How to Write, Luxury Travel and The Perfect Pitch
John O’Ceallaigh is the founder of Lute, an agency that provides consultancy, branding and content-creation services to luxury-travel businesses.
He was previously the luxury travel editor at the Telegraph Media Group, overseeing all their luxury travel content.
He continues to write for some of the leading luxury travel publications internationally, including the Financial Times, The Times, Departures and Robb Report.
Summary
John O’Ceallaigh knows a thing or two about a good story.
Whether you want to know how to write one or how to pitch it to journalists, this episode will give you the answers.
And if you work in luxury travel then you’ll want to listen carefully too. John has experienced some of the most luxurious places across the globe and worked with many luxury brands on how to reach those dizzy heights.
He doesn’t pull any punches either.
If you’re looking for someone to tell it to you straight then John is the man for the job, and he’s typically candid in this conversation.
He shares the things brands do that are an immediate turn off, irritating social media habits and some very direct advice for wannabe travel journalists.
We talk about how to write, the difference between freelance and staff writers and John goes into depth on how to level up your brand in a very practical way (which is very different to the usual talk about logos and colours!).
It’s not often you get to hear such open advice from someone who has worked at the heart of the press and now operates in a broader consultancy role with exposure to so many luxury brands.
This is one to pay attention to.
Enjoy!
0:03:00
The journey to the Telegraph
0:08:00
Life at the Telegraph
0:13:00
Extravagent experiences on work trips
0:19:00
Setting up Lute
0:24:00
How he guides brands
0:28:00
What makes a good story?
0:32:00
Refining your content approach
0:44:00
How to find good external writers
0:46:00
How to write well
0:50:00
What makes a good story
0:57:00
How to pitch
0:59:00
Freelance vs staff writers
1:02:00
The impact of Covid
1:05:00
Work/life balance
1:10:00
Following your passion
1:12:00
Personal qualities that have led to success
1:17:00
Advice for people starting out travel or journalism
1:19:00
Places he gets inspiration
1:22:00
Future plans for Lute
“Read your content and implant a competitor and ask if I could just as easily be about them. If so it’s rubbish and you need to correct it.”
JOHN O’CEALLAIGH
Founder – Lute
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