If the cap fits…
“That’s All Folks”! Never trust anyone in PR, eh? After 38 years creating and running a successful travel PR agency Ian Weightman Media Services, I signed-out and cleared-off - heading for the hills, fully intending never to be seen again.
So much for Plan A.
Plan B was: “I’ll just keep my eye in”, offering a bit of freelance help to anyone who needs some specialist travel and tourism PR support - especially to my great pal and colleague Mark Hibbert who, more than three years ago, took on the task of looking after such a great group of clients.
But now, it’s Plan C: still providing support to Mark while, at the same time, creating my own, new prototype for travel writing and tourism PR
It’s all still very much “journalist-facing”, only this time…it’s personal! No mass mail-outs. No old-fashioned press releases. No filling-up editors’ mailboxes with non-newsy stuff. Just good, meaty hints, tips, news, storyleads and inspirational images, and as much support that’s needed to get the job done.
If I can find a story, tell a story, illustrate a story and leave it with travel writers, editors and influencers to see if it’s of interest, my job is done.
Having worked previously as a journalist, I understand the pressures of deadlines, and the need to find a genuine story. I'm still well-versed enough - and well-placed enough - to be a good source of information for any travel writer working on roundups, or features. And I like to think that I can still come-up with something to match most enquiries.
That’s the plan. And it’s now being executed in many different ways. Hence the cap in the new logo: it’s far more relaxed than ever before; a clear sign that now, there’s a reasonable chance of finding me out in the garden. But if the cap fits, I’ll wear it. Sometimes, I’ll be wearing a cap on behalf of a “client”. Sometimes I’ll have my social media cap on. Other times it’ll be my writer’s cap. And sometimes my photographer’s.
But whichever it is, and whenever it is, I’ll always be ready to help anyone involved in travel writing. And just as important is the way in which I’ll be presenting the news…
🧢 SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS (my regular ‘PR chap’s snaps and chats’, featuring images alongside some eye-catching news) @WeightmanPR.
🧢 NEWS (on the ‘News’ tab - inspired entirely by what’s new?…and why now?) here, on Substack.
🧢 FEATURES and BLOGS (on the ‘Blogarithm’ tab - powering my output of news to offer added value) here, on Substack.
🧢 NEWS IN BRIEF (on the ‘Petit Fours’ tab - offering four bite sized nibs every week from our small-oven of news) here, on Substack.
🧢 OTHER POSTS (on the ‘Other Caps’ tab - which I wear when I’m travel writing, or penning pieces that do not relate directly to my PR activity).
🧢 NEWS UPDATES (sent directly to the inboxes of travel writers and editors. Press releases’? ‘Reasons to be Fearful’? Don’t worry - they will be few and far between, and anyone can ask to be excluded from receiving them).
So here I am once again, not only helping to raise the profile of the areas, attractions and accommodation and individuals, but also to ensure I’m meeting the needs and expectations of travel writers, influencers and editors. Feel free to join me on the latest leg of my journey. Just like travel writing itself, life’s all about the journey. And in my book, that’s an experience best shared.
