Travel Influencer? How to Create Newsletters that Connect

June 10, 2024

As a travel influencer, you know the importance of diversifying your income streams to protect your business from change. One great way to do that? Build your audience with a newsletter.

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More than just another email, newsletters are a direct line to your audience, allowing you to connect differently than you do through social channels. They also present a ton of opportunities to showcase courses you offer and brands you partner with, and provide extra value to your readers.

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But we’ll get into all of that soon. First, here’s a quick look at what we’ll cover on how to create newsletters that connect with your audience:

Understand your audience
Create content that resonates
Write compelling copy
Choose an attractive design & layout
Include irresistible calls to action
Select the right frequency & timing
Building and growing your mailing list

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Ready to find out exactly how to implement these elements into your travel newsletter to create lasting connections with your audience? Let’s get into it.

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Why Newsletters?

Newsletters are a super solid marketing strategy. Social media algorithms can change and platforms can evolve, but email accounts aren’t going anywhere. In fact, 99% of email users check their inboxes daily—and there are over 4.25 billion of them.

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We’ll kick things off with some eye-opening newsletter stats so you can see just how popular and successful email marketing currently is.

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Email marketing generates $42 for every $1 spent
95% of Gen Z, Millennials & Gen X each receive newsletters of some kind
The annual growth rate of email marketing is 13.3%
Email marketing offers the most significant ROI for small businesses over other channels

What Is the Purpose of a Newsletter?

There are many reasons why someone might send a newsletter. They can educate, inspire, or entertain and often include:

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Funny or personal stories
Advice (financial, fashion, marketing, etc.)
Advertisements
Affiliate links
Promotions and offers
Events
News
Testimonials
Polls or surveys
Job listings
Trends

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Get Real About Goals

A newsletter's overall goals can also vary depending on unique businesses. From getting more sign-ups for your course and selling website templates to promoting brand partnerships and gaining more website traffic, you should identify your goals before starting so you know what kind of content to include.

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Setting clear goals will help you measure the effectiveness of your messaging and revise future newsletters. This enhances their impact and ensures they deliver the kind of content your audience is looking for.

What Are the Benefits of Newsletters?

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An effective email campaign has strong benefits that help you reach these goals. They include:

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Creating a direct communication channel
Increasing engagement
Driving traffic to your blog, website, or online store
Building loyalty and trust
Allowing segmentation and personalization
Being cost-effective
Revealing measurable results
Enhancing brand awareness
Generating leads
Providing long-term value

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Finally, one of the biggest benefits of newsletters is their ability to help you connect more with your target audience. So without further ado, here’s how to craft one that aligns with your personal brand and provides content your readers will look forward to week after week.

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How to Create Newsletters that Connect

Want to forge even stronger relationships with your audience? Use these tips to create a killer newsletter that connects and converts, enabling you to build a strong and loyal audience.

Understand Your Audience

The beauty in this first step is that, likely, you already do. However, it’s one we couldn’t leave out because it’s undoubtedly the most important.

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Understanding your audience means knowing exactly what they love about your lifestyle or travel blog, YouTube channel, Instagram feed, TikTok, or other platforms you thrive on.

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Analytics

If you haven’t dug into the wonderful yet complex world of analytics, we suggest starting there. Take a minute to go through your past campaigns to see what kinds of lifestyle and travel content got the most engagement and generated the most desired outcomes (ie. likes, shares, and comments).

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Direct Feedback

Another great way to get to know what your audience loves? Ask. Whether through surveys polls, or inviting them to send a message, the more feedback you can get from your audience, the better.

Create Newsletter Content that Resonates

You’ve seen which posts or videos do well with your audience, which means you already know what topics they prefer. Use this information when crafting your newsletter to include breathtaking photos, must-try travel tips, tech and tool reviews, or funny stories about your adventures.

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Weaving your newsletter’s desired outcomes (ie. get sign-ups for a course) into content that resonates with your audience helps you do what you do best: connect through storytelling, giving your audience valuable content while achieving your goals.

Write Compelling Copy (Or Hire Someone Who Can)

Your audience is your tribe, and they watch your videos and check out your posts because they want to hear what you have to say and witness what you have to share.

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Your newsletter is this same beloved content, just in a different format and landing right in your dedicated audience's inbox. Plus, it allows you to include a wide range of content types (text, image, gifs, etc.), links to relevant studies or favourite tools, brand promotions, personal stories, behind-the-scenes insights, reviews, user-generated content, and so much more.

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However, these opportunities are all for naught if you don’t write compelling email copy your audience connects with and actually wants to read.

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Remember, your audience is there to hear your voice, so if you do hire a copywriter, be sure your personality shines through.

Attractive Design & Layout

As a creator, you likely have a specific aesthetic your audience is drawn to. Maybe you use the same filter on all of your content, or maybe you include certain colours and fonts throughout your posts.

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This should all be reflected in your newsletter to help your audience draw connections between your emails and the other content they know and love. Some common characteristics of effective newsletter layouts include:

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Clean & organized design
Consistent branding
Responsive design
Balanced use of images and text
Clear calls to action
Simple navigation
Highlighted key information
White space
Personalization elements
Footer with an unsubscribe link (a courtesy & law)

Include Irresistible Calls to Action (CTAs)

Great calls to action (CTAs) inspire, excite, and encourage. They also help you with lead generation, sales, sign-ups, whatever your desired outcome may be.

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Depending on your unique desired outcomes, you’ll sprinkle CTAs (delicately and strategically) throughout your newsletter.

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So, the question is, how do I write a great call to action? We’ve whittled it down to an easy formula:

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Strong Command Verb + Inspiring Terms + A Reason Why + FOMO (optional) = One Irresistible CTA

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Here’s an example of what it could look like in action for promoting a travel influencer course:

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Enroll Now & Take the First Step to Globetrotting Success. Limited Seats - Start Your Journey Today!

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Examples of other effective, shorter CTAs include:

Discover exclusive offers
Grab your spot
Join the waitlist
Download free template
Try for Free

Frequency & Timing

Most newsletters are sent between 9 am and 12 pm. Considering that about 55% of email users check their inbox in the morning, this time frame makes sense.

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Now that you have a general range of time to send yours, which day of the week is best?

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Some companies send newsletters every weekday. Others send them only once per month. The general consensus of the best days to send newsletters for the highest open rates are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

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The day you choose to send yours may depend on your unique audience, however, these specific days and times have proven successful.

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To recap, the best times and days to send emails are:

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9 am to 12 pm
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays

Building & Growing Your Mailing List

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To reach the goals of sending a newsletter, you need people to actually read it. Starting from the ground up can be daunting, but there are plenty of ways to build out a mailing list before you ever send your first.

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Sign-Up Incentive: Offering a compelling incentive can encourage your audience to sign up for your newsletter. Whether you make an exclusive guide, downloadable checklist, or discount code for travel gear, offering something your audience wants will help you build your mailing list.
Use Social Platforms: Your social media channels contain people who love your content and want to hear from you. If you do it correctly, using these channels to tell your audience about exclusive content available only through your newsletter can help expand your mailing list.
Create Engaging Content Regularly: As a seasoned travel influencer, you already know the value of creating engaging content regularly, and the same applies for your newsletter. Establish a consistent schedule so your audience knows what to expect.
Use the Right Platform: Choosing a reliable email marketing platform will help you manage and design your newsletter easily. Consider features like segmentation to tailor your content to different groups, as well as analytics features for understanding open rates, click rates, and subscriber engagement.
Encourage Sharing: Make it easy for your readers to share your newsletter. Include shareable content, such as unique travel tips, stunning photos, or exclusive deals, along with straightforward sharing buttons. You could also run a "Refer a Friend" campaign.

Bonus Tip: Don’t Call Your Newsletter a “Newsletter”

Open rates of newsletters decreased by 18.7% when the word “newsletter” was mentioned in the From or Subject Line. These two elements are arguably the most important for increasing open rates, so using them wisely is key.

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Creating a connection with your audience is the goal, so being more personal will have payoffs.

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Let’s see this in an example:

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Email 1

From: Rose Chase
Subject Line: Kristen, you won’t believe what happened at #SocialWest…

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Email 2

From: MODERNSPEAK Newsletter
Subject Line: This week’s newsletter will tell you what happened at #SocialWest last week.

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Which one would you open? Example 1 feels like it’s coming from a friend. Example 2 is more impersonal.

Connect with MODERNSPEAK

Implementing these tips into your email marketing strategy can help you take your newsletter to the next level, connect more with your audience, reach business goals, and create long-term readers.

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Looking for support from an influencer management agency? MODERNSPEAK has your back. Check out our blog for more expert resources or streamline your next campaign by joining our roster.

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Connect with our friendly team today to learn more about what’s possible.

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