Without a strategy that works from within the buyer’s journey, the hotel conversion funnel, the traffic you generate will not be converted into direct bookings. That’s why we rely on email marketing. Email is one of the most important elements of a healthy online strategy. Because their goal is to get your leads (sales opportunities) to become your final guests.
In fact, a study by McKinsey & Company shows that email marketing is 40 times more effective at attracting guests than social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. With email, you have the possibility to be very personal .
If you know your audience well, you can send the right email at the right time.
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But what are the keys to a successful email?
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The style
You want all communication to follow a style line that can be associated with your hotel brand, don’t you? You’ve worked so hard on branding for
branding
. And not only that, your recipients also need consistency of style so that they don’t get lost among the different communication actions you execute.
The copy and images of your emails should resemble the copy and images of the landing pages to which they may be addressed. There has to be consistency in terms of design, colors and the way you communicate.
Simplify whenever you can. As we mentioned in the previous post, user experience is fundamental. For this reason, avoid introducing elements that may distract from the objective you have set for yourself and that make it uncomfortable to consult emails, whatever the device used.
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The structure
In addition, each part of your email has a function. The internal structure of the emails you send is fundamental. To achieve success with your email marketing, emails must follow a formula that today is infallible. The AIDA formula, an acronym that stands for ATTENTION, INTEREST, DESIRE and ACTION.
AIDA is the formula that copywriter Gary Halbert, a great newsletter connoisseur, used to write effective sales letters. But that’s not all, because once you know this formula, you can also apply it to your hotel’s web pages, such as the all-important landing pages.
Now, how do we apply the AIDA formula in emails?
1. Write open-ended subject lines.
Can you think of a movie with an open ending? I’m sure it is. Sometimes, these films are the most interesting. Those that leave us wanting more. It’s the same with your emails. Open-ended subject lines are the ones that have the power to grab the attention of your recipients. Subject lines that speak to a segmented list, obviously.
Their job is to get people to open the email you send. And if you want to increase the open rate of your emails, you should think about subject lines with a message that can arouse the curiosity of your subscribers.
We know, writing an attractive subject is not always easy. For this reason, we recommend that you write a list and evaluate with your colleagues those issues that attract the most attention. This may well be a team effort. Select two for the email you are going to send and perform A/B testing. It is a good way to test the preferences of the segmented list to which you send the email.
2. The most important thing is relevant content.
There are several elements that can arouse interest and make it desirable to consider a getaway or a vacation. On the one hand, the design, which we talked about above and which must be in line with the brand of your hotel. On the other hand, the structure of your copy. We always try to be creative, but if the message is not clear and does not add value, you can hardly keep the reader’s interest.
To prevent them from leaving your email prematurely, you must include information that is relevant to your buyer personas. See how important they are? If they are interested in gastronomy, include information about restaurants; if they like music, the festivals in your area; if they are passionate about nature, show them the best hiking trails, etc.
In addition, to make the content of your email desirable , you must show what the benefits are. How? If your buyer people are interested in different leisure activities, they will go to your hotel mainly because, after the price, its location is ideal to try different restaurants, go shopping and go out to the best clubs.
3. Call to action.
Now all that remains is the part where we must call for action, as outlined in the AIDA formula. And this is done by including a CTA in your email. This call-to-action is the button that encourages your reader to take the next step. One step closer to customer conversion. A good CTA makes it clear what the reader is going to get: a downloadable such as a guide of interest, an offer, a discount coupon, etc.
