If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Like: that free travel agent website you got when you joined your host agency. “Free” is good, right? Well, not if “free” just gets you freebie seekers, price shoppers, and tire kickers in return. And that’s what most of those free, out-of-the-box travel agent websites attract. Why? I think there are two BIG reasons: 1) These travel agent websites say they are “branded” — but they’re not built around your brand. How could they be, when every agent at the … read more
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How to Use an Online Quiz to Get More Travel Clients
A healthy travel business is a growing travel business. That’s why, even if you have a solid base of repeat clients (but especially if you don’t), it’s so important to be thinking about ways to build your list of leads. No doubt about it, though, this becomes harder to do when you work from home, as many travel pros do today. Instead of relying on foot traffic coming in to your storefront agency — you have to drum up digital traffic online. One of the best ways to do that is with … read more
Your Travel Agency Brand Personality: Making Your Travel Biz Totally Magnetic
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post all about travel agency branding — particularly your travel agency brand personality. Your brand personality is the set of characteristics prescribed to your travel business brand. Developing a magnetic brand personality can help you attract your ideal clients and inject some life into your marketing copy. After all, no one wants to work with a lifeless, boring, corporate-sounding travel company! But how do you decide what your brand personality should be? Well, I know a lot of travel agents work for … read more
How to Make Your Travel Agency Stand Out — And Why You Need To
Quick stats lesson: Did you know there are 105,085 travel agents in the U.S., according to the 2015 Census? And that’s not even counting the number of work-from-home ICs! With stats like that in mind, today I want to talk about what makes you one-in-a-million. Or, at least one-in-one-hundred-thousand 😉 Because when you think about how to get more (and better) travel clients, you not only have to compete with online booking engines. You have to compete with other agents. There are a lot of you out there! So how … read more
How to Nail the Next 3 Months for Your Travel Agency with a Quarterly Business Plan
Last week, I worked on my quarterly business plan. I’d be lost without it, succumbing to shiny object syndrome every single week. My quarterly business plan keeps me FOCUSED, ensuring that I’m always moving toward my goals. (Okay, sometimes I still slip up, but I’ve got my plan printed out and taped right by my desk to help me get back on track). A lot of entrepreneurs break their big goals into quarters like this. You can accomplish a lot in 90 days — but it’s not as overwhelming as … read more
Your Travel Agency Brand: Stand Out by Starting with This 1 Question
There’s a question I always ask my clients before I start working on their new website copy. And, whenever I ask it, there’s almost always a pause on the other end of the phone line. “Wow,” my client says. “That’s a tough one.” Do you want to know what the question is? It’s: “Can you describe your travel agency brand personality in 5 words or fewer?” As a savvy travel entrepreneur, you KNOW you need a niche to stand out in the crowd. It’s been drilled into you that honing … read more
Why Your Website Is Scaring Away Millennial Travel Clients
Millennials. The pesky texting-obsessed, always online, endlessly coddled generation … and the generation that’s increasingly likely to use a travel agent. According to a survey by MMGY Global, millennial families are driving travel, and a huge chunk are looking to turn to travel pros for planning. Yep — the much maligned millennials need your help! So, how can you get millennial travel clients? Well, it starts with knowing what NOT to do. And boy, do I have a story for you. It all started with a text from a friend … The … read more
The Sweet Spot for Travel Agent Blog Posts
Last week, I was on a call with a client (hi, Tamika!) and she asked me a great question: How long should her travel agent blog posts be? She had been doing some research, and some gurus said shorter posts (like 400 words) were the ticket, while others were claiming that mega 2,000 word posts (yikes!) worked best. My answer? You need both. And there are a couple of reasons for that. Reason #1:Mix Up Travel Agent Blog Posts for SEO Success The first has to do with SEO. Blogging … read more
Build Your List of Leads — Without Writing New Copy
Ezines. Ezines. EZINES! You’ve probably been hearing a lot about how important ezines are for your travel business. Sending out an ezine consistently keeps you top of mind with your prospects and clients, so they know exactly who to call when they’re ready to book their next vacation. But. Sending out an ezine is only one part of the equation. Your travel business may sustain itself if you commit to the ezine, but it doesn’t mean you’ll grow. To grow your travel business, you have to grow your ezine list of subscribers. And to … read more
Why You Need Testimonials — and How to Get Them
Yelp, Zagat, Trip Advisor, and the like prove it — social proof is the name of the game. Who buys a product or invests in a service without hearing that someone else has benefited from it first? No one, that’s who (alternate answer: suckers). In fact, nearly two-thirds of consumers read product reviews before deciding to purchase. The short story: testimonials matter. They matter just as much for service providers, like travel agents. In fact, I’d argue that they matter even more, because consumers can’t just “return” a travel experience and get … read more
