Hotel Email Marketing Campaign – Hotel Newsletters Tips and Creation

Getting the Most Out of an Email Marketing Campaign

Hotel management companies have a wide range of responsibilities. They must handle daily operations, deal with the financial side of the business and have an effective marketing strategy. Focusing on just one medium such as print ads or television commercials is not enough in today’s highly competitive lodging industry. While your total advertising budget might be limited, a portion of it should be devoted to creating an effective email marketing campaign.

A recent joint study between the Nielsen Company in the United States and the German advertising agency RAPP found that the two most important elements in any direct mail campaign, including email, is to make a good first impression and to target the recipient in a personal way. The study showed that emails that do not follow these two principals are more likely to be ignored or quickly discarded.

Email marketing is not the same as a regular email you might send to a friend or business associate. When properly designed, they will rouse the curiosity of the intended target and increase the probability that your electronic mailing will be opened. Good email design is particularly relevant to the hotel and hospitality industry. Adding some images of a tropical island and a special room rate is bound to pique a recipient’s interest.

Currently, online marketers use open rates, bounce rates and click through rates to measure the effectiveness of their email advertising. Open rates are a ratio of the total emails sent to the total actually clicked on and opened (read?). Bounce rates are the ones that never get opened or can not be delivered for some technical reason. Click through rates represent the percentage of people who open the mailing and then click on at least one link in that email.

While bounce rates and click through rates are useful pieces of information to have, the really important metric is the open rate. There are a number of steps you can take to increase your open rate.

Pay careful attention to the Subject Line. This is the short string of words a person sees when they check their mailbox. The Subject Line should be very catchy. Keep it short – between 5 and 8 words works best. Make sure it does not contain any words that are frequently used in spam. Stay away from “free” and “act now” avoid using all capital letters and do not use multiple exclamation points or periods.

Most people are very hesitant to open an email from a stranger. Always use the same “From Name” so the recipient will be familiar with the source of the mailing. Company names carry more credibility than personal names.

If possible, personalize the email by using the recipient’s name. If you have a large mailing list, further personalize it by dividing it into distinct categories. You do not want to send a message about the fine perfumes or women’s shoes you have for sale to a man.

When you send out emails can make a real difference in the number of opens you get. It is not easy to figure out the ideal time or particular day of the week when your mailings are most likely to be opened. The best way to approach this matter is through experience.

You can send out multiple mailings at several different times of the day or on different days of the week and then monitor the open rate. Through repetition, you will get a good idea whether your emails are more effective on a Friday evening, Saturday afternoon or early Monday morning.

We recommend that you use “Constant Contact” for the creation and sending your newsletters…

Feel free to browse our blog for more tips and information about online hotel marketing strategy, you can also contact our marketing team directly for further details…
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