This category is about Holiday Home Marketing and is for UK holiday letting owners looking to improve their marketing and drive more bookings.
Whether you own an individual holiday home, apartment or holiday cottage complex Boshers holiday home marketing posts are for you. As Holiday Home Insurance Specialists Boshers are proud to share many tips, guidance and articles.
It may be the Year of the Rooster in China, but in Wales it’s the Year of Legends!
Visit Wales has launched a new campaign for the year, which celebrates the past, present, and future of Wales. Embracing history and heritage, whilst promoting local tourism, the £5million campaign is aiming to make a real splash.
The Year of Legends campaign
The campaign, which is the result of research that revealed 61% of overseas visitors cite historic sites as a key reason for their visit to Wales, has really gone all out for this year’s theme, with actor Luke Evans headlining a promotional TV and cinema advert.
Using #YearofLegends on social media, tourist attractions, events, and visitors can all connect and spread the word about tourism in Wales. There will be special events throughout the year, and funding will be granted to projects over the course of the 12 months; 35 have already been given a total of £1.28million.
The campaign is being used across Visit Wales’ marketing, and local tourism businesses are encouraged to get on board too. Their website has been filled with useful information, including accommodation and local activities. You’ll even be able to read and enjoy Welsh folklore tales and stories of real-life legends and trailblazers!
Getting involved
This campaign is all about promoting tourism in Wales. It’s the perfect chance for you to get your holiday cottage out there and contribute to the buzz. Last year’s campaign generated an increase of 40% in money spent by day visitors to Wales. This great result came from everyone joining together in their promotional efforts.
To join in with the conversations, make sure you’re always using #YearofLegends in your tweets and linking to the new content that will be added to the Visit Wales site throughout the year.
Have a blog on your own website? Why not promote everything in your local area, as well as its heritage credentials in order to ride the crest of the promotional wave!
For more information on the Year of Legends, events and funding please visit their website athttp://www.visitwales.com/
Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. Require a quote for your holiday apartment, cottage or complex? Please give us a call on 01237 429444.
https://www.boshers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Caernarfon-Castle-In-Wales-Year-of-Legends.jpg600900adminhttps://www.boshers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/03-Boshers-Insurance-Landscape-dark-RGB_TRADEMARKED-300x70.pngadmin2017-04-07 13:33:372017-04-07 13:33:37Welsh tourism given Year of Legends boost
England’s Seafood Coast Initiative launched to make South Devon the heart of seafood
If we said “seafood”, where would you think of? A new initiative (England’s Seafood Coast) has been launched by Mitch Tonks, Visit Devon, and the Torbay Culture Board. It aims to position ‘Torbay’ and ‘South Devon’ at the heart of Britain’s seafood culture.
It’s staggering to think that England’s highest value seafood catch is landed at Brixham, yet less than 10% of it is eaten locally. Chef Mitch Tonks wants this to change, and aims to celebrate local seafood with the support of the Discover England Fund.
The plan
England’s Seafood Coast will be supported through a number of events and activities whilst bringing together the local seafood community.
Project Director Carolyn Custerson, ERTC Chief Executive Officer said: “Torbay’s new Tourism Destination Management Plan identifies the development of our cultural food and drink offer to help attract new visitors to the area. This project will inspire local businesses and partners to work together to develop and communicate England’s Seafood Coast product and brand to put the English Riviera on the map as a foodie destination.”
What this means in reality is a more joined up approach to promoting local seafood producers and providers, with the best in the locality being mapped for publicity.
Digital marketing is also set to play a vital role in increasing the awareness of the area’s best seafood experiences; a platform is currently being designed to make it easier for local residents and visitors to enjoy local seafood.
The aim
So why has this new project been created? Well, put simply, to boost the local area’s profile across the UK and globally. Thanks to the English Riviera Tourism Company, the project has successfully secured funding. Secured from the Government’s three-year Discover England Fund, which is putting £40million into the UK’s tourism industry.
The funding is designed to grow and increase the competitiveness of England’s tourism offerings and develop bookable tourism products. The food offerings are a core part of this goal, drawing more guests to visit areas with outstanding culinary heritage.
This investment is great news for Torbay and South Devon’s tourism industry. As well as boosting local interest in the area’s fishing heritage, the demand for holiday letting accommodation will also benefit.
Are you a holiday homeowner with great food and produce on your doorstep? Make sure you’re using it as a marketing asset. Whether on your blog, through social media or email marketing, do spread the word. Food is becoming an increasingly significant factor in buying decisions including the selection of holiday destinations.
For more information or to get involved with the project, click here.
Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. Require a quote for your holiday apartment, cottage or complex? Please give us a call on 01237 429444.
https://www.boshers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/englands-seafood-coast-logo.jpg15882636adminhttps://www.boshers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/03-Boshers-Insurance-Landscape-dark-RGB_TRADEMARKED-300x70.pngadmin2017-02-24 15:28:592017-02-24 15:28:59England’s Seafood Coast inititive a reel catch for holiday letting in South Devon
As far as stats go 2015 was a great year for UK tourism as a whole. Many accommodation providers across the UK seeing increases in bookings and stays. The good news is that as 2016 came to a close it’s looking like it has lived up to the hype of the previous year with stats now becoming available for August.
An increase in visits made during August
According to a survey by PWC, 3.77 million people made UK based tourist visits during August last year. This was an increase of 2% on the same period last year. Whilst a 2% jump might not be enough to make many jaws hit the floor, when put into real terms it is an increase of 75,000 visitors in a thirty day period that was already a strong performer in the past calendar year.
It has been suggested that the weak pound following the ‘Brexit’ referendum vote could have had a positive impact on overseas trips made to the UK with savvy travellers trying to make the most of their money.
Visitors were spending more in August
Working on this logic you won’t be surprised to hear that there was also an increase in visitor spend during this period. The rise seen in August 2016 was 4% up on the previous year and spread across accommodation, attractions, and shopping. Not surprisingly, these UK tourism figures left many holiday homeowners and affiliated trades and services in a buoyant mood as the summer came to a close.
Larger trends: more oversees visitors arrive in past 12 months
There’s also good news when we look over a slightly longer time period; more and more overseas visitors are now flocking to the shores of the UK to enjoy a break. A 4% increase in this area has had a significant and positive impact on booking numbers and spend over the past twelve months.
It also matches a wider trend of higher levels of visits and spending across the past five years, meaning even more positive signs for holiday cottage owners.
What is the outlook for next year?
As we head into 2017, experts are predicting yet another fruitful year for those in the UK tourism industry. A survey by PWC has revealed that 45% of people expect to take more holidays in the UK next year; fantastic news for holiday homeowners potentially benefitting from those wanting and willing to take a ‘staycation’.
The survey also showed that 35% of people will be putting holidays as a priority for their spending in 2017. This provides further opportunity for the UK tourism industry to make the most of domestic visitors.
Some uncertainties
The success of 2017 may be impacted, positively or negatively, by the run up to the UK leaving the EU; and the value of the pound. More people are expected to favour staycations, as the research by PWC substantiates. So this year could easily surpass the success of 2016.
If the value of the pound stays the same, or falls further, Brits will find travelling abroad more expensive. Thus, giving a boost to UK tourism and an overall feeling of positivity within the industry. 2017 should be a great year for tourism in the UK and therefore a positive one for holiday homeowners.
Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.
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Autumn signals the end of the busy holiday letting season, with the half-term holidays finished and most of us returning to work after a refreshing break. Many owners may now be turning their attention to securing returning holiday cottage guests, as well as how to reach even more potential visitors.
With so many marketing and communication tools available to cottage owners it’s easy to feel as if you’re searching in the dark when it comes to which ones you should be using and how. Here we explain a simple to follow formula to increase repeat custom and reach even more people.
Email Marketing
Email marketing should form a key part of your activity when it comes to getting people back or encouraging them to stay. Its purpose is to create a regular contact point with potential and previous guests throughout the year; by creating this you’re increasing the chances that they’ll think of you when they come to make a decision on where to stay next.
Make sure you’re emailing past holiday cottage guests regularly
You should have an email going out to your holiday cottage guests at least once a month. If you make this less frequent then you’re not creating regular contact, if you send out emails much more then it’ll become unlikely that people will open every one.
Once you know what works for your database we recommend sending at the same time and day of the week so people know when to expect it. Also adopt a similar subject line and send from the same person so people know what it is they’re getting before they even open it.
Consider what you can offer them
Emails from bookings and enquiries are great as they’ve either stayed with you, and therefore know how great it is already, or have shown an active interest in your cottage before. You may want to consider making offers available to these people before you open them up to others (and this can be a great way to encourage people to sign up to your newsletter).
Exclusive offers to this already engaged audience can be effective in getting them to stay during colder autumn and winter months, and remember that an offer doesn’t always have to be a reduction in rates; it could be something you offer as an added extra (perhaps a romantic meal for two at a local restaurant), so think about the time of the year and what it is that would entice them to stay.
Facebook
With 24 million active Facebook users in the UK it’s safe to say it’s highly likely that your holiday cottage guests will have a profile. Facebook can be used to create and support the regular contact you’re building through email, and also reach people of similar interests and lifestyle factors (their Facebook friends) that are likely to want to stay with you too.
Get people to like your page and share regularly
Encouraging the people who stay with you to like your page is the obvious first step in building your presence. Once you have a growing page you’ll want to be posting regularly (between two to four times a week as an initial guide).
How do you reach their friends?
In order to reach their friends you’re going to need to get your page likes to engage. Once they do it will begin appearing on newsfeeds, so think of ways you can get them to interact with your page; competitions, asking them to share photos and interesting content should all form a part of this plan.
Consider advertising
You can actively advertise to the friends of your Facebook likes within their advertising tool under the ‘Connections’ tab. Consider running a page like campaign to these people so you can build a longer-term relationship. By running this sort of campaign it will say their friend already likes your page and increase the chances of them liking it as a result!
Conclusion
There’s two major things you need to be doing; make sure you have the processes in place to collect information, and then ensure you’re always making regular contact. If this is all too much for you to be thinking about employ the services of a holiday letting agent.
Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday letting business please give us a call on 01237 429444.
For further information on UK holiday home insurance visit the website page most relevant to you:
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Is year round holiday let occupancy achievable? There’s no denying that most holidays take place during the summer months. That doesn’t mean that your holiday home should only focus on the warmest season to attract guests. In recent years there has been a marked increase in autumn, winter, and spring breaks, particularly within the British Isles. This means you could get a great amount of trade during the rest of the year, but you’ll have to be active online to get the message across.
Good photography will increase holiday let occupancy
When was the last time you updated the photography on your website? Many owners can be guilty of leaving the same photos on their site for years on end, so now is the time to stand up and get it changed in order to attract those winter warmers in your holiday home!
Having great photography to show off your holiday home is always a good thing. You can make it even better by featuring photos of your property throughout the different seasons. People respond well to images, so show them that your cottage is a wonderful and cosy place to stay in autumn or winter. it will really encourage them to book during the low season.
Balance shots of the exterior and interior, but do make sure the winter pictures are cosy and charming, not rainy and grey!
Let people know you’re open
Now is a great time to be highlighting winter availability. Potential guests may be unsure as to whether you’re open throughout the year, so you’ve got to tell them. Many holiday homes will already be promoting Christmas and new year availability so if your cottage is the perfect new year or festive pad, ensure that you don’t miss the boat by leaving it too late.
You may think it’s obvious that your let is available, and that people can check the availability themselves through an online booking system, but that extra reminder could convince a few extra guests to book a winter retreat.
Email, Twitter and Facebook should all be in your plans. Use social media to drive people to your website to book, not rely on them finding it and researching your open season themselves.
Tell people about activities
This is where you can really make the most of social media. Tweet and post on Facebook and Instagram about different things to do in the local area. From indoor play areas for kids, to museums and galleries, let people know that there is plenty to do rain or shine. Tag the accounts of the attractions and you may get a re-tweet and have your cottage shown off to their followers, of which there could be thousands.
Remember that winter attractions will be different to summer. Ensure your content is up to date and that you’re working with all of the other local businesses to promote your destination and local area to potential visitors.
Blog about the seasons
Does your website have a blog? Then you should be making the most of it. Remember this doesn’t need to be reams and reams of words; you’ll get more engagement through photography. Whether it’s the snow or the autumn leaves falling, ensure photos are displayed throughout your blog. Share them on social media too.
For some other ideas; is your garden full of beautiful flowers in the spring? Let people know. If you provide buckets and spades in the summer, tell everyone. If the autumn brings out your great selection of puzzles and books, show them off. And if winter makes your house feel cosy and warm, make sure guests know about it.
Use testimonials from all year round
Testimonials and reviews are becoming increasingly important in gaining bookings and increasing year round holiday let occupancy. When your autumn guests provide a testimonial, show it off. Letting potential guests know that you do get bookings at that time will help you increase your holiday let occupancy. The positive words of another guest will really seal the deal for many future visitors.
Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support you if you’re buying a holiday cottage to let, please give us a call on 01237 429444.
Holiday homeowners will have for a long time realised the importance of guest reviews; Tripadvisor has been at the centre of where many seek guest reviews for hotel and self-catering accommodation for more than fifteen years. You’ll not be surprised to hear that 90% of guests indicate they’re influenced by what they read online.
If your holiday home has its own website you may have noticed recently that Google has now started to display guest reviews next to your cottage search listing; you’ll not only find Google reviews but also a section entitled ‘Reviews from the web’ which will cover those left on social networking sites such as Facebook.
Never have guest reviews been so easy to find, scrutinise and digest, meaning that it’s equally never been as important to ensure your cottage has the reviews it deserves.
Here are a few quick pointers on how to get more reviews, and how to handle them, whether positive or poor.
Getting guest reviews
We know they’re worth their weight in gold, but how do you actually get guests to leave you a review?
Embrace reviews within your procedures
If you leave it to your guests, the only reviews you’re likely to be left are those that have found an issue. Send a quick email as soon as they get home asking them to fill out a few questions on their experience. Remember this is taking time out of their day so it can increase response rates if you offer some sort of incentive; perhaps entering them into a competition or perhaps a discount on their return stay.
Strike while the iron is hot, and ensure the potential incentive is large enough to illicit a response, but not so large as to make it unfeasible!
Your guest book
People still like to write comments in a guest book so make sure you have a note on yours saying that you will use the comments for promotional purposes. Reviews can then be added to your own website to increase booking conversions from online visitors.
Engage on social media
A review on Facebook is worth its weight in gold; not only can it be displayed on Google, their friends will also see it too. You can run potential competitions for previous guests leaving reviews. Engaging with potential and previous guests on Facebook should form part of your customer service and booking acquisition strategies.
Responding to reviews
Once you’ve got someone to review you, it’s only polite to reply thanking them. This certainly doesn’t mean a cut and paste of the same phrase you use on everybody; take the time to make it a little more personal!
If you get a negative review, then the best thing to do is reply in a professional and polite manner. Address the problem. If there is a bigger issue ask them to contact you directly so you can resolve the issue. A bad review may make new guests hesitant, a professional response from you puts you back into a positive light. Potential guests will take a balanced view making them more inclined to book with you.
If you can, avoid responding immediately after a negative comment. It can be taken personally meaning that any response you write in that moment could inflame the situation. Tone is very difficult to detect online. If you’re unsure about what you’ve written make sure you have someone impartial to read it for you.
Making the most of reviews
If you’ve got them then make sure you show them off. Make your Tripadvisor reviews easy to access from your website and include plenty of testimonials in your site’s design.
Remember that people won’t necessarily read every page you have, or see everything you ever publish. Make sure a nice quote is tweeted, posted to Facebook and included in e-shots.
Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support you if you’re buying a holiday cottage to let, please give us a call on 01237 429444.
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For a long time, holiday homeowners have faced a similar problem; how do you do the interior of your property justice with photography? How do you encapsulate the views, the local surrounds and everything outside your cottage?
360-degree videos are becoming increasingly popular, and they’re certainly impressing the guests…
What is 360 degree video?
For those of you not familiar with it, 360 degree video is a relatively new technology which is gaining rave reviews, particularly for its use on mobile phones. The user can simply tilt their phone in the direction they’d like to view and the scene they’re viewing will tilt in the same way, just like virtual reality.
It takes the standard photograph or video and really brings it to life. With internal photography very tricky to get right, this adds a literal extra dimension to your property.
The benefits
We’ve already mentioned that these videos are great on mobile and this is a big bonus, as that’s likely where more than 50% of your website visitors are coming from.
If your holiday cottage is in a particularly competitive tourist area the chances are that visitors are going to be looking at a number of different properties; this is a great way to make yours stand out from the crowd, and to engage with visitors beyond the traditional flicking through of images.
Also consider how you can use it seasonally; more and more holiday homes will be trying to boost bookings all year round. 360 videos, particularly of the exterior of the property and surrounding area could be just the thing to entice people in the autumn, winter and early new year. What better way to demonstrate just how magical your cottage looks when surrounded by autumn colours or covered in snow?
The final thing we would say is that early adopters always stand out; whilst some have adopted this technology in the tourist sector, it’s far from common so if you’re looking to stand out in a crowd there’s no better time than now.
Your options
There are a few ways to create a 360 degree video of your holiday home. Whilst they have their pros and cons, you’ll not be surprised to hear that the more expensive option will see your life being easy, and the cheaper route is going to be harder, time consuming and perhaps a little tedious unless you’re technically minded.
Stitching panoramics
If you’re feeling creative, the first option is for the budding DIY enthusiast.
You’ll need to set up your camera in the center of the room (make sure you use a tripod to eliminate wobbles) and take panoramic shots from one end of the room to another. Upload the images to your computer and stitch them together using video software (available from the internet). If you’re using a PC, Windows Movie Maker will do the job.
You’ll then be able to upload this video to YouTube or your website as a standard video.
Please note viewers will not have any control of moving left/right/up/down.
360 Degree cameras
Option number 2 can be pricey, but the end product is interactive and will most likely look a lot cleaner. YouTube have recently added a 360 degree video option, but only 3 cameras are compatible with it. These are the Ricoh Theta S (£299.99), Kodak SP360 (£384.99), and IC Real Tech ALLie (£503). With these cameras you just have to set them up in the middle of the room and hit record. It will then film 360 degrees around the room seamlessly.
Once you’ve done your filming, simply upload to your computer and follow YouTube’s instructions here.
When the video has been correctly uploaded (it can take up to an hour), you will notice that there is a pan button in the top left of the video. Viewers can use this button or the arrow keys on their keyboard to rotate the camera and view different areas.
3. Use a professional to create your 360 degree video
As with everything, you get what you pay for so if you’re looking to really promote the quality of your holiday home using a professional is likely to be the preferred route, albeit at a cost. You’ll have to weigh up the return that you are likely to receive in increased bookings in return for your investment in a 360 degree video. If you use a holiday letting agent to promote your holiday home speak to them about your options, they may well have a solution.
One video professional whose work that has caught our eye recently is Luke Power of Property Videos who is using the latest Virtual Reality (VR) technology to create truly immersive property tours like this one of a stunning 6 bedroom holiday home in Cornwall (click the link and scroll down to explore the 3D interactive tour). .
Holiday Home Security
Whilst promoting your holiday home with a 360 degree high definition video will no doubt help you attract more bookings, we must consider the fact that opening your home up for all to see could potentially attract the wrong attention. Whilst burglaries are relatively few and far between it pays to consider your holiday home security.
Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.
For further information on UK holiday home insurance visit the website page most relevant to you:
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If you own an older historic holiday letting property then you’re likely to have had, and will have, plenty of questions from guests about your heritage holiday home’s history. Have you considered the benefits of integrating this information to guests in your holiday home marketing to help secure new and repeat bookings? You may have an idea of when it was built or who lived there before, but do you know how to find out more about your holiday home’s history?
Take a look
The easiest way to get started with learning more about your property is to look for visual clues in the architecture. It may sound obvious, but the architecture and style of your house will help you identify the time period in which it was built. There may also be some bits that don’t seem quite right, which may indicate that they were added at a later date. If you’re no expert on period architecture, which we aren’t either, then the next steps will also help place your property in history…
Go local
Local history and developments may have affected your property much more than you think. Knowing what was going on around your holiday let over the years can reveal surprising changes and events. British History Online is a great resource for learning about local history, and finding your holiday home’s place in it.
It is also worth talking to a Local History Society. The Local History Online website has a list of societies and their contact information.
Home history
If you are wanting to discover more about the building itself, there are many resources you can focus on. Photographs and newspapers are a great way to research the appearance of your house. If you don’t have any copies, get in touch with your local record office or The Historic England Archive. Articles can provide useful contextual information, and potentially even some photographs!
Is your holiday home a listed property? When owning a heritage home you’re likely to be more aware of it’s history. Listed Buildings Online contains useful records of British Listed Buildings including details of their age and why they were listed.
Ordnance Survey maps are also brilliant for seeing how an area has developed over time. If you don’t know when your holiday let was built, these maps can help you establish a rough time. Copies of these maps from 1840s onwards can be found at county record offices and local libraries.
Did your property once form part of a farm, public house, vicarage, church house, or workhouse? Extra resources are available. The National Farm Survey, visitation records in the parish chest, and this workhouse site are definitely worth checking out if you own one of these building types.
Past people
If social history is what you’re after, then there are multiple records and registers that could help you.
Electoral Registers
Electoral registers can be useful, but they may only be of limited use. Electoral registers were compiled annually from 1832, however women don’t appear on the register until 1918. As well as this, the voting age wasn’t lowered to 18 until 1969, restricting the knowledge that can be gleaned.
Copies can be found at local record offices or local studies libraries.
Census Records
Census records have been going every 10 years since 1801. They are filed with information about the previous occupants of your property, including names, ages, sex, marital status, birth locations, and occupations. Due to privacy reasons, censuses between 1841 and 1911 are available. Later censuses will only be available 100 years after the date they were conducted.
Visitor interest
Once you’ve discovered the history of your holiday home, why not make an information pack for guests and include it in all of your promotional material? Point out any particularly interesting architectural elements, include copies of old photos, and take them through the social and local history. Let us know your holiday home’s history, we would love to hear their stories.
Boshers are specialist providers of Holiday Home Insurance and Listed Holiday Home Insurance. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.
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For a long time now we’ve been told that content is king; not only does Google love it, potential guests enjoy reading it and engaging with what you’re sharing in your holiday letting blog, whether that’s information on places to go in the local area, images of the latest stunning sunset or sharing a few guest reviews.
You don’t need to be an expert in online copy to create great content, you just need a bit of knowledge on what your existing and potential guests like to read about. Alongside this, you’ll need attention grabbing headlines.
If you currently have a blog for your holiday cottage business, we know it is more than likely that you spend hours labouring over a fantastic post then rushing a headline without giving it too much thought. You may not realise, but this could cost you visits to your holiday letting blog and as a result fewer bookings.
Research has shown that 8 out of 10 people will read the title of your blog, whilst 2 out of 10 will read the whole post. So it is worth spending time on a great headline and making a first impression that grabs attention.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of 7 tips on creating the perfect blog title for your brilliant post.
Use power words
Adding words such as ‘brilliant’, ‘easy’, and ‘fun’ lets the reader know that your post is interesting and worth reading. They target human emotions which makes people more inclined to take the time to read your blog post.
Include a number
Research shows that blog post titles get a much higher click-through rate on search engines when it includes a number. This is because we have short attention spans, particularly when it comes to browsing online. A quick skim of a blog title and we can find out that we’ll get 7 fun family activities in North Cornwall.
Make it odd
Experts aren’t entirely sure why, but odd numbers in blog post titles are more popular than even numbers. Research from The Content Marketing Institute found that titles which included an odd number led to 20% more clicks. We may not know why this happens but it is definitely worth doing! We seem to have seven points in this one!
Show you can help
Readers are always after blog posts that will benefit them in some way. From the headline, they need to know that what you have written can help them and benefit them in some way.
Instead of a simple title like “Devon coastal walks”, add in a benefit (and an odd number and power word!) to make it more appealing. Something like “6 beautiful Devonshire coastal walks for the whole family”.
Keep it short
Google can currently only show 65 characters in its search results (which are taken from the title of your blog), so a long title will be cut off and your hard work will be wasted.
We recommend keeping it below 45 characters for maximum impact. If you really can’t get it any lower than this, make sure your key words are at the start of the headline so that if some is cut off by Google, readers will still know what your blog post is about.
Read around
If you want to know how to be successful with blog headlines, then take a look at those at the top. By spending just 10 minutes looking at popular blogs, you can start to see what techniques they use with their headlines. Before you know it the creative juices will be flowing and you’ll be inspired to write some great headlines!
Test it
If you think you’ve done a great job but want to double check, then try out this great free headline analyser tool. CoSchedule checks your headline and scores it for relatability and emotion.
Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.
https://www.boshers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/holiday-letting-blog.jpg600900adminhttps://www.boshers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/03-Boshers-Insurance-Landscape-dark-RGB_TRADEMARKED-300x70.pngadmin2016-08-19 09:50:042016-08-19 09:50:047 easy ways to boost your holiday letting blog
With the summer season now in full swing we’ve been casting our eye back to the beginning of the year. The latest statistics from Visit England’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (released in recent weeks) has given us the initial indications of how the industry performed throughout the first quarter, a season during which many holiday homeowners and agencies will be looking to grow bookings.
Here’s the overview of how the industry is looking…
Record breaking results!
Let’s start with some great news; domestic tourism in the UK appears to be on the up.
The results, which cover January – March 2016, reveal a record breaking first quarter with a 23% increase in spending from last year, in no small amount due to a 10% increase in domestic overnight holiday trips.
That works out as a total spending of £1.8 billion and 7.3 million visits. Very positive signs.
Monthly break down
So how do those increases spread out across the first three months of that quarter?
The answer is reasonably equally, with January, February and March all seeing marked year on year increases in visits and visitor spend.
During January visitors to England spent 9.2% more than last year, with February also seeing a 14% year on year hike (that’s £978 million in real terms). It doesn’t stop there either; March smashed all records with a 32.6% year on year increase in expenditure shared across the British Isles.
Regional growth for the South West and West Midlands
When breaking growth down by region the West Country and the West Midlands have been the biggest winners. More and more of us are now visiting the South West outside of the main season, as demonstrated by an 8% increase in visits during February.
Meanwhile, the West Midlands pulled in 11% more visitors than in the corresponding period last year.
Being inventive with pricing, short breaks and incentives appears to continue to be vital in attracting visitors to destinations during these winter months, and holiday homeowners have done this well in recent years.
London continues to draw international and domestic visitors
The capital continues to be a large draw for anyone visiting the country from abroad, as well as for domestic tourism. This statement was backed up by London seeing the largest increase in nights; up 16% in February, and a huge 28% in March.
Spending soaring in the East of England
The East of England saw the biggest increase in spending during February (a staggering 32% up). This growth was also mirrored during March, and even beaten with spend peaking 35% up on the previous year.
The East Midlands was another area in which visitor spend skyrocketed by 25% in February and another 24% throughout the year to date.
The rest of the year
Based on the impressive results of the first quarter, it is looking like the second quarter will continue to display an increase. At the end of 2015, £19.6 billion was spent through domestic overnight tourism in England across all trip-purposes. Will 2016 out do 2015? We’ll have to wait and see, but the signs definitely look good for holiday homeowners.
Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.
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Using #YearofLegends on social media, tourist attractions, events, and visitors can all connect and spread the word about tourism in Wales. There will be special events throughout the year, and funding will be granted to projects over the course of the 12 months; 35 have already been given a total of £1.28million.
