Email Marketing Guide: Email subjects that obtain high open rates.

In an email marketing campaign, the main thing is to apply good practices so that emails do not end up in the spam folder. Once the email has been received by the recipient, if the subject is not interesting or relevant enough, the open rate will perform worse than expected and the campaign, as a whole, will not be considered a success. Therefore, the subject is the secont most relevant factor in an email marketing campaign.

What to avoid at all costs:

• Capital letters in part of or the whole subject
• Including exclamation marks or icons
• Including words such as VIP, discount, promotion, free or sale. Generally, spam filters immediately mark these words, increasing the probability of the campaign never reaching the addressee
• In global promotion days, avoid including the name of such promotion in the subject. For example, in a Black Friday campaign, if the name of the promotion is included in the subject, the open rate will be significantly reduced while the possibility of becoming spam will considerably increase

There are four fundamental types of communication in email marketing:

1. Newsletter
2. Promotion
3. Announcing a novelty
4. Invitation to an event

Whenever we work with Hotel Data generated through professional tools, we will have the data of over 85 % of the total guests that have visited the property. These data are ready to be activated in email marketing tools to generate significant savings on commissions by directing bookings to the direct web channel.

The great advantage of developing an email marketing strategy focused on guest loyalty is that it deals with individuals that already know the product and that a significant percentage of them are, potentially, very likely to repeat. Thanks to email marketing, we can divert the bookings of repeat guests to the most profitable sales channel.

Of the four types of email marketing communications, the most frequent ones are promotions. But, as explained in previous articles, it is important to link the addressee to the commercial brand, and it is ideal to start with non-sales related communications, such as:

• Welcome the guest to the hotel via email
• Emails focusing on learning more about guest satisfaction
• Email birthday greetings
• Gifts for repeat guests

In this manner, we will create a relationship of trust between the hotel brand and the guest. Subsequently, any promotional campaign will have a more positive impact.

When it comes to email marketing communications in the hotel sector, being relevant is a must. And to be relevant, it is crucial to have the detailed Hotel Data to generate the right segmentation for each moment. If, for example, we only have the email of each guest and their name, we will not be able to send the campaign segmented per language, which will generate much rejection by the audience. Otherwise, if we also had detailed information such as if they were travelling alone or with their partner, with or without kids, we will be able to send a campaign specifically for families with specific discounts for the right hotels of the hotel chain in question.

Some tips to personalise the subject of hotel-related email marketing campaigns:

• Always include the name of the guest in the subject line, be brief, generating urgency and curiosity
• Segment per language at least the property’s four main nationalities and include the rest of nationalities in the email in English
• Segment per gender (male or female) and generate campaigns and personalised subjects
• Especially for hotel chains: during the first two to three communications, always include in the subject the name of the hotel where the guest stayed besides the commercial brand as sender to ensure that the addressee relates the property to the commercial brand
• Personalise promotional campaigns and subject as per the bank holiday calendar per nationality
• Personalise campaigns and subjects according to the time of the year when the guest is booking. If possible, these campaigns should be automated. A rule is set so that 45 days before the guest usually books, the campaign is automatically sent
• Personalise campaigns and subjects for couples travelling with children
• Personalise campaigns and subjects for repeat guests with promotions exclusive for loyal brand customers
• Personalise campaigns and subjects as per the room type chosen
• Especially for chains: personalise campaigns and subjects as per the destinations previously selected by the guest

An example of Black Friday or Cyber Monday subject that converts:

Instead of: Black Friday offer today in all our hotels!

Use: Sam, today is the day, exclusively for our guests.

Or also: Sam, today only, for customers like you.

These sort of subjects are very useful, are personalised with the name of the guest and stand out against the rest of emails in a day as busy as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, do not block spam filters and most of all, make the customer feel urged and curious to open the email.

Another perspective to stand out against the rest of companies impacting the same users would be adapting the name of the promotion to the hotel brand creatively. For example, instead of using “Black Friday” using alternatives such as “White Week”, “Blue Days”, “Red Weekend” and so on.

>> It is critical to highlight that the more personalised they are, the higher the open and conversion rates. This is undoubtedly one of the keys for an email marketing campaign to be successful, as well as planning: the organised mailing of emails following a strategy can make the most of campaigns.