For the last 47 years, InternationalLiving.com has been has been exploring the globe, putting boots on the ground and toes in the sand, striving to unearth the best retirement destinations and investment opportunities in the world.
In that time we’ve grown from a two-color, eight-page newsletter to a multi-media platform comprised of a monthly Insider publication, website, conferences, webinars, interactive forums, a host of e-letters, and a huge library of publications covering everything you need to know about living overseas.
Our mission is—and always has been—to offer you much more than just information. We aim to bring you opportunities to improve your quality of life…to lower your cost of living…and to invest for profitable return…
We do things the “old-fashioned way.” Our writers don’t spend all day in an office, Googling “Mexico’s Best Beach Towns.” Instead they spend their days eating fresh ceviche on the beaches of the Riveria Maya…hiking with howler monkeys in the Ecuadorian jungle…and sipping Sherry at outdoor cafés in the heart of Andalucía—living the dream they write about and constantly searching out the best of what the world offers for our readers.
While most publications are cutting down on staff, International Living is constantly expanding our network (more than 200 at last count) of in-country editors, correspondents, and freelance writers in order to get you the best coverage of this enormous, exciting planet.
Open the pages of any mainstream paper or turn on CNN and you get the usual death, destruction, mayhem. Bad news is good news for big media conglomerates. But we know from experience that a wealth of possibility exists overseas and we believe wholeheartedly in the benefits of getting out there and finding it.
So, no. There’s no scam. Just an honest desire to explore, experience the many wonders of the world, and make people happy.
If you’re currently living overseas you, too, could write for International Living. We’re always looking for fresh ideas and new perspectives.
And if you have any questions, complaints, or are having trouble receiving any of our products, you can fill out our customer service form and Helen will solve your problem as quickly and efficiently as possible; or call us on our toll-free (1800-681-2402) and local (443-353-4256) customer service lines.
International Living is Looking for Writers…
Here at International Living, we believe in one simple idea…in the right places overseas, you can live better, for less.
A healthier, safer, freer, more affordable retirement can be yours in one of the many retirement havens around the world.
We live in a world full of opportunities… for fun… pleasure… financial security and profits… romantic discoveries… and adventure. It’s a world full of things you can do to make your life more exciting—and more profitable—and we’d like you to write about them for us.
International Living Insider
International Living aims at providing a scope and depth of information about global travel, living, retiring, investing, and real estate that is not available anywhere else at any price.
What do our readers want?
You are writing for our readers. Our readership love beaches, mountains, and countryside. Some of them love the city. They want to live overseas, either part-time or full time, and most of them want to learn about ways to stretch their dollars and simplify their lives…
Are you already there? Then our readers want your story.
Our readers like profiles: These stories are meant to inspire. This could be your story or that of someone you interview. It’s a profile of an individual or couple living the dream. They’ve moved someplace new—full or part time.
Our readers want advice about retiring overseas: Can you pass along useful how-to tips, money-saving ideas, ways to “prep” for a move or adjust to a new life? Pull back the curtain and share with readers a recommendation or some guidance they wouldn’t easily figure out on their own.
Our readers are interested in healthcare: Do you have a first-person account from somebody who has just benefited from healthcare abroad? Or perhaps a how-to piece about insurance or special facilities available overseas.
Our readers are interested in practical solutions: Can you write a practical article about some aspect of moving or living overseas? The article should answer a question our readers have about the practicalities of living overseas, and should have information contained in it that the reader can act upon, or learn from.
Example Solutions stories:
The guide to stress-free renting in Lisbon
It’s easier than ever to get a Colombian visa
Roatán: How to build and furnish your own tropical island home
The bit you really want to know about….
Payment is upon publication and International Living buys all rights. As regards photographs, if we use one of yours we pay for one-time use and you retain the rights.
Before you get in touch…
Get to know our style. You can sign up to our Daily Postcards free of charge. Make sure you read some of these and have a look at the other content on our website before sending an article or pitching an idea.
When you are familiar with our style you can send article ideas to our editors: submissions@internationalliving.com. All editorial requests will be reviewed and considered when we plan our issues. Not all requests, however, can be answered personally due to the high volume of inquiries we receive. You improve your chances if you take the editor’s advice…
A few tips from our editor…
We are not a travel magazine. We are the niche publication for living and retiring overseas. No descriptive, run-of-the-mill articles. That’s not to say we won’t accept articles on gastronomy in Paris, or sight-seeing in Rome. But you’ll have to work harder to get the inside track, to find the facts that no one else has. Be original.
Make recommendations in your article. We want your opinion. Tell our readers how to do things, how to catch a cab, order a meal, buy a souvenir, start a business, buy real estate, find a new place, a hidden gem.
This is the age of the internet. But before you get mired in the online research, remember, our readers can Google, too. Original tips and advice will stand out and put your article on the top of the pile.
Never start a story at the beginning.
If you are writing someone’s profile use lots of direct quotes. Readers want to hear from your interviewee. It makes for a much stronger story.
Don’t be boring. Whether you have 850 words or 1,600, use them wisely. Pack the important stuff in. Don’t waste 200 words explaining how to catch a bus.
The best writing seems effortless because it’s easy to read. But it’s actually the hardest to write. The key to this is editing—re-read your articles with fresh eyes and a red pen in your hand.
Always proofread your article before submission. Print it out. The human eye works better from a printed copy. Better yet, sleep on it. You’ll be amazed how many mistakes you can catch the morning after over breakfast.
One of the best places to get article ideas is on our Ask the Experts area. Find out what our readers are talking about.
Daily Postcards
Every day, the International Living Daily Postcard brings stories from expats living their dream lives around the world to our over 185,000 readers.
If you’re a U.S. or Canadian citizen living overseas, we want to help you tell your story.
Don’t worry if you’re not the new Hemingway—we’re not just looking for professional writers (though professional writers are encouraged to get in touch, too). We’re more interested in what you have to say than how you say it.
Today, most would-be travelers start their journeys online by researching destinations, carrier schedules, accommodations and free web mapping services.
In order to compete with travel agencies and agents, travel information publishers, who traditionally published books, magazines and newsletters, have migrated to the Internet and become online publishers. Some have created retail websites whose primary objective is to sell traditional hard-copy books. Others are focused on publishing travel reviews on their sites, and derive revenue from advertising and affiliate links.
Still others, such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and Priceline, are Internet travel agencies that place a high value on creating comparisons of prices and schedules. We chose not to review them as part of the top ten because they are retail websites, not media websites.
We make this distinction: The primary goal of a media website is to inform; the primary goal of a retail website is to sell. Similarly, if we were reviewing literature websites, we would not include Amazon.com, which is a retail website whose primary goal is to sell books, not review them.
We did an in-depth examination of 10 most popular travel information websites and evaluated them against 14 criteria—our famous Mequoda website design guidelines. Of the 10 websites, none was perfect, but most were very good and two or three were excellent.
InternationalLiving.com came in as #3, and we’ll tell you why.
International Living indulges the fantasies of Americans who dream of retiring as ex-patriots in exotic countries where luxurious living is cheap and the taxes are low.
The dream is alive and well. For more than a quarter century, International Living has been using a sales letter for its print newsletter that is classic in its ability paint a picture of retirement bliss.
“You look out your window, past your gardener, who is busily pruning the lemon, cherry, and fig trees…amidst the splendor of gardenias, hibiscus, and hollyhocks. The sky is clear blue.”
“The sea is a deeper blue, sparkling with sunlight.”
“A gentle breeze comes drifting in from the ocean, clean and refreshing, as your maid brings you breakfast in bed.”
“For a moment, you think you have died and gone to heaven.”
“But this paradise is real. And affordable. In fact, it costs only half as much to live this dream lifestyle…as it would to stay in your own home!”
A product of Bill Bonner and the fabulously successful Agora Publishing Company, International Living is now marketed online at InternationalLiving.com with the same expertise that Agora brings to marketing its financial publications, including Early to Rise and The Daily Reckoning.
The website’s big promise is that “International Living’s one-of-a-kind e-letter will help you understand all that you need to know about the opportunities the world offers you today.”
“Learn how to double your retirement resources and live as though you had twice the income. Discover 6 countries where you can live or retire in comfort and style on $1,500 per month, including a nice home, groceries, utilities, country club dues, even entertainment and travel.”
[text_ad]
1. Strategic Intent – A
InternationalLiving.com clearly wants your email address so that Agora can regularly market to you via email. It strategically places its email signup box in the top right quadrant of the home page for their main email newsletter, IL’s Free Daily Postcard where you can “Find out how you can Retire, Travel, Buy Real Estate, Invest and Enjoy Life Overseas”.
Users looking for information about overseas living will find plenty here. From the left navigation you can easily identify what you’re looking for wheteher it be about their print publication, free e-letters, free reports, events, or whatever else your heart desires. Users can download 20 free reports, plus sign up for at least a dozen additional special niche, email newsletters.
Thus, InternationalLiving.com does a great job of meeting both user needs and its business objectives.
2. Content Webification – B
There is no innovative use of multimedia at InternationalLiving.com, which would be a welcomed addition.
However, the site does feature a regularly updated blog, as well as a forum separated by Online Discussions, Europe, The Americas, Austalasia and Africa… plus an RSS feed. Good enough to earn a B.
3. Relationship Building (Personalization) – A
As noted above, there is a well-designed signup box for the main email newsletter, plus plenty of links to other, country-specific email newsletters from the initial sign up page.
In addition to that, you will reminded on their blog, that they can recieve the same content via a free subscription to IL’s Free Daily Postcard.
They’ve also partnered with American Writers & Artists, Inc. to offer two enticing email newsletters reaching out to Photographers and Writers wanting to learn how to earn money taking pictures and writing for magazines like International Living.
4. Community Building – A
As noted above, there is a blog where users can comment, leave notes and ask questions to IL editors. There’s also a somewhat active forum that users have to communicate with fellow travelers. Enough to earn this site an A.
Plus, an added community builder is a conspicuous invitation for users to “write for us.”
It says, “We are always on the look out for more people to write for International Living. In particular we publish what we call postcards from people all over the world, telling us about undiscovered international gems…cities, restaurants, hotels/B&B’s, festivals, golf courses, sports facilities or unusual sporting events, fishing, real estate, where to buy bargain goods, get any form of good value etc. etc.
“…we aren’t able to cover travel expenses for our writers and pay upon publication ($25 to $50 per note used on the website, in the E-letter, or in the actuality section of the monthly print issue…more for articles published in our monthly print publications).”
Who could resist that offer?
5. Persistent Navigation – A
The top and left navigation panels remain consistent throughout the site. New users won’t have any problems finding what they seek. Of course, many of the links lead the user to paid products, so this is a hybrid site—part free information, part membership, part retail.
6. User Task Depth – A
Signing up for the newsletter incredibly simple. After the initial email submit, you’re also encouraged to take the next step and subscribe to their other e-letter.
Same goes for Events, if you are looking at events, you are encouraged to take the next step and sign up for their free events e-letter where “You’ll learn how to meet like-minded travelers and local experts in overseas real-estate…international business…culture, cuisine, and art… all while taking an exciting, exotic overseas trip!” ….and hopefully, register for the event!
In addition to this, luckily, browsing, searching, buying a book and registering for an event are a breeze.
7. Affordance – B
Links work and look appropriately so, however, none of the links change color when moused-over, and only some of the links change from blue to maroon when the page has been visited. That knocked them down one grade in this category.
8. Labeling and Language (lexicon and taxonomy) – A
There’s not a lot of technical jargon associated with a travel website, and there certainly isn’tany here at InternationalLiving.com.
Navigation elements are dumbed down to their simplest form: Home, Current Print Issue, Free E-Letters, Free Reports, Bookstore and Events are the primary navigation links on InternationalLiving.com
9. Readability (Content Density) – A
InternationalLiving.com uses a very simple, standard design grid to anchor all the design elements. The result is an acceptable readability.
One recommended improvement: User-selected type sizes. Presumably most of the InternationalLiving.com audience is older Americans—those bearing down on retirement age—who would appreciate the ability to increase the type size with a single click of the mouse.
Most website designers must be under 40 and not yet victims of the “shrinking typeface syndrome” or we would see a “Change the Display Text Size” option more routinely on websites.
10. Organization – A
As noted above, the site’s simple, understated design works to organize the elements and proves the old minimalist adage, less is more.
11. Content Freshness – B
The daily update frequency at InternationalLiving.com seems often enough. But we reserve our highest grade for sites that are updated constantly throughout the day. So it was awarded a B.
12. Load Time – D
Download time was 125.73 seconds at 56 K as measured by the website optimization tool.
For a site with such a lack of innovative media use, it’s surprisingly slow to load each page. Nobody likes to wait two full minutes to see everything on a homepage. We’re betting that at least some of the graphics and ads here could be better optimized for faster downloads.
13. Aesthetics – A
InternationalLiving.com isn’t going to win a beauty contest or a graphic design contest. But it is perfectly adequate for what it is intended to do.
And while we don’t care for the distractions caused by animated display ads, at least most of the ads on this site are for the publisher’s own products and not a third party.
14. Brand Preference – A
The site uses the International Living logotype consistently across all its pages, as well as on its print version of the newsletter, which is certainly an aide to branding.
And InternationalLiving.com looks vaguely like all the other Agora Publishing Company sites, which begs a question. Why doesn’t the publisher leverage the brand and cross-sell to all the subscribers of all the newsletters and information products more aggressively? All the Agora products appear to be designed for customers with the same demographics: older people with discretionary money to spend or invest.
Conclusion
Overall, InternationalLiving.com is a fine example of a travel information website. It isn’t exciting, but perhaps that’s intentional. The site appears to work well enough.
