Ideas & knowhow
Tools
Are you normal?
I’ve been asked several questions this week, all with a common theme: comparisons.
What’s a normal level of direct bookings for an accommodation provider?
What sort of level of repeat bookings should I aim for?
What would be a usual bounce rate on Google?
How are bookings looking for everyone else over the next few months?
Are others experiencing a higher than usual level of cancellations?
How good is my social media compared to others?
I’ll answer each of these in a little more detail l…
Google Adwords to raise the profile of your business
I very rarely recommend paying for advertising. It's worth getting every other aspect of your marketing right before you start paying for ad space, particularly as it's so hard to judge how effective it is. But sometimes you need results quickly.
Google Adwords is different to traditional advertising. It's a really useful and cost-effective tool, whether you want to raise your profile or attract some last-minute bookings.
Most advertising costs a lot, and you won't have a clue whether some on…
What's the right image size?
Images are often the very first thing that people notice when they scroll through your social media.
Impactful images can make a big difference, but each social media channel has different image size requirements. While we might have got used to the idea that we need square images for Instagram, not everyone recognises the power of a long vertical image on Pinterest.
Social media channels change their image requirements quite frequently so it can be hard to keep track of which channel needs w…
Words and phrases to avoid in your marketing
Everyone wants to find a way to promote their business as cheaply and effectively as possible. You probably want to make your website, social media, mailings more effective without spending anything?
The answer is to stand out, or stand for something. Staying neutral and being vanilla might not create enemies but it will make people yawn. I'm not talking about your decorating style here, but the words you use. Words are the cheapest form of promotion you have so it's worth getting them right. …
The best tools to get results from mailings
I often recommend direct mail as one of the most effective, lowest cost marketing methods to build your business. It's a simple thing to do: send out carefully written mailings to people who have opted in to receive your updates. if you do it by email, it's incredibly cheap, practically free.
Once your list grows larger than about 50 people, it becomes necessary to use a mailing service provider such as Mailchimp or Mailerlite. If you just send out bulk mailings using your usual email system, …