Holiday Cottage Advertising and Promotion

You’ve purchased a holiday home and now need some bookings to make some money. But where do you get your bookings from?

Getting your holiday cottage booked up is essential for your business to be a success, but as a new owner it’s hard to know where to begin.

So where do you start?https://www.countrycottagesonline.net/project/site/Cottages.php

Talk to Others & Network

Talking to other cottage owners and networking can be a great source of hints and tips. Getting Hints and Tips from Trusted Sources

• Chat to Friends or Family and ask about where they get bookings from.

• Connect with Other Cottage Owners on Online Forums.

• Research Ways to meet Other Cottage Owners.

• Get Recommendations from Other Holiday Home Owners

• Do your Own Tailored Research

How to Advertise your Holiday Cottage

• There are a number of options when it comes to advertising your Holiday Home, the main options are as follows:

• Set up and Promote your own Website

• Get Featured on Other Websites (such as Online Advertising Portals, Regional Websites and Tourist Websites)

• Place an Ad in a Newspaper or Press Publication

• Place an Ad in a Newsagents Window

• Seek the Services of an Agency to advertise your cottage and deal with your bookings for Commission.

• Promote your cottage Online with Social Media

Getting OnlineSet up a Free Website or Buy a Website

Buying a Website from a Designer

• For your website to perform well, you may need to get to grips with SEO and concepts like meta titles, descriptions, keywords and links.

• Think about whether you want to edit your site direct. If you can’t then you will have to pay your designer each time you make an edit, this can cost a lot in the long term.

• Get various quotes, write a wish-list and ask a variety of sources for quotes and information before deciding which designer to use. Bear in mind the cheapest isn’t always the best but neither is the most expensive, focus on getting Value for Money. Never pay everything for your website up front, it’s usual to pay for it in 2 stages.

• Don’t be blinded by Jargon! Some people will try to blind you with Jargon, don’t be put off, ask for explanations and do research online to find out what designers are talking about.

Getting Online ContinuedHow about a Free Website?

• If you just need an easy to use basic website to show off photos and more info re your property then how about setting up a free Website or Blog? Look at Wordpress and Tumblr for ideas. These sites are usually easy to use.

• Bear in mind, free sites have their limitations, it’s hard if not impossible to go in to the code and make edits there. If your provider stops offering their service you may lose your website completely, always keep backups of text and photos on your PC.

How to Promote Your WebsiteYou have a Website, Now What?

• For a high performing site, you need to drive traffic to it.

• Great free tools which allow you to link to and promote your website include Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus.

• Get in touch with other Websites and ask them to Feature you and link to your site.

• Use Google Analytics (it’s free to set up an account) so you can understand where your traffic is coming from (why be in the dark?)

Online Advertising Ideas• Be prepared to have to pay for online advertising. As with your

own business, you can’t offer a service for free. There are some great free services out there but be prepared to pay for some services in order to get returns.

• Consider trying out a few Online Advertising Providers. A few advertisers include Country Cottages Online, Owners Direct, Holiday Lettings, Cottage Guide and more.

• Review performance after a year; stick with the ones that offer value for money and consider trying out new options if they haven’t all worked for you.

• Do your own searches in the Search Engines and find the providers that work best for your type of holiday home.

• Remember just because a website is more expensive, doesn’t make it better, similarly with the cheapest, this isn’t always the best either. The best for you is the one that offers you value for money and great returns on your annual investment.

Advertising with the Press?• Advertising with the Press can boost Brand

Awareness but think about how you will monitor what return you are getting on your investment

• When dealing with calls, emails and bookings ask people where they heard about you

• Consider advertising in specialist publications that fit in with the type of holiday home. i.e. if there are great walks near you then it may make sense to advertise in a walking magazine for example.

Be Prepared to Try Things Out

• To successfully Promote your Holiday Cottage you need to be prepared to try things out.

• Remember to Monitor Effectiveness at the end of Each Year

• Remember Things Don’t Stand Still. The online market in particular is always changing, be prepared to change with it.

• https://www.countrycottagesonline.net/project/site/Cottages.php