Email marketing for tourism

The problem with putting people in boxes I am 50 years old. And sometimes I travel solo. So I suppose that makes me a female solo traveller over 50. I’m sure my fellow solo travellers over fifty are a wonderful bunch. But do we all fit neatly into the same box? I’m an occasional solo traveller, and more usually travel with my husband and five year-old (And then there’s my two grown-up children who might also  come with me if I ask nicely (and foot the bill). Which makes me quite different from a seventy-year-old widow travelling alone for the first time since she lost her husband. Or the sixty-year-old who’s been solo travelling since her twenties and has been doing this since before solo female travel was a trend. We are all, technically, solo travellers over fifty. But we likely want different things. And yet travel businesses — including, possibly, yours — are writing emails to us as if we are one person. One set of desires, one set of fears, one set of reasons to book. This is the problem I want to talk about today. Email is intimacy: don’t waste it Before we get into how to fix it, I want to say something about email as a medium. Because I think it’s underestimated. Email is not a billboard. It’s not a social post that a thousand people scroll past on their way to something else. It lands in someone’s personal inbox — a space that, even in 2026, still feels relatively private. It’s a chance to whisper directly into your ideal traveller’s ear. That’s why email works so well when it works. And that’s exactly why it fails so badly when it doesn’t. When you write to your entire list with that hello everyone in this particular demographic energy — even with the best intentions, even with lovely content — you’ve picked up a megaphone and aimed it at a crowd. And nobody in that crowd feels spoken to. They feel broadcast at. There’s a world of difference, and your readers feel it even if they can’t quite put their finger on why. The intimacy of email is one of the greatest tools an independent travel business has. It’s the thing the OTAs can’t replicate, the thing that makes someone choose your small-group tour over a package deal. Squandering that intimacy by treating your list like a demographic is, to put it plainly, a waste of a very good channel. So what’s the answer? Start with the research  – but don’t stop there. If you google “ideal client avatar” or “ideal traveller profile,” you’ll find no shortage of questionnaires. They’re worth doing. A good one will push you beyond the obvious demographics — age, income, where your reader lives — into the stuff that matters for your copy. What does your ideal traveller lie awake thinking about? What has held them back from booking until now? What do they need to believe before they’ll hand over their money to you rather than someone else? These are rich, useful questions. And the exercise is worth revisiting regularly, not just once, because your ideal traveller can shift as your business evolves. The person you were serving three years ago might not be the person you’re serving now. It’s worth staying honest about that. If you’d like a questionnaire specifically designed for travel businesses — not a generic marketing template, but one that gets into the particular texture of travel decision-making — drop me a message and I’ll send you the one I use with my coaching clients. Where most travel businesses go wrong Doing all this research and ending up with a richly detailed ideal traveller profile is not the finish line. It’s the start. Because here’s what happens next, and it happens to almost everyone: you sit down to write your newsletter, and without even realising it, you start writing to all of them at once. Solo women travellers over fifty. Deep travellers. Digital nomads. You write with this group energy, this dear valued demographic energy. And however good your research was, the writing still comes out flat. Because you’re not talking to anyone. You’re broadcasting at everyone. The research tells you who your reader is. It doesn’t automatically make you write to her. The One Reader Rule This is where something I call the One Reader Rule comes in. Instead of picturing all the travellers you’ve ever met, or the entire database sitting on your list — think of one conversation you’ve had. One real person whose face you can picture. It doesn’t have to be someone who’s booked. It could be someone who loved the sound of your trips but kept putting it off for the right moment — the right year, when the kids are older, when work settles down. You know the one. You’ve probably had that conversation more than once. Write that person’s name at the top of your draft. Not in the salutation — just at the top, for your eyes only. A small reminder of who you’re actually talking to. Then write to her. Or him. Or them. Just that one person. Something shifts almost immediately. Your tone changes. You stop hedging. You stop trying to cover every possible reader. You just talk. And talking, it turns out, is far more interesting to read than broadcasting. One important thing before you hit send: delete the name from the top. You don’t want everyone on your list getting Hello Penelope if they happen to be a Bob or a Harry. Where to find your one reader If you’re not sure who your one reader is, go back through your sent folder. The real conversations are in there: the exchanges that felt easy, the replies that made you think yes, that’s exactly it. One of those people is probably her. And if the idea of narrowing down to one reader feels counterintuitive ( like you’re excluding people)  I hear this a

The No 1  email list killer: not knowing what to write about  Last year I ran a poll on LinkedIn asking small tourism business owners what was stopping them from starting an email list. The runaway winner? Not knowing what to write about.  Not the tech. Not building the list. Not choosing a platform. But the actual writing. Look, I get it. In fact, I’d suggest anyone who tells you they haven’t ever struggled with writer’s block isn’t being entirely honest.  I think we’ve all been there. We’ve all sat down with good intentions: cursor blinking, fingers poised ready to type… Only for your mind to flood with this one thought: What the heck am I supposed to say?  You can’t just sell in every email. You know that. Connection before conversion and all that. But if you’re not selling… what ARE you writing about? This is where most small tourism businesses get stuck. Not on the logistics,  but on the words themselves. What could you possibly say that people would want to read? What’s going on?  Here’s what’s happening in your head: You think you need something profound. Something worth their time. Something that justifies appearing in their inbox. Then you look at your week: showed some guests around, answered booking emails, fixed the washing machine, bought supplies, dealt with the bins. Nope, nothing to see here. Certainly nothing email-worthy. So you don’t write anything. And your list sits there, forgetting who you are. What is interesting  Here’s what I’ve learned after writing emails for tourism businesses. The everyday stuff you think is boring is exactly what helps people to get to know you. And guess what? Often, what’s mundane to you will be bloomin’ well AWESOME to them.  Such as your behind-the-scenes moments. The seasonal changes unique to your part of the world. The little observations about your place, your guests, your work. (Like this photo I shared with my email list a couple of days ago: when snow in Shetland shut the schools down and I spent days sledging with my daughter). It’s  details like these  that build relationships – not the polished, corporate content you think you should be writing.  5 types of emails (to get you started) You don’t need 47 different email templates or a content calendar that maps out the next six months. You just need to know your dream guest inside out and have a good idea what they might like to hear from you.  Here are some ideas. Mix them up, don’t  overthink it and start with ONE email, not a full funnel.   1. Behind the scenes stories   What’s happened in your business this week? Doesn’t need to be big wins, think about:  The guest who asked an unexpected question that made you see your tours differently The supplier you discovered who’s doing something brilliant The thing that went slightly wrong and how you fixed it The decision you’re mulling over about your business 2. Seasonal observations What are you noticing right now? What’s changing? What’s different this week compared to last week? Tourism is seasonal. Your place changes throughout the year. Your guests notice different things depending when they visit. So tell them about it. The way the light hits differently in January When the birds arrive/leave What’s in season at the local market How the place feels different in low season versus high season What you love about this particular time of year 3. Guest stories (with your commentary) Not just quotes with no context. For this to work, you need to add your take on things.  What did a recent guest do, notice, or experience that was interesting? The family who found the hidden beach The couple who asked about something you’d never thought to mention The guest who had an unexpected reaction to something The question someone asked that everyone asks Then add YOUR perspective. Why it matters. What it tells you about your place. What you learned. This does two things: it shows social proof (other people love being here) and it helps future guests imagine themselves there. 4. Lessons learned  What have you learned recently about running your tourism business? What mistake did you make? What would you do differently? What surprised you? I wrote an email once about spending a year not starting my email list. The procrastination. The perfectionism. What I learned. It got loads of love, loads of replies.  Because everyone’s been stuck on something. Everyone’s made mistakes. When you’re honest about yours, people trust you more. 5. Helpful resources/recommendations    What have you read, watched, or discovered recently that your subscribers might find useful or interesting? This is NOT about promoting your own stuff. It’s about being  helpful. A book about your region that you loved Another tour operator doing something brilliant (not a competitor – someone complementary) A podcast episode about sustainable tourism An article about something relevant to your audience A tool or resource that’s made your life easier When you recommend things that aren’t yours, you’re showing: I care about you getting value, not just about you booking with me. Finding your rhythm You don’t need a complex content calendar. Just alternate between these five types. This week: Behind-the-scenes story Next week: Seasonal observation Week after: Guest story Week after that: Lesson learned Week after that: Helpful resource Then repeat. Or mix them up differently. It doesn’t matter. The point is: you’re not trying to sell in every email. You’re building a relationship. But I don’t have anything interesting to say! Yes, you do. You just can’t see it because you’re too close to it. The thing you noticed this morning that made you smile? That’s an email. The question a guest asked yesterday? Email-worthy for sure. The reason you love doing what you do, even on difficult days? Another email! The problem is, you’re filtering everything through “would anyone else find this interesting?” and you’re probably way off the mark. Your turn If you’re