Niche blogs are a great way to grow your audience and zero in on the clientele that are looking for specific services. As a travel agent or a travel-based content marketer, it’s your responsibility to maximize your visibility among every demographic that you serve.
With that in mind, I want to give you a roadmap for developing a niche blog. Since there are too many variables to speak in general terms, we are going to assume today that you are launching a destination wedding blog. The advice that follows can be applied to any niche, so if you’re launching a blog on something else — luxury destinations, family travel, theme parks, etc. — keep reading. The messaging applies.
Know Your Audience Well
There really is nothing more important than this, but too many marketers (and especially those who aren’t career marketers) neglect it or do it just once. Knowing your audience is just like knowing a person. Over time, their needs, wants, and perspectives change. So, how do you keep up?
I recommend doing several things when planning and organizing your destination wedding content:
1. Read successful competing blogs in the same niche. This will give you a good idea of the kind of content you should be delivering.
2. Research keywords on your blog topic. This alone can not only provide you with a clearer picture of the information your audience wants but also help you steer the messaging in your blog in a profitable direction. Market needs change. Never assume you know what your audience wants. Stay current on search trends and write around them.
3. Listen to your email list. If you’re sending out emails about blog posts that no one is opening, it’s a clear sign that your blog lacks relevance. See number 2 above.
4. Examine all your metrics. Use Google analytics and other tools to figure out which articles are getting the most engagement. What do your best pieces of content have in common? Theme? Language? Format? These things matter; they will tell you loads about your audience.
5. Shift the focus. If your content isn’t getting any play when it’s centered on destinations, try centering on wedding details. Use the latter sections of the blog to sell the idea of a destination wedding while maintaining a clear anchor to the main content.
Organize Your Content by Season
I know it’s probably a no-brainer for a travel agent, but for fledgling content marketers, this detail is often overlooked. Several strategies work well when organizing your content in this way.
Budget-conscious wedding planners who still want a destination wedding will be more likely to make plans during the off-season. Looking to attract bigger spenders? Focus on in-season luxury destinations. In either event, the timing of your content is crucial. Again, there are loads of variables, so you’ll probably need to do some research. If you want people to book vacations in June (a popular month for weddings), how far in advance should you be marketing that? The answer varies by destination and by audience, so never assume …
Keep Up on Current Destination Wedding Trends
Again, probably a no-brainer, but I mention it for a reason. As I’ve said many times before, this isn’t about you. Don’t focus on destinations you think your audience wants to read about. Figure out where they’re most likely to want to get married and push the idea in your content.
This is another one that keyword research can really fortify. Searching using very basic criteria like “wedding destinations” will give you a clear idea of the types of destinations you should be suggesting. Try to keep your content unique but relevant. It’s not an easy balancing act, but it can be done.
One variation could be focusing on specific venues, attractions, or activities related to the destination. Bachelor/bachelorette parties are a huge part of many wedding plans. Use your imagination (along with your knowledge and research), and your audience will be better engaged.
Utilize Your Marketing Tools
I’ve touched on this one a little already, but there is nothing more important than this. Which tools am I talking about? Here’s a short list:
Your email list – It’s the first, best line of defense against repeated mistakes in your content. Your open rates will tell you if you’re on the right track.
Your social accounts – Keep your content in front of your social audience(s). Boost posts and create targeted ads out of your best-performing content, and be prepared to engage and answer questions.
All relevant metrics – This includes email, website analytics, any split testing you do with titles, subject lines, and more. These numbers and stats all matter, and they’ll help you zero in on the right audience(s) in a much more concise way over time with all your travel marketing content.
Getting Help with Your Content
If all of this is enough to make your marketing head spin, don’t worry. At Beez, we pride ourselves on our ability to apply all the above strategies to make all your travel copywriting well-optimized for both finding more readers and climbing the ranks in Google and other search platforms. Contact us today to learn more or to discuss your destination wedding blog plans.
