Have you ever heard the phrase, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”?
When it comes to marketing and driving sales, no expression could ever ring more true.
When writing copy for your hospitality website, there are a lot of things you can do wrong.
Obviously, you want whoever is reading to click that “Book” button (and you MUST have a “Book” button), but that’s never going to happen if you have the same crappy wording as everyone else.
Here are some words and phrases that should never see the light of day on your website:
“We are the best…”
The first thing that comes to mind? Says WHO!?!
Anyone can say that they are the best. In fact, when you hear them saying that, it almost makes it less relevant. My brain immediately starts to crit and make comparisons, ultimately revealing that whoever said that about themselves is full of crap.
Secondly – Not everything is about you!Guests don’t care what you think of yourself. They want to know how their lives are going to be better if they choose you.
Make it about them!
Here’s what you can say instead:
Eg: “Enjoy an affordable winter holiday while you soak in the snow-capped Drakensberg mountains, in all their glory.”
This approach immediately gets the reader’s mind to picture themselves with you, in the best scenario possible. There’s no chest-puffing or blowing your own horn. Just facts, painting a picture to draw your audience in.
If you want to point out why, in fact, you are indeed “the best”, rather use testimonials to do this. You will seem more trustworthy with your praises coming from others that have experienced your service.
“Nestled in the rolling hills of…”
Are you writing poetry or trying to get bookings?
This phrase is just too overused to have any impact on users clicking through to your bookings page.
Rather give examples of attractions and “Wow” factors around you. Have you got breathtaking views? Say that rather!
“Arrive as guests (or strangers), leave as friends”
If I had a dollar for every time I had read this on an accommodation website, I would be rich! In fact, I once worked on three websites in the same town that used this copy.
Users will be more responsive to text that stands out. If you’re using the same wording as everybody else, that’s not going to convince people that they are going to have a unique experience with you. Rather suggest a way that booking with you will make their lives better. If you can’t think of one, you’re doing something wrong…
Just be original when you are writing copy for your hospitality website, okay?
All in all, how you communicate your brand on your website can make or break the decision to click through to your bookings page. If you’re writing meaningless rubbish, you’re going to see it in your click-through rate. You want to write copy that creates a sales funnel and gets you those bookings.
Take a look at some of the websites that we have created for our clients. We would love to create one for you too!
