Travel Email Marketing Webinar with Tim Brechlin from WhatCounts

1. EFFECTIVE EMAIL STRATEGIES
FOR TRAVEL MARKETING

2. BEFORE WE GET STARTED…
• Having technical difficulties?
Use the Q&A dialog box to let us
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888-259-8414 for technical support .
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Today’s Moderator:
• To submit questions during the webinar, use
the Q&A chat box
Sarah Zibanejadrad
• Everyone will receive a link to a recording of Inbound Marketing Coordinator
the presentation and a copy of the slide
deck within 1 to 2 business days
WhatCounts, Inc.
@SarahZiba
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3. TWEET!
Tweet about this webinar using #wctravel
Follow:
@WhatCounts
@TimBrechlin
@SharonMostyn
@RoamRight
http://ar.gy/whatcountswhitepaper 3

4. WHO WE ARE
• Sharon Mostyn (@sharonmostyn or @roamright)
– Inbound Marketing Certified Professional at travel
insurance provider RoamRight
– Encouraging people to venture farther and travel
smarter.
• Tim Brechlin (@timbrechlin)
– Services Account Manager at WhatCounts
– Lover of life, living and deep-fried cheese.
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5. TODAY’S AGENDA
• Improve email and other digital marketing practices
• Apply lifecycle marketing principles to the travel / tourism market
• Show how travel marketing principles apply to other verticals
• Your questions answered
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6. CONTEXT
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7. THE SEARCH ENGINES HAVE WON
• Between Flight Finder, Hotel Search, the Frommer’s acquisition, etc., Google
has taken direct aim at the travel market
• Do people go to a CVB site first, or do they go to the search engines /
TripAdvisor / etc.?
• People want authentic information
• It’s more important than ever to have great, engaging content
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8. MOBILE IS BIG AND
GETTING BIGGER
• 1/5 of destination website traffic now comes from a mobile device
• Most users (62%) find your destination's content via mobile search
• Smartphone growth for 2013 will be near 100%
while tablet growth will top 180%
• The majority of mobile traffic (62%) comes through mobile search, with
nearly 90% from Google
– Source: Travel 2.0 Consulting Group / The Mark Report (www.travel2dot0.com)
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9. SO WHAT DO WE DO?
• Engage the customer in all phases of the travel cycle
• Who are we talking to? What are we saying to them? What do we want
them to do as a result of receiving our message?
• At the end of the day, we’re looking for heads in beds / people buying our
product / people using our services
• Make it as easy and attractive as possible for the customer to find us
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10. THE ONE QUESTION
EVERYONE ASKS
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11. WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
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12. WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
• Applies to every stage of the travel process:
– The Idea
– The Plan
– The Trip
– The Aftermath
– The Return (?)
• Also applies to retail, other ecommerce, food & beverage … you name it!
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13. HOW NOT
TO ANSWER THE QUESTION
• The Description Approach
– Tell, rather than show
– “This is what the destination / product is”
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14. HOW NOT
TO ANSWER THE QUESTION
• The Description Approach
– Tell, rather than show
– “This is what the destination / product is”
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15. HOW TO BETTER ANSWER
THE QUESTION
• The Aspirational Approach
– Show, don’t tell
– “This is what you can do in this destination / at this place / with this product”
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16. HOW TO BETTER ANSWER
THE QUESTION
• The Aspirational Approach
– Show, don’t tell
– “This is what you can do in this destination / at this place / with this product”
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17. THE IDEA
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18. THE IDEA
• At the very beginning, the whole world is an option, it only gets narrowed
down from there
• Essential to make yourself as easy to find as possible
– Strong SEO and social
• Put your email signup everywhere
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19. THE IDEA
• Travel is not as seasonal
as many ecommerce
products, since people
love to travel year-round
– That being said, travel is
often a cyclical
proposition
• Ask for the email sign-ups
in unexpected places,
– ex. social media where
people talk about their
vacations
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20. THE IDEA
• 52% of travelers use social
media to find vacation
inspiration, with 29% of
respondents flocking to
Facebook for travel planning
ideas
• 76% of social media users post
their photos on social networks –
which encourages others to
travel!
Source: MDG Advertising infographic , August 2012
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21. BE THERE BEFORE THE SALE
• By the very definition of travel, you have many competitors as a tourism
marketer
• If you aren’t everywhere humanly possible, something has gone horribly
wrong
• Set expectations - make sure your readers know what to expect from your
emails
– Frequency (daily, weekly, monthly…)
– What day (Travel Tuesdays, 1st Saturday, 15th of the month…)
– What time (overnight, morning, afternoon, evening…)
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22. BE THERE BEFORE THE SALE
• Be findable!
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23. EXERCISE BEST PRACTICES
FROM THE START
• From address
– Tell them who you are: Be consistent – builds trust
• Subject line
– Personalized –not just name, travel topics, destinations
– Short – so can be read/understood and stands out
– Respectful
– No “bait and switch”
• Pre-header
– Text preview –important in a crowded Inbox to stand out
– Call-to-action
– Get the reader to open – gives them an idea of what’s inside without images
turned on
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24. GATHER YOUR INTELLIGENCE
• At the very least, be collecting ZIP codes from your subscribers
• The more you know, the better you can target your emails
• Monitor the search queries people are using to find you
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25. THE PLAN
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26. HOW TO STAY RELEVANT
DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS
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27. HOW TO STAY RELEVANT
DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS
BE AWESOME.
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28. HOW TO STAY RELEVANT
DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS
• Drip campaigns are a great strategy
– And easy to set up if you’re a WhatCounts client!
• Travel may not always be a single-visit purchase, so get them to sign up for
email newsletters so you can tell them a bit more
– Example: tips, tricks, insider information…
• Holiday campaigns
– Not just “standard” holidays – Earth Day, destination-specific holidays (Founder’s
Day), wacky holidays – today (12/20) is Go Caroling Day and the signing of the
Louisiana Purchase so it’s a great day to plan a trip to Louisiana and purchase
something!)
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29. HOW TO STAY RELEVANT
DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS
• Segmentation!
– Target by interest at the sign-up
– More targeted emails = more engagement
Baltimore.org
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30. CONTINUING TO STAY RELEVANT
• If you have travel dates:
– Pre- trip emails – reminding them to check passports, send packing lists, what to
do while you’re at your destination
– Post-trip emails – ask for user reviews, connect via social media, show us your
pictures…
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31. THE TRIP
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32. YOUR WORK ISN’T OVER
• Just because the traveler is in your destination / has purchased your
product / doesn’t mean that your job is done
• Travelers are using their phones more and more during a trip
• Do you have SMS (for special offers / deals) set up?
• How about social?
• Don’t neglect the offline channels
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33. YOUR WORK ISN’T OVER
• Just because the traveler is in your destination / has purchased your
product / doesn’t mean that your job is done
• Travelers are using their phones more and more during a trip
• Do you have SMS (for special offers / deals) set up?
• How about social?
• Don’t neglect the offline channels
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34. THE AFTERMATH
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35. THE CHAPTER IS OVER, BUT THE
STORY DOESN’T END
• Build loyalty and keep them
coming back
– Don’t have discounts/specials of
your own? Offer readers someone
else’s specials and monetize your
email through selling ad space
– Join affiliate programs for
complimentary products and
services
• Repeat buyers are worth 4.8x
one-time buyer LTV
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36. MAINTAIN GOOD LIST PRACTICES
• As Google goes, so goes the Internet
• Inbox placement is weighted heavily on engagement
• Segment your lists properly
– Recommend a 30/60/90/other breakout
• When in doubt … ask!
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37. ALWAYS BE TESTING
• If you aren’t testing, you’re doing it wrong
• Be cognizant that things may need to be changed up
• Pay attention to your click-through performance and heat maps
– Are you burying the lead?
• Give them options to update their preferences
• Make it easy for them to opt out
–You don’t want them clicking the Worst Button In The World
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38. DON’T FORGET:
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
• The subscriber’s inbox is crowded – don’t forget to remind them of why
they signed up for your email in the first place
• Remember that travel is cyclical – the subscriber may not be making
another trip for a year or more
• Offer a special deal or discount after a period of disengagement
• Always be planting seeds
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39. THE RETURN…?
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40. THERE’S ALWAYS A NEW
OPPORTUNITY
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41. IF YOU’VE DONE YOUR JOB
RIGHT…
• Travel is, at its core, aspirational
– “I want / need to see and do more”
• Offer specials for return visitors
• Emphasize what else there is to do
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42. KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Email has a place in every phase of the travel cycle
• Be everywhere
• Gather as much intelligence as you can: The more personalized and
targeted your marketing is, the more effective your marketing will be
• Never, ever stop testing
• Now is the perfect time to email – especially for travel marketers.
Try sending an email this weekend!
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43. WHATCOUNTS 2013
DIGITAL MARKETING SUMMIT
• April 24 – 25, 2013; Atlanta, GA
• Two days of email and digital marketing strategies, best practices, trends,
education, advanced platform training and more
• Face-to-face time with WhatCounts team members
• Early Bird Special:
Registration only $299
($349 after December 30)
• http://www.whatcounts.com/emailsummit
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44. QUESTIONS?
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45. CONTACT US
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46. CONTACT ROAMRIGHT
Speaker Contact Information: RoamRight
Sharon Mostyn 1-877-687-7170
Ecommerce Director, RoamRight
8601 LaSalle Rd. Suite 102
443-279-7344
smostyn@roamright.com Towson, MD 21286

47. CONTACT WHATCOUNTS
WhatCounts, Inc.
3630 Peachtree Road, NE
Suite 900
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
1-866-804-0076
www.whatcounts.com
Twitter: @WhatCounts
sales@whatcounts.com

48. THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!
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