Email marketing continues to be a highly effective method of reaching out to your clients, especially when you consider that most people admit to checking their email at least once a day if not more.
What this means is, when you get more email subscribers, you effectively increase the number of eyes on your travel business. Your email list is a potential income generator in the sense that it is reaching an interested audience, a fact that is signaled by the opt-in action performed by the person.
So how do you convince someone to sign up with their personal details so that you can market to them in between website visits? Read on for our 10 tips to get more email subscribers for your travel website.
Get More Email Subscribers For Your Travel Website Using These 10 Tips
1. Highlight The Value Gained From Subscribing
Naturally, in order for people to opt-in to receive email marketing communication from your travel brand, they must feel like they are benefiting from the action. With this in mind, offer up a short explanation of the value that a person can expect to receive when signing up.
For example, let them know that they are signing up to receive the latest deals on tours in a specific destination directly to their inbox.
2. Make Sure That The Opt-In Is Accessible
This may include placing the form or button in several locations on your website so that visitors are easily lead to the option instead of having to search for it. You want people to spot it immediately no matter the page they are on.
Some obvious choices would be to place the Call To Action (CTA) in the sidebar, below your blog posts, in the site footer, or on your about page.
3. Drive Subscribers With A Lead-Magnet
A great piece of well-written, insightful content such as an ebook, free guide, checklist, templates, webinars etc. can be used as a lead magnet to encourage people to sign up.
The rule is that the content should be useful to your audience in order to entice them to share their email address with you. What you want to be doing is to create an invaluable resource that helps your audience solve a particular problem.
As an example, you could put together a free ultimate guide ebook on a destination that your travel company is promoting. In order to get access to the ultimate guide, travelers need to sign up with their email address and after that, will receive the content in their inbox.
4. Use Content Upgrades
Content upgrades function in a similar fashion to a lead magnet but are more specific or targeted. In order to use these effectively, you have to have a good idea of your audience’s needs.
Typically, content upgrades are placed within a specific blog post and offer even better value to the person reading it, taking the information supplied up to the next level. Again, they appear as an opt-in sign-up, accessible once an email address is provided.
As an example, a blog piece that provides tips for female travelers booking group trips in Asia might offer a content upgrade that provides a list of the best places to take cooking classes in a specific city. The CTA button for the opt-in would appear within the blog piece so that the option is presented while the reader is already immersed in the topic.
Basically, content upgrades are put together as a natural progression in the reading process. In order to get more email subscribers, they should offer the next logical step to the reader.
5. Try Out An Exit Pop Up
An exit popup can help to increase your conversion rate for email sign-ups. In simple terms, the pop up will appear as soon as someone signals intent your leave your website.
It helps to create a pop up that grabs attention. Remind travelers who are about to leave your website of the value they will gain by signing up with their email address. Mention the lead magnet to make the proposition even more enticing.
6. Optimize Your CTA Button
Your CTA button is the physical key to getting more email subscribers. Make sure that it is optimized to look the part and the message you put across is clear.
To make it visually appealing, try out a rounded and prominent CTA button. Pay attention to the text you use too, make sure it is concise and compelling enough to convert the website visitors to subscribers.
When it comes to the amount of information that you request from a person prior to sign up, keep it down to a minimum. All you are really after is a person’s email address. Ask for too much information which requires more than the minimum effort and you may discourage them from continuing to sign up.
7. Display Social Proof To Build Trust
This proof may come in various forms, be it client testimonials or logos of brands that you have worked with in the past. Use these to your advantage by displaying them prominently on your website.
They do not necessarily need to appear on your CTA, they simply need to be easily seen so as to solidify your reputation. After all, people seek reassurance of quality and a proven track record. It builds trust and lets travelers know that they are making the right decision by sharing their details with you.
8. Insert Social Sharing Buttons Into Your Email Newsletter
Add social sharing buttons to your outgoing marketing emails to allow your subscribers to easily distribute your content across their own social media networks.
This will improve your visibility online, and help to not only get more email subscribers but also increase the number of followers on the different platforms.
9. Remind Your Subscribers That They Can Opt Out At Any Time
Sound somewhat counter-intuitive to you? The truth is though, this indicates to people that you believe your content will add enough value to their lives that they won’t need to unsubscribe.
It also gives them a greater feeling of control over how their information is used once they have handed it over to your travel company.
10. Remove Some Of The Clutter
How many widgets or CTA buttons do you have on your website sidebar or in your blog articles? How can you encourage people to take the one action you want them to perform if they have too much clutter around them?
Make it clear that the desired action you want them to take is to enter an email address to receive valuable marketing material.
Summary
Once people are on your website, they are primed to receive information. You simply need to send the right prompts to encourage them to sign up to receive your marketing materials. As you get more email subscribers, your website traffic increases, as will your chance to convert leads into sales for your travel business.
