On the hot seat:
Ianthe Butt: Freelance travel journalist, editor and consultant
Ianthe Butt
- Portfolio:
- Condé Nast Traveller
- BA High Life
- Sleeper
- The Independent
- Monthly hotel openings column
- The Sunday Times Travel Magazine
- Times LUXX
- Also contributes to:
- Metro
- House and Garden (online)
- IndyBest
- EasyJet Traveller
- Atlas by Etihad
- National Geographic Traveller
- BA The Club (online)
- TTG Luxury
- Virtuoso Life
- ES magazine
- Virgin Voyeur, and more.
Best email: ianthe.butt@gmail.com
Top tips:
- Interested in:
- Specialist in Asian travel; Travel trends; hotels; sustainability themes; off grid / wild places; emerging destinations (from a region to a local community)
- Features where the reader can get involved too / participate in that adventure. Keen for more UK features (breakdown of time travelling this year UK 40%: International travel 60%)
- Exclusives – be honest with who else you are pitching to
- Know the titles Ianthe works for and pitch accordingly
- Follow Ianthe on social feeds to see where she has been; where she is now; where she is planning to go next
- She plans 3 months ahead
- Not really interested in ‘round-up’ emails for pitching purposes but useful for her to have on file (she tends to do round up type pieces when editors request them)
- If Ianthe needs help/information for quick-turnaround articles – she will post a tweet. So follow her.
- Images:
- Quality image is key to securing coverage, it’s not worth pitching her a story for a design led title without images.
- Key contacts:
- For last minute/quick turnaround pieces she has little time, so wants contact details of the key PRs and brands they work for easily visible online, etc.
- Big no-no:
- Don’t promise what you cannot deliver.
- Press releases:
- Subject matter – to the point.
- 1 sentence elevator pitch.
- Events:
- Great story; great group of fellow travel journalists / know the PR well.
