There’s a debate that rages on in the travel agent community: whether or not to charge a service/planning fee. No, not a deposit. A non-refundable fee to compensate for the research, skill, and expertise that goes into planning travel. It’s probably not a surprise that I am Team Fee. But … I work with a lot of agents who still feel nervous about charging a service fee, or about introducing a new fee when they’ve been operating without one for a long time. If charging a service fee—and actually sticking … read more
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Work Smarter in Your Travel Business with This Time Management Trick
Being a copywriter is a lot like being a travel agent. We’re both selling our expertise. More than that, though, we’re both selling our TIME. Once we max out on time, we max out on how many clients we can take on, and … we max out on how much money we can bring in. (It’s just too bad they haven’t invented a cloning machine for busy business owners yet, huh?). That’s why one of my BIG goals for this year is to get a whole lot better at time … read more
5 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Leads From Your Travel Agent Website
In my last blog post, I revealed the biggest reason why most travel agents are not getting leads from their websites: They’re simply not sending enough traffic to their websites. Now maybe that’s not you. Or maybe, you took that message to heart and are planning out a traffic-building strategy for the rest of the year. Which means—now it’s time to make sure your website is ready to welcome your new visitors! Because it doesn’t matter how many folks actually land on your website if your copy is a total … read more
The Big Fat Travel Agent Website Lie
“If you build it, they will come.” ^^^That may work for Kevin Costner … but it doesn’t work for websites. Which, yeah, is a HUGE bummer! Because more and more, a personalized website is being sold as an absolute must for travel agents. Heck, I’ve said that too. A website is a must. The problem is that websites are all too often being sold as a cure-all. A silver-bullet solution to finding more travel clients. That’s a big fat lie. Here’s the truth: Your travel agent website isn’t magic. You’re not … read more
The Question Most Travel Agents Ask Themselves Before They Write Their IFOs—and Why It’s Wrong
Quick question: Do you have an IFO? Otherwise known as an opt-in offer, freebie, free download, etc, an IFO (which stands for irresistible free offer) is simply a piece of content you give away for free in exchange for someone’s email address. Then, you can add their email address to your list and start marketing to them! Your IFO may take the shape of a free pdf guide or report, or even a free video series you’ve recorded. Now I’ve come across a lot of IFOs from travel agents. Some good, and … read more
Where to Find (Free!) Photos to Use in Your Travel Agent Marketing
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Now as a copywriter, I’d say “they” are overemphasizing the importance of visuals by just a little bit. Okay, maybe by a lot. But even I agree that a web page without any photos is a webpage I’m probably not going to spend a lot of time on. That’s especially true of travel agent websites, since travel is such a visual medium. Pretty pics of palm-studded beaches and cobblestone streets DO make a difference! Plus, breaking up your blog posts and other online … read more
The #1 Trick to Getting Your Travel Agent Website Visitors to “Click”
This past October, I was speaking on stage at the International Travel Agent Forum, when I showed this slide: Yes, that is just a giant picture of a lizard. No, I wasn’t trying to scare my audience, or test them to see how many were still paying attention … I promise—this lizard actually relates to getting more travel clients. How? Well, my presentation was all about the easiest ways travel pros can increase conversions on their websites—a.k.a. turn more web visitors into real, live travel leads. And one of the easier, … read more
Take Your Vitamins: 7 Ways to Keep Your Travel Agent Website Healthy
How “healthy” is your travel agent website? Is it operating at full steam or just sputtering along? There are a lot of ways to answer that question. If you’re tech savvy, you could check your Google Analytics to see how long folks are staying on your website (if they’re “x”-ing out after 8 seconds, for example, your website’s got a bad case of can’t-keep-’em-around-itis). Even if you never set up Google Analytics, you probably have a pretty good idea of how healthy your website is. Just think about the leads … read more
The Specificity Test: Does Your Travel Agent Website Pass?
Recently, I hosted an online training called the Foolproof Travel Agent Website. I’d never hosted a training like this before, so a shout out to all the travel pros who joined me on the training to make it a success! (And who ensured I wasn’t just teaching to my mom … HA!). One thing I talked about on the training was how and why you should be specific in your web copy. Because specificity sells. And I’m not just talking about specifically listing your specialties or niches on your website. … read more
The Snowball Effect: How To Conquer Content and Social Media for Your Travel Agency
It’s January, my friends. The time when you make resolutions, buy all the planners, and pump yourself up for your BEST.YEAR.YET. And I believe you can do it! But …. If your resolutions include finally sending out an e-newsletter, finally blogging, finally getting and staying active on social media, finally growing your list with an opt-in offer/IFO … I’m afraid you’re going to get burnt out before we even make it out of the winter doldrums. Because that’s a lot of content. And there’s only one of you. Math may not be my strong suit, but even I … read more
