{"id":5727,"date":"2020-02-27T10:36:45","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T10:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/?p=5727"},"modified":"2022-10-12T12:24:57","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T12:24:57","slug":"free-advertising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schofields.ltd.uk\/blog\/5727\/free-advertising\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Advertise Your Holiday Home or Airbnb for Free"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 9<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Running a holiday rental can mean you are so busy preparing for and looking after your guests, that marketing your business is never at the top of your to-do list.<\/p>\n

You might also think that ongoing marketing expenses will only mean hurting your bottom line. However, even if you only have a tight budget, there are many things you can do to promote your holiday home that incur little to no financial cost.<\/p>\n

Here, we\u2019ve put together a list of free and easy marketing strategies that will increase your bookings.<\/p>\n

Start a blog<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Blog<\/p>\n

It might sound like a time-consuming task to write a blog post each week or month, but who knows better than you about the area? It\u2019s likely to only take half an hour to an hour of your time for each post \u2013 but the benefits make it worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Based on your knowledge, you\u2019re the perfect person to put together quick helpful tips that answer common traveller questions e.g. which are the best restaurants? How about a blog post on \u2018the top 10 secret restaurants that the locals like to keep to themselves \u2013 and the dishes you must try\u2019. Don\u2019t write about what everyone else is; be different.<\/p>\n

As well as providing genuinely helpful information to your potential and incoming guests, you can use this tactic to begin positioning yourself as a \u2018destination expert\u2019. Regularly blogging can also increase your holiday home\u2019s chances of being discovered by search engines too. It means that you might end up reaching potential new bookers who had originally just been searching for some information such as what\u2019s the weather like in June (this is linked to SEO, which we talk about later in tip #6).<\/p>\n

Include some high-quality photos in your blog posts too, and you\u2019ll be delighting visitor\u2019s past, present and future, and building up more brand awareness about your holiday let.<\/p>\n

Try to integrate guest blogging on a relevant and high-quality blog into your marketing strategy. Provide expert answers or some general advice to people looking for insight and information on your destination. Accessing this new audience can sometimes be more beneficial than posting to your own blog.<\/p>\n

Blogging is a great way of increasing your brand exposure. Plus, you may earn a link back to your own website from your article, giving you an inbound link that can increase your own website’s ranking in search engines.<\/p>\n

Blog content also gives you something extra to promote on your business\u2019s social media channels, so it really is worth investing a little effort and time.<\/p>\n

Further reading: How to create a blog<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ask your guests to leave you a review<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"s<\/p>\n

These days, you can be sure that a large proportion of your target audience will be carefully researching where\u2019s the best place to stay before they book; and reading reviews of holiday homes and cottages will have a huge impact on where they decide to stay.<\/p>\n

Reviews are powerful – people trust the opinions of others and testimonials from previous guests can convince someone that your rental is the one to choose.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re confident someone\u2019s had an excellent stay with you, and you and your property went above and beyond to make their time with you a brilliant one, don\u2019t be afraid to reach out via email and kindly request they leave you a review. Ideally, this should be done within a few days of checkout.<\/p>\n

As well as the instant reputational boost this can give your holiday cottage, a pool of good reviews can also contribute to your listing getting clicked in the search results too.<\/p>\n

Send a monthly newsletter<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Newsletter<\/p>\n

Think you can spare a bit of time each month to pull together a short update about your property and the local area for past and potential guests? Then take advantage of a free, reliable email marketing platform such as MailChimp. This tool allows you to build branded email newsletters full of useful information, special offers and news about the local area and events.<\/p>\n

Email marketing one of the most successful strategies to stay engaged with past guests and encourage them to stay with you once more.<\/p>\n

Add a short registration form to your website to attract newsletter sign-ups. Maybe offer an incentive for subscribing (e.g. you will be the first to be notified of special offers when you sign up for our newsletter).<\/p>\n

The one we use for our newsletter can be seen to the right of this article. If you want to keep updated on useful tips to run a holiday cottage business, then sign up to our newsletter!<\/p>\n

Further reading: Email marketing tips<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Embrace social media<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Social<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t need to tell you that social media as a marketing channel is both extremely popular and well-utilised by a vast variety of businesses \u2013 especially in the travel sector. In fact, you may have already seen several your competitors\u2019 Facebook Pages and Instagram channels recently, and wondered if social media marketing is something you should be doing more of?<\/p>\n

The answer to that, quite simply, is \u2018yes\u2019. For the travel industry, social media platforms are essential ways of reaching your target audience and attracting bookings. But we would say that it does need some time investment on a regular basis, and you need to be prepared to keep the updates and promotion flowing from week-to-week on these channels \u2013 photos, special offers, tips and advice\u2026 there\u2019s a lot you can shout about using these platforms.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are completely free to sign up to and use, and soon you could be gaining a strong following of fans who admire your property\/what you offer and might have an aspiration to stay with you.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget that being active on these sites will be important for your business if only to allow your guests the opportunity to tag your rental into one of their social updates.<\/p>\n

Guests who have really enjoyed their time at your property, and the local sights are bound to want to take a photo and share it with their friends, family and followers \u2013 and really, that\u2019s the best kind of publicity you could ask for. \u00a0It\u2019s digital \u2018word-of-mouth\u2019 promotion, and it hasn\u2019t cost you a penny.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to add the option to book now and link up your social media business channels with your website so that everything\u2019s all joined up.<\/p>\n

Further reading: Social media marketing tips<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Partner with local businesses<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"men<\/p>\n

Joining forces with local businesses can be a great way to add value by offering supplementary services that you don’t provide. Look at what\u2019s in your local area, from restaurants and attractions to spas and farm shops. Set up a meeting with the owners about the mutual benefits of partnering up on a deal or an offer for your future guests.<\/p>\n

As well as the fact that you\u2019ll be building some new, important links in your community, choosing your partners wisely means that you\u2019ll also be building a better potential experience for your incoming guests \u2013 saving them<\/em> money in the process through partner deals.<\/p>\n

And hopefully, when your partner\u2019s consumers need your services, your partner will point them in your direction.<\/p>\n

The one thing to consider about this marketing tactic is that you should be looking to partner up with businesses that offer a useful product or service that appeals to your guests. That they have a good reputation, and if possible, already hold a swathe of positive reviews. That way, you can be confident that the recommendations you\u2019re feeding to your guests are unlikely to backfire on you.<\/p>\n

Further reading: Valuable services to offer guests<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Learn some basic SEO<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"seo<\/p>\n

\u2018SEO\u2019 stands for \u2018S<\/strong>earch E<\/strong>ngine O<\/strong>ptimisation\u2019 and in a nutshell, is all about the practice of optimising your website in the right way so that your target audience can find you more easily through search engines like Google and Bing.<\/p>\n

Whilst it might sound a bit technical (and in fact, some of what\u2019s involved in SEO can be very technical), for the purposes of your holiday letting website, you only really need to understand the basics.<\/p>\n

Whether your website is built on WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or something else, here\u2019s what we suggest you pay attention to when you\u2019re reading up on what to work on:<\/p>\n