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How to set yourself up for success before launching your trip
Congrats, your trip is officially planned and almost ready to go live for bookings! Getting to this point is a testament to your hard work and amazing community. However, it can also feel like being stuck in a little bit of a hosting limbo with survey promotion done and launch still on the horizon. But don’t worry! There are still plenty of easy, fun things you can do to keep the excitement going and get ready for what’s next.
Key takeaways
- Posting about your trip even before bookings open will keep it top of mind for your community, especially by promoting early bird pricing.
- Encourage your community members to sign up for your Trova mailing list for first access to book your trip.
- If you have a mailing list, consider creating a blog post about your upcoming trip – complete with fun details about the events you personally plan to offer – and send it out directly.
- Use the time between the survey phase and trip launch to plan a promotion strategy and familiarize yourself with confirmation techniques from our most successful Hosts.
- Keep in mind that it’s completely normal if your trip doesn’t confirm right away. Just focus on reminding your busy community to sign up and reach out to Trova if you feel stuck or discouraged.
Stay on the radar
Check out @foodieonfleek's live post here!
Sure, you’ve been thinking plenty about your upcoming trip but your community probably needs a few social posts to help keep it fresh in their minds. This is a good opportunity to get more in-depth and personal as you talk about what you’re looking forward to most, as well as any Host-led activities. Remember, your community is excited about the destination but they chose this trip because of you.
In addition to engaging with folks and answering questions, you can also eventize the launch date by pushing early bird pricing. For example, “The first 10 people to book get $100 off!” Everyone loves a discount! And don’t forget, at this point things are set in stone so be as specific as possible about dates, the itinerary, and how to book. Knowing the details already makes it a lot easier for Travelers to commit when the time comes.
Email away
While most promotion takes place on social media, good old-fashioned email is a useful tool as well. We recommend encouraging your community – even if they’re already on a mailing list you’ve built outside of Trova – to head to your Host Profile Page and sign up for the mailing list there too, for first dibs on booking. You can learn all about the importance of building your Trova mailing list here but the long and short of it is promoting via both email and social approximately doubles your chances of signups.
💡Trova Tip: Looking to kick your marketing up a notch? Create a blog post about your trip with a deep dive on the workshops you plan to offer. You don’t have to write a novel. Just something to let your community know that you’ve put thought and care into making this a one-of-a-kind experience. See how Host Helene Sula did it here!
Plan ahead
Group travel planning: it’s a marathon, not a sprint. The fact is not every trip will confirm right away, and that’s completely normal and OK. It has nothing to do with you as a Host. After all, life is busy and sometimes even your most dedicated followers need a reminder (or several) before they sign up. Still, waiting for those final bookings to come in can be an anxious time. With that in mind, sketching out plans for post-launch promotion beforehand will help alleviate those pins and needles down the road. That way you can focus on actively raising awareness rather than fixating on numbers and milestones. Not sure what to do besides post on social? Check out these tried-and-true techniques from our most successful Hosts that can get you to confirmation and beyond.
Go for launch
The more planning and promotion you do ahead of time, the easier – and generally more successful – your launch will be. Like any big project, say a movie or an album, pre-release publicity plays a huge role so we encourage you to take a page from Hollywood’s book with a little campaign of your own. No billboards or crazy stunts, just engaging with your community in fun and creative ways to gently remind them of the trip that you’ve all made together. And don’t worry, if you get stuck we’re here to help no matter where you’re at in the process.