Sending  your customers a long link, such as a google map location, doesn't look very user-friendly. 
For example:
www.google.co.nz/maps/place/1+Ballarat+St,+Queenstown+9300/@-45.0327461,168.6583389,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0xa9d51d8136d4fbad:0xf9434d5b68db6127!8m2!3d-45.0327461!4d168.6605276?hl=en .

Another example of a long url is a link to your Tripadvisor review page . Sending this link to your customers to encourage reviews is a great idea, but the long link looks terrible.

But don't despair! It's very simple little tool to  shorten your url.

It’s called the Google URL shortener. Just go to: https://goo.gl/

Cut and paste the long URL in the box and click SHORTEN URL. The shortened URL is now: www.goo.gl/SJaKVv   ​. That looks a lot better, doesn't it!

​Till next week, Marijke.

Three years ago, my sister and brother in law attended a wedding in Lecce, Southern Italy. The whole wedding party stayed in the same hotel.

Once back home, the hotel sent out email newsletters to their client database (incl. my sister) every few months.

Last month, my sister and her husband took the kids on holiday to Southern Italy. And guess where they stayed? In the same hotel. And they booked direct!

Do you think they would have stayed there if this hotel hadn’t stayed in touch with them? Definitely not. They would have looked on booking sites for the best deal and probably wouldn’t have remembered the hotel as they have stayed in so many other places in the last few years.

Are you losing too much business to Online Travel Agencies or your competition? Then it's time to learn how to grow your direct bookings and sales through email marketing.
Email is still the best way to get your message to customers and prospects. Email marketing yields an average ROI of 4300%, which is much higher than any other marketing method.
Did you know that an email message is 5 times more likely to be seen than a Facebook message?
I have used email marketing successfully for my clients and my own business over the last 16 years and have now developed these new courses (Starting with Mailchimp and Advanced Mailchimp). These courses are approved by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and 50% funding is available for qualifying businesses.
The first series will be held in Queenstown and Te Anau in October 2017.  
Click here for more information!

If you’re using email marketing regularly, you will know that it’s a highly effective tool to keep in touch with your customers.
In this 2-part series about email marketing, you’ll find out some great tips that will help you increase your open and click through rates. Here we go:

Tip 1: Red click through links draw more clicks than blue links.

Tip 2: A call to action button draws more clicks than a text link. Use a button for your most important call to action.

Tip 3: Make it easy for people to subscribe – just first name and email address is usually enough. If you want more information so you can segment your list in a better way to provide a more personalised message, do keep the info you request of your subscribers to a minimum.
Add subscription buttons to your website and on social media.

Tip 4: Personalised subject lines result in higher click through rates. Hi John, ...

Tip 5: Images and videos increase open and click through rates considerably. Do use a great pic to draw people in! Make a habit of taking photos yourself – easily done on your smartphone – and use these original pics! See my pic of Jessi above :)!

Registrations closing soon!
Are you ready to take your business to the next level and upskill?
Then don't miss the 1-day NEW:
"Tourism Marketing Bootcamp - Grow your business" 26 July 2017 in Queenstown, NZ.
(NOTE: 50% NZTE funding for qualifying businesses!)

The other day I received an email from a tourism wholesaler. His email signature was personal, fun and memorable, so I thought I'd share this idea with you.
With the number of emails we send and receive, you want to stand out so people remember you, right? Your email signature can be a great little marketing tool!

I've changed the actual details, but you get the idea:

Adding your company logo and a photo of yourself are also ways to make your email signature more personal.
So, have a think about the "ABOUT ME" section that could be fun and of interest to your contacts!

Till next week, Marijke

COMING UP: Grow your tourism business - 1 day course
7 June 2017: Alexandra, NZ
15 June 2017: Queenstown, NZ
Click here for more info!

Do you write a regular newsletter or blog to your customers? If not, you may think of doing so as it’s a great way to keep in touch with past, current and potential customers.

As you may be aware, I have written a Weekly Marketing Tip for the last seven years.
Over the last six months or so, I have done something that is increasing my mailing list steadily. It’s very simple and doesn’t require any extra effort on my part.

Do you want to know what it is? It's a pop-up box! And it works. They say a 600% increase in subscription rate, but this is probably different for everyone.

I have one on this website and it appears 5 seconds after someone opens the site for the first time. As a result, I get new subscribers every week!

It's that simple!

Have a great weekend!
Marijke

Do you send out email campaigns or newsletters to your customers? What you want is for them to read your news or deals and click through to your website.

But as your customers get more and more emails in their inbox, it has become harder to get them to read your message.

If you want a solid increase in click through rates, then have a look at this little video!

Click here to learn more about the FREE 2-hour tourism marketing workshop:
Effective ways to grow your international visitor numbers! 
(4 Sept 2014 in Lumsden and 5 Sept in Invercargill) -

Till next week! Marijke

Do you send out email campaigns or email newsletters?
I found this cool infographic online and thought you might find some interesting facts in it!
Take note of the things that apply to you and use them next time you're sending out an email campaign!
Till next week, Marijke

PS: I'm looking for a black Labrador puppy (female): if you know if any litters, let me know!: marijke@strategiesmarketing.co.nz

I recently attended a business and marketing conference in the US. There were some amazing speakers and I got a lot out of it.

The speakers were obviously given the database of conference attendees and a number of them have started to send me their e-newsletters.

One of them sends me a lot of emails, almost daily in fact. It is interesting (about social media) but it’s just too much. I can’t handle that much information every day. I just don’t have the time!
So I’ve unsubscribed...

Do you have a database of (potential) customers you keep in this with?  If so, good for you! Great even! I do encourage you keep in touch with them. But make sure you don’t overload them with information.

There is no rule of how often you should send your
customers an e-newsletter. That depends on the amount of information you provide, how often your clients may buy from you and the type of business you have.

You may get daily emails from ‘deals websites’ that
provide daily specials. And you may be fine with that. Or a quarterly update with specials from a resort you’ve visited in the past. That’s ok too.

But if this resort started emailing you daily or even weekly, you may find this annoying and you decide to unsubscribe.
So, to ensure the people on the database don’t unsubscribe and get more people to subscribe, ensure that you:

• Provide relevant information to your subscribers


• Don’t overload them with information (less is usually more – you can always
  provide a snippet with a link to more information)


• Ask them how often they’d like to receive your e-news (if you’re not
  sure)


• Test! Try sending e-newsletters more or less frequently and see what
  happens.


• Check the statistics of your newsletter: the open and click rates. This will
  give you an indication of how many people actually read your newsletter


• Plan your e-newsletter schedule and make it a regular event. If people
  subscribe to your e-newsletter, they are interested in what you have to say and
  expect to be sent something!
  

This “Weekly Marketing Tip” is sent to you once a week. I only send you 1 tip that you can quickly read it and use in your business.  I try not to overload you with information.

Till next week! Marijke