With a return on investment (ROI) of $36:$1 and the ability to market directly to guests who are already interested in your property, hotel email marketing should be your best friend.
To get you started, the following sections will teach you everything you need to know about running a successful email marketing campaign for your hotel.
Types of emails to send
An email marketing campaign is made up of a series of emails. Each of these emails serves a different purpose. Here are the different types of emails that you should consider sending:
Welcome email
When someone first signs up for your mailing list, they need to receive a welcome email. This email should quickly say hello, introduce yourself, and tell them what they can expect in following emails.
This is the preferred method because it starts you off on the right foot. By assuring the recipient that you won’t spam their inbox, you will have a lower unsubscribe rate.
This email shouldn’t try to sell anything. Give the prospective customer enough time to settle in before trying to sell something to them.
Invitation to connect
A few days after the welcome email, you should send an invitation to connect. This email should have links to your hotel’s social media accounts and different places that the customer can find you.
The message of this email is simple: You want the recipient to know where else they can connect with you.
By connecting across multiple platforms, you’re building loyalty and trust with that person. You’re also building your brand’s awareness and making the lead feel closer to your business.
They’ll also be more exposed to your business. They’ll see your posts no matter where they are, making your company that much more familiar.
Monthly hotel newsletter
Every month you should aim to send out a single newsletter. This is the bread and butter of your email marketing campaign.
Your hotel newsletter should include things like:
- Your promotions for this month
- Availability for the coming month
- Any note-worthy events
- What recipients can expect in the coming month
- Any big news or updates from your company
This newsletter can be a little longer than the previous types of emails, but you should still keep it short.
Promotional emails
As opposed to a monthly newsletter, a promotional email focuses on one big promotion. This could be discounted room rates, a special guest coming to your venue, or big upgrades that you are rolling out.
This promotional email should link right to your professional hotel website where the customer can learn more.
Before sending out a promotional email, you should determine if the news is big enough. If it’s not huge news, you can save it for your newsletter.
If it’s time-sensitive or it will help with your publicity, it’s a good idea to release it whenever it fits your schedule best.
Tips for your hotel email marketing campaign
There are a few ways that you can optimize your hotel email marketing campaign. These tips will help you optimize your emails and get the best results:
Automate as much as possible
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that automation is your friend. Automated email tools will clear up more time for you to focus on your hotel and you don’t have to waste valuable manpower.
Check out this convenient guide regarding email automation. With relatively little effort, you’ll be able to set up
- Automated series emails
- A segmented mailing list
- Social media posts that are pre-scheduled to match your email timelines
Once you’ve put all the pieces into place, this process will greatly reduce the amount of time and stress that used to be involved in hotel email marketing.
Don’t get too spammy
This is a big problem with some companies — they think that their mailing list wants to hear from them every day. If you keep getting emails that you don’t want, you’ll block that person. The same is true with your email marketing campaign.
If you send daily emails, people might even report your message as spam. If this happens, Gmail will start automatically sending your messages to new leads’ spam inbox. People rarely check their spam inbox, so your emails will simply disappear.
A monthly newsletter with one or two additional emails during the month is plenty.
Mind your timing
Some people get their emails sent to their phone and have a loud notification go off. This prompts them to read the email.
This is bad news for you if you send emails at inconvenient times. Who wants to wake up at 3 a.m. to read a hotel’s newsletter?
Bad timing will obviously upset your mailing list and they’ll all unsubscribe. Try to time your emails to arrive in the morning or afternoon. You don’t want to interrupt a meal or ruin someone’s sleep.
Keep your emails short
It is impossible for you to predict what people are going to be doing when they receive your email. A recipient might be running between meetings or in the middle of a busy day.
Keeping your emails short ensures that more people will read and understand your message. You don’t need to publish a book and send it as an email.
Most people are busy and don’t have time to read a lot of text.
Pictures, short sentences, and short paragraphs
The format of your email also matters. You want eye-catching photos and easy-to-read text. Again, people will be quickly reading through or scanning your message, so you need to hook them quickly.
A short email with a nice picture, short sentences, and links to direct them to more information on your website is the perfect email.
Stick to a single point in each email
Of course, you have a lot to talk about, but this isn’t the right medium to do it. Part of the benefit of sticking to short emails is that it forces you to focus on a single point.
Your email needs to have a purpose. Why are you sending them this email at all?
If you’re bouncing off the wall and promoting 100 different things, it will come across as unprofessional and desperate.
If you’re sending a welcome email, stick to just welcoming the recipient. You don’t need to start selling them your different rooms and showing them how great you are just yet.
Patience is the key with your hotel email marketing. As long as you’re not spammy, the messages are short, and everything is easy to read, your mailing list will stick around. This means that you have time to send out all your different pitches and promotions.
The secret is to do it one at a time.
Conclusion
A strong email marketing campaign can generate a lot of buzz for your company. It’s a quick and low-cost way to make, nurture, and convert leads. It will also generate more money for your hotel and help you achieve your goals.
For a more in-depth look at marketing, check out this free marketing guide for travel and tourism.
