Email newsletters are an effective email marketing tool that can help you foster great relationships with your readers and customers, increase your brand’s visibility, and promote your position in the tourism industry. We’ve compiled a list of things to avoid when building a successful email newsletter.
1. Sending from an @noreply email address
Sending your newsletters from @donotreply or @noreply is a surefire way to alienate your audience, as it tells them you’re not open to two-way communication. It will also cause a decrease in your open rates and your email may well end up in the spam folder. There’s an easy solution to this, which is assigning someone to be the name and face behind your newsletters and sending a personalized, human message from this person. “Making sure the email is sent from an individual, without an @noreply email, will increase your chances of sending the newsletter straight to inboxes” says Gary Session, an email marketer at Boom Essays(opens in a new tab) and Essay Roo(opens in a new tab).
2. Not using the right subject line
Your subject line should explain the contents of your email, so your readers are tempted to read it. If you use the same subject line for every message, your readers won’t know why you’re emailing them and may get bored, sending your message directly to their deleted items. Don’t forget the importance of the preview text as well, which appears below the subject line before opening a message. Leaving it empty or recycling material is wasting precious space that could be used to grab your readers’ attention. Remember, your audience want information relevant to the tourism industry (that’s why they signed up with you), so make sure you convey value and offer something tangible.
3. Having the wrong content
It goes without saying that to have a successful email newsletter, you need to have the right content. Many marketers make the mistake of using their newsletter as a platform for promoting sales and “buy now” calls to action. Newsletter content from tour and activity operators should provide tourism-related advice and information, as well as create a sense of community. There’s no harm in providing links to your website, displaying your logo, and offering ways to get in touch, but the majority of your content should be informative and helpful. In the same vein, steer clear of providing too much business information and making company announcements. Readers are usually only interested in content that benefits them, so if you want to announce a company update or change, explain why and how it relates to your customers.
We know that content is very important, so we’ve compiled a list of tools you can use to make sure your writing is clear and highly organized:
Via Writing(opens in a new tab) and My Writing Way(opens in a new tab) are online writing guides to help you create a well-crafted newsletter.
Studydemic(opens in a new tab) and Simple Grad(opens in a new tab) are grammar checkers that help keep sneaky typos out of important emails.
Academized(opens in a new tab) should be consulted for a second proofreading opinion. This tool has positive customer reviews, as can be found on Uk Services Reviews(opens in a new tab).
AcademAdvisor(opens in a new tab) and Writing Populist(opens in a new tab) will help you generate subheadings, titles, and previews.
Paper Fellows(opens in a new tab) and Australian Help(opens in a new tab) are the go-to sites for formatting help.
4. Not reviewing or testing your email
Before sending your email newsletter, it’s critical that you review it and send a test email to yourself to see how it appears on multiple platforms. Is your newsletter optimized for mobile devices? Is the preview text engaging? The only way to know is to do a test.
5. Preventing people from unsubscribing
Hiding or refusing to include an unsubscribe link in your email can not only cause complaints from readers and cast a shadow over your brand, but could also result in you getting kicked off your email marketing platform for violating regulations. To avoid this, have a clearly located button to make the process as simple as possible, should your readers wish to unsubscribe.
6. Lack of newsletter promotion
It’s important to promote your newsletter on your social media and website, including a subscription link in all your marketing efforts and email signatures. Promoting your brand and establishing yourself as an expert in the tourism industry is the best way to consistently build your list of subscribers with current, past, and prospective clients.
7. Not sticking to a sending schedule
You should send your email newsletters on a consistent basis, whether that’s weekly, biweekly, or monthly. It should always be sent the same day and time so your readers know to expect it. Also, you should avoid sending them too frequently that you risk annoying your readers, or too infrequently that they forget about your brand completely.
Marketers often consider newsletters a critical part of their strategy to build brand awareness, keep readers engaged, and improve business. Particularly as a tour and activity operator, it is important to capture leads and convert website visitors into bookers. One of the simplest and most effective ways of achieving this is by establishing an authoritative voice in the industry through your newsletters and marketing campaigns. By avoiding the mistakes outlined above, you too could have a successful marketing strategy revolving around email newsletters.
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