Office stress and increasing workloads are proving to be a hindrance for employees but almost like a ‘win’ for tourism companies. Why? Because when the going gets tough, the tough tend to wish they were on a flight to Majorca.

We often tend to browse through our emails checking for the latest holiday offers or scouring travel agent websites for discount codes to see if a week or two in the Algarve is a viable prospect. As a result, this gives leisure and tourism companies a fantastic opportunity to capitalise on workers looking to top up their tans and get away from their desks for two weeks.

For tourism marketers looking to maximise their returns from email marketing, here’s a few tips that should help you out in your campaigns. 10 email marketing tips for the leisure and tourism industry.

Subject lines

Whether you’re promoting Poland or establishing a presence for Peru, one of the most important ways to grab the attention of a user is through the subject line. This will be the first thing your customers see in their inboxes, so give them a short idea of what they can expect. If they’re intrigued by the subject line, they’ll open up the email.

Consider your audience

While your messaging should be planned to make the best use of your appeal to users, it is rare that the majority of your readers are going to be interested in the exact same offer. As a result, it is worth contacting your email marketing list based on their personal interests that should have been provided when they initially signed up to receive communications for you.

For instance, the initial sign-up could ask whether they’re interested in hearing about offers and discounts from Asia, Europe, North America…etc. This allows you to segment your lists and become more relevant in the eyes of your users.

Email can build credibility

A decent break can often cost hundreds of pounds so holidaymakers are likely to conduct thorough research into various deals and experiences of certain destinations before parting with legal tender. A email marketing campaign helps remind users of your presence, aids credibility and builds up relationships.

Deliver value

One of the biggest challenges in the email marketing game is to get your users to open your emails on a frequent basis. Consequently, it’s important that your messaging constantly delivers value or incentives that make your users open up your emails on a regular basis. If a user does not see any value, they are unlikely to want to hear from you.

For example, leisure and tourism messages could provide value in the form of travel guides for specific areas, vouchers for local museums or discount codes for ten per cent off a hotel room.
…not spam

Too many emails from the same sender are a definite way to turn off your readers, regardless of their value. Email messages that are sent too frequently stuffed with useless, undesirable information are useful….if their purpose is to travel straight to the Delete folder. Furthermore, every email deletion is pushing the user one step closer to the ‘opt-out’ button.

Opt-out/unsubscribe

While we’re on the subject of opt-out, our aim as marketers is to keep every single user on our email list happy but it is natural for some readers to want to opt-out of your communications. After all, there’s no reason to keep an unhappy user on your schedule as every subsequent message is likely to infuriate that user to the point of vocal complaint.

A clear link highlighting an unsubscribe button which, when clicked, takes the user through a simple opt-out process works best for both parties. The simplicity of unsubscribing could even make the user think twice about cutting all ties.

Mobile mobile mobile!

An increasing number of holidaymakers are browsing the latest deals and breaks on a mobile device, such as a tablet or a smartphone. As a result, it’s important that emails are tailored and developed so they are suitable for mobile. Mobile access of emails is close to rivalling desktop and web email clients, making it an integral platform to develop for. Don’t leave yourself out in the lurch – tailor for mobile.

Calls-to-action

A”This offer looks good, let me see if I can find out more. Is there a call…to…..where I am supposed to click?!”

If readers are tempted by an offer, they’re going to want to click on a button and discover more. Make sure your email is sent complete with a visible call-to-action, such as a big clickable button, to allow readers to discover more about their chosen offer.

“Ah, there it is. So just one click and….wait…I’m clicking but nothing is happening!”

Come on, this is email marketing 101! Ensure your call-to-action links back to a designated landing page otherwise you will immediately lose out. It’s so simple to link back but forgetting to do so could have huge ramifications and not in a good way.

Address the user directly

It’s always pleasant to receive an email that addresses you personally – “Dear John, we’d like to reveal this special offer…etc.” – so tourism and leisure marketers would do well to use the first name of registered users on subsequent emails.

Testing 1, 2, 3

Test, test, test. Always test. Send your message to a variety of email clients like Yahoo, Gmail, Outlook and more to determine whether your messages are displayed correctly. An email that is displayed incorrectly is a huge turn-off to users so test, test again and test once more. Once you’re convinced that each client displays your emails correctly, you can press ‘Send’ with confidence.




New Call-to-action