The Travel Copywriter

Tourism, Hospitality and Hotel Copywriting

Just Launched: Facebook Group for Travel Copywriting & Content Marketing

travel copywriting facebook group
This group is for you. Yes, you!

Want more bookings? Then, this Facebook group is for you.

Yes, you – for all you small-business owners in travel & hospitality. For the hotels, the vacation rentals, the travel & tour agencies, and all you other tourism and hospitality businesses that want to fill your calendars.

This is for everyone who wants to grow a business through a better website, better copy, and better content marketing.

For anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by all the you-musts and you-shoulds of building, maintaining, and growing your own website.

This group is dedicated to all things travel copywriting and travel content marketing – from creating killer calls-to-action and writing for organic (unpaid) SEO goals, to sending more effective email marketing campaigns and blogging for bookings.

Ask questions. Share challenges. Revel in your successes.

Because this group is for you.

The Importance of Travel Reviews (and How to Respond to Negative Reviews)

infographic on the importance of hotel reviews

In the travel industry, we all know the importance of reviews: An unsurprising 93% of travelers use online reviews in making their booking decisions.

No reviews mean you probably won’t get reservations. (Study says: 53% of travelers won’t book a place that has zero reviews.) Bad reviews can mean you won’t get reservations. Even four-star reviews can cause a traveler to pause.

And yet, five-star reviews are hard to get, aren’t they?

 

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Travel Calls-to-Action (CTAs): 9 Best Practices and 6 Examples

effective travel call-to-action

Do your website and blog inspire travelers to trust, remember and interact with your brand?

If your answer is “I don’t know” (or worse, “no”), then Houston, we have a problem.

The good news: There’s an easy solution to that problem. And that solution is to deploy powerful, engaging travel calls-to-action throughout your website.

This post will walk you through the what, why, and how of the travel call-to-action, or travel CTA. Because, while they may sound like marketing-speak, in practice, calls-to-action are very straightforward: they simply guide travelers to whatever action they should take next. Think of a CTA as your final instruction to website visitors – an instruction you present in the form of a button or a link, such as Sign Up, Download Now, Leave a Comment, Contact Us, or Read More.

What is a Travel Call-to-Action?

Now that we have the basic definition down, let’s get a little more specific; let’s talk about tourism. In hospitality, a travel call-to-action provides direction to, well, travelers. (Shocking, right?)

But really, that’s as complicated as it gets. The sole purpose of a travel CTA is to help travelers do what they already want to do.

They’re already interested in your destination, your inn, your itinerary, your vacation rental, your fill-in-the-blank. So, if they’re looking for more information about your bed & breakfast, then your CTA should direct them to more information about your bed & breakfast. If they’re hunting down great travel advice for your area, then your travel call-to-action should link to your downloadable travel guide. Etc. etc.

From there, it’s up to your messaging and travel bookings funnel (aka “the buyer journey”) to do the rest: How does interest in your destination, become interest in your inn, become a confirmed booking? Your calls-to-action are an important part of the equation.

So, back to the topic at hand. Common travel industry CTAs include Book Now, Check Availability, Reserve, Inquire, and similar terminology. (More on that later.) For now, my point is simple: Strong, well-planned travel calls-to-action are your direct path to converting website visitors into booked travelers.

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Travel Copywriting & Marketing Roundup (June 20)

They’re baaaack! (I hope you just read that in a Poltergeist II voice.)

Yes, The Travel Copywriter blog and my bi-weekly blog roundups – that’d be, travel copywriting and marketing tips, advice, and insights from around the blogosphere – are back in action. And I’m pretty stoked about it.

It’s been a busy few years for me, and while I haven’t been blogging, I have been listening. I’ve been keeping up-to-date with the latest copywriting, SEO, marketing, and other related happenings in the travel industry.

That’s why I know it can be overwhelming. There are simply so many experts out there, with so much free (and wonderful) advice, that it’d be a full-time job just to read it all. So, that’s the idea behind these roundups: If you don’t have time to read it all, just hang with me. 

Every two weeks, I’ll post a quick roundup of my favorite recent reads: copywriting, marketing, SEO, and other stuff important to the travel industry. I won’t link-bait you; there will always be enough info to determine whether you want to click for more information. And I’ll keep it short and sweet, with just a short summary for each article, followed by my thoughts (but only if necessary).

Now, let’s get to it:

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Travel Copywriting & Tourism Marketing Roundup: May 2, 2014

travel copywriting & tourism marketing blog roundup
Vacation rental copywriting & content marketing, this way!

Can you believe it’s already May? Here in Costa Rica, for more than 100 years the country has celebrated the coming of May – my favorite month! – with an official holiday: Labor Day (el Día del Trabajador). For most, it’s simply a day off of work – a thank you for a year’s worth of jobs well done.

So in the spirit of Labor Day, no matter where you live or when you celebrate the day officially, I congratulate you on your hard work and perseverance. Building a better website, writing enticing blog posts, and creating a stronger, more effective travel marketing strategy isn’t easy. My hat is off to those who dedicate their days to these pursuits!

Happy Labor Day!

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