6 Tips Every Travel PR Pro Needs to Know About Pitching Journalfluencers

If you’re in PR and only pitching writers and editors, you’re doing it wrong.

Your pitching strategy needs to expand (fast!) to include a wide variety of content creators in 2025.

Last month on Pitchcraft , we held a live virtual workshop with three travel creators we call journalfluencers: Johnny Jet , Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon and Keryn Means .

Each has a unique niche in travel and produces content for their own channels — including social media, newsletters and websites — and contribute as freelance writers to external outlets, too. This means they identify both as influencers and journalists.

Today I’m sharing the top six takeaways from that session. What might surprise you most: Journalfluencers and influencers care a LOT about building relationships and are prioritizing personal connections above anything else.

Finding influencer partnerships is an art, not a science.

You have to balance authentic storytelling with data. Follower counts and engagement metrics are important, but not king when it comes to selecting influencers or journalfluencers to partner with. Watch recent content they’ve created to gauge their skills at authentic storytelling, then incorporate data from tools such as Everpilot to help determine who to reach out to with press trip invites or pitches.

Emphasize early itinerary development.

Influencers need advance notice (sometimes, even more than journalists) of what they’ll be doing on a press trip. You have to communicate this to your clients. Last-minute schedules often hinder a creator’s ability to create thoughtful content, especially if what they’re planning on shooting requires additional equipment.

Remember that video is king.

Video content continues to be prioritized by social algorithms, and content creators of all kinds are focused on creating high-quality video. Ask how you can help support them getting the footage they need. The best method to do this: a phone call before finalizing the itinerary.

Don’t expect live posts.

Many influencers do not post live while traveling for a few reasons, including personal safety, family privacy, and time to refine their storytelling and angles. It’s your job to manage expectations with your clients around this.

The conversation changes when you bring up deliverables.

Extending a press trip invitation to a journalfluencer means you’re inviting them to experience a destination and discover story angles on the ground wearing their journalist hat. The minute you bring up a required number of posts or deliverables you’re looking for, it becomes a business conversation with an influencer. Prepare for a contract and a price tag.

Relationships matter.

Getting to know journalfluencers on a personal level, including their travel preferences, makes a big difference. Traveling together is the start of a relationship, not a one-and-done transaction.

Hungry for more insight on building relationships with creators of all kinds in travel and other lifestyle categories? Pitchcraft makes it easy: We bring the relationships to you. Book a demo with us to see how our platform can save you time, money and team.