Tools

One easy thing you might have forgotten to do…

I get a LOT of emails from tourism businesses. Many small businesses use gmail, hotmail and other email addresses instead of using their domain name (e.g. susan@tourismnetwork.co.uk).

While there’s nothing wrong with doing this, it could be having a small impact on your business. It’s not always obvious which business you’re writing from because the email address doesn’t mention the business name. Quite a lot of non-domain name email addresses get…

Ever feel some things are just too big to deal with?

You know it’s important but it just feels too big to tackle? Sometimes it’s something like redecorating – you know it needs doing but can’t face all the upheaval. Or you’ve got a new phone and know it’s got all kinds of clever functions but there’s never a good time to learn what to do. Climate change is a whole other level of daunting. What can one person do that’s ever going to make any difference?

Whatever the daunting challenge you’re f…

Would you like visitors to recommend your business? To write positive reviews about it? To really spread the word about what you do? 

If you do a good job, there's a strong chance people will tell others. They may even do so on social media, potentially informing hundreds or even thousands more people. 

But there's only a chance they'll do that. it's likely, but not guaranteed. 

What if you could increase the chance? To make it more likely that people will remember you and actively want to te…

I’ve been asked several questions this week, all with a common theme: comparisons.

What’s a normal level of direct bookings for an accommodation provider?

What sort of level of repeat bookings should I aim for? 

What would be a usual bounce rate on Google?

How are bookings looking for everyone else over the next few months?

Are others experiencing a higher than usual level of cancellations?

How good is my social media compared to others?

I’ll answer each of these in a little more detail l…

I very rarely recommend paying for advertising. It's worth getting every other aspect of your marketing right before you start paying for ad space, particularly as it's so hard to judge how effective it is. But sometimes you need results quickly.

Google Adwords is different to traditional advertising. It's a really useful and cost-effective tool, whether you want to raise your profile or attract some last-minute bookings. 

Most advertising costs a lot, and you won't have a clue whether some on…

Images are often the very first thing that people notice when they scroll through your social media.

Impactful images can make a big difference, but each social media channel has different image size requirements. While we might have got used to the idea that we need square images for Instagram, not everyone recognises the power of a long vertical image on Pinterest. 

Social media channels change their image requirements quite frequently so it can be hard to keep track of which channel needs w…

Everyone wants to find a way to promote their business as cheaply and effectively as possible. You probably want to make your website, social media, mailings more effective without spending anything? 

The answer is to stand out, or stand for something. Staying neutral and being vanilla might not create enemies but it will make people yawn. I'm not talking about your decorating style here, but the words you use. Words are the cheapest form of promotion you have so it's worth getting them right. …

I often recommend direct mail as one of the most effective, lowest cost marketing methods to build your business. It's a simple thing to do: send out carefully written mailings to people who have opted in to receive your updates. if you do it by email, it's incredibly cheap, practically free. 

Once your list grows larger than about 50 people, it becomes necessary to use a mailing service provider such as Mailchimp or Mailerlite. If you just send out bulk mailings using your usual email system, …