Email Marketing Magic for Tourism: How to Use Promo Codes, Timing, and Segmentation to Drive Sales
- Digital Marketing, Experience Marketing, Tourism Marketing Blog
- Attractions Marketing, Content Marketing for Tourism, Digital Tourism Marketing, Marketing For Experiences Insights & Articles, Marketing for the travel industry, The Tourism Marketing Approach, tourism trends
- August 21, 2023
When the economic climate gets tough, tourism marketing campaigns should get clever. And there’s few things more nimble than direct email campaigns.
So buckle up, because we’re here to talk about standing out, calling directly to your audience, and achieving a bit more magic than you thought possible.
The Power of Promo Codes
Discount Psychology: Who doesn’t love a bargain? Research shows that discounts can drive action. We’re all drawn to saving money, and in the tourism game, savings translate to one more cocktail on the beach or an extra souvenir.
It’s All In A Name: Think EARLYBIRD or SUMMERFUN, but make it tie in contextually with your brand. Think: Urgent yet relatable. Promo codes that resonate with your tourism brand and connect to a specific time or event can make the user feel seen and understood.
Event Power, Group Themes: A great level-up is to tie your promo code into a theme or event that works well for a group excursion, like an upcoming bachelorette trip or holiday gathering. Themes make the codes catchy and help folks brainstorm “what to do” for special occasions. You can create an entire #MOOD around a code, making it more than just a discount but a whole experience!
Timing is Everything – When and How Often to Send
Science of Open Rates: Yes, there’s a science to it! Sending your emails on the right days at the right times can boost your open rates.
Best Days: Per Hubspot, mid-week’s the charm, specifically Tuesday around mid-morning. However, be sure to test! Ecommerce emails tend to get great click-to-open rates on Mondays and Fridays at 7 AM, 10 AM, and 5-6 PM.
Audience Heat: Understanding the temperature of your audience, whether they’re hot leads or just browsing, can make your emails sizzle or fizzle. If your list is just lukewarm, best be sure to send sooner than later, and don’t send that initial “hello” on a weekend.
Audience Segmentation: Getting Sales vs. Garnering Audiences
Know Your Fans: Differentiating between your brand’s “fans” and general subscribers can be crucial. Your die-hard fans may want the latest offerings and hottest deals, while general subscribers might be looking for broader content.
Tailoring Content: Segmenting your audience and catering to their interests can make your email campaigns for tourism resonate louder. Tell them the story they’ve been dying to hear.
Mailchimp Magic: Think of Mailchimp or Drip campaigns like digital travel guides leading email readers just where you want them to go. Start with meaty content, packed with insight, emotion, and a great deal. If they click around a lot and do not convert, follow up with something meatier.
Marrying Email with Social Media
Social Buttons: Meet your email’s new best friends. By connecting your social media within your emails, you’re opening new channels of engagement. And as we know, engagement leads to sales.
Sharing Power: “Share this deal with friends!” It’s not just a phrase; it’s a game-changer. Encourage sharing and watch your reach grow.
User-Generated Content: Authenticity? Check. Community? Check. Feature those selfies, landscapes, and moments from your audience in your email content to build trust and enthusiasm. (And don’t worry, people love a good shout-out. Just be sure to give them credit!)
Driving Traffic Back to Your Website
The C.T.A.: Each email should lead readers back to your kingdom, a.k.a. your website. This is the place where engagement leads to sales. Point them there.
Click Desires: Emotive copy, tantalizing visuals, skimmable content – this is golden in making audiences actually want to click. Entice with words, dazzle with images, simplify with design.
No Bouncing Allowed: Make sure to get the booking platform right before you wave the promo code wand. A smooth booking process can turn a curious clicker into a committed customer. A clunky one is a bounce-out.
The Art of Visual Storytelling in Emails
Visual Necessity: Great visuals are non-negotiable. They must speak the language of wanderlust and adventure and to work, they must have emotional pull.
Evoke Emotion: Your own photos or visitors’ (with credit) – make them feel the wanderlust. Images must capture the essence, the vibe, the very soul of the travel experience.
Skimmability: Making Emails Snappy and Engaging
Modern Skimming: They skim; you cater. In our fast-scrolling world, making content easily digestible is paramount. It’s all about making it easy.
Mobile-First: Because phones aren’t just for those selfies. Over half of emails are read on mobile, so your email campaigns for tourism need to look fabulous on the small screen.
Headlines and Bullet Points: Key messages? Caught, not missed! Structure your emails to ensure that skimming eyes still catch the vital info.
Mastering the Email Funnel
Know Your Funnel: Awareness, interest, decision, action. These aren’t just words; they’re the stages of a journey leading to a booking. Learn it by heart.
Personalized Journey: While emails are digital, your customers are not robots. Personalization can turn a general email into a personal invitation. And everyone loves feeling special.
Meta Campaigns: Targeting Engaged Audiences
Meta What?: How cool would it be to turn those hyper-personalized eblasts into hyper-personal social campaigns? Well, honey, the future is now. Pop right into your email software, drill down the list of most interested recipients, and then pop that right into Meta to follow up with social media campaigns.
The Von Mack Way: Yes, it goes beyond email, but did you expect anything less? Here at The Von Mack Agency, we take these principles and turn them into integrated campaigns for tourism that drive sales and build brands.
Conclusion
Now that email campaigns for tourism are no longer a secret spell – be sure to read, learn, and conquer the digital world with these tried and tested strategies. Your next tourism marketing success story is just an email away! And remember, #TeamVonMack is always here to help.
