Ep#19-What to write about in your email newsletters
Hello, and welcome to episode 19 of the Direct Booking Success podcast. I'm your host, Jenn Boyles. It is so nice to have you with me today. Suppose you haven't been listening to the past few episodes. Today I am continuing on the theme of email marketing. I started in episode 17, speaking about how to increase your bookings going from high season to low season, and the spoiler alert had to do with email marketing.
And then, last week in episode 18, I spoke about why you need to be building not one but two email lists. If you missed either of those, go back, and listen later. Today is the third and final instalment. When I ask Holiday, Let Vacation Rental Owners, what keeps them from sending emails?
The answer is usually that they have no idea what to say in the email. So I thought this would be a perfect topic to get into here on the Direct Booking Success podcast. First, we need to know whom we're speaking to in our market. There is no point in sending out emails with content that will miss the mark with your ideal guest.
So who is that? Who is your ideal guest? Now I'm not going to explore how to create your perfect guest or why you need one in this episode. So if you aren't sure or don’t know what I'm on about, head over to my website. I have a free masterclass video there that you can, watch and find out why and how to create one.
So head to direct booking success.com/ideal Guest, and you'll find the free masterclass there. Once you know who that person is, you'll have someone to speak to in your marketing, someone you'll be able to write those emails to.
And this should be one person. Don't think about how you're sending your email out to a bunch of people. Just think of that one person. You might have multiple ideal guests if you've been around for a while, but you want to send that email out to one person at a time. Your message will feel more personal to that person.
And it will make writing your email so much easier, trust me. Next, you want to decide if you’re going to do a newsletter format or write it like a personal email, and both have pros and cons. If you do a newsletter format, you can add multiple pieces of content with images and make it like a regular thing that perhaps your subscribers will start to look forward to.
However, you can get lost in your brand and hide behind your business. If you do a personal email, it might be quicker to put it together as you wouldn't usually use images or have lots of items in it. You don't have to send it out biweekly or monthly. You could send it out whenever you want.
You can make it personal as much as possible by writing right to your subscriber and at being from you. However, there is nowhere to hide here, and it can be tough not having a format like a newsletter would give you to fall back on. Both forms are valid. Today I'm going to speak more about the newsletter format, as this is probably what you'll do now or want to do in the future.
Okay? So you've got your ideal guest set and decided on the format you will use. Now let's talk about the tech needed. You only need your list of subscribers, or you know, your two lists if you were listening last week, and an email program to send the emails.
Now we don't want to send out emails manually, okay?
Or send them out from your Gmail, Outlook, or whatever you use for your email client. Firstly, that doesn't comply with gdpr and see. Secondly, you want to make this as easy as possible for yourself. And email programs provide great stats you will want to get into later. So get a free account with MailChimp, Mailerlite or whomever you want to. I use a paid email program called Active Campaign.
It has a lot more bells and whistles than the ones with the free accounts. If email marketing is the central part of your marketing strategy for direct bookings, and in the long run, it should be, then you might want to look at a paid option.
I'll drop a linked active campaign in the show notes.
Okay, now you've got your email program set up,d your list of email addresses has been uploaded. Let's talk about the content. One tip before we get into that. Don't write your emails directly in your email program. It is best to write them in Word pages or Google Docs first. Then copy and paste it into your email program.
This way, you'll always have a copy of what you’ve written; if something goes wrong, you will have that backup. The first time you do your email, you want to set up a template for your newsletter. This will make it easier in the future. So you'll have a style to follow visually, but also for your content.
And then, you can fill in the blanks each month that you do this. So what should you include in your newsletter? Top of the list is a message from. And this message should have your name signed at the bottom. It can be either right below the news or at the very bottom of the email; include a mention of how you will send out this email once a month so your subscribers know when to expect it and let them know that it is you writing it.
This email is not going to be all about you and your offer. Yes, you can include your requests, but we don't want to be selling all the time. Your subscribers have given you their email addresses because they want to hear from you and about the area, not just about cancellations or weeks you have left to sell.
And think of your inbox. How often do you hit delete a day to get rid of those sales, sleazy emails? We don't want to be doing that. So here are some ideas of what you can include in your newsletter. Local events or attractions, seasonal activities, links to blog posts you've published, your favourite places to eat in your area, and what your previous guests always loved to do when they stayed.
Interview a guest about why they are there and if they'd like to return, make sure you only include things that will make your ideal guest want to book a. Some more ideas, packing or travel tips, travel guides for your area, the most romantic spots or the best places to take the kids to famous landmarks or landmarks near you that maybe aren't so well-known.
Where to go Shopping movies that were filmed or books based on your area. Activities to do when it's raining, and then your latest deals or offers. The list could go on and on, but you really have to look at that ideal guest and what they want to read in your newsletter.
I'd love to be able to show you some examples of good newsletters. And, of course, I can't do this because this is a podcast. So I've put together a little video with some of the ones I've come across and why I think they're doing well. Okay? So head over to my website, direct booking success.com.
Slash newsletters to view this little video, and I'll also put a link in the show notes. Let me know if you've come across a fabulous newsletter or are already sending out one that you think is great. I'd love to see it.
