Let's say you are a tour operator who offers paragliding to travelers from all over the world. You work in a busy city, so there are three other similar size tour companies providing paragliding activities in the same location that you run your tours. You know what makes your paragliding experience different from your competitors, but how can you let potential customers know?
Most travelers won't have any knowledge or loyalty to your company. They will be browsing online marketplaces or search engines and will view your tours alongside your competitors, so you need to ensure that your listing stands out. This is why tour descriptions are so important as both an advert and a sales pitch.
What is a tour description?
A tour description is the marketing content that explains what your tour is and it's unique selling points. The purpose of a tour description is to supply potential customers with details about the features of the tour, so they’re compelled to purchase their ticket.
Here are six simple ways to write a tour description that sells:
1. Photography
In the digital age, photography is the first engagement tool we have when advertising tours and activities. It's what attracts the website user, and what will set you apart from your competition. You need to choose a featured image that is eye-catching, unique and makes a customer want to click and find out more. Look at what your competitors are using, and select something different so that your tour stands out. You should also change your photo from time-to-time to see if engagement increases or decreases. This way you can find which one works best.
Download: The ultimate photography guide
Within your tour description, have 5-10 high-quality photos that showcase your tour; where customers will go, what they will see, and how much they will enjoy it. It is worth investing in professional photography for your tour descriptions as photography could make or break a potential customers decision. You can also use the same images on your website and social media channels to split the cost of purchase.
2. Explain your tour in a title
Your competitors will probably have 'Paragliding Interlaken' as their tour title. What could set your tour apart? Here you can use your unique selling points to share the main features of your experiences. Try words like exclusive or priority access, local or experienced guide, once-in-a-lifetime, incredible views...
Does your tour include a drive to your destination? Do you offer food or a drink at the end of the trip? If so, add this in your title, but keep it short and catchy.
3. Who is your ideal customer?
Your tour description should appeal to your ideal customer, so you should have buyer personas based on your target market. Read: How to understand your customers by creating personas
Buyer personas (sometimes referred to as marketing personas) are fictional, generalized representations of your ideal customers. Personas help us all -- in marketing, sales, product, and services -- internalize the ideal customer we're trying to attract, and relate to our customers as real humans. Having a deep understanding of your buyer persona(s) is critical to driving content creation, product development, sales follow up, and really anything that relates to customer acquisition and retention. HubSpot
Once you know which buyer persona you would like to reach, you can select the right marketplace for this audience. Your tour description can then be designed to match the buyers preference by changing the tone and length of the content, images, features of the tour and what items are included. You can find out what is important to this persona by reviewing existing bookings and asking customers who meet these criteria for feedback.
If you are looking to reach buyers from another country, it may be of value to have your listing professionally translated.
4. What is unique about your tour?
The content of your tour description should be all about what makes your experience unique. If I book Paragliding in Interlaken, then I already have an idea of what it will entail. Tell me something different. Share what the experience will be like from start to finish, who my tour guide will be, where we will go, and why I need to book this tour. I always hear people say 'if you are ever going to paraglide, it needs to be in Interlaken.' This is a message that works. What could your message be?
When writing your content use keywords that will be relevant and searchable to bring more traffic to your tour page. You can use KeywordTool to search for which words and phrases you should use. I also recommend using a grammar checking site such as grammarly.com to find any small typos, or to ask someone to review your listing before it goes live.
5. Can the description be skimmed?
Most people who see your page will also be looking at 5-10 different activities. They may be using a mobile device. Your description should have the option to be skimmed quickly by the reader. You can achieve this by using bullet points to highlight the key features of the tour, followed by the full description to find out more.
Key features should be what makes your tour unique from your competitors. Here is an example:
- 20 minute scenic drive in a 4x4 through the Swiss Alps to your flight destination
- Introduction and safety briefing with your pilot Tim who has be flying for over 15 years'
- 30 minute tandem paragliding over the beautiful Swiss Alps and Lake Thun, landing in the heart of Interlaken
- 20 photographs and a video so you can show everyone the proof
- A high-five and beer to celebrate that you did this awesome experience!
6. What is the return?
With any form of advertising, you should test and analyze your campaign. You can always try a new description, imagery, featured image or title.Try different versions over the course of 6-8 weeks and see provides the best results. If you competitors copy your tour description style, then change again. Always stand out!
We've created free handbook to help you write a unique tour description:
