How To Create An Unforgettable Lead Magnet (incl. Lead Magnet Ideas) For Your Travel Business

It’s hard to ignore the benefits of inbound marketing.

Because it’s value-adding for your audience, they are much more receptive to hearing and engaging with your travel brand.

But, drawing in traffic to your website is only half of it. If you’re not collecting your web visitor’s contact information, you’re missing out on the opportunity to convert leads to clients.

All it takes is a strategically placed CTA or opt-in form on your website to capture the person’s details.

When you do get their information, it’s given voluntarily. This means that there’s a great chance these travelers really want to hear from you and find out what you have to offer.

It’s marketing gold.

So, how do you get to this point?

We’ve put together a how-to guide with ideas to help you create an unforgettable lead magnet for your travel business.

What Is A Lead Magnet?

A lead magnet is a free digital resource or incentive that you offer your existing or potential clients in exchange for their contact details.

It could be a destination guide, packing checklist, virtual tour replay, or downloadable sheet with travel tips… the options are endless.

The key here is for the lead magnet to offer undeniable value to your target audience. It has to be persuasive and powerful in its value proposition.

When a traveler is willing to hand over their personal information in exchange for it, you get one step closer to kickstarting a relationship that could land you with new clients.

The Traveler’s Conversion Path: How To Create A Lead Magnet

Your website visitors follow a conversion path when they submit their information and become potential sales leads.

It is the journey they take from the moment they discover your downloadable lead magnet to the communication they receive post-download.

To turn your website or page into a lead generating machine for your travel business, you need to:

1. Design An Opt-In Or Call To Action Box

Start with a well-designed, strategically positioned call to action (CTA) or opt-in box.

This will grab your audience’s attention and provide a button for them to click on before receiving the advertised resource.

It could be a pop-up on your website or on your social media channels, a CTA in an email, or a short form to fill out on a webpage.

2. Create The Perfect Landing Page

Once your audience clicks on the CTA or opt-in box, you need to direct them to a landing page automatically.

This is where they will submit their email address and any other information you want to collect. Outline how you will use and store their data, then stick to this promise.

Expert Tip: Keep this step simple and just ask for the essential information you need. You might scare away prospects with lengthy forms or seemingly over-detailed information requests.

3. Direct Visitors To A Post-Download Thank You Page

After submitting the required information, direct your audience to a thank you page.

This can be where they download their free resource. Or it should highlight what's next; for example, ask the person to check their inbox where the resource will be sent to.

Try to automate this solution so that the person doesn’t have to wait to receive or download the lead magnet.

4. Firm Up The Connection With A Follow-Up Email

Once the exchange has been made, it’s critical to keep up the momentum and stay in touch with your potential new clients.

Send out a follow-up email to ask if they enjoyed the resource. Use the opportunity to kickstart a conversation and start building up the relationship.

Use Software To Automate Workflows & Emails

Email and marketing software applications are designed to simplify your efforts and increase the effectiveness of your lead magnet.

For example, they can perform actions such as create new contacts, segment email lists, and send auto-response emails.

If you are a WeTravel Pro Plan customer, the Zapier integration will help to streamline this. Simply connect your dashboard to thousands of other apps, including Constant Contact and MailChimp, to automate workflows and keep relationships moving forward.

Six Lead Magnet Ideas For Travel Businesses

When it comes to travel, there is an endless supply of inspiration to create unique, refreshing, and highly valuable lead magnets for your target audience.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

Destination Guide

As a travel business, you are privy to all sorts of insider destination information that travelers cannot access elsewhere.

Get your team to design a digital guide that showcases places to visit and stay at, must-do activities, and popular local restaurants that travelers shouldn’t miss.

Destination Calendar

A destination calendar could display the yearly weather guide to the location and the best times of year to visit. You could also cover seasonal foods, parades, festivals, and sporting events travelers may be interested in.

Top Travel & Safety Tips

You may be encountering first-time travelers or people who are simply nervous about traveling, for example, as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Take the time to design a thoughtful mini-ebook or PDF with valuable tips for anyone considering a trip in the near future.

Travel Survey or Quiz

A fun format (which doubles up as research) that your audience may enjoy engaging with is to take a travel survey.

Survey topics can range from "where should you travel to next?" or "which destination fits your budget?" You can ask a line of questions that offer multiple choice answers to the participant.

Then, send the respondents suggestions based on their answers once they've signed up for your lead magnet.

Targeted Trip Ideas

Create a downloadable PDF full of trip ideas to suit your target audience and business offering.

Make sure it’s full of exciting suggestions and is highly relevant to the particular segment, for example, best luxury family trips in 2021, bucket list trips for the adventure traveler, and so on.

Packing and Priorities Checklist

A packing checklist is a valuable resource your audience will appreciate. Most travelers dread forgetting essential tools for their travel, and you can provide them with an inventory that is both convenient and reusable.

These checklists can vary from luxury, adventure, business, or family vacations.

Final Thoughts

You know how effective inbound marketing can be for building relationships with an audience. Make sure that you grab the attention of your web visitors with an unforgettable lead magnet. With a strategic opt-in or download to collect their information, you can nurture would-be clients along their purchase journey and turn leads into clients.