Brand spankin’ new to selling travel? Make setting up your first website a major priority. Having an effective online presence can help you sell your services, provides you with a platform you can direct interested prospects to, and ensures you come off as a real professional.
Choosing colors, photos, and fonts for your website can be tons of fun…but knowing what to say? That’s a whole other story. Here are 5 essential tips for new advisors that will help you push past your website writers’ block.
1. Clearly identify your ideal client.
Rule #1 in copywriting: when you try to speak to everyone, you end up speaking to no one. Make sure you’re clear about who exactly you serve on your website, so an ideal client perusing your pages knows they’ve landed in the right place.
2. Include a personal bio, not just a company one.
I see this mistake often on newbie advisor websites! If you’ve given your agency a name like, say, Magic Trails Travel, make sure you identify yourself on the About page as the owner/advisor behind the brand. It’s a lot easier for a potential client to feel connected to a person rather than a company, so this is a must for building trust.
3. Get specific – because specificity sells.
Meaning: clearly spell out exactly what types of trips you plan for clients (this becomes way easier if you decide upfront to specialize in a handful of trip types, rather than trying to execute everything under the sun).
4. Separate out your specialties.
To make your website easier to navigate, write individual pages for each of your travel specialties. For a cruise specialist, that may look like having a River Cruises page, an Ocean Cruises page, and an Expedition Cruises page. Separate pages like this allow you to explore the benefits of each type of travel – and why someone should choose you to plan it – in more depth.
5. Provide some proof.
So you’ve painted a beautiful picture in words of what you can do for your clients – but how do you prove you can deliver on your promises? Think through the concrete reasons a traveler should trust you with their vacations and what proof you can provide. This can be trickier for newer advisors, but proof can include client testimonials (even just a couple to start can help), displaying your industry certifications (like those you can earn through The Travel Institute!), or highlighting your own extensive experience with a region or type of travel.
Emily Matras is the owner of Bon Vivant Copy, a copywriting and content marketing studio that helps travel professionals create profitable, sustainable businesses. You can find more of her resources, tips, and website copywriting services for travel advisors at www.bonvivantcopy.com.
