Our aim is to create engaging content that inspires and informs audiences, encouraging them to consider Wales and choose it as an attractive, viable destination to visit for a short break, holiday, or a day trip.
We encourage creativity and don't require editorial content to stick to fixed templates, but we find that much of our content does tend fall into some identifiable formats. Following a similar structure for each of the formats helps to provide some consistency for users, so we've outlined some guidance and provided examples below.
When creating content use this guidance along with the Editorial content style guides which include -
Regular formats
Voice: Cymru Wales or guest writer
Word count: 500-800
Synopsis: Lists are groupings of products and/or places on a specific theme or topic. Providing signposts to multiple destinations / activities / products / people with or without prescriptive order.
Editorial content elements required: Headline should be enticing but not click-bait with an intro para to provide context and expand on what the list is of, or for. All lists should provide a broad range – ensuring geographical spread where appropriate.
Cymru Wales voice lists must be neutral and should not be ordered, numbered or ranked. Rather than top ten or five of the best, use must do, ten great or don't miss.
Where lists are authored by external contributors we respect editorial choice and so in this instance may be personal favourites backed by experience. Giuest authored lists are by-lined with a short author bio and headshot image.
Examples:
Voice: Cymru Wales or guest writer
Word count: 500-700
Synopsis: ‘Trips’ are guiding recommendations of, or stories from, multi point journeys.
They may take the form of a route (a specific trail for following e.g. walking, biking, driving), or an itinerary (a journey with recommendations to be followed in specific order and/or in specific timeframes).
Editorial content elements required: A headline and intro paragraph should provide context. Trips should usually be broken down into point by point, or day by day, with a heading for each and be illustrated with one or more maps and images to provide context and ‘show’ rather than tell the experience.
Examples:
Voice: Guest writer
Word count: 500-700
Synopsis: Travelogue is a mid-length, mixed-media narrative format in which a named author recants the experience of a journey, documenting the experience of an amazing excursion and ideally including some personal reflection or revelatory discovery.
The exposition of journeys and destinations should be through relatable personal expressions, not just the views of authoritative “experts”.
Editorial content elements required: An enticing headline with intro para leading into running copy that uses illustration and example, sparking interest for wannabe travellers to emulate visits.
Examples:
Voice: Guest writer
Word count: 500-700
Synopsis: Visiting a single destination through the eyes of an individual, focusing on the merits of a single Place or Landscape. Ideally be captured in both video and editorial format in order to ‘show’ rather than tell the user the individuals account of why he or she loves the featured place or landscape.
Editorial content elements required: Personal headline, short author bio and intro para to set the stall for the article.
Running copy broken up with headings an illustrated with plenty of images. Optional video documentary (3 -8 mins max), showing a single or multiple locations within a place or landscape, together with the individual. Text narrative should compliment the video content but avoid duplication.
Video will be embedded from YouTube and should be able to be viewed as a standalone film on the YouTube platform without users having to read the article copy.
Examples:
Voice: Guest writer
Word count: 500-700
Synopsis: Backstage features are designed as a platform for evergreen content to accompany and elevate selected events and festivals, allowing them to be showcased before, during or after the ‘live’ event.
The guest writer should be the person with interesting event-related stories to tell and experiences to share – the insider knowledge.
Editorial content elements required: Quote led headline, and short author bio. An intro paragraph to set the scene and long-form running copy in first person writer’s voice, with reported-speech quotes. A strong use of photos and optional accompanying videos to ’show’ more than tell.
Examples:
Voice: Cymru Wales or guest writer
Word count: 500-700
Synopsis: Virtual Visit is the umbrella for content and experiences that whet audiences’ appetites, by utilising experiential and immersive formats. These formats place viewers in the beauty, adventure or excitement of Welsh places wherever they are in the world in order to elicit “wow” moments that beckon real visitation interest.
Editorial content elements required: Virtual Visit is conceived primarily for off-site production and consumption, but some formats allow for on-site embedding.
Off-site productions shall use surrounding text with links back to key VisitWales articles and objects.
Execution is dependent on the nature of the experience…
Live mobile video streaming projects:
- “Walk & Talk: Join and chat with one walker, live, as he walks the breadth of an entire nation, taking in historical sights and meeting different people along the way.”
Live mobile video streaming events:
- “Hiking: Climb Snowdon with Richard Parks”
- “Mountain biking: Pedal Brechfa’s thrills with MTB Wales”
- “Extreme sports: Zip between Pengelli’s tree-tops - just don’t look down”
- “Drive around Wales: Coast-to-coast live, in a DB9”
- “Events/festivals: Festival No 6 VIP pass”
360-degree video recordings (motion):
- “Kayak down the Teifi in your own coracle”
- “Soar with a Red Kite, through this bird-mounted 360 cam”
Mountable-camera video recordings:
- “Dog-cam: Rover meets the coastal walkers”
- “Mountain bike: Downhill, flat-out”
360:
- YouTube 360/VR format supports standard video player embed, allowing embedding of experience on VisitWales.
Examples:
- Watch Welsh adventure 360° virtual reality videos
- A virtual tour of the history and heritage of Wales
[Note to editors: We are keen to commission more content in this strand]
Voice: Cymru Wales or Guest writer
Word count: 100-500
Synopsis: A short form format using a curation of photos in a carousel component, to showcase a place, event, or editorial theme. The format provides longevity to images based social 'stories' and the opportunity to share them with the VisitWales’ audience. Subjects may be personal or thematic:
Personal:
- Jess’ wonderful weekend in Welshpool
- Alex & Max take on Tenby
Thematic:
- A dog friendly day trip to Tintern
- Taking a trip on the Brecon and Monmouth canal
Editorial content elements required: A personal headline and intro para to expand and provide context. The article is constructed using multiple images and with short 1-3 line caption to provide context.
Examples:
[Note to editors: We are keen to commission more content in this strand]
Voice: Cymru Wales
Word count: 500-700
Synopsis: Generic pages used across the portfolio of sites to accommodate informational, rather than editorial, content. The purpose of these pages is to provide information to the user in a simple and accessible format. The focus should be informative and engaging rather than being just a ‘thin’ article.
Editorial content elements required: A ‘says what is is/does headline and short intro paragraph set the content and the article copy is formatted as either a list, or as running copy.
Examples:
