3 Basic Steps to Writing and Sending the Best Emails
Email marketing is a strong tool to have in your hotel marketing strategy, and making sure you have established the right timing so your guests are getting the right emails at the right time is an important start. Once you have this, the next step in the email delivery process is to create meaningful, relevant content. To help you become an even better pro, we’re sharing three fundamental steps about when to send and how to draft great emails so your guests will love seeing your hotel in their inbox.
Timing is Everything in Email Marketing
First, decide when you want to send the email. Deciding when is sometimes common sense – such as planning Valentine’s Day promotions well in advance to make sure they are delivered in January, then sending a follow-up email post-Valentine’s Day. Check-in and check-out dates, holidays, and stay dates are a few factors to think about in regards to timing.
Also, use your vault of customer data to choose the optimal time to send out emails. Filter categories such as transaction data or social activity to target customers and tailor emails they receive based on their purchasing habits. It’s important to leverage customer data to make hotel email marketing more effective so you’re sending the right email at the right time of the customer journey.
How Often Should I Email?
Now that you’ve decided when you want to email, figure out how often it should happen. There’s a fine line between too much and just enough, so finding that balance is key. Most importantly, send an email only when you have an impactful message and you know (based on guest data) that your guests will be interested. Again, leverage your guest data to understand their behavior and deliver emails around their past travel schedule. Testing and analyzing your email marketing efforts will help you learn the best frequency for your guests.
Investing Time to Create Good Email Content
After creating a strategy for optimal email delivery, the next step is to figure out what you want your email to say. Writing a great email is probably the most intimidating part of the email marketing process, so take the time to draft a fantastic message that says exactly what your guests want and need to hear based on information you’ve gathered from them in the past. This is the content that needs to appeal to your guests enough for them to purchase an upgrade or book a stay at your hotel. Follow these rules of thumb to make sure your message is effective and enticing:
- A relevant, meaningful message: This is one of the most important, if not the most important, part of your email body. The message must mean something to your guest.
- A compelling subject line: This is one of the first things they will see from your email; make sure it grabs their attention immediately. Personalize it with their name or a special offer you know they will appreciate.
- Engaging body text: Once the recipient is in the email, the body of the email should be exciting and engaging.
- Use of visual content: Images and colors play important roles in how well your email performs. These deliverability components also play a part in relaying your brand image to the recipient.
- A clear call to action (CTA): After all, this email is being sent to ignite action. Make sure the CTA button is easy to read and prominent in the email.
One common aspect of each step is data. Data plays a large factor in the success of email marketing because it gives you the advantage of understanding your guests on a more intimate level so you are able to create messages they want to see. Take a look at the Top Performing Pre-Arrival Upsell Campaigns for some content generation inspiration.
Use both Revinate Marketing and Surveys to gather data and integrate helpful details for a data-driven email marketing automation solution that saves hoteliers time and money. Focus your efforts on making your guests feel welcome, and we’ll take care of the rest. To get started with Revinate Marketing, click here for a demo.
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