Jimmy Im: Founder of Travelbinger, PR Director, and Former Senior Writer at CNBC

What do luxury travel writing, PR, and Tarot cards have in common?  Listen to this week’s episode as Angela chats with Jimmy Im about his career journey.   

Follow Jimmy’s life and work here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmyim/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realjimmyim 

Travel Binger: https://twitter.com/travelbinger 

Travel Binger Twitter: https://twitter.com/econhardship 

Travel Binger Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelbinger/  

Travel Binger YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFCGKWfvQtKExqHIFjLLmLg  

Emerson College: https://emerson.edu/academics/academic-departments/journalism 

Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jimmy-im 

CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/jimmy-im/ 

Lufthansa: https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/homepage 

Google News: https://twitter.com/GoogleNews 

Apple News: https://twitter.com/applenews 

The Tarot Ship YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlP6wa5y0dO5lKmcl6VBqA 

Thank you for listening!  Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662  

Transcript

Angela Tuell: 0:05

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those reports on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio here at Communications Redefined, this is Media in Minutes. Today we are talking with Jimmy Im. Jimmy is a veteran travel writer and expert who has been to 113 countries and stayed in more than 650 hotels. He is the founder and editor of TravelBinger.com and has written for top tier publications including Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Men's Journal, Robb Report, Marie Claire, and many more. He was also a senior lifestyle writer at CNBC. Welcome, Jimmy, I'm excited to talk with you today.

Jimmy Im: 0:58

Thank you, Angela. It's so great to be on your show.

Angela Tuell: 1:02

Yes. So I have to start, you know, with you are not only a prolific travel writer, but you also have a full time PR job. How do you manage them both?

Jimmy Im: 1:13

You know, that's a really good question. And it's, it's funny, because it's, it's not easy. I'm not gonna lie. I think what helps is the fact that I was a freelancer for such a long time, I'm really good at multitasking, I'm really good at prioritizing, you know, having a full time job in PR. It's great, because it's in travel. But I think the benefit is that, you know, I've been a writer for so long. I'm back in you know, I'm back in PR. So I've been on both sides of the fence. And I think that is kind of the secret sauce. So I know, it's a comes, it's almost like effortless was with the job. Yeah. And then I do a lot of the writing, um, you know, at night or, you know, on the weekends, but yeah, it's, you know, on top of that, you know, I run my website, travelbinger.com. And that's been really exciting. So it's, I do have my hands full.

Angela Tuell: 2:11

Yes. So you started in PR, and then did freelancing in kind of then mesh both? Is that how your career path has been?

Jimmy Im: 2:19

It, it - yes. I started, I worked for a vodka company doing PR and events. Like when I first moved to New York.

Angela Tuell: 2:27

I'm sure that wasn't fun at all.

Jimmy Im: 2:29

I know. Right? It's so it's, it's I the stories that I have are insane. I know that I was also like a pretty big DJ back then as well. I was involved in the night life. And so it was a I, you know, I have a lot of stories.

Angela Tuell: 2:48

So did you always want to be a travel writer? And or did you think you wanted PR first and then that kind of happened? Or how did that happen?

Jimmy Im: 2:57

Well, I actually, you know, it's funny, I knew that I wanted to be a writer. And I had known since I was a kid. I remember writing my first you know, short story when I was maybe five years old. Yeah. And so I was you know, throughout, I was always writing poems and short stories. In high school, I was known as the writer, you know, all the things for our yearbooks, and, you know, even just knew the prom invites, I would write the little, you know, blurbs and stuff. And I was on the yearbook. But I always wanted to be a novelist. And so that was the career path that I thought I was, you know, taking. I went to Emerson College, but it actually, you know, travel writing just kind of fell in my lap. I loved traveling as well. That's one of the first jobs I got in New York, you know, like real jobs was Business Traveler magazine. And I was an editor there. And it just everything just started happening from there. And it's funny, because I didn't put two and two together. I just thought as a job. I didn't even realize I could travel with them. And so my editor the editor in chief asked me to write a review for it. It was like the new business class for Lufthansa. And so that opens so many doors. I, you know, other editor, you know, an editor at Travel Weekly reached out to me asked me to write a story. Yeah, so it's, it took off from there, I became a freelance. I left and I became a freelance writer.

Angela Tuell: 4:28

I like wow, was this real life? I'm traveling and being paid for it. Right?

Jimmy Im: 4:32

I remember this is, you know, back when I'm in my early 20s. So I started young, like very, very young. Yes, yeah. And it was easier to be a freelance writer back then. Because, you know, the state of the publishing industry was different, you know. All these new websites were coming out and they had so much money and yeah, so I, you know, successfully became a travel writer. I wasn't looking for it, but it It just kind of fell in my lap. And I'm very grateful that it happened. Because I see a lot of this world.

Angela Tuell: 5:07

Yes. And now it's not the same as you described as much. It's a little bit harder as for freelancers now, there's so many more of them too.

Jimmy Im: 5:14

Oh, absolutely everything. You know, what really changed is when social media became a thing, and when influencers started coming out, that really changed everything, because it happened around the time that publishing what, you know, the magazines were Yes, they were just closing, right. So it started becoming a little bit more challenging for a lot of freelance writers know, I knew they had they actually had to get jobs. You know, I was still a DJ at the time, I could supplement my income. But it became harder it was, you know, it became a lot harder to be a freelance writer.

Angela Tuell: 5:48

Yeah, it's kind of like everyone's a journalist. Or they claim to be, everyone claims to be a journalist. Right?

Jimmy Im: 5:55

Once I decided I was just it wasn't, you know, becoming financially it didn't make sense to be freelance writer anymore. I, at the time that I was thinking about going in house somewhere, just out of the blue, you know, a former editor I used to work with. She was at CNBC asked me to join, they were launching a new lifestyle verticals. So I went in house at CNBC. Yeah. And that was, that was an amazing experience.

Angela Tuell: 6:25

Yeah. I'm sure.

Jimmy Im: 6:26

That's yeah, yep. So -

Angela Tuell: 6:28

How do you choose your next destination? And do you prefer to go solo, or, you know, press trips or with others?

Jimmy Im: 6:37

I prefer solo trips. Pressing trips are, you know, and I think that most people, I think this is a thing for a lot of publicists post COVID. There's so many, it's so hard to please everybody.

Angela Tuell: 6:53

Right.

Jimmy Im: 6:54

But I do definitely do solo trips. Now. I haven't done a press trip in a really, really long time only because I always have my own agenda. You know, there's an editor in this is an even this is for a long time. I've always preferred Zillow because if you look at the right, you know, the outlets that I wrote for they're so different, right? And you know, Conde Naste Traveler to Men's Journal to Passport to Marie Claire, I, I'm catering to so many different audiences. And then if I go on a press trip, it doesn't like I'm limited in terms of what you know, I really have to just be on my own. Because that way, I can just set my own schedule and see what would be best for this outlet. And what would be best for this outlet. Shoot in terms of choosing my own destinations, going back to the blessing in disguise, or the positives of COVID, I ended up buying a car. And so my destinations are chosen by where I would like to drive to say, yeah, that is the number one priority. And then it really is it has to be - now and I don't know if you experienced this or you know, any, you know, publicists that are listening right now. But the more experienced a travel writer is like the veteran travel writers. We're a lot more picky in terms of the destinations we go to. And so yeah, it really is, you know, we have that sense of like, been there done that. Okay. So if I'm going to make effort to visit destination, there has to be a lot of new things that I can experience. So it's those are usually the angles that I like is like, what's new here? And what's you know, what's the new restaurants, and especially if it's a city, or a destination that has multiple new luxury hotels that have opened as well as restaurants, maybe celebrity chef, open a restaurant, and there's this new attraction and those are the things that excite me in terms of the destination? Yeah.

Angela Tuell: 9:10

What are your favorite types of stories to write?

Jimmy Im: 9:15

Lately, it really has been, I've been writing a lot of like, roadtrip stories. I did a really big, you know, that's because it's a huge trend. Everyone's got cars and everyone's everyone's thriving, and it's a huge market now. So I've been doing a lot of roadtrip stories. And that's been really fun. I always travel with my dog. Who is you know, she's a shitzu. And she, you know, saw her first trip was when she was seven weeks old, you know, so, so used to it's like second nature to her. Just, you know, she always knows when we're gonna go travel somewhere, but yeah, so I do a lot of pet friendly. kinda like pet travel stories. There's always you know, there's always something to write about.

Angela Tuell: 10:06

So aside from the freelance articles you're writing and the full time PR job, you also are the founder and editor of travel binger.com, which is a travel and lifestyle website. That is the only independent travel website, both on Google News and Apple news, which is amazing. You know, many travel journalists have their own websites, but do not have the kind of following that yours does, or the success that yours have had, you know, how have you grown it so much?

Jimmy Im: 10:36

That, you know, that's a really good question. And it's so funny that you bring that up, because I launched the website, which I launched it, I think it was January 2020. And so of course, COVID hit right after, and it did not do well. And I got investor, I mean, it was like a whole thing. Yep. So thankfully, things have grown. I, you know, I'm very grateful. And, you know, I'm gonna say I'm proud of myself for getting into Google News. It's so hard to get news. And Apple news says Apple news is one of the hardest, I mean, their criteria just to be you know, and if you go to Apple news, it's only the major players that are there, right. It's like Conde Naste Traveler, Travel + Leisure, or AFAR. So I feel, you know, it is a huge accomplishment. And it's a huge accolade. It's, you know, writing daily content and having, you know, the best content. And then Google News, obviously, like any stories that I've published will always be, you know, not only in Google News, but ranked really high. So they appear, you know, the first page, you know, in a Google search, first or second page, you know, obviously, depending on the story, but it's been great. It's been really good, you know, I do a lot of affiliate marketing, or Yeah, affiliate link. So that's really help I'm affiliates with like Amazon and whatever.

Angela Tuell: 12:15

So in the travel space, right? I mean, so are you doing products, too, or travel products?

Jimmy Im: 12:22

I will do, I will do product reviews, I didn't have a review section on my site, but I've branched out, it's now a travel and lifestyle website, because there's a lot of people coming to my site looking for, you know, like, interested in the lifestyle component. So it's been great, and it's been great just keeps growing and growing and growing. And to the point where it is, thankfully, I think, you know, knock on wood that nothing really ever impacts travel the way that COVID did, but you know, it is it's doing very well and it is you know, passive income and it's, I'm, I'm very well, I wouldn't even say passive because I, you know, I have to pay -

Angela Tuell: 13:09

You have to do so much with it.

Jimmy Im: 13:11

Yeah - I have to do so much work. But it's been really wonderful. And it's yeah, I'm very proud of, of where it's at now. Yeah,

Angela Tuell: 13:22

That whole affiliate marketing too is just such an undertaking. I mean, you're probably a pro at it by now. There's so much that that goes into into affiliate marketing, and it's, it's somewhat new, you know, so that that had to be a big undertaking too.

Jimmy Im: 13:37

it was I'm part of two big programs, I was accepted into two big programs. So I'm very excited about that. Every story will have something and you know, obviously, that's a new website, any website, affiliate market, you know, it's it's just how media is these days, but I don't do a lot of it is, you know, I can write a story and I'll probably, you know, sometimes I'll link to your hotel sometimes I'll you know, if you have a lot of hotels are part of affiliate programs, and, you know, they get really excited about having links and you know, back way, so important, right,

Angela Tuell: 14:16

um, the travel writing side and the website, you know, side how can PR professionals help you do your job and what, you know, pet peeves do you have?

Jimmy Im: 14:23

You know, I, I do get a lot of pitches. And it's probably the most basic thing that anyone any writer will say, in any of these, you know, interviews is, you know, no, know who you're pitching, right? Like, I don't want to get pitches for things that I'm not going to write about. And it's really a matter of really getting to know the writer even you know, just for me, as you know, doing PR as well. It's it's it's so important to go through your you know, all platforms, if you don't know a writer get to know, you know, what did they like to write about? Go look at their social media see what, you know, what interests them. What are they posting? It's the same thing for me as a writer and an editor. It's like, I probably will not write about like the, you know, pink stuffing pink stockings that are for kids it, you know, I mean, like, look at, just look at the stories I've published on my website, and then you'll, and you'll get it. And then, you know, just as a freelance writer, like, I am known to just do luxury travel or even as the term is becoming more common now, extreme luxury. And so, yeah, that is, I probably wouldn't write about, you know, just kind of like a basic place or like a budget brand.

Angela Tuell: 15:59

So So before we go, I need to ask you about your side hustle if it wasn't enough for you are already doing. But and tell us a little bit about that.

Jimmy Im: 16:09

I am a professional tarot reader, and I have a Tarot reading business. Yeah. And it's called the taro ship. Just started a YouTube this spring. And so I do tarot readings for every sign like I do weekly readings and monthly readings. And I also do celebrity readings. Yeah, so that's been going really well, I you know, again, I just started it in I think it was May. And I have like about 5000 subscribers at this point.

Angela Tuell: 16:42

Wow.

Jimmy Im: 16:43

I think is a good sign for

Angela Tuell: 16:44

Ok, for those who don't know, a Tarot reading is -

Jimmy Im: 16:47

Yeah, so it is just it's, you know, using the tarot cards, I use the Rider Waite Smith deck. It is divination and it you know, it's more like guidance, right. And so, I worked for a famous astrologer for five years, I was her editor. And so I edited all her horoscopes, and I can tell you right off the bat, one of the hardest jobs in the world is being an editor for an astrologer. Okay.

Angela Tuell: 17:17

I bet.Yeah.

Jimmy Im: 17:19

So much work because you have to know all the back end stuff you have to know what you know, this alignment means and why this happening and what this planet represents. And you have to know all the backend stuff. So you know, it was very educational for me, I got to learn everything about astrology. And you know, I can you know, as you know, I can just tell you right off the bat, you tell me what sign you are I can tell you what's going to happen for you right now and you know, by even next year, but I combined what makes me unique is that I combined astrology and tarot and not a lot of tarot readers do this. And it's really interesting because Tarot and astrology go hand in hand, and they have for centuries, like every card, you know, in the tarot deck has is assigned a specific astrological aspect or is ruled by a planet or whatnot. So they

Angela Tuell: 18:21

Do those virtually and how do people learn more?

Jimmy Im: 18:25

I do in person and but not as much anymore because it has it COVID virtually through Zoom, and so how it starts off and I do events, so I just you know, Kimpton hotels, I just did a big event for them, they had a corporate event here in New York City in July and so they hired me to do you know, readings for everyone there. I just did another one at a boutique hotel opening a few weeks ago. I've done you know, birthday parties, so I you know, I get booked for events, but it's so funny because a lot of those people will come back and do you know, personal readings and book Personal readings with me and because it's it is really interesting, and it really is just guidance. I don't know how it works, but it just works. It's crazy thing, but but I do yeah, I think that you did ask like pet peeves about. Yeah. One thing that I what this is and you know, this is coming from not only me being, you know, working in PR but also as a writer for a really long time. Is I one thing that I've noticed this year, and I don't know if it's because of remote work, but and then a thing for you know, and this is probably the the biggest takeaway for any publicist that's listening. If there is a publicist who has no idea what they're doing and doesn't respond right away, like I will not work not only with that person, but that agency So it's very important. I've had, you know, sometimes I've been on deadline, you know, I write these big 13 page features for Passport, you know, both print and online. And sometimes I need things. I always try to give like advance notice. You know, if there's a publicist who really can't get me the thing, but then has you I'm really good. You know, I'm an empath. So I can pick up energy. That person represents your agency. And when I get the attitude of them feeling like they don't want to do the work, I get that impression for the agency. So it's really important to hire the right people. And to do these check ins with with, you know, the people that you work with, there's so many publicists out there who are that I've worked with that because of their just how they work, which doesn't, which isn't great. Like, it's very, very obvious that they do not care. It really does represent the agency and then I just go with another agency and I'll you know, write about their hotel. That's a competitor thing.

Angela Tuell: 21:22

Yeah, I completely get it. Well, thank you so much. You've been very insightful as it was, it was really interesting. And how can our listeners connect with you online aside from the Tarot side on the travel side?

Jimmy Im: 21:34

Probably just going through my website travelbinger.com. Um, it's just Jimmy at travelbinger.com is my email.

Angela Tuell: 21:40

Perfect.

Jimmy Im: 21:42

That's probably the best way.

Angela Tuell: 21:43

Great, thank you so much. And we'll link to all of the things you mentioned in our show notes.

Jimmy Im: 21:48

I appreciate it. Thank you so much, Angela.

Angela Tuell: 21:52

That's all for this episode of Media in Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at Communications Redefined.com/podcast. I'm your host, Angela Tuell. Talk to you next time.