An Ultimate Travel Industry Email Marketing Guide

Well to communicate with the customers, the brands require a digital marketing strategy, and the same goes for the travel industry.

There is a great majority of travelers book their travels and do the research online on their own. That’s why your website and social media need to have the reach to get those as your customer.

To understand how you can start with your travel email marketing along with the tips and right way of implantation to start right away.

Contents

Why Is Email Marketing Needed For The Travel Industry?

Well, before you jump to know how you can start email marketing for the travel.

However,  it is predicted in 2-19; there will be more than 2.9 billion email users.

There are around 1-5 billion emails that are sent on a daily basis, and there will be 246 billion raised in 2021.

So there are various reasons why email marketing is important for the travel industry on the first basis.

Here are some of the reasons why it has benefits for the travel industry.

It Is Affordable

Email marketing is considered one of the affordable marketing methods which are available right now. It helps in improving your business without investing much.

Easy To Implement

For the first email campaign, you can develop as well as launch within 30 minutes, as you can get the HTML email template for free.

You don’t have to do anything special to learn; you can improve as far as you want and as you go. This is easier to learn about email marketing.

Highly Focused

You also send the specific list along with having a clear call to action, and it also helps you in reaching the audience and achieving the goals you have set.

This is also good for those who are looking for highly effective but with a budget, and it improves the overall results.

The Process Straightforward

Well, it’s basic enough and even the marketing turn can take over if it gets necessary.

You can use the drag-and-drop editor to create the email, which can dazzle the creative team and produce results.

It Has Effective Results

Emails are predicted to deliver at $42 for every $1 you spend. However, it depends on different factors and how you are performing it.

But it’s an effective way that has results along with an affordable price.

What Are The Key Elements For Travel Marketing Email?

There are different pointers that are crucial to remember. However it has its own key elements that make sure your travel marketing email.

Travel marketing email also improves the work and results in outcomes. Knowing about the elements related to this can help in getting a better understanding. 

Here are what you need to consider when you are planning the travel marketing mail.

Personalization

More than half of experts in travel marketing say that personalization is indeed a game-changer, especially when it comes to email marketing in the competitive industry.

Creating a personalized email can help in making a receipt feel important and special, which connects them to the brand.

By doing the segmentation and customization, it can help in working together in order to produce content that is helpful and useful.

Subject Lines

Regretless of what email marketing campaign is created, it’s an important tip that applies to everything.

The next key element for a successful email marketing campaign is to create subject lines that can grab the attention.

Write subject lines which can be strong and it will help you in reducing the chances of getting filtered out due to spam tagging, and also boost the open rates.

Videos

Emails that have the videos attached also increase a large amount of engagement.

There is around a 19% boost to the open rates and a 65% in click-through rates.

Also, it’s ideal if it’s related to the travel and hotel industry since the video is considered an excellent approach for showing the potential to your tourist.

You can show them the types of destinations, accommodations, and excursions.

Urgency

The next one is quite similar to personalization but it also emphasizes subject lines.

This promotes interaction by creating a sense of urgency. It works an advantage even for email marketing in general.

It’s also good for flash travel sales and bargains, which are time-limited to plan the holidays.

Easy To Share

This is important to make it easy for your subscriber to spread with more people. Solidarity excursions are not common compared to group holidays.

So make sure it’s easy for your recipient to easily recommend along with extending the vacation packages with their family and friends.

Make it easy to forward, but also add the social sharing buttons, which help in adding a pleasant touch to it.

What Are The Types Of Emails You Can Consider?

Well,  there are different types of emails that you can consider for travel marketing.

However, each type has its own purpose and time, so it’s crucial to know what to use and when.

Knowing the right way can help improve the result, so you should consider the types and where you can use them. 

The Warm Welcome Email

The first one is the warm welcome email, which is triggered by the signups for the email list and sequence message, which includes brief information about your company. Also, it gives an idea of what recipients can expect from your emails and the brand.  

It’s important that you have this automated since it affects the engagement statistics. When welcome emails are automated, they have more than 85% open rate and 29% click-through.

As for the delivered manually, the open rate is 52%, and the click-through rate is 12%.

The Newsletter

This one is a versatile format. However, you can use this for providing getaway ideas, announcing the latest packages, sharing travel industry-related news and tour alternatives, and debuting a new perk as well as service to travelers.

Such emails help in boosting the cardinality of travel.  You can also send a satisfied client testimonial which is a popular sort of comet in the travel business newsletter.

They are as effective as internet reviews and also believe in the video format for increasing the maximum impact.

The Milestone And Seasonal

The average person finds it hard to make an effort to plan a vacation for an anniversary, birthday, or holiday celebration.

However, it also doesn’t mean that they won’t be open the travel suggestions.

You can do promotions centered on the holidays, including mother’s day, valentine’s day, or something which is not common.

You can also launch the campaigns depending on the seasons, it can be for the summer vacations, and spring break can also be launched.

While here, the conversation is the goal, it’s also about introducing the sub-rivers to the possibilities which have the potential.

Even if they might not be ready, members will always remember as well as respect the knowledge.

The Confirmation Of Booking

However, in retail, the brand processes the purchase and sends the email receipt.

And here, booking confirmations are practically similar.

Because of this, the passenger also frequently examines the travel agency email, and it’s not even one more than once.

This also has higher open rates.

The Informational Message Email

More than 75% of passengers say that education content influences their ability to make decisions.

The objective is to present yourself as supporting and caring for the brand to the clients who are current and have perspective.

You can also warn travelers about the attraction of tourists and adverse weather by scheduling the snafus.

You can create travel guides, and they can be destination-specific; this helps in delivering to those subscribers who are new.

Also, the range you can consider is from tourist traps which are based on different language phrases.

The Thank You Email

The next one is to send the thank you note along with an informative email to your subscribers,

After you have been in touch with them throughout the journey, from planning to doing the pre-arrival to traveling as well as returning home.

You can send a note of thank you to those; you can add the link to surveys so you can use this for getting feedback to know what else your brand can offer.

The Loyalty Or Referral Program

Frequent travelers appreciate it when they are a part of the loyalty program.

You can do the design of the scheme, which can be point-based, or it can be simply something for a flat discount on the services which are specified.

The rewards can attain the milestone; birthday surprises are some of the features which can be excellent.

A referral program can be driven by the loyalty program, which can assist in expanding the email list. This boosts the conversion rate too.

The Re-Engagement Email

There are chances that there might be some subscribers who are not in touch with the brand anymore.

If this is the scenario, you also need to strengthen the loyalty program and try the engagement campaign to remind them why they signed up.

What Are The Steps For Successful Travel Email Marketing?

 Well, understanding the right ways to start email marketing is of the utmost importance. The more you know, the more clear ideas you will get, and it helps in getting effective results.

To create a successful email marketing for travel, here are some of the steps that you can follow.

Step 1: Setup The Email List

The first step here Is to choose the email service provider. And when you are choosing the services for travel, check that you have different travel-related email templates.  So you can send different emails, which can be seasonal or niche emails.

The next one you need to consider is analytics, it’s an important feature as you might need data on how your marketing campaign is doing.

Step 2: Collect The Email Address Of Your Customer

For a successful travel business, you need to have the threat business from your customers who are already connected with you, along with attracting more travelers. 

  • Here, you should have the email list, which plays an essential part in the process. Also, you need to keep it updated and healthy.
  • You can start using an opt-in form on the website to get the email newsletter signups.
  • Keep it visible, and no matter where the visitors are, it should be there on your website.
  • You can also add an incentive for those who sign up; it can be a discount or coupon.
  • Apart from that, you can ask them to sign up for the list when they do the reservations or have inquiries.
  • Make sure you have their person, and once you get it, strictly send what they signed up for.
  • For collecting the emails, you can also do the contest and ask for sign-up in exchange or use SMS.

Step 3: Choose Your Email Content

Many marketers feel confused when it comes to choosing the context for the email. And content plays a vital part in how many times they are going to open the mail and use the services.

The email content for your travel marketing can include :

  • Destination guide
  • Traveling tips and important information
  • Recommendations for trips and destination
  • Information regarding the festival and holiday
  • Spotlight on the events and attractions
  • Travel stories from your customers
  • Reviews about the travel service and destination
  • Quizzes
  • Polls
  • Cross promotional offers

You can even add blog content if you have an insider view regarding your traveling company, press coverage, etc.

Don’t forget to add the deal so it can be more about them; it can be the loyalty offer or discounts.

Step 4: Chose The Timing

After you are done with the content that will go in your mail, here, you need to choose how many times and when your subscribers will receive the email.

However, it’s common to feel that you have to send more but avoid the temptation.

Sending too many emails can make your subcarriers feel annoyed, or it can end up in your email’s spamming folder.

They can subscribe to you and never open again. All of these are terrible outcomes that no marketer wants to happen.

Step 5: Create The Calendar For Email Marketing

Once you get the frequency, now use the mail marketing calendar, so you know when you need to send the emails and on which date.

This can help you in making the whole process more on-point and organized.

Start by regular broadcasts like email, which requires updating the subscriber about the news articles you have added to the blog.

Then it can be the promotion for the holidays; you can announce if your company is coming up with something new or going to change.

Choose the type of email that suits the information and add it to the calendar you have.

Step 6: All Set For The First Email

Here, you are all set to send the first email to the subscribers. Since the first emails are important, as it sets the tone of how your relationship is going to be with your customer, it is important to start with a welcome email. It has around a 60% p[en rate.

When you have a good welcome email, it can help in retaining the subscribers who are already attracted.

They feel good about being on the email list. But keep it valuable, relevant, and short, along with a killer subject line to encourage you to open as well as to read.

What Are The Different Stages Of Travelling You Need To Send Emails?

To make your email campaign successful, you need to learn about where and at which stage you should send the emails to the customer.

There is a different life cycle of customers in the travel industry and depending on that, here is what can help.

Send The Welcome Programs

Welcome series gives the opportunity to greet the customer who just joined the platform, also, here, you can offer the information which is valuable to make the most of the services.

Not just that, with this, the customer knows about the communication that they can expect.

Here you have different options to add to the targeted email to get more of their interests.

Birthdays And Anniversaries

The next email you can send is the birthdays and anniversaries of your customers. It can be simply a good wish, and to make it more interesting; you can add the discount on the weekend gateway or promo code for the next booking.

This helps in building a loyal customer, which goes a long way, and adding an exclusive offer can reward loyalty.

Flash Sales

Limited offers are also common when it comes to the tourism industry. Travelers are getting into exploring all the possibilities before they book, but still, their decisions are based on discounts and deals.

Abandoned Booking

There is always going to be a chance that some customers will leave the booking in the middle.

This can be due to any reason, and that’s why you should send the reminder email along with the booking information and link so they can easily go back where they left.

To make this tempting, you can add special discounts so they don’t have second thoughts.

Post Booking And Before Traveling

Once a traveler books their trips, this should not be the end of the relationship.

And this might be an opportunity for widows to send information about their trips.

You need to keep in contact, and sending reminder emails can improve the relationship. It can be an additional service, but it will help them.

However, make sure you are keeping the numbers in mind and have all the information about booking. It can also include upselling and cross-selling options.

Availability And Price Alerts

Well, in the tourism industry,  the prices and availability keep changing and for the customer doing the research takes time/

So you can send them emails about alerting them to the changes and availability in the flight, accommodation, and train.

You can also suggest to them the alternatives.

Here this fluctuation also gives a sense of urgency which makes them book their trip.

List Of Tips For Successful Travel Email Marketing Campaign

Understanding the importance of email marketing and the role it plays in the travel industry is the first step that leads to developing the email marketing strategy of the brand.

However, to make it effective, here are the tips that can help.

Start With A Warm Welcome To Travelers

When your traveler signs up for your email, you need to roll out the red carpet, which means you should send the welcome email along with a warm greeting as well as information.

This should encourage the subscriber to learn more about the brand.

You can also automate your welcome emails, which trigger when subscribers get the inbox, and it follows the signup.

According to research, welcome emails which are sent in real-time have more than 88% open rate and a 29% click-through rate. 

This is slightly higher than having the welcome email, which is sent in batches. Here the open rates are 52%, and click-through which are 12%.

Make Sure To Provide The Inspiration To Travel

There are so many places that people want to visit, and travelers need inspiration.

According to Virtuoso Luxe Report in 2016, it shows there are more travelers who are into finding areas or non-touristy locales.

With this, you need to create and send emails that have exotic places that people can visit.

Also, add images to the emails, as it will get the attention and give ideas regarding the places.

Add The Gift Ideas On Holidays

During the holidays, you can send ideas for traveling. People always look for something new and great gift, so you can encourage them to think of the gift-giving box

You can add the gift ideas to the holiday email address, and this can help in improving the open rates too.

Keep Your Ideas And Deals Personalized

While you send the email along with the travel destination, it can be a great start, but you can add personalized to the email.

A personalized email makes it more relevant to your subscribers; it also gets a high chance of opening and clicking.

To make your email personalized, you need to get information about the subscribers or use data that you can get from third-party apps, including e-commerce apps, booking apps, and CRM.

With all the information you get, it will help you in getting more insight into the customer.

You get more ability to provide offers and customize options to travelers.

Include Testimonials In Your Emails

Travelers will not just book the trips just by getting the affordable trip; they will also read the reviews.

According to TripAdvisor research, 99% of travelers across the world say that their decisions are influenced by the reviews they read online.

Since they are dependent on testimonials and reviews, you can help by creating an email that includes different testimonials from the customers.

Encourage Them to join Loyalty Program.

When it comes loyalty, it’s difficult to achieve, especially when it’s related to the travel industry.

Travelers do the search to get the best deals instead of sticking with one specific brand.

However, you can offer the reward program as it will help in encouraging repeat business.

Not just that, it helps in getting loyal customers too.

According to Accenture, it shows that loyalty program members generated 12 to 18% more revenue as compared to non-members in 2016.

Opportunity For The Spontaneity

According to the research done by Expedia,  there are around 45 days that travelers take to book their vacation.

However, not all travelers are looking to invest their time in planning. Also, they need something spontaneous and exciting, and this can help them. 

Some travelers look for spontaneity, and you can offer trips that they can’t resist. There are different opportunities you can offer that add spontaneity to the trip.

Give Them The Incentives For Traveling

After attracting the subscribers to get the loyalty programs, you can send them emails about the specific niches.

You can also consider doing the segmentation the list and dividing it into small groups. It can be distributed depending on their location, buying behavior, and popular destination.

When you do the segmentation, it helps in providing the ideas that are relevant to their travels. And you can add incentives that can help encourage you to take action.

Make The Access To Experience Hassle-Free

Travels are not just looking for a destination but also for experience.

That’s why you are required to promote the activities which are valuable for them. Here you don’t just focus on the destination, focus on the journey, and it can help in creating a memorable experience for the customer.

For example, don’t just do the promotion on rates on rooms; promote the services which are available, and you can appeal to the customers.

Offer The Deals Which Are Time Limited

According to Google, there are around 76 % of business travelers and 70% of leisure who book their deals because of the price.

Since the price is a property, you should send emails to subscribers and offer them the chance to plan their trips at a good price.

You can show them the deals by adding a time limit on your offers.

The tight deadline helps encourage travelers to take fast action.

It creates a sense of urgency which improves the result.

What Are The Travel Email Examples To Inspire From?

Email marketing has become an important part of the business, including the travel industry.

Different companies and agencies are using this to boost their sales, improving relationships with customers, and many more.

Here are some of the examples that you can consider for your next campaign.

Airbnb

Airbnb is one of the companies that always looks for the subscriber experience, and recent emails have a scrolling carousel where they have all the expressions, which is amazing.

They use bold and compatible subj lines, keep their style clean, and focus on improving the relationship with customers.

JetBlue

The next one is Jetblue which outperforms its competitors, as they have emails that are conversational copy, scrollable, and mobile responsive.

This one is more clever, as they have all the options centered on one theme. It can be a trip to a travel destination where a passport is not needed.

They keep their message focused and offer services to help travelers.

Koloa Landing

One of the beautiful and stunning welcome emails, Koloa landing, has impressive examples.

They are not just good In terms of appearance but strategy too.

The email is strict, so the subscribers feel the trigger to join. Also, they ask them to introduce television by setting their preferences.

Jetsetter

Jetsetter is an example of how you can keep the email simple, and yet it will be successful.

They minimize distraction by simplifying; here,  they choose a destination that appeals without any fuss and a collection of tiles.

They lower the friction so the subscribers can take action as well as visit the website.

This also has many clear instructions, which helps the new subscriber to know what and where they will get information.

The Clymb

This is one of the points which you should keep in mind when you design the email; it’s using the visual to lead.

The beautiful photos work as an asset and help in getting attention from the subscribers.

Make sure you use high quality which has emotion and inspiration to take action, just like The Clymb does.

Hipmunk

Hipmunk has its own distant voice and brand; they reflect when they send the welcome email.

It contains a funny drawing that helps in getting the core message without reading everything.

They add the humerus CTA button too, which makes it easier for the audience.

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