How To Get More Email Subscribers (Without Annoying Your Guests)
I’ll have to confess: this post is part rant and part strategy. In addition to being a marketing consultant, I am of course an avid internet user outside of consulting work. I research stuff, buy things and book trips online just like the guests I find for my clients. And, as a consumer, I despise poor […]
Should You Use Live Chat On Your Website?
As part of my client work, it’s common that I deal with software recommendations for best results. By far, one of the most common questions that I get is asking about live chat software: how to use it, what tool to pick and if it’s an effective tool for generating bookings. Like many answers […]
Find New Places To Get Bookings For Your Rental Properties
Every client I work with, from a single-property owner vacation rental to a 500+ room hotel has one thing in common: a limited marketing budget. The numbers (dollars) may be vastly different in terms of overall budget, but I’ve yet to work with a client that has an unlimited marketing budget (by the way, if […]
How Much Competitive Research Is Enough?
We all do it. Competitive research. Keeping an eye on your competitors is important — you want to know what the landscape of what your rental market is like. But, with some clients I’ve worked with, the need to research the competition ranges from an unhealthy obsession to an apathetic indifference. In this post, I’d like […]
Small Budget Advertising For Vacation Rental Owners
As a marketing consultant, I love having clients with big advertising budgets. Besides the obvious facts of that typically meaning higher retainers and revenue for me, it also lets me work with one of my most favorite techniques: testing. Big budgets let you allocate 75-85% of your marketing budget to the high-value advertising tactics. For many […]
Internet Summit Review & Wrap Up
From time to time, I’ll venture out into the world and go to an internet marketing conference or event. Most recently, I traveled to Internet Summit in Raleigh, North Carolina. Over two full days, I spent time learning more about search, social media, email marketing and more. Hearing from speakers with a wide range of […]
Why Large Listings Sites Are Vacation Rental Sharecropping
Full disclosure: I got this post idea from Sonia Simone of Copyblogger. But, it applies to this situation in a different way. The term is originally from Nick Carr. In some ways, they’re great. Homeaway, VRBO and Flipkey have likely made you a lot of money. Sure, you’ve paid for it – but it’s […]
Your Analytics Data Probably Isn’t Accurate
In the world of online marketing, looking at numbers is data is about half of the job. Through the transition to digital marketing over less-trackable forms of media, business owners and marketing managers everywhere have become data-obsessed. At times, it’s easy to see why. Watching graphed lines, pivot tables, spider charts, real time visitor numbers […]
