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Everything you need to start strong as soon as your trip goes live
Survey? Check. Trip planning? Check. Community fully hyped via social posts, emails, and replies? Check, check, and check. In that case, there’s only one thing left to say: Host, you’re go for launch. To help ensure that your big day is as successful (and low-stress!) as possible, we’ve put together our best tips on how to make a splash from the start and get your Travelers to commit.
Key takeaways
- Ask your community directly to start booking spots with both a general announcement, and by interacting in comment sections and DMs.
- Don’t be afraid to talk about money with your community. Take uncertainty out of the equation by giving them exact figures about early bird discounts, how much it will cost to book, etc.
- Hold a live Q&A on launch day and countdown how many early bird spots are remaining.
- It can take anywhere from minutes to months to confirm your trip, so don’t sweat it if you don’t sell out right away.
- Maximize your chances of success with Trova’s email marketing tool and these techniques from our most successful Hosts.
Seize the moment
Some people are punctual and proactive. Most people are not. So chances are even your most excited and loyal followers will still need a friendly push toward signing up. For weeks you’ve been building towards this, now it’s time to cap things off — and make your work pay off — with a call to action. Let the community know that the time to book is now. As in today. As in right this minute, because there’s no telling how long the booking window will be open. Whether in a live Q&A, a post, an email, or something else entirely, this is the time to be direct.
💡Trova Tip: There’s nothing like a personal touch when it comes to sealing the deal. In addition to your general announcement, don’t forget to work the DMs, reply to comments, and interact with your community as much as possible. This is an opportunity to make them feel welcome, wanted…and little on the clock.
Have the money talk
It’s way more fun to focus on travel and adventure and building community, but at some point the subject of money needs to be covered. We know it can feel awkward or icky but the reality is, knowing the exact financial details and options will put your Travelers at ease. At this point it’s likely that any doubts they still have about booking are money-related, so hearing the actual numbers (and everything that is included in this awesome experience) will often be what gets them over the final hurdle.
The good news is there are plenty of positives to be found in this conversation, starting with early bird prices. Leading with the fact that there’s a nice, big discount for the first wave of signups makes talking money a lot less scary. Another easy point to make is that trips don’t need to be paid in full right away. Travelers can start with just a 25% deposit, or apply to pay over time with Affirm’s 6, 12, or 18-month plans.*
Talking about payment options is also a good opportunity to segue into specifics. Any unknowns make folks less likely to book and if there’s one thing people hate more than reading, it’s doing math. So break everything down for them. Instead of just saying the deposit is 25%, give them the exact dollar amount. Instead of saying final payments are due 90 days before the trip starts, give them an exact date. This will clear things up for your community and make it that much easier for them to say yes.
Start the countdown
What’s a launch without a countdown? Use the 3-5 days before going live to tease activities or locations and solicit questions, in order to keep the upcoming date fresh in everyone’s mind. Then when your trip launches, culminate with a live Q&A where you answer those questions and invite your community to sign up.
As early bird spots fill, you may even want to dust off an old QVC classic and countdown the ones remaining. Counting spots via Stories, posts, or Instagram Live tend to be very effective methods. Whichever way you prefer, just don’t forget to make that initial call to action!
Embrace the journey
Launch day is a big milestone, but it’s not the final one. There’s still plenty to look forward to — like making new friends and actually traveling — but you’re also probably wondering how long it will take for your trip to confirm. To that we say: relax. It’s not a Taylor Swift concert so, even with your fantastic promotion, selling spots can take some time. How long? It’s perfectly normal to take days, weeks, or even months. 😱 And we get it, waiting is annoying AF. But just remember Trova is your partner in this process which means your rep is there to workshop promotion ideas that will make your trip happen.
In the meantime, or if you’re a self-service Host, we have plenty of resources to ensure that no Traveler-booking stone is left unturned. Check out these articles to make sure your email marketing is on point and to learn techniques from some of our most successful Hosts that get results at every stage of the journey.
*Affirm’s Universal Disclosure: Your rate will be 10–30% APR based on credit, and is subject to an eligibility check. Payment options through Affirm are provided by these lending partners: affirm.com/lenders. Options depend on your purchase amount, and a down payment may be required.