How to make your emails work harder.

(Email-A-Palooza, Part Two)

There’s a lot we can say about how to make emails more effective. Here is some of it.


On beyond emails. If someone clicks your email, don’t just dump them out onto your home page or booking engine. After all, they are saying “tell me more.” So tell ‘em more.

We like the idea of taking them to a landing page that expands on your message. It’s also a gateway to get them to poke around the site itself. You know “as long as I’m here . . ."

The subject counts. People read things that interest them. Sometimes it happens to be an email. So make your subject line interesting and intriguing. It’s like the headline of your ad. Remember, you’re competing for attention with everybody from Home Depot to HBO Max to local pizza shops and every “your rich uncle died” scammer who ever lived.

Creativity counts, too. This should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway. When you do send out that “third night free” email, make it creative. Differentiate yourself right here, right now. Again, people read what interests them. You watch Super Bowl commercials, right?

Have a reason to be. Although your emails – like everything else you say about yourself – should reflect your Brand and what is unique about you, please don’t send out emails that just sort of say “we’re a hotel in town.” That’s like mumbling. Give your readers a reason to go a little further, like to your website. A little urgency never hurt, either.

Do it and do it and do it some more. You don’t want to send anybody too many emails too often unless your goal is to see how many people you can get to opt out and how fast. But you do want to do it on a regular basis. Again, (we never get tired of saying this) your email is advertising, and advertising works best when you do it on a consistent basis.

Here comes the self-serving part. The best way to accomplish all this – and more – is to hire a professional creative firm to do your emails for you. A "digital marketing firm” that has a complex email delivery program is more of a tech firm than a creative firm. Their delivery systems are usually top-notch, but they’re also not usually in the creativity business.

And “creativity is the last unfair advantage we're legally allowed to take over our competitors.” 

Even in emails.

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