Email marketing - how to improve enewsletter open rates

Below are some simple tips on how you can improve email marketing opening rates.

From field and email address
Send your email from a recognisable 'from' email address and person. If your recipients don't recognise your email or person it's coming from, they will delete it or report it as spam. We recommend sending the enewsletters from a name, followed by your company name, eg Bob Smith | ABC Company.

Attention grabbing subject line
Your email recipients will scan a subject line to determine whether it's relevant or of interest to them. You can test subject lines to determine what holds the most interest for your email subscribers. Avoid using words or symbols (such as multiple exclamation marks), as this may trigger spam filters.

Ask to be added to your subscribers' address book
Some email providers will automatically send your emails to the spam/junk folder if your email address is not included in the address book or trusted senders list. To avoid your email being sent to the junk folder, ask your email subscribers to add your email to their address book.

Send emails to people who genuinely want to receive your email
Check your sign-up process. Does it clearly state that they will receive emails from you?

Improve email deliverability
One way to improve email deliverability is to remove any recipients who have complained from your mailing list. Delete bounced emails (wrong email addresses) from your list and improve your reputation.

For more tips on email marketing, speak to TA Fastrack today on 1300 659 289 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Increase website conversion with these easy tips

The first thing you need to look at is getting a professionally designed website. First impressions count and a well designed website with SEO in mind will help with your conversions.

Some of the things you should look at to help improve website conversion include:

Improve the content
Content is king, especially for search engines, but how much information should you include? We recommend that you should at least provide enough information about your products and services for your customers to make an informed and immediate purchase decision.

Customers hate having to dig around and scroll down the page for additional information. They may even become frustrated if they have to email you to find out more about your hotel. If you are leaving out product information, you are losing conversions.

Use SEO tactics when creating content for your site. That means, you should spend some time researching your relevant keywords, properly adding these keywords to your webpage title, indexing your webpages, and providing relevant content on your various site pages. Be sure to also include some relevant keywords within the content for search engine optimisation. Include detailed product information and prices for your services if necessary.

If you leave too much to the imagination, you will lose potential customers who cannot be bothered looking through your website.

2. Strong calls to action and easy to find contact information
The best placement for your contact information is at the top of the page, above the fold. Use bright, bold text to make your call to action stand out and ensure it is easy to read.

Your call to action and contact info should be on every landing page so customers don't have to spend time trying to find out how to reach you to make a purchase. Invite your customers to call or email you, or add an enquiry form so they can contact you easily.

An important call to action is your book now button. Have your book now button on ever webpage so customers don't have to hunt around the website for it and keep it near the top above the fold, so it directs people to book immediately with you.

3. Website design
Is your website visually cluttered and overflowing with too much information? Or is your website designed poorly with low resolution logos, images and no information?

First impressions count. Make sure your website stands out with a clean, user-friendly layout. Your website should give visitors the feeling that you are a respectable, trustworthy company.

If you need a new website design, speak to a marketing consultant at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Responding to online negative reviews

Here are some stats for you to consider on why it's important to respond to negative reviews online:

• According to PhoCusWright, 87% of travellers found guest reviews from people they didn’t know influential in their travel decision
• Online reviews are second only to personal advice from a friend as the driver of purchase decisions
• 86% of Australians trust consumer recommendations, while only 14% of people trust advertisements
• 74% agree (including 14% who strongly agree) that they choose companies and brands based on what others say online about their customer service experiences
• 92% of travellers are more likely to book accommodations that post a detailed property description and photos. Travellers want to see the value they are getting for their money

Below are some of our tips on how you can respond to negative reviews and preserve your good online reputation.

DO

1. Get senior management involved in the process and get them to reply directly to the reviewer.
2. Try to respond within 24 hours of the review. This shows that you are listening and you care.
3. Thank the reviewer for their feedback to show that you are listening and you are taking this seriously.
4. Apologize that the stay did not go as planned.
5. Be transparent.
6. Point out to the reviewer that this is a rarity when compared with your regular customer service.
7. Explain what you will be doing based on their feedback. For example, your personal email or phone number so they can contact you directly, you have spoken to the department responsible, you are fixing the leaking sink etc.
8. Highlight any positive aspects that the reviewer left.
9. Offer a direct line of communication (your email, phone number).
10. Fix the problem if there is one.
11. Let the guest know you will share his/her feedback with the relevant staff/department to show you are doing something about it and you care about their feedback.
12. Show some personality. You can be more informal and to the point in your replies, but still always professional.

You can also

• Write an article on your blog to let everyone know how proactive you are being
• Write a press release about any significant changes made to your hotel/rooms due to feedback from customers, eg installation of double-glazed windows because of the noise etc.

DON’T

1. Ignore negative reviews and think they will go away. If you don’t respond in a timely manner, other people will think you don’t care, or the reviews are true, which will impact directly on your profit.
2. Write a response back to the reviewer when you’re angry.
3. Write a robot-like response or standard reply
4. Question the reviewer’s legitimacy.
5. Reply with a discount. This will only encourage other negative reviews.
6. Respond insincerely or sarcastically.
7. Try to remove negative reviews (most websites do not allow this anyway).
8. Forget to respond to positive reviews (only responding to negative ones can make you look defensive).
9. Write fake reviews (you will be found out).
10. Offer compensation as it might only encourage more complaints.
11. Avoid humour and especially sarcasm and never be defensive, petty or condescending.

In summary,

• Respond to the review as quickly as possible (within 24 hours)
• Thank the reviewer for their feedback
• Apologize for any legitimate negative experience
• Address the positive points first, then the negatives
• Maintain a conversational and professional tone - it's ok to be informal. You don't need to write a corporate/robot-like reply
• Explain the steps you’ll take or you have taken to prevent the incident from happening again
• Allow the guest to contact you offline if a follow-up discussion is needed
• Avoid angry, abusive responses – or any type of personal attack
• Try to win over the reviewer and reassure other travellers, eg encourage the reviewer to come back again
• Avoid only replying with a discount or coupon as this may indirectly encourage more complaints
• Avoid corporate speak that contains no meaningful information

Speak to TA Fastrack today if you need assistance with optimising your Tripadvisor listing by calling 1300 659 289 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Why should you use social media?

Here are some reasons why you need to get started with social media marketing today for your business.

• It's free! Yes, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs etc are all free to set up.
• It's popular. There are about 750 million active users on Facebook, with about 50% of them going online every day. In Australia and New Zealand, there are over 13 million users altogether. Research shows that nearly 2 in 5 Australians online are now interacting with companies via social networking sites.
• It's not just for the kids. Most facebook users are female and are aged between 18-24 (25%) and 25-35 (23%) years of age. The 25 years + segment accounts for approximately 30% of all online users and is according to Nielsen Online, the fastest growing segment.
• Social media allows you to be personal. It makes it feel like a customer is interacting with a real human and not a corporation.
• Social media lets you stay in front of your customers and remain top of mind with them.
• It's a two-way communication tool. Twitter and Facebook lets you interact and engage with your fans. You can answer their questions and respond personally to their feedback almost immediately.
• Facebook pages are now being searched and indexed by search engines - great for rankings
• You can use social media to cross-promote with other marketing channels and extend your reach far beyond what was possible previously. You can now reach friends of your online fans at little to no cost, where it was almost impossible to do so previously.
• Social media is everywhere. People can check their facebook page wherever they are with the help of their mobile phones

For help getting started on social media, speak to one of the social media marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Start using Twitter for your business

What is Twitter?
Twitter is a useful communication tool that allows people to interact with other people from around the world. It is usually referred to as a 'micro-blogging' service, which means you can post short updates which are limited to 140 characters or fewer. This makes it very compatible with mobile devices and text messaging as it allows the user to keep the updates short. It also allows the end user to receive rapid-fire and concise information immediately.

How can you user Twitter?
Twitter can be used to:

• Develop and promote your business and brand
• Interact with your online fans
• Track what people are saying about your business, brand, products and services
• Create buzz around an event
• Promote other content you've created, such as blog posts, website articles, tips, specials etc
• Develop relationships with your fans
• Generate sales leads
• Drive traffic back to your website

Signing up for a Twitter Account

• Your username is very important as it is what people will refer to you on Twitter and how people will find you.
• You can user your full name, a variation of your name, your company name or a combination of your name and industry to use as your twitter username.
• We don't recommend that you use a random username. No one will know it's you and you will have lost a branding opportunity for you and your business. We also don't recommend using numbers in your username, as it may not seem professional.
• Make sure you personalise your profile page with a photo - for example, your logo
• Don't forget to fill out the bio information, such as the description, website URL and specialisations
• Customise your twitter background with your brand.

Start Tweeting now!

• You can tweet about what you're doing now, what events you're attending, share a link to an interesting news article, add a link to your company blog or latest special

Follow other people

• Use Twitter's 'who to follow' feature and start following other companies, brands, or interesting people relevant to your business and industry
• See if any of your favourite thought leaders or bloggers are on Twitter and follow them
• Don't follow hundreds of people at once and remove all who don't follow you back. It is artificial network building and not a best practice

How to get people to follow you on Twitter

• Add a twitter icon and the link to your profile page on your email signature and on the website
• Include a twitter feed on your facebook page
• If your tweets are relevant and useful, you will find that other people will follow you
• Avoid using Twitter only as a promotional tool. Mix it up with interesting links to news articles, industry updates, events in the area etc

If you would like more information on how you can get started on Twitter or for advice on social media marketing, speak to TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

How to use LinkedIn to increase sales

1. 1.Use LinkedIn Answers - This is where anyone who has a question about business goes to for advice. Be seen as the expert in your field when you answer a question in LinkedIn Answers
2. Use LinkedIn Applications - This is where you go to add new and interesting apps that will improve the experience people have on your LinkedIn page. For example, you can add your blog post to your LinkedIn page, or set up polls to find out what's on your customers' minds
3. Use LinkedIn Groups - Join various groups on LinkedIn that will help you grow your business. Join groups where you think people might be able to use your services. For example if you are a marketing expert, join groups outside of your industry, such as an entrepreneurs group, or a small business owners group.
4.  LinkedIn people - this is great for sales people or people looking for jobs who want to get their foot in the door of a large company. Eg you could ask your network or friends through LinkedIn to introduce you to someone at your target company.
5.  LinkedIn Ads - Use ads on LinkedIn to drive new customers to your page or website. It works the same way as a Google Adword, where you simply write a headline, add some text copy and create a destination link at the bottom to direct the person to a URL. You then bid on how much you want to pay for each click.
6.  LinkedIn Mobile - it's now available as an app on your mobile and it works best when you're a trade show or at an event. For example, when you're having a conversation with a potential customer, ask them if they have LinkedIn on their mobile and to turn it on. Bump your phones lightly together and LinkedIn will transfer your contact information between the two phones using Bluetooth. Instant transfer without the need to type in the name. Easy!

Internet marketing tips for your website

1. Website Design

• Make sure your website design loads quickly - check your hosting to ensure that servers are based locally and it's reliable (low down-time)
• Check that your website loads up properly in all major browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari etc
• Make it easy for search engine crawlers and humans to navigate through and find the information and pages they want quickly and easily
• Check for spelling and grammatical errors
• Carefully select website colours. For example, light font colours on a dark background can be hard to read and hard on the eyes
• Make it easy for customers to contact you or book directly with you
• Have a strong call to action - direct people to call or book immediately
• Include a sitemap and text links to all webpages in the footer - this is good for SEO and makes it easy for people to find the page they want straight away

2. Content is King

• Write good quality and unique content for each webpage
• Include keywords within the content
• Break up text with bullet points and headings
• Use fonts that are easy to read, such as Arial or Verdana
• Keep font sizes no smaller than 10, otherwise it's hard to read
• Don't write sentences all in capital letters as it's hard to read
• Check for spelling and grammatical errors

3. Search Engine Optimisation

• Use heading tags within your webpages, such as H1, H2 or H3 near the top of the webpages
• Include your primary keywords in the first paragraph of your content, but don't keyword stuff it
• Use alt or image tags
• Include keywords within your title tags and description tags. Make sure it's unique for each webpage
• Create keyword rich URLs for each webpage. For example, instead of rooms.html, call it holiday-apartments-gold-coast.html
• Try to avoid using flash, as search engine spiders cannot read them and they don't show up when someone views your website on a mobile
• Check that all links are working

Ensure that your website follows the above and you are on your way to improving your search engine ranking. If you need a new website or need help with search engine optimisation, speak to one of the website marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 1300 659 289 or visit our website on www.tafastrack.com.au for details.