The Travel Copywriter

Tourism, Hospitality and Hotel Copywriting

The Essential Selling Point Missing from Your Travel Copywriting

define your travel USP
Jack of many trades, but master of one: your travel USP

You’re a businessperson – a hotel manager, a travel agency owner, a restauranteur. Chances are, you’re familiar with the term USP, aka unique selling proposition or unique selling point. Your USP is your competitive advantage or winning difference. It’s what makes your travel business stand out from the competition: it’s that special something that makes you, you. It fulfills your guests’ emotional needs.

Your slogans, headlines and taglines – all that witty, fun stuff we spend so much time creating – are all secondary to your USP. Simply put, your USP defines the direction and flow of your website and marketing materials. Your USP is the heart and soul of your business.

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7 Reasons Why You Absolutely, Positively Need a Travel Business Blog

the power of business travel blogging
How will you connect with your guests?

We can summarize this entire post in just one sentence: Your travel company needs a business blog.

But why? I know you need reasons. Proof. Statistics. Because realistically, starting (or growing) a travel blog represents an investment of time, energy and resources. To be effective, you should blog at least once a week. You must commit to producing well-written posts with illustrative photos. Don’t let the casual environment of travel blogging fool you: this is something you have to do right. Your company’s blog is customer relations, networking, and your public face, all rolled into one.

Still need convincing? The facts speak for themselves. Here are 7 convincing reasons why you absolutely, positively need a travel business blog:

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4 Tired Travel Clichés that are Killing Your Sales (and What to Say Instead)

These drinks are much more than colorful. What would you say?
These drinks are much more than colorful. What would you say?

Take a trip back in time… to the most beautiful place in the world… a breathtaking gem from a bygone era. In this land of contrasts… where yesteryear meets modern day… there’s something for everyone. Rich cultural heritage… beautiful views… blah blah blah…

SNORE. I have another one for you: pass me the barf bag, I’m going to be sick. We hear these travel writing clichés ad nauseum, and yet travel writers still use them. You might even find them – gasp! – scattered throughout your website copy or blog posts.

But here’s the hard truth: the quickest route to a boring, uninspired website is, of course, boring, uninspired content. Lackluster descriptions and repetitive copy; superlative everything and regrettable clichés – they’re killing your copy. And they’re robbing you of bookings, of guests, and of revenue.

You may think you’re using strong adjectives and illuminating imagery, but if the rest of the Internet – and his mother, brother-in-law and great-grandmother – also use those phrases, they’re too overused to be descriptive. You don’t need to become the next great travel writer, but you do need to describe your offerings and benefits. Clichés disappear. Your readers don’t even see them. They don’t register. Because when you’ve heard that a billion things are spectacular, nothing really is.

Check out these four travel clichés to avoid – and their better alternatives:

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Travel Copywriting & Tourism Marketing Roundup (July 18)

travel copywriting & tourism marketing blog roundup
Great advice, this way!
Do you remember back in kindergarten, when your teacher used to dole out life lessons like tiny appetizers – small, sweet and easy to digest? Some of it was fluff, but other things hold true decades later, like the Golden Rule, don’t shove, and lead by example. The first two are definitely lessons to live by, but we’re going to talk about the third today. Instead of my normal roundup, I’d like to point you to five excellent examples of travel copywriting (business blog posts) and five great examples of tourism marketing. May they inspire you to write well and innovate.

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Travel Copywriting & Tourism Marketing Roundup (July 11)

travel copywriting & tourism marketing blog roundup
Great advice, this way!
I should have titled this post, “10 Things the Tourism Industry Wants You to Know About Building Relationships and Getting Bookings.” For the sake of consistency, I’ll stick with my regular format. But you should know that headlines are important – 90% increased response important! Other great tidbits from industry leaders this week include tips on creating un-shitty blog content, taking advantage of Google’s travel-friendly marketing options, thriving after Google Panda, and evolving trends in hospitality technologies.

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