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How to Write About Travel
Continued from page 3

Advertising and corporate work

When you're writing a brochure, a script for a video travelogue, or a newsletter sponsored by a client, you need to remember that you're selling a destination or service--if not overtly, then covertly.

Some clients will demand that you stick with tried-and-true clichés, such as:

"Sip an apéritif in a Left Bank sidewalk café frequented by Parisian artists and writers. Then step back onto our air-conditioned luxury coach for a trip to the Eiffel Tower, where you'll enjoy a stunning view of the City of Light before a romantic dinner cruise on the Seine aboard a bateau-mouche..."

If you're lucky, you'll be given some leeway--and you'll be able to write material not unlike a story for a magazine or newspaper, albeit with a sales message.

Whenever possible, try to go beyond the obvious--and try to work in snippets of detail that give the impression that you've visited the destination you're selling, even if you haven't. Any hack can write about sipping apéritifs in Parisian sidewalk cafés--but it takes someone with inside knowledge (or good research skills) to casually mention the house apéritif of a specific café.

TIP: When writing press releases, avoid the temptation to overwrite and oversell. A press release that reads like a news story (rather than a marketing brochure) is more likely to be appreciated and used by an editor.

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