Welcome to Travelwritten.com
2009.12.19
ABOVE: The home page of Europeforvisitors.com, which attracts more than 4 million visits and 13+ million page views per year.
by Durant Imboden, Europe for Visitors
Travelwritten is a how-to site and blog for travel writers who want to become writer-publishers on the Web.
It draws on the knowledge that I've acquired--mostly by trial and error--during nearly 11 years as co-owner, publisher, and editor of Europeforvisitors.com and nearly seven years with MSN, About.com, and other online companies from 1995 until 2001.
On this site, you'll find advice and thoughts about:
- How to select a topic.
- Travel-planning site vs. blog.
- Authoring or content-management tools.
- Where to find revenue.
- How to build and measure traffic.
- Above all, how to make the transition from the traditional freelance model ("I submit article, editor sends money") to an entrepreneurial business model where the writer-publisher owns the risks, responsibilities, and rewards.
Disclosure and disclaimer:
- Travelwritten has nothing to sell: no e-books, no tutorials, no webinars, no pitches for writers' conferences, not even any Google AdSense ads. So don't look for hidden agendas, because there aren't any. Travelwritten is simply my contribution to the travel-writing community, and I hope you'll find it useful as you move from freelancing to Web publishing.
- Travelwritten is mostly about self-published travel-planning sites. Other kinds of travel publishing may have a place on the Web, but my expertise is in travel-planning sites, so you'll need to go elsewhere if you're looking for how-to advice on personal blogs, smartphone apps, travel narrative, Web freelancing, etc.
- Travelwritten's articles reflect a single point of view (mine), but with luck, comments by other writer-publishers will supply a broader range of insights and opinions as time goes by.
Please note:
- Comments are welcome, but please keep them civil and on topic. (Spam, personal attacks, and rants will be deleted without mercy.)
- I don't do site reviews, and questions are best submitted as comments. If you'd like to contact me for other reasons, please e-mail durant (at) europeforvisitors.com.
Next article: "The Timeses, they are a-changin'"
Thank you so much for starting this site, Durant. Typical of your generous approach in sharing what you've learned. I know that those of us who have already started our own websites (and have discovered how right you were in encouraging us to do so) will benefit from it just as much as people still considering taking the plunge.
My advice to them is, of course, stop considering and take the plunge. My own site would probably not exist without Durant's encouragement in past forums, and now it does and is making me money:
http://www.Pacific-Coast-Highway-Travel.com
Posted by: Mike Gerrard | 2010.08.02 at 06:41 PM
Having followed you during the past year on various social media formats, I ditto Mike's commendation of your consistent generosity to share what you've learned. Thank you for both for encouraging me to take the plunge@
Posted by: Rebecca McCormick | 2010.08.04 at 11:45 AM
Not wanting to sound unoriginal, but I echo Mike and Rebecca. Durant, thank you.
Posted by: Jill Browne | 2010.08.04 at 05:24 PM
Durant, it's good to see you again. I found you on Twitter and am tickled you decided to help others out with a site like this. I may be a travel blogger and a correspondent with my own social news column in print, but what you write here also applies my to my writing.
You already have taught me so much. The main reason I go with the blog style is html code and I don't get along.
One thing about you, is you adapted and that's what I aim to do. Thank you for being a great and generous teacher.
Posted by: Trease | 2010.08.10 at 07:45 PM
I echo the three comments made already ~ a simple thank you goes a long way!
Posted by: Donna | 2010.08.11 at 09:51 PM
Hi Durant, I have seen your wealth of knowledge at webmasterworld over the years so I am really looking forward to seeing this site take off.
Posted by: James Clark | 2010.08.30 at 02:28 PM
Hi Durant
I've just found this site of yours, although I've known of your other ventures for many years. It's a really great site, and thanks for the info.
I look forward to taking some time out and going through it all in more detail, but I certainly like what I've seen so far.
Two thumbs up, and thanks again.
Best wishes,
Kay
Posted by: Kay McMahon | 2010.11.15 at 11:33 PM
Durant, you are a priceless resource for the travel writing community. Your karma must be unbounded!
Posted by: Carl Parkes | 2011.02.19 at 09:20 PM