I am very picky when it comes to newsletters. I subscribe to many but read only a few.
The major reason I don’t read most of the newsletters is that they are either IRRELEVANT or BORING.
When I subscribe to a newsletter, I expect it to be beneficial in one way or the other. So, if I no longer bother about your newsletter then the problem is at your end. Maybe the information is bland, the content is lacking or I am not your relevant audience. It could be anything.
I am sorry if this sounds rude. But it is what it is!
Now, hotels are no exception when it comes to these types of scenarios. I am sure many properties must be putting in hours of effort in their email marketing and newsletter but not getting any results.
Are there any solutions to this? Of course, yes!
Is it something difficult to pull? Absolutely, not!
So, if you’re a hotelier or a hotel marketer looking to improve your newsletter game, then you’re at the right place.
Let’s unlearn, relearn, and master the art of hotel newsletter marketing.
Table of Content
What is a Hotel Newsletter?
A hotel newsletter is an email that contains updates about a business’s products and services, and the latest trends/news from the hospitality industry.
To put it simply, it provides the audience with relevant information about the business and the industry.
Why Newsletter is an Important Strategy for Hotels?
Before I move on to tell you ‘the importance of newsletter for hotels’, I want to address a myth upfront.
Numerous hotels believe that newsletter marketing is nothing but a waste of time, effort, and money. Reason? Same as what I said above — because they are boring.
The reality is — Yes, newsletters could be boring and promotional. But they are not outdated.
I know, social media is changing the way businesses market, but that doesn’t mean it has pushed newsletters out from the scene.
Accept it or not, a newsletter is a prominent element of hotel marketing and branding.
Now, let me address the main topic.
Newsletters help your audience gain a better understanding and knowledge of your brand. And in turn, you can build strong relationships with your existing as well as potential guests.
But there’s an obstacle that is keeping hotels away from all the benefits. And that is their broken approach towards it.
All you need to do is change the way you create your newsletter.
If you have been trying supremely hard to make a sale through your email newsletter marketing, then I am sorry, it’s not going to work. You need to deliver value; through information or something that your audience would love reading.
And that requires a concisely built strategy, which I am going to explain in the next section.
How Can Hotels Up Their Newsletter Game?
To help you understand how to write a hotel newsletter, I have divided this part into various phases. Each phase talks about a certain aspect of a hotel’s newsletter marketing strategy.
Phase 1: Email list or database
Build an email list
Building an email list is the first and foremost thing you need to do when you are working on the newsletter marketing strategy.
If you don’t have an email list, you don’t have an audience.
Therefore, start collecting email addresses from visitors or users of your hotel website.
Further, if you already have an email list, make sure you refine it. What I mean by refining is that you take out emails that are junk or the ones that have unsubscribed.
You can set your own parameters and filter out contacts that are of no use to you or vice versa.
Implement guest segmentation for your email list
Guest segmentation is a magical method to get maximum benefits out of your marketing campaigns.
And it would be great if you could implement this in your email list as well.
Guest segmentation in an email list is about sorting it into segments based on what you know about each user. It enables you to personalize your guests’ experience.
You now can send the right newsletter to the right user.
Meaning, now your newsletter subscribers who are enthusiastic about trekking will get information regarding trekking and other related services and products.
Set up “subscribe to our newsletter” CTAs in relevant places
I am sure almost all of you have seen “subscribe to our newsletter” pop-ups on almost every type of website. And it is there for a reason.
This call-to-action (CTA) is what helps you build that email list. When you have this CTA in all the relevant places on your website, the chances of people signing up to receive your newsletter increase.
Therefore, ensure you invest enough time to understand where the CTA is going to work the best and do the needful.
Phase 2: Content creation
Brainstorm topics
This, I believe, is one of the most substantial aspects of a hotel email newsletter. Hospitality businesses need to be finicky about the type of content they produce and deliver.
Constantly explore and brainstorm topics that your audience is interested in reading.
Create content that delivers value
Next up, do not create content just for the sake of it. The content you produce speaks volumes about your brand and vision.
Make sure every piece of content you create is in-depth and delivers immense value to the reader.
Simply put, your content has to be so informative and detailed that your reader doesn’t have to look anywhere else.
Be consistent with your content creation
Content consistency is one of the keys to newsletter marketing. Of course, content quality matters, but topping it up with consistency is also important.
Be it social media or blogging, you need to be consistent with content quantity, quality, tone, style, and time of publishing.
Moreover, when you maintain consistency, you not only provide a better experience to your readers but also build credibility, reputation, and trust.
How? Because most of the content would get shared through your newsletter. And readers are certain to check and notice all the nitty-gritty details.
Phase 3: Strategizing your newsletter structure
One big concern in this entire scenario is what to include in a hotel email newsletter.
You cannot simply add random blogs or other pieces of content to your newsletter and shoot it across.
Nope! That’s not how it’s done.
If you want your hotel email newsletter to be irresistible (have clients open, read, and learn from it), then you need to take the right approach.
Firstly, keep the newsletter focused on a single subject or topic. And only then start adding content to it.
Further, when you’re putting content, do not overdo it. You have to keep your newsletter short, simple, sweet, and to the point.
Few more things to keep in mind
- If you don’t want your readers to go “Ah, I’ll read it later!” or “Why did I even subscribe to this newsletter?”, then have an intriguing subject line.
- I have said this above and I am saying it again, DO NOT MAKE YOUR HOTEL NEWSLETTER LOOK LIKE ONE BIG ADVERTISEMENT.
- When you write the newsletter content, set the right tone. What I mean by that is you must make your readers believe that you’re an expert in the field.
- A call to action is an imperative element of a newsletter. Split the body of your hotel email newsletter into sections. Now, strategically place 1 or 2 CTAs that redirect the reader to your website.
Phase 4: Picking the right hotel email marketing software
Now that you have learned about almost all the aspects of a hotel newsletter lifecycle, the next step is choosing the right email marketing tool or newsletter software to support your efforts.
If you’re wondering whether email marketing tools or newsletter software are the same, then the answer is a NO.
A newsletter software lets you design, create, and send email newsletters, manage your subscribers, track performance, etc. On the other hand, hotel email marketing software does almost all the job of a newsletter tool + every aspect of email marketing.
That’s why I suggest you focus more on email marketing tools.
Do your research on features, pricing, and availability, and see which email marketing software suits your needs the best.
Here are the ones I prefer:
Phase 5: Designing the newsletter
You may work day in and day out on your newsletter strategy. Be it building your email list, structuring the newsletter, creating content, or picking the right tool. But if your newsletter design isn’t intriguing, your contacts will certainly move on to their next email.
Worst still, they might even unsubscribe to your newsletter.
Your hotel newsletter must have an attention-grabbing design. Now, I don’t want you to go all fancy and add all sorts of abstract art and elements. Rather, design your newsletter in such a way that it offers a pleasant reading experience.
Most email marketing tools allow you to use hotel newsletter templates. But if you want to go the extra mile, you can design your newsletter, convert it into HTML code and use it.
Conclusion
Hotel newsletter marketing is without a doubt one of the best ways to connect with existing as well as potential guests.
Creating a hotel email newsletter is no rocket science; however, many hoteliers fail to pull it off successfully. The main reason behind this is the lack of a robust strategy.
If you Google “hotel email newsletter ideas” the results are certainly going to overwhelm you. And this doesn’t have to be a hustle. This is why I bring you this in-depth article on how to write a hotel newsletter.
The points mentioned here are legitimate and sure to drive results. Follow them religiously and you’ll definitely see significant differences.
