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A simple little tool to shorten long url's

14/3/2018

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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/
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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.
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A little story about a wedding in Italy.. and how to get more direct bookings

6/9/2017

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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!

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5 Email marketing tips that may surprise you! (part 1)

20/7/2017

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Jessi, the office dog!

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.
Click to register for the Tourism Marketing Bootcamp 26 July 2017!
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!)
Click for more info on the Tourism Marketing Bootcamp!

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How to make your email signature (you!) really memorable

5/5/2017

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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:
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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!
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What content types should you create?l

24/3/2016

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Last week, I posted an article with content ideas for your website, blog, newsletters etc.

This week, I found a great infographic outlining the types of content you could create. It's about understanding the different options to communicate with your customers, the cost, their effectiveness etc. Quality and relevant content will drive traffic to your website and is a great way to communicate and build relationships with your target markets.

Click on the image to the right to enlarge! Have a look what type of content is most relevant to your business.

Have a Happy Easter! Till next week, Marijke

Coming up: Tourism Marketing Bootcamp: a full day covering every aspect of tourism marketing, planning & the latest trends.
20 April 2016 in Queenstown. For more info, go to:
www.smartraining.co.nz/tourism-marketing-bootcamp-april-2016.html


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Newsletter, blog, social media and website update topic ideas

17/3/2016

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We all know how important fresh content on your website, newsletter or social media is. It provides up to date information to your customers and helps keep your website ranking high in search engines. But coming up with ideas of what to write about can be a struggle.

Don’t despair … you’re not the only one! Below are some ideas of topics you could use to update your content.
  • Top 3, Top 5 or Top 10 lists (of whatever you can think of that relates to your product, your area etc.)
  • Promotions/deals
  • Did you know? – list of facts about the area or frequently asked questions about your business
  • Interview with a staff member or customer
  • New photos or videos
  • Tips or how to's
  • Little known facts or factoids
  • Relevant and timely statistics
  • Ask your community - take polls and share results
  • Invite guest authors
  • Case studies
  • Interviews
  • News
  • Opinions
  • Gift ideas
  • Start a competition
  • Upcoming events
  • Funny story

A few more tips:
  • Keep your audience in mind - what would THEY be interested in?
  • Keep your newsletter short with links to your website for more information.
  • Make a list in advance with what you're going to write about in the next 6 months or a year - this will make it a lot easier when it's time to write your newsletter or update your website and social media.
  • Use relevant keywords in your content.

Any more ideas? Do share in the comment box below!

Till next week, Marijke
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20 April 2016:
Tourism
Marketing
Bootcamp
Queenstown
Don't miss it!
Click here for more info!

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1 simple way to get more subscribers to your newsletter or blog

4/3/2016

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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

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4 important email marketing tips & trends!

22/5/2015

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I just got back from a great TRENZ - my 15th! (well, waiting for my flight at Auckland airport at the moment!)

I send wholesalers regular emails newsletters to update them on the products of the Smartourism Marketing Group (www.smartourism.co.nz) and it was great to hear how much they enjoy these updates and find the information useful!

Email marketing can be one of the most effective marketing tools there is.

We are all getting more and more messages into our inbox: emails, newsletters, social media alerts and more. And then there are other communication apps such as WhatsApp, Viber, and Skype.

Ok, so how can you get your email recipients to read your messages?

Here is the latest:

Mobile friendly
Almost 50% of emails are opened on mobile devices. So it is important that your e-newsletter is easy to read on mobile devices.

Keep it short!
Keep your message short so it’s easy for people to quickly read it and respond where needed.
When sending an e-newsletter, the easiest way is to have an intro, then a link to more detailed information. This will also enable you to monitor how many people read it, which is very valuable information!

Personalise it!
If your message is personalised (like the emails you receive from me!), they are likely to be opened 6 times more than without their name.

Make it relevant!

Ensure the message you send is relevant to the person reading it. If it’s not, they tend to delete it. If you have a large database, you could split it in different target groups and tailor your message to their needs.

If you need help with your email marketing, contact us! marijke@strategiesmarketing.co.nz

Have a great weekend & till next week!

Marijke

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Check out these email newsletter tips!

15/4/2015

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I found this great little infographic online. It talks about email marketing myths. If you are using email marketing as a tool, do check out these tips - some useful & interesting ones!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE INFOGRAPHIC!

Till next week, Marijke


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The secret to increasing click throughs in your email campaigns

14/8/2014

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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
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4 Tips to get people to open your email (or email newsletter)

19/3/2014

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If you use email as a marketing tool, then read these tips!

13/11/2013

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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
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Weekly Marketing Tip 12 Sept 2013 Stay in touch, but not too much! (how to avoid people unsubscribing)

13/9/2013

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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
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Strategies Marketing Consultancy Ltd
PO Box 30
Queenstown, 9348
New Zealand
info@strategiesmarketing.co.nz
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