D Harris

About D Harris

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List building

What’s a Welcome Sequence and Why Every Travel Agent Needs One

D Harris 0 Comments January 30, 2023

You listen to all the mentors, experts, and travel coaches. You keep hearing this… you need an email list.

It’s the best way to build relationships and make sales. Studies show that people pay attention to their emails much more than they use other channels. Just think about your own life… How often do you open your emails? Daily.. Maybe hourly?

So, there’s no denying it. Building an email list is essential to the growth and success of your travel business. Now that that’s settled, let’s move on to the next point.

If you’re going to build an email list, you’re gonna need……emails.

And the best emails to start with are emails that welcome new subscribers to your list. This type of email series is called a Welcome Sequence.

What is it?

A welcome sequence consists of five to seven emails sent to new subscribers over several days or weeks, depending on what’s best for your business. The goal is to introduce new subscribers to who you are and what you offer as a travel advisor and get them used to and looking forward to hearing from you.

The emails should list all the reasons they should be excited to be part of your community, including valuable content and exclusive offers only available to list members. It’s a great way to attract new travelers and inspire them to book their next trip with you.

What Type of Emails Should You Send?

This varies depending on your business model, target audience, and niche’ but here are some ideas to get you started:

An email delivering your lead magnet or free offer.

If you’re using a lead magnet (learn more about lead magnets here) to attract new subscribers to your list, the first email in your welcome sequence should be the delivery of that offer. This email should be short, sweet, and get to the point of delivering what you promised.

A general welcome to your list

Your second email, or the first, if you don’t need to deliver a lead magnet, should be a general welcome to your list and a thank you for signing up. Make sure to let your reader know what they can expect from you in the future.

An introduction to you and your business.

Another vital part of your welcome sequence is an about me/about your business email. This email is a big step in building know, like, and trust. Talk about yourself, your brand story, and what makes you unique. Include a picture of yourself and list your credentials, awards, or specialties. Anything that will help potential customers get to know you better and remind list members why they signed up in the first place.

In my humble opinion, these three emails are the foundation of any great welcome sequence. From there, you can switch it up and write based on your travel audience

Here are some more options.

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Talk about your services.

In this email, list all the services you offer and explain how each one can help list members reach their travel goals. Make sure to include any unique benefits or special offers that list subscribers will receive for working with you.

Share Your Testimonials.

This is your chance to brag a little. Show off your best testimonials. Show your new subscriber that you know what you’re doing and that you have happy customers who love working with you.

Spotlight your specialty

If you specialize in family getaways, destination weddings, or hosted group trips, now is the time to let your subscribers know. This is how your subscriber will know they’re in the right place.

An invitation to join a community

If you have an online community, like a private Facebook group or closed network, invite them to join. This is a great way to build relationships and offer additional value without any extra effort.

Share Travel Tips

As an industry expert, this is your chance to shine. Share helpful travel tips and valuable information to position yourself as an industry expert.

Promote something:

Do you specialize in honeymoons and romance? Share a link to your calendar for a complimentary consultation. Do you sell out group vacations? Include a link to your upcoming trips. Maybe luxury is your thing. Ask them to request a quote.

Now that you have an idea of what you’re going to write, here are a few tips before you send.

Use personalization tags:

Personalization tags allow you to address your subscriber by their first name and make them feel special. It’s a basic feature with most email providers.

Bonus tip: Make the first name a required field on your sign-up forms to make this work.

Include a Call to Action:

Make sure that each email you write has a clear call to action. Use a link or button to encourage your readers to visit your website, follow you on social, or make a purchase.

All 👏🏾 Emails 👏🏾 Need 👏🏾 A 👏🏾 Call 👏🏾 To 👏🏾 Action!

Use Gifs and Images:

Gifs and images are a great way to add some fun and personality to your emails. Make sure they’re relevant to the message and attract attention. Avoid gifs of controversial figures (good luck with that one) or anything that could be offensive. And be careful not to overdo it.

Keep it short:

Now, this is controversial. Many gurus out there ( and I do not claim to be one) swear by long emails. But for me, that’s a turn-off. I’m busy over here holding my life together with tape and glue most days, so if I open an email and it’s longer than a few paragraphs, I’m out. And I’m guessing most email readers feel the same.

Make it scannable:

Keeping with the thought process of people are busy.. Readers also don’t want to have to fight to find the information they’re looking for. Use headings and bulleted lists to make it easier for them to read and see what they need. If you don’t, their notifications will go off, their kids will cry, or a shiny object will catch their attention, and just like that, you’ll lose them.

And now that you know

What a welcome sequence is…

what to include in yours,

and some best practices to get you started..

I know you’re thinking Wooohoooo, I can’t wait to sit down and spend hours writing this because I have nothing else to do, RIGHT?

No worries. If you need a little boost, download my free Welcome Sequence Starter Template... I made it Xclusively for Travel Agents.

Get yours now

Writing Tips

How to Become a Better Writer in 3..2..1

D Harris 0 Comments December 6, 2022

Okay, so you’re no Shakespeare, Nicolas Sparks, or even Kandi Buress.

Meaning when you put pen to paper it’s not exactly poetry in motion.

But does that mean you can’t improve and write effective copy for your travel business with some practice?

Does that mean you can’t craft compelling stories that draw people in and make them want to come experience what you have to offer?

NO……Of course not

With a little practice and these tips, you’ll be burning up that keyboard in no time!

Ready to up your writing game?

1. Read. Read. Read

If you want to become a better writer, the best way to start is by reading as much as you can. And for you… read about travel. Learn how your suppliers describe their suites, cuisine, and beaches.

Pay special attention to their descriptive words, and how they make you feel. Use those techniques in your own writing.

Keep a swipe file. When you feel inspired by the writing you’ve read, make a note of it and keep it in one place. To make it simple, take a screenshot on your phone, and save it in a folder. Then when you need some inspiration for your next project, you can go back and review what caught your eye.

2. Write. Write. Write

The only way to get better at writing is to actually write. It may seem obvious, but it’s true! Make sure to set aside some time every day to write—again, it doesn’t matter what you write about, as long as you’re writing.

And if you write something you don’t love, resist the urge to throw it away and start over.

Repeat after me: Do Not Throw it Away.

Instead, take a step back, and look at what you’ve written with fresh eyes. See if there’s anything you can salvage, build upon, or rephrase.

3. Edit. Edit. Edit

Editing is an important part of the writing process—in fact, it’s just as important as the actual writing itself. Editing means making sure that your grammar and punctuation are correct, that your sentences are clear and concise, and that your overall message is coming across loud and clear.

And if you were unhappy with your first draft and avoided that urge to hit delete, this is the perfect time to make those changes and turn your draft into something you love.

Now, don’t get discouraged if your writing isn’t perfect the first time around. Writing is an art and a craft—it takes practice to hone it. With these tips in mind, you’ll be rocking that keyboard like a pro in no time!

Writing is so much more than a bunch of words on your page. They are what build emotion, connections, and ultimately… sales.

So if you struggle with your writing, don’t give up.

Follow these steps, and just take it one day, paragraph, and sentence at a time.

And you’ll be on your way to writing compelling copy and travel that sells itself!

Writing Tips

3 Key Ways to Make your Blog Content Shine

D Harris 0 Comments September 17, 2022

A blog is a kinda storefront. It’s the manikins gorgeously dressed in this season’s fashion or piles of cream-filled cakes in the bakery window. It’s the thing that tempts your customer to make a purchase. You’re not selling your blog, your blog is selling you.

That’s why it’s super important to have good quality blog content. But what is just as valuable is consistency. Algorithms for social channels vary but a golden rule is to make sure you’re posts are as consistently shared as possible. And what’s the key to consistency? Planning!

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Content Mapping – Quartering your year

Yeah, I know, planning isn’t the sexiest job you’ll do for your business but it’s one of the most important. There are heaps of ways to map out your content. But quartering is a cool way to link your biz goals to your content and save tons of time. Plus, a year quartered is three months, so chunking a whole year in this way doesn’t seem too intimidating.

Outline each of those three month’s business goals and write down what you’ll be doing each week to get your business to that target. Done that? Boom! You’ve got a strategy, baby!

Break these weekly goals down again into 5 focused topics/actions and think about what that looks like from the outside. What value could your customers get out of your processes? What need will you be filling for them by sharing those aspects of your business?

Make a note of your ideas onto a daily content template or calendar like Hootsuite or HubSpot. Whoops – I think you just went and planned a whole quarter of content.

Red Letter Days

Potential customers want content that looks fresh, even if you know it’s been scheduled months in advance. So keep key local, regional, or national events in your content planning calendar – especially if they are related to your business.

Your Valentine’s day post is going to be a MUCH bigger hit if you give those naughty forgety-Betties some tips on how to book a last-minute romantic getaway for their spouse. It might just save their bacon!

Oh, and while we’re on the subject – if there’s a big event that happens in the news you may want to swap-out a scheduled content for something more appropriate. If there’s a tragic event on everyone’s mind, your blog post “5 Tips on How to Apply Makeup On A Plane” isn’t going to go down well.

It’s all about them

Research your data and create an ‘ideal’ customer from the results. What makes this a good strategy? Because whatever has been driving your best traffic is what your ‘ideal’ customer likes. Create content around what your ideal customer wants. Writing with that ‘one’ client in mind makes it sooooo much less daunting. Plus, you’re much more likely to make every single one of those ‘ideal’ clients a keeper.

This kind of post may not work on a daily basis but try to make a storytelling blog article centerd around your ideal client a regular ‘feature’ on your blog. You’ll be mixing up your content while having a ‘system’ too.

Donald Miler’s StoryBrand idea really makes you sit up and think. He suggests pivoting your brand from “We’re the Best” to “You’re the Best” and it really works – we all love to see ourselves at the hero of a story. So create stories around your ideal client which shows how YOU make them the HERO.

They can’t do it without you so let’s get your business moving and shaking, people.

About Me

It’s all “about” YOU.

D Harris 0 Comments September 11, 2022

It’s all “about” YOU.The BEST ways to write the perfect “about” page

Your website is your storefront and while everyone’s gotta start somewhere, let’s make sure ours is more Macy’s and less lemonade stand. Your site visitor is going straight to your home page. If what they see is all good, where are they going next? You got it: they want to take a peek at the goods. That’s you, by the way. You’re the goods.

Helping you write better about yourself is what I’m here for. Today, let’s zoom straight into my best ways to write an “about” page that makes you shine.

Bio:

There’s no ONE way to write a bio – there’s lots. But which is right for you? I’ve curated a diverse range of options for you to choose the right way for your visitors to get to know you better.

Introduce yourself in one sentence

People are pushed for time. The hard stats show that visitors are going to spend less than 15 seconds scanning your text so a short and sweet one-sentence bio is going to make every second count.

Hi. I’m (enter name here) and I (what are you known for)

Tell Your Story

Give them a chance to connect with you. Let them know how you fell in love with travel, how it all started, and what made you open your virtual doors.

Remember, this story is about you, but it’s really about them. Make sure the story is relatable for your target audience.

Skills For Days

Clients are considering giving you the dolla. But they know their money is in safe hands. How you share your expertise is another key way to make yourself look like the boss. Because you are! Careful not to be too braggy… List only the most relevant stuff.

Q & A

Mix it up by giving your site visitor the good stuff about your biz skills in a question and answer format. Imagine a client is asking you things they would want to know and you provide the answers in ‘your own’ voice.

Problem Solver

You’re the problem solver. You’re the need-filler. You’re going to scratch every last itch your new customer has. Selling yourself isn’t always pretty but it does need to look pretty. So create the kind of problems your client has and delightfully show them how you can solve it. Not all the deets. Just enough to get them clicking onto the next page.

Here’s a few ways to make problem solving look pretty as a peach:

Talk directly to them

Be very specific. Let them know who you help, what types of trips you book, and what makes you special. Try not to be too general. Remember, when you speak to everyone, you’ll reach no one.

Real Problems

Use a quote from a client testimonial which has a problem solved within it. Highlight your favorite testimonial. Not a long paragraph but a testimonial the summarizes what you do.

Hey! That’s not all.

Don’t forget the CTA.

A call to action is the last but essential part of your about page.

It’s what you want them to do next:

Click through a link
Email you
Schedule a consultation
Join the Facebook Group
Whatever….

Using my “about” page tips will have your visitor eating out of your hand.

Now make it work for you telling your client what to do next.

And when you’re done, send me a copy @ hello@xclusivelyyours.net.. I’d love to see what you come up with. ( 👈🏾 see what I did there? CTA).

Writing Tips

The Best Time Blocking and Content Batching Techniques

D Harris 0 Comments September 8, 2022

Do you ever find yourself transferring your Monday To Dos to Tuesday’s list? And sometimes to Wednesdays and Thursdays’ lists? Possibly even Friday’s list? I feel your pain. But until we’ve mastered our schedules, we’ll never feel like we’re in control of our business. Let’s turn that around NOW so, you make the most out of your time.

If you’ve been struggling with time management, this post might just be the answer to your prayers. We’ll take a look at the best ways to schedule your time and get your content under control.

See Time As Your Asset

The most important thing to get to grips with is that time is not your master. You are the master of your time. If you see time as a resource that helps you achieve your goals and not as an ‘enemy’ then you’re rocking the right mindset that’ll move your business forward.

Two Ways to Make Time Blocking Work For You

How Task Batching Works

The task batching technique stops you from yo-yo-ing between tasks. It breaks the cycle of the “I’m just gonna just have one quick peek at my emails” or the “I’ve got a great idea for a Tweet that I absolutely have to do right now or I’ll burst” kinda moments.

You might need to do some auditing first to see how long tasks actually take and then batch your day accordingly. Give yourself 3 times a day to look at emails for short bursts. Once or twice a day for media engagement and schedule these for the ‘low-energy’ parts of your day. Those tasks that make you the most money need to be prioritized and NOTHING comes between you and that batch, baby.

Day Theming For Deep Work

Some people swear by the day theme technique to take their time management to the max. This means that you schedule entire days to a particular aspect of your business. You’ve just got into podcasting? Cool. You’re going to need a day for that! You need to meet with clients? Give them a time on the meeting-themed day. Copywriting your content? Yep, that’s gets a day, too. Whatever you need to do to get that focus – do it for the entire day. It does require being ruthless but it’s worth it for those results.

Two Techniques To Make You Master Your Content

Values Led Content Batching

What’s at the core of your business? Is it sustainability, inclusivity, adventure? Whatever you identify as your 3 main business “pillars”, these are going to be basis for 3 – 5 of your weekly topics – every week. You might give one post to each one of your values a week or touch all three of your values for all 3 – 5.

Value batching your content this way saves a ton of time because you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You take one focus for the week and find 3 -5 different ways of linking that focus to your values. And that’s your weekly content planning sorted.

Season Themed Content Batching

Season theming works really well for travel content. It’s where you get to showcase the best of the season to your clients. And you want to know a secret? We get the same seasons every year. Who’d have thunk it?! The point I’m trying to make here is you can pre-plan way in advance and your content still appears fresh. Let’s take the fall. We’re going to focus one week on foodie things: those breaks to gourmet hotels or the best spot to buy your pumpkin spiced latte. The next, getaways to watch the leaves turn golden. You get me?

Using this technique, you’re breaking your content creation into much more manageable chunks, making consistent posting a walk in the park. Plus you’re keeping it super relevant for your audience.

Picked up a new time blocking or content batching technique today? Great. Now let’s get batching, people!