Ok I am getting asked several times a day about this so I am going to break this down into steps and then pin this post.
How I Got a Job as a Travel Writer (aka the ten steps I took that eventually got me hired in the writing world)
I started writing unpaid for a magazine when I was in high school. I got a leg up because I knew someone whose parent knew the editor of an indie mag and gave me an email address. Unless you are lucky enough to find a connection like that, I suggest reaching out to indie mags and local publications to see if anyone will let you write for them for free.
Got a college degree (cultural anthropology)
Did an unpaid marketing internship one summer in college (it was at night so I could work during the day)
Did all the copywriting and marketing for a club on campus
Graduated in spring 2020, worked a bunch of dead-end jobs
Eventually ended up unemployed and directionless, lived off the government and savings and was generally lost and unhappy.
Decided I wanted a copywriting job but couldn't get hired. Spent months and months applying, never even got an interview.
Saw that several related jobs requested experience in stuff like SEO, html, Google Analytics, and WordPress. Took free online classes to learn those things. Also picked up some copywriting gigs from Upwork on the side to make some money and beef up my portfolio.
To practice WordPress and make myself seem more professional, I started a blog that functioned as a literary journal and published submissions from other young writers.
Found an opening at a copywriting agency and wrote some SEO articles on contract. This didn't pay enough to live on, but it was fun and made my resume way more impressive.
Eventually the agency work dried up and they didn't have any assignments for me, so I went back to Indeed with my new beefed up resume. I saw a job for travel writing and applied. I got hired.
