5 TIPS TO INCREASE NEWSLETTER SIGNUPS

Newsletters are an excellent communication tool for the hospitality industry. Yes, you can use social media and phone conversations to communicate with guests, but newsletters remain the best means to truly update and engage them without being intrusive.

You can adopt five brilliant strategies to increase your hotel newsletter sign-ups. Let’s take a look at them.

1. Find MailChimp alternatives

The first option that probably comes to mind when you think of email marketing is probably MailChimp. Why? They’ve been around for a long time, so there’s a natural buzz around it.

However, despite its popularity, MailChimp isn’t the best option for businesses seeking to run effective email campaigns at low costs. For example, MailChimp’s basic plan, that’s $11 per month, is limited to 500 subscribers. If you want more subscribers, you must upgrade your plan at an additional cost, making it an expensive option for businesses planning to save big on email marketing.

In addition, businesses that are new to email marketing may find it challenging to use MailChimp. So, it may not be a great option if you are a newbie and hope to stay consistent. Consider easier, beginner-friendly email marketing tools to facilitate your newsletter campaign. The more seamless your experience is, the easier it is for you to send engaging newsletters to your subscribers consistently.

A straightforward email marketing platform also streamlines the signup process for subscribers, eliminating any hassle and increasing your subscription rate. So, you can explore MailChimp alternatives that support business growth. Then, select an option that aligns with your budget, and offers an intuitive and seamless experience for you and your subscribers.

This move will set up your email marketing for success and attract more subscribers to your newsletter when you do this.

2. Highlight the benefits of signing up for your newsletter

Your guests do not want to do you a favour by subscribing to your newsletter, they are interested in what is in it for them. If you don’t attach an enticing offer or benefit to the sign-up exercise, they won’t be motivated to go through the process, even if they merely have to click a button, or tick a box on your membership form.

So, put your best foot forward and leave your members wanting to sign up by communicating subscription perks. In other words, tell them why they need to sign up. Will they be the first to know about upcoming events and bonuses? Will they have access to exclusive offers? Whatever it is, state it clearly, and don’t leave your guests to figure it out.

In clubs you can do this separately to your membership form. You still need them to tick the box on the form that ensures that have legally agreed to accept your mailouts as members, but you also need to highlight the benefits before they get to the membership form. Either information around the venue, or staff at the sign-up desk need to be proactive here.

Stating the benefits won’t clear up confusion only; it will also create FOMO– the fear of missing out. Your guests never want to be excluded from exciting benefits, so they will be eager to sign-up whenever you ask.

Highlighting value is key to generating more subscribers for your newsletter. Again, your subscribers aren’t interested in what they can do for you. Instead, they are concerned about maximizing all the opportunities being a guest offers. So, give them a mouth-watering offer that convinces them to sign up for your newsletter and gain more clients for your hospitality business.

3. Create a persuasive call-to-action

A clear and compelling call to action is critical to getting more subscribers on your list. Regardless of how convincing your message is, you are less likely to get people to take the desired action with a weak or confusing call to action. In other words, they won’t sign up if they are unsure of what they should do or if they don’t see how beneficial the action is to them.

So, keep your call to action precise, clear, and beneficial to your audience. Make it easy to notice and understand.

Essentially, you must:

• Highlight your call to action to separate it from the rest of your message
• Avoid fluff
• Use a single call-to-action
• Use images or icons to illustrate what you need them to do.

More than 90% of people who read your headline also read your CTA, so make it count. Keep it straightforward and persuasive enough to get them to subscribe after reading it. This will generate more subscribers, allowing you to grow your list exponentially.

4. Use pop-ups

Although pop-ups are often seen as intrusive and salesy, they generate an average conversion rate of 28%. When done right, your visitors won’t see them as unwanted, rather, they will consider them helpful.

Imagine a visitor on your website wondering how to access first-hand information about bookings and upcoming events. Suddenly, they find a pop-up that invites them to join your newsletter for news and updates. In this case, the guest will consider the pop-up relevant to their needs, encouraging them to subscribe.

So, use pop-ups strategically on your website and landing pages. Direct it to visitors interested in learning more about your business or to existing members. Consequently, this will keep the pop-ups relevant to anyone who sees them, increasing your sign-ups.

5. Test and improve

Generating subscribers to your newsletter list is a continuous process. So, you must ensure it drives the right results to build an effective strategy and maximize your marketing efforts.

So, test your campaign to see how successful it is at increasing your sign-ups. Doing this will help you identify any challenges for users and make the best improvements. You will also identify what works and eliminate unnecessary features or bugs that may prevent visitors from signing up for your newsletter.

Use testing tools or conduct consumer surveys to test appropriately. Create multiple landing pages to see which converts better. Ask survey questions that lead you to the challenge you can fix to simplify their experience and fast-track the sign-up process. 

Focus on these areas:

• Call-to-action
• Call-to-action button’s colour
• Opt-in box
• Opt-in box location
• Offerings or benefits

Testing your newsletter’s landing page will expose you to areas that require improvement. Fixing any issues will enhance user experience which will increase your signups and develop your list to drive more leads.

 

 

Source: Adjusted for the club and hotel industry in Australia from an article written by Are Morch >>>> 5 tips to increase hotel newsletter signups – Insights (ehotelier.com)