10 Essential Components of a Tourism E-Newsletter

E-newsletters are a key component to aid in travel planning for new or returning visitors. Whether it’s weekly, monthly, or quarterly, it is important to make sure that you create valuable content for your subscribers that they’ll want to open again. Check out these 10 essential components of a tourism e-newsletter to make your next newsletter a must-read!

1. Eye-Catching Subject Line & Preview Text

Subject lines are one of the most important aspects of any e-newsletter delivery. Studies conducted at TwoSix Digital have found that most users are motivated to open / not open a tourism e-newsletter based on the subject line. Utilizing emojis, powerful words, and calls to action can encourage your subscribers to open. Also, be sure to include a short line of preview text to give readers a preview of what they can expect in your newsletter.

2. Seasonal Header with Logo

Help convey a sense of place and inspire users to visit throughout the entire year by adding a seasonal header to your newsletter. This will show your users a greater understanding of different activities and events that they can experience. Be sure to also include your logo, brand colors, and hashtag!

3. Social Media Icons

Include opportunities to gain a following on your social profiles both at the top and the bottom of your newsletter for full coverage. Your newsletter is prime real estate to gain more following on your accounts. Be sure also to include share tools so users can share the information with their travel buddies!

4. Include Call-To-Action Buttons Throughout

Add key opportunities for your destination throughout the newsletter like your visitor’s guide, dining passports, and unique offerings as call-to-action buttons. Studies show that hotel and meal deals typically perform well in this area and are great ways to inspire and encourage travel. Get your users to take action!

5. Thumb-stopping Images

No one wants to read an e-newsletter (especially from a destination) that is all text. Improve the overall appearance and readability of the newsletter by adding seasonal images. To go one step further, even add links to the images to gain more website traffic!

6. Short Pieces of Text

The key to this component is to keep your descriptive content pieces ‘short’ – users are less likely to read bulky paragraphs. By utilizing less content within your email gives you a great opportunity to drive traffic to other sources. Keep it short and sweet, and get your users to finish reading by going to your blog. Be sure to include necessary links to direct your readers to the right spot to get more information.

7. Blogs & Trip Itineraries

Your newsletter is a key part of the trip planning process, so including blogs, top 10 lists, and trip itineraries as pieces of content is important. Don’t forget to include clickable buttons and/or links back to more trip itineraries so they can continue their trip planning on your website.

8. Upcoming Events

Especially if you are sending your newsletter on a quarterly basis, it is important to include upcoming major events that could potentially be destination drivers. Include an image of the upcoming event as well as clickable links for them to learn more about the events that your destination has to offer.

9. Social Media Feature

Social media integration is key to your newsletter as it is an easy way to gain awareness of your presence on social media and add another touchpoint with your customers. Include your most-liked photo on Instagram or a great user-generated travel photo and include your hashtag to encourage users to post their photos when they visit.

10. Unsubscribe Option

As much as we don’t want your subscribers to leave you, it is your responsibility to include an unsubscribe option at the bottom of your newsletter. Most email marketing platforms automatically include this option for you, but it is always good to make sure.

Including these 10 components in your newsletter will not only inspire your visitors to travel to your destination, but it will also keep visitors, potential visitors, and local customers informed of all of the latest and greatest things happening in your neck of the woods. For more ways to use digital marketing to inspire travel and grow your destination marketing organization, be sure to click below to subscribe to our e-newsletter and follow us across social media.