Marketing tips

You’ve heard of virtue signalling.

Effort signalling is completely different.

It could help you attract visitors who're willing to pay more.

Most of us do things behind the scenes without actually talking about them. We just show the end result: a clean room, details of a guided walk, something you've created.

We don't show or talk about all the work that goes into making your property spotless, the many years you spent learning about your local area to be a good guide, or in my case the 35…

Do you love… walking, potatoes, knitting, dogs, trees, beaches, scones?

It doesn’t matter what it is, someone loves it. Which makes for powerful marketing and happy people.

If you lead a website or blog heading, mailing or social media post with something that people love, they pay attention. You’re talking about something they’re interested in. You might be about to give them an idea that will make them extra happy.

Most businesses don’t match what they offer to what others love. 

Passion +…

Do you offer gift vouchers? 

With more people buying experiences as presents, offering gift vouchers for your business is a good idea. 

They're something you can offer year-round, but promote specifically just before celebrations such as Christmas and Mothers'/Fathers' Day. Don't forget to do some last-minute promotions too - you could solve some-one's gift-giving dilemma. 

There are two more advantages to offering gift vouchers. 

You can promote them year-round and generate income even when…

Every week when I'm talking about marketing, or someone is asking me how to generate more revenue in their business, the same thing crops up. 

"I'm scared I'll be too salesy or seem too pushy" or "I don't want people to think I'm doing a sales pitch" or "it feels like I'm in sales mode". 

Tough love:

You need visitors to buy, book, visit and pay you money.

You need sales.

You need to generate income. 

So you need to sell. 

It's not a dirty word. Selling can be done in the way a dodgy sec…

Hate social media? So do I.

But I also manage to reach almost 20 million people a year using it... (find out how)

Most of us don't actually like using social media.

But here's the reality.

Imagine you're running a cafe. You don't like washing up. So you don't do it... and what happens?

Imagine you're running a B&B. You don't like making beds. So you don't do it...

Those dreaded tasks are an essential part of running a tourism or hospitality business. 

If you want visitors to visit your bu…

Every now and then someone tells me they haven't got time for marketing. 

Each of them runs their own tourism business. And I find it a very odd thing to say.

If you run a business, presumably you need visitors in order to make a living? 

How are they going to find you if you don't spend any time marketing?

Marketing is as much part of running a business as sending invoices/banking money or cleaning. It's essential. 

Even if you decide to only promote your business through online travel age…

It now looks likely that the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire aims to introduce the overnight levy from March 2027 onwards. After a meeting with Visit North Yorkshire, we were asked to submit any questions or concerns for them to collate and pass on to the Mayor.

I asked businesses across North Yorkshire to add their thoughts, and then combined them into this document. It's a little haphazard as I wasn't well at the time and under extreme time pressure but gives an indication of the strength o…

Imagine you’re going for a walk in an unknown place. The directions say to follow a compass bearing of 90 degrees. You take a path across a field that’s a degree or two off that. It doesn’t seem to make much difference.

You keep walking.

That tiny difference starts to make a bigger difference. At first you’re just a degree or two off course, but over a long distance you veer more and more off the route. Perhaps you even get lost, and struggle to get back on the right track. 

That’s what happe…

We all do it. We start a business, and make a website or post on social media, and gradually add ideas and information. Perhaps you come to one of my marketing workshops and I give you an idea, which you add. And over time you get busier and busier. And you gradually drift into other marketing activities, with different messages. And you start to leave out the essential, foundational details. 

I was reminded of this yesterday when I spoke to a dog trainer. When I first met him a few years ago h…

If you're busy with visitors right now, and bookings/coming weeks are looking good, you might not feel inclined to post much on social media. 

But being busy is a great marketing tool.

Do a social media post or mailing mentioning how busy you are.

Maybe mention when you think your next gap might be. 

Tell people you're turning down bookings.

Show that visitors are happy and coming in good numbers.

Use a little FOMO to keep up the flow, but mainly - to encourage people to plan and book a vi…