6 Must Have’s on Your Travel Advisor Website
Is your website nonexistent? Or maybe you have a consortia website that isn’t doing much for you and is screaming boring host agency vibes.
In a sea of Travel Advisors all technically ‘doing’ the same thing, you can set yourself apart from the masses with a custom website that feels like you and that your ideal market resonates with.
Turn those not-quite-sure-yet clients into buyers with branding that speaks to the clients you want to work with, ensures they understand the value of a TA, solidifies your space in the market as the expert, builds a relationship through blogging and a personal touch newsletter, and streamlines your client process through integrations.
If you’re ready to get serious about your business, streamline your communication system and take your business to the next level, read on for some must-have features to include on your website.
01. Brand Bio
You may have heard of the term ‘header’, ‘hero banner’ or ‘above the fold’. This refers to the very top section of the website that your visitor lands on when they visit your website. If the name ‘hero’ doesn’t give it away - this is one of the most important areas of your website.
It takes fewer than 5 seconds for a visitor to decide whether or not your website is for them and whether they hop off the page or continue. For this reason, it is so important to be CLEAR about what you do, who you serve, and how you serve them—aka, the transformation you offer.
This Brand Bio, covering the 3 points above, should be in your ‘hero’ at the very top of your website so there is no doubt that your ideal audience is in the right place.
If in doubt, choose clear over clever, always.
Not sure who your ideal client is? You need the Ideal Client Workbook!
Get clear on your ideal client demographics, struggles and values with the help of this 11 page workbook.
02. Your Sales Page
This is about your services & process, BUT it’s also about the transformation you offer and how you make your client’s life easier through your services & process.
Imagine for a moment, you’ve never worked with a photographer before and don’t know how it works. Will they edit your photos? What if your kids don’t listen? Maybe being in front of the camera makes you cringe. Imagine the photographer addresses your pain points and sets your fears at ease, ultimately guiding you to the decision to reach out.
This scenario is especially true for a Travel Advisor. I mean, don’t you just look scroll through your system and click a button to confirm and off I go?
WRONG, right?
With the potential influx of post-Covid travellers considering a Travel Advisor for the first time, this is a perfect opportunity to educate your potential clients on your VIP service and the value of working with a TA.
Share the transformation you offer your clients
You know the benefits & value you provide through your process & offerings. Your Services/Sales page is your opportunity to share how you solve your client's problems through your sales process and the transformation your services offer them. How do you make their life easier? What will their life look like when working with you?
From the initial consultation to defining their dream vacation needs and wants, researching & curating the perfect solutions, the admin to actually confirm said perfect vacation, and of course, all of the pre & post-trip follow-up, travel advisors do a lot.
Keep the process simple
Layout your process step by step, but keep it short & sweet. Sharing how to & why they should work with you takes out the guesswork and automatically makes you look like a professional with a system in place.
Check out what we did for The Travelista on her Services page.
03. Social Proof
This could look like many things. Social proof encompasses client testimonials, media releases & press you have been featured in, podcasts you have been invited to, and designations or certifications you have. You get the point.
This will offer a look inside your process and the experience your clients receive. Building your Know, Like & Trust factor is important - especially for those who haven’t worked with you before.
Ideally, you want to showcase three types of testimonials:
Solves problems - it addresses how you solved one of their pain points
Adds value - will help potential clients overlook a payment threshold by seeing how you provided value
Overcomes objections - speaks to clients overcoming their initial objections with purchasing from you
For example, a client review:
It honestly felt like magic
First of all, Lara was extremely professional and a pleasure to work with. Before reaching out to Lara, I had started my Squarespace site on my own and was getting frustrated with the process. I was learning a lot but nothing was turning out how I wanted. When I started to work with Lara, I was blown away by how she converted my words/copy into a beautiful page that flowed so nicely. It honestly felt like magic.
{Her} organization and communication definitely exceeded my expectations. Everything is so well organized right from the start.
If you are looking for a website that is aesthetically pleasing and functional, you need to connect with Lara at Birch and Bud Design Co. She works to really understand your clients…and has an eye for bringing your ideas to life in a beautiful website design.
- RACHAEL QUICKFALL
This leads me to my next point - your email list.
Stuck on what to ask your clients? Grab my favourite post project questions!
I share my top questions I ask when closing a project to improve my process, and get those 3 types of client testimonials.
04. List Builder / Lead Magnet
If your Facebook or Instagram got hacked or the platforms disappeared, what would you do? Are you relying on social media to exclusively market to your clients?
If your answer is yes, then we need to change that pronto.
Social Media should be the handshake to your business, the introduction and initial connection building medium. It should then direct your newly interested potential clients to the platform you own - your website. For marketing, it’s said that 72% of people prefer to learn about promotions and be sold to via email.
Social media is for connection. Your website & email list is for sales. This is an entire blog post on its own (not yet written), but for now, know that getting people on your email list will net your biggest Return on Investment there is. As per the Direct Marketing Association, the ROI on email marketing is 4300% and for every ONE person on your email list, it’s equal to $1 per month of revenue into your business. This could be a huge number eventually, so the time to start is now.
One thing to remember, no one just joins an email list for fun. How many emails do you get in your inbox? Too many, probably.
Email marketing is a VALUE EXCHANGE. You provide something of value that your ideal clients can use, and in return, they offer their email address. Once you have their email address, you deliver their value-packed ‘freebie’ or ‘opt-in’, followed by 3-5 emails that are automated via your Email platform.
This sequence offers an introduction to who you are, answers questions they may have about your services, perhaps offer another quick win or valuable content (maybe a blog post), followed by an introduction to working with you. After the sequence is over, they are on your list for future nurturing with the weekly or monthly emails that you send to your subscribers. These subsequent emails allow you to create an experience for your subscribers that can lead them on a journey to purchase/use your services.
Your lead magnet doesn’t have to be a fancy photoshopped masterpiece. As Jenna Kutcher would say, ‘the message matters more than the medium’. Just give valuable information that helps your client solve a problem and you’ve done your job.
Here are some Freebie ideas you can steal:
Checklist or customizable template
Travel tips for a specific destination or style of vacation > bonus write a blog post & link your related freebie
Mini E-Book or Travel Guide
Mini-Course or free module of a larger course you offer
Updates or Advisories
Fun Quiz > great way to learn about your audience as well
Savings or discount code
Flodesk: the prettiest email you ever did see…
Easy to use drag & drop interface, beautiful conversion-focused templates, and seamless automation to scale your business.
05. Planning Fees
You may not have planning fees, and possibly pride yourself on that. If so, then this will not apply to you.
Pre-pandemic when I was a Travel Advisor, I only charged fees on airfare-only tickets to cover my costs. Now, we are at a different time. Commissions are not guaranteed and honestly, it’s a little like relying on tips to guarantee your income. Travel Advisors are one of the few professionals left who work for free in advance and rely on a third party for payment.
To be honest, to truly have a client’s best interest at heart, booking with a Tour Operator or Airline who pays you the most isn’t the best way to build trust or serve your client. Charging fees allow you to truly curate the best options available, as you know you will be getting paid regardless. Not only that, but you’re able to forecast your financial future with more accuracy. You are in the driver’s seat.
Now that that is out of the way, I believe full transparency is the way to go. Perhaps it’s a from or starting at price, but at least providing a general guideline will weed out any clients that are calling around from agency to agency for the ‘best deal’ & ensure those that do reach out will value the service you will provide.
If you have existing clients that are just hearing about your new fees, this is a great space to direct them to in an email newsletter featuring some of your new updates.
06. Online Scheduler
This is about streamlining your process. Firstly, on your Contact page, you want to re-cap why they should reach out to you and how you can help them.
The Contact page is another opportunity to ensure the clients that reach out to you are your ideal clients. You can use the contact form to ask more specific questions like destination, style of travel, must have’s, etc if you want to get an idea if it is worth jumping on a consultation call. You’re busy, your time is money!
You may also want to add your email address for quick questions, but this is up to you.
You could embed a scheduler right on your website with an intake form so you’re prepped for a call and/or you could have a shorter contact form and then upon receipt, invite them to schedule a call with you. During this call invitation, you send them a full intake form to ensure that it’s a client you want to work with.
For example, if you specialize in luxury beach vacations and they’re looking for a Carnival cruise, it may be a client you want to refer to another agent you partner with.
Best Choices for Schedulers?
Calendly has a free & paid version you can use, and Acuity is partnered with Squarespace as well, (also called Squarespace Scheduling), both subscription models. Both of these services allow you to add a questionnaire before scheduling a call, as well as create more than one appointment time. So, if you offer 15-minute Initial Consults, in-process client calls or mentorship calls with other agents, you are able to distinguish specific days, times and lengths available for clients to book on their own.
No more back and forth choosing a date/time or feeling an urgency to answer a call in the middle of grocery shopping!! Your cell can be for emergency use only.
There you have it! The list could be longer, like a Privacy Page which is required by law (hint - check out the Resource Marketplace for those!), but these Top 6 should get your mind spinning as it is.
Was this helpful? If you have any questions, let me know!
