Updated: February 2024
If you’re interested in travel writing or a career as a travel writer, I heartily recommend attending TravMedia’s IMM (international media marketplace). It’s been likened to speed dating for people in the travel industry and I think that’s a pretty accurate description. It’s fast, furious and fun. And at the end of the day many writers walk away with great PR connections and offers of famils or press trips. So how can freelance writers get the most out of the day?
Here’s a beginner’s guide to TravMedia’s IMM.
A beginner’s guide to TravMedia’s IMM
Before 2018, I had never heard of IMM.
But, in late 2017 as I looked to expand my travel writing opportunities, a travel writer friend told me that I should apply to attend IMM Australia, held in Sydney each February (and elsewhere throughout the world throughout the year).
What is TravMedia’s IMM?
IMM is a single-day networking event where people in the media (travel writers, editors and bloggers) meet travel and tourism brands in 22 x 15 minute one-on-one appointments.
TravMedia’s IMM is held in six countries throughout the world each year, including Australia, the United States and the UK.You apply to attend with your TravMedia account, and if you don’t have a TravMedia account, you can sign up and apply to get one.
Why go to IMM?
A travel journalist explained to me that going to IMM boosted her career – from attending, she received multiple offers to go on famils or press trips, as well as making connections with other writers and editors looking to commission freelance travel writers.
Since I started attending in 2018, I’ve been luckily enough to have my flights and accommodation provided From what I understand, only a few writers are able to be hosted each year. Usually writers who are active on the TravMedia platform (uploading recent stories, using the journalist alert function and so on) will be the first to be offered hosting. But even without being hosted, many writers make it a priority to attend. In my experience, a fortnight or so before IMM, you’ll get access to the exhibitor list (in 2024 there were 200 Australian and New Zealand travel media attending with 200 Public Relations professionals, who represented 150 travel brands).
You have 22 appointment slots on the day and you can enter up to 75 preferences. You’ll have 25 first, second and third preferences.
The range of exhibitors is usually enormous.
It includes tourism boards like Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority and VisitBritain, individual venues like Warner Bros. Studio Tours Hollywood, to resorts and hotels.
It’s mind-boggling and it’s worth spending a few hours reading each of the exhibitors’ information.
For my first time in 2018, I wasn’t too concerned about who I wanted to meet with.
I asked for a range of domestic and international destinations, experiences and hotels.
But in later years, I’ve been much more strategic about who I’ve requested to meet with.
A week or so before IMM I received my schedule, where I was “matched” with exhibitors who also requested to meet with me.
BEFORE IMM
“Be strategic,” says travel writer Monica McInnes, who blogs at Jiggety Jog. “Before putting in preferences, consider where it is you want to travel or PRs in your niche and add those. Try to group them together. Rather than stretching yourself thin, think about adding in several exhibitors in the same area. It could help you build a nice little travel itinerary.”
Monica’s advice is so wise.
I didn’t even think about doing this in my first year.
I was much more like, “Oh wow! Turkey! Thailand! Canada! Arizona! Tasmania!” and left with my head spinning.
Last year I was much savvier about my requests and was careful to try and request meetings with PRs representing destinations where I might actually travel.
It’s also important to know that you may not get all (or many) of your preferences.
Depending on which destinations, experiences, PR agencies, airlines or hotels are popular, you may find that not every exhibitor you select has the time (or inclination) to meet with you.
A week or so before IMM, you will receive your schedule, where you’ll be “matched” with exhibitors who also requested to meet with you.
What if I miss out on meeting a PR that I really wanted to see?
When I missed out on some of the exhibitors I wanted to see, I got in touch with them before the day, introduced myself and said that I’d love to catch up with them during morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea. This worked really well.
If I didn’t manage to catch them on the day, I followed up with an email either before or after IMM and organised for us to have a phone call together.
Should I fill up all my appointments?
I received contrasting advice from other freelance travel writers about whether to leave some appointments free (block them out) or whether to book myself fully.
In the first few years I attended I booked up each of the 22 appointments, and I have to say, it made for very busy (and exhausting) days.
After my first IMM I thought I’d probably leave one or two appointment free, but I had lots of meeting requests so I filled them all up.
It’s worth noting that there’s very little time to wander and have a look at the other exhibits, so if you wanted to make incidental connections and strike up conversations with others who also have free time, you might want to leave one or two appointments free.
I can’t see any way I can make appointments with editors?
That’s right, IMM gives PRs the opportunity to meet with writers and editors, but there are no formalised opportunities for freelance travel writers to have 1-1 meetings with editors. If you are keen to meet up with an editor you’ve written for, you can always email them before IMM to see if they are attending. If they are, you can (try to) organise to catch up in one of the breaks.
Why would I meet up with PRs I already know?
Even though IMM is an amazing opportunity to meet new connections, it’s actually a great chance to reconnect with previous ones. Eeac year I purposefully requested appointments with PRs who I’d had contact with or who had supported me previously. Travel writing (and freelance writing in general) is all about relationships, so using some of your 15 minute appointments to catch up with ‘old’ connections is a great use of your time.
Making the most of IMM
Take: Business cards
“Take plenty of business cards to hand out,” says travel writer Jennifer Johnston from the blog Travel Bug Within.
Every appointment you have, you will receive a business card, and even though the representatives from the tourism boards and destinations will have your details, it’s still good to have a business card to give them.
It’s also worth having spare business cards – I often meet contacts at lunch and am always grateful that I have plenty of business cards.
Do your research
Even though you’ll get your schedule and a booklet with a summary of each of the exhibitors, it’s good to do your own research.
I print out one A4 sheet for each of my appointments and write down a few key notes before IMM.
Monica says, “Research the organisations you have meetings with. I found it great to be able to mention something I had learnt in my research to help guide discussions.”
A PR said, “From a PR’s perspective it’s great if a travel writer has done homework about us. It shows that they are interested in our destination or product. It also means we can make sure the 15 minutes we have available is used productively.”
Spend time on your TravMedia bio
This really matters.
Your bio should be short and sharp (a PR told me this year that she had received one bio from a writer that was 2 pages long and detailed their career over the past few decades. She really just wanted to know who the freelancer was doing travel writing for in the past 18 months – 2 years).
Let people know your areas of interest or speciality, For example, tell them if you write about food and wine, cycling tours or cruising as well as where you have been published.
This will give PRs a good indication of whether they want to meet with you or not.
If you’ve got awards for your writing, plug those, and if you’re a member of a travel writing society, mention that too. This is your opportunity to really sell yourself.
During TravMedia’s IMM
You’ll hear a little bell letting you know that the appointment time has started and off you’ll go to find the exhibitor’s table.
The PR might ask you to tell them a little bit about yourself and your background.
Or they may launch into information about their destination, venue or product.
Many exhibitors will have your photograph and bio printed out, but I most will ask about your areas of specialty.
They are likely to ask you which publications you write for. So have a sentence or two ready.
My spiel went something like this: “I write about food, travel and lifestyle for publications such as X, magazines such as X as well as digital outlets such as X.”
If you don’t have a succinct sentence, simply say what areas you write about or are interested in.
You may write regularly about adventure, luxury, food, health and wellness, family travel, natural experiences and so on.
“Determine your travel writing niche and own it,” says Monica. “I found that knowing what it was I was writing about and what I specialised in helped what we talked about. Get business cards made and include your specialisation. I also found that my cards got a bit of attention as they have photos on them. So maybe something that makes your cards stand out would help.”
Monica also recommends thinking about when you would be looking to travel. “Most people I met commented that not many writers knew when they would be travelling,” she says.
I’ve also had PRs ask me: “What can we help you with right now?” so also be prepared to answer that question!You’ll also have an opportunity to ask lots of questions of the exhibitors.
Helpful questions to ask PRs at IMM:
- What’s unique / new about your destination?
- What are some of the experiences, destinations or stories that people don’t know about?
- Do you have particular experiences or destinations you are looking to highlight in the next year? or What are the pillars that you are focusing on this year?
- Who are your key travellers? (Here you want to gauge whether they are families, people in their 50s etc. You also want to know what countries they come from so you can match story ideas with publications)
- Do you have ideal publications you want coverage in?
- How do you usually work with writers? Do you offer group trips or do you work with writers on an individual basis? (This is an important question to ask to gauge hosting capabilities. Some exhibitors don’t have funds for airfares but can host writers once you’re in the country).
Make sure you take lots of notes.
In my first year I thought I would remember points from my conversations but I didn’t.
Thinking back, I was confused – did that operator say their new food offering was in Turkey or Jordan? Did they say they needed two confirmed commissions before they would host me, or three?
Be prepared for this question from PRs
Over the past few years I’ve noticed that PRs are asking a particular type of question to freelance writers. And that question is: “How else can we work with you?” Now, this may seem confusing, but what they are really asking is, are there opportunities for you to include their brand in articles you’re writing that aren’t necessarily based on experiential travel. Let me explain. More and more travel brands are looking to have their spokespeople featured in the media. So if you write travel trends stories, have a regular spot on your local radio station or write articles that need you to quote experts, many travel companies would love you to approach them. I had at least 3 or 4 PRs ask me this question at IMM in 2024, which means I think not only are they looking at a travel writer’s clips and experience when deciding if they’ll invite you on a press trip, they’re also looking at how else you may be able to work together. Just something to keep in mind!
AFTER IMM
After IMM, it’s likely that your head will be spinning, but in a good way.
In the week after the event it’s good to set aside some time to email each of the exhibitors you met with to say thanks and to confirm what you talked about. With some, there won’t be any developments, but with others, it may just be the start of a great relationship.
Are you a travel writer? Have you been to TravMedia’s IMM? What advice would you give?
13 thoughts on “A beginner’s guide to TravMedia’s IMM”
I had no idea about this conference until I saw you post about Jennifer winning the USA trip on Facebook. The 2019 IMM is already in my goal list. Thanks for this comprehensive guide. So awesome!
May I ask – did you have a commission before you were hosted at the Hyatt?
I didn’t know about it either Jennifer! I think the key to be accepted/invited to attend IMM is that you maintain an industry profile on TravMedia and regularly publish your travel stories on their site.
I didn’t have a commission before I was hosted at the Hyatt. I emailed one of the IMM organisers to ask whether they had any hotels they would recommend I stay at and she offered me two nights at the Hyatt as part of their hosting program. Very lucky!
Wow, that’s great. I do keep my TravMedia profile up to date and I have a few big travel writing goals for this year so hopefully I’ll get an invite for next year. Fingers crossed.
Such a fabulous post Lindy thanks for sharing and also including my couple of comments. I would agree with your suggestion of leaving a few appointments blank, as I didn’t do that and am disappointed I missed the opportunity to scan the room and try and meet a few different travel peeps. One thing to add to Jennifer Morton’s comments is if you are on Trav Media to keep an eye out for when they announce the next IMM meet. If as Lindy says you keep your Trav Media profile updated regularly, then they would have to consider you. It was an incredible opportunity to meet so many travel industry people all in one place. And yes some of the door prizes are amazing (she says smiling!)
Oh yes, Jennifer! I should have mentioned that you won a return flight to the USA! Thanks for your additional advice about keeping an eye out on TravMedia for the next IMM event – definitely worth doing that.
A fascinating insight into something I had no idea existed. Really interesting to learn how it all works. Fingers crossed you’ll get some good commissions and some good trips out of it. Travelling the world tasting the food can’t be bad I think!
Thanks Claire, that’s exactly what I think!
Hi!
I just got accepted to attend to Sydney IMM –exciting!!!!!
Lindy, did you end up making the most throughout the year? In the post, you mention some people asked you if you could secure some publications. That’s not my case, I have my own –still very small in traffic– travel blog, but not many contacts with editors, etc. Would you recommend a specific approach?
The article is awesome, and I found out about the event through it, as usual, you rock!
Yay Martina! That’s great news, congratulations on being accepted to go to IMM in Sydney. I’ll be there too so if you see me please make sure you come up and say hi.
I have definitely kept in touch with lots of the PRs I met (not all) and I have been hosted as a result of connections I’ve made at IMM. I think I’ll approach next year a little differently – I’m going to take Monica’s advice and be more strategic in who I request meetings with based on where I think I’m going to be travelling, and how I might be able to string a number of stories together in one destination.
Does your travel blog focus on something specific? Family travel? Luxury? Sustainability? Whatever it is, I’d look at requesting those kinds of meetings.
Last year I also shied away from meeting up with connections I already had, but actually this year I’m going to make sure I do that because I think it’s a great way of staying in touch.
Lindy — I am starting out and taking steps in pitching articles — is it something I can go to without a portfolio?
Hi Claire, that’s a good question. It’s worth getting in touch and asking your country rep at TravMedia, but my experience is that attendance can be competitive and they want to ensure they have writers and journos with travel writing clips. If you can’t go this year, definitely put it as one of your goals for 2021!
How can I find out when and the cost of the next TRAV MEDIA IMM?
Hi Juaneca,
You’ll find all the information you need here – https://travmedia.com/imm/
Depending on where you live, IMM is on at different times throughout the year.
There’s usually no cost for media to attend.