and combine that passion with hard work. It may take some time before you see success – and success means not just having a large audience for your writing, but also earning at least a portion of your living. You need to have your eyes open to this reality before plunging in at the deep end.

Assess your skills and background

The journalist part of travel journalist means you must be able to write, and write well. You need to be able to research an area thoroughly and use your knowledge and your experiences in your writing. In that regard, you might want to research about all the travel destinations that you are passionate about. Try taking travel quizzes (like the ones at My Travel Quiz or other such trivia websites) about different destinations and countries in order to improve your knowledge about places. That said, some editors will be looking for advanced degrees. Your degree doesn’t have to be in journalism, but you won’t get far without excellent research and writing skills. And it goes without saying, you must love to travel!

Learn the field

You want to familiarise yourself with other writers. Writing as a journalist is different from other writing (and again, includes research). One successful journalist to check out is Alison O’Riordan. Alison’s work can give you a great sense of what it means to be a journalist. Her work will inspire you to try your own journalistic take on things. From there, you can check out travel authors as well as travel service providers such as airlines, hotels, museums and attractions, and restaurants.

Start writing now

That is, if you’re not already writing! You will need to show that you can write about travel. You will need to show your passion for travel in well-crafted, winning sentences. Take those journals and TripAdvisor reviews and expand and finesse them. Don’t be afraid to be honest about the attractions – and detractions – of a location. Then put those pieces up on a blog, where any editor can read them.

Find a niche

If you are especially fond of Roman ruins, Asian art or famous battles, you may be able to use that to your advantage. If you can write about how historical or cultural events shape a location or a travel experience, you will be offering something above and beyond the flowery praise that often gets heaped into articles. Another angle is to explore the unusual or unsung aspects of a destination. Everyone knows the top ten sites in Paris. Can you find ten places that are unique, uncrowded, worth the time, or that give you a true sense of the city?

Understand your market

Your approach to a publisher that focuses solely on travel should be different from your approach to a fashion magazine with a monthly travel section. Do some research, and learn about the targeted readers of the publication. Is the magazine read by wealthy or budget-wise travellers? Is it read primarily by women, or men, or teenagers, or Canadians? Do its travel articles focus on practical aspects of travel, such as where to stay and eat? Or does the magazine focus on fantastical vacations that offer extreme adventure or romance? You must know these things for both the focus of your writing, and your pitch.

Start pitching

There are many places you can pitch your work. Look for websites that accept submissions from new writers, and start creating a professional portfolio. Remember that this writing, and your blog, will help you gain entry to better-paying, and possibly permanent, writing gigs. Once you have this portfolio, you can research the contributor guidelines for publishers seeking online and print travel writers. Start with regional and smaller publications. Find out the name of the person you should contact and make your pitch directly to them. Keep it short, and remember to exploit your personal niche or expertise.

Making your mark as a travel journalist takes commitment and perseverance, but no one said following your dreams would be easy. If you are game for reporting your adventures – from amazing, to calamitous, to boring (styled by you into an epic moment, of course) – you may just see your hard work pay off!