To get more travelers to book on your website you need to be able to feed their interest. Social networks are fabulous platforms for generating valuable content. However, among so many messages from your followers, it is normal that it seems like just another customer service channel and you run the risk of losing the content you have worked so hard to create.
For this reason, you have to use an email marketing strategy. Because email is more effective in attracting guests. It is one of the most personal forms of communication that can boost your direct bookings. You are in control of the communication and have a base of contacts who know you, and it’s one of the most economical ways!
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1. Do not create false expectations.
There are many ways in which your potential customers can become part of your hotel’s database. This is part of the conversion process of any good inbound methodology. On the one hand, users may think that your content is totally appropriate, that it adds value, and subscribe directly to your newsletter. If so, congratulations! You have mastered content creation.
But on the other hand, the first intention of the users may have been to get a downloadable, i.e. a content offer such as a guide to the best beaches, the best hiking trails, etc. If this is the case, don’t beat around the bush. To make sure you get a real contact, explain that this offer will reach their email inbox and make it clear from the beginning that you will keep sending information.
To do so, at least use the fine print. Yes, that microcopy in which you can also specify the frequency with which you will send your newsletter and in which you can detail the type of content they will receive. Think that what you really need is a database with quality contacts. The number of contacts does not matter when it comes to getting customers, because it will not lead to an optimal conversion rate. Therefore, it is also necessary that you include the option for them to unsubscribe from the subscription.
Without this information, you would end up expanding your base with contacts that are far from being potential customers. This would affect the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign and the open and click-through rates. Also, keep in mind that if users reject your emails or mark them as spam, the providers of this service may take them directly to junk mail.
2. Generate personalized content.
HubSpot example
However, to create copy that your recipients will want to consume, you have to personalize. It is a priority to direct your email marketing strategy to a specific target. To meet specific needs with content that can provide value. Because if you do not include relevant and personalized information, you will not be able to retain your potential customer.
To do this, it is essential that you can split your email marketing campaigns. You probably have a variety (large or small) of ideal customer types. In this case, what are you waiting for to segment? Think that emails sent to segmented lists receive 62% more clicks. For this reason, it is essential to divide the contacts you get into groups or segments based on similarities and tendencies.
To prevent them from abandoning your email, you have to know your contact base very well: your potential customers. To personalize content, you first have to segment. And to segment you need to be able to have created ideal guest profiles. Customers who will access you through your different online channels. Those most susceptible to influence.
Through your CRM you can know what type of content is the one that has interested a specific potential customer profile. Create an attractive copy, going to the safe content type. If a segment is composed of a couple of profiles that have in common their preference for the festival season and you know this based on what they have consumed, take advantage of this information.
Otherwise, if you create the same content for all your potential customers, you will not generate any engagement or conversion. And that’s precisely what you need with your emails: for your brand to attract them to win direct bookings. And another way to engage with your emails is to use the names of your recipients in the subject line and body. Because people act twice as fast when they feel that the email is uniquely addressed to them.
3. Use landing pages properly.
You may think that landing pages have nothing to do with email marketing. But in reality they are fundamental. In order to convert potential customers into final guests, i.e. to get more direct bookings, we are working in the hot zone of the inbound methodology: conversion. And landing pages are the conversion pages par excellence.
On the one hand, it is where users will exchange their contact information for your content offer. Think about it. They’ve been interested in your publication, they find your guide to the best restaurants in the area attractive, to say the least, and they arrive at a landing page that doesn’t contribute anything. Would you leave your name and email on the form of a specific page that contributes nothing?
As you can see, your email marketing campaign depends, in part, on the success of these pages. In addition, with landing page forms you can also get to know your users a little better. Ask for information that does not compromise them, because we already know that less is more. But if gastronomy is important for the tourism that your hotel represents, you can ask a specific question that will help you to segment more.
On the other hand, landing pages are also the sections where you can direct your contacts once they have clicked on the CTA in your email. A CTA that leads them to an offer or other related content. This way they will only focus on one task, the one you set. This makes it less likely that your contact will stray.
In this case, both the email and the landing page must be able to reinforce the potential customer’s decision to act, that is, to take a step towards booking. To do this, you must show the benefits of your brand. Betting on content that shows you care about their interests, their needs.
