Copywriting for Travel Industry Pros with Emily Matras – Episode 03

If you’ve ever stared at a blank website page or caption box and typed something like “I love travel and want to help you experience the world,” welp, at least you made it here 🙂

Copywriting for travel industry pros just like you is thankfully a very learnable skill.

A few core principles like the right words, a clear formula, and messaging that centers your client instead of you, are genuinely all it takes to shift your marketing from forgettable to raking in the sales.

I brought copywriter Emily Matras of Bon Vivant Copy onto the podcast to break all of her insider info.

I’ve actually worked with Emily, first through her former DIY course in 2018, where I hadn’t flexed my writing muscles that much since Catholic middle school lol!

She totally pushed me to do the best writing of my professional life.

I then hired her again in 2021 to write new copy for my rebranded website, as I didn’t want to work so hard the second time around 🙂

So yes, I’m a huge fan, as she’s a true wordsmith and expert in our industry.

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What copywriting for travel industry clients actually means

Before anything else, Emily draws a clear line between copywriting and content writing, because most travel advisors are using those words interchangeably when they’re actually doing very different jobs.

Copywriting is writing that’s meant to spur someone to take a specific action.

Your website?

Copywriting.

Every word on it should be working toward the one goal of getting a visitor to reach out to you.

Content writing, on the other hand, is about building and nurturing a relationship with your audience.

Your email newsletter, your blog posts, and most of your social media posts fall into this territory.

Neither is better than the other.

They serve different parts of the buyer’s journey, and knowing which one you’re writing changes how you approach it. 

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The two buzzwords that changed how I write

Emily shared two simple power words.

The first is “get.”

It feels casual, and some of her clients push back on it for exactly that reason.

But that casual feeling is actually the whole point.

Everyone likes to get things.

Getting feels effortless and immediate.

Compare “subscribe here” to “get on the list.”

Subscribe implies work.

Get on the list implies instant reward.

Try swapping that word on your email sign-up button and watch what happens to your click rate.

The second is “free.” A lot of travel advisors avoid this word because they worry it attracts budget shoppers.

I even shuddered hearing this, but I let Emily convince me 🙂

Free is magnetic.

Even wealthy travelers like getting something for nothing.

The key is where you use it.

You probably don’t want “FREE” in the headline of your luxury travel website, but if you’re promoting an opt-in guide to build your email list?

Call it a free guide, not a complimentary resource.

The word free will bring people in, and the content you put behind it will do the filtering.

If your brand personality is more sophisticated, complimentary may fit better in some contexts, but when it comes to lead magnets and opt-in offers, free wins almost every time.

The elevator pitch formula every travel advisor needs

It’s simple: We do X for Y so that Z.

X is what you do; your specialty or the type of travel you plan.

Y is your target client.

Z is the big outcome, the deeper desire, not just the surface-level benefit.

Emily’s example: “We plan effortless, all-inclusive escapes for busy families who want to finally take time to make memories together.”

You can use this formula for so much more than just your elevator pitch, though.

Emily says that it can work as your homepage opener, your LinkedIn bio, your Facebook profile description; essentially anywhere you need to immediately communicate who you help and why it matters.

It passes the “grunt test” that StoryBrand (affiliate link) talks about: could someone understand in five seconds exactly who you help and what they get?

If you can’t pass that test, you’re losing people before they even read the rest of your page.

The Z part is where most travel advisors stop short. It’s tempting to say something like “so that they can save time and money,” but that’s surface level.

What does your ideal client actually want?

Security?

Connection?

A first real vacation after years of putting everyone else first? 

Maybe you work with book lovers who can’t wait to experience the places that inspired their favorite stories.

These are the things you’re actually selling.

Before my 2021 rebrand, my travel agency website was all over the place.

Photos of Africa, mass market cruises, the Galapagos.

I was trying to focus on group cruises of any kind, for anyone.

I worked with some amazing experts to really hone in on the work I did, how I did, and who I did it for.

I realized I wanted to work specifically with business owners and team leaders planning retreats on cruise ships.

My formula became, I help business owners and team leaders plan retreats on cruise ships, so they can still create out-of-this-world experiences without worrying about all the logistics.

The moment I committed to that, everything else became even clearer.

I stopped trying to sell everything to everyone and started selling a specific type of travel to a specific type of person.

I already knew what excited and stressed out my client, which meant Emily could crystallize the writing around what actually mattered to them.

I talk about “putting the blinders on” all the time, and this is exactly what I mean.

It was so much more than just a messaging tweak. 

Once I committed to retreat planning for business owners, I stopped talking about anything else.

My content, my conversations, my social presence all reflected that one focus.

And the right people started paying attention because I was speaking directly to them.

The staying power of that is something I didn’t fully anticipate.

Even now, with my focus shifted primarily to industry work through Steer your Marketing, people still find me to plan cruise retreats.

I’m not actively advertising it, but the messaging did its job so well that it still brings in the right clients on its own. That’s exactly what good copy does when it’s written strategically, with your end goal in mind. 

Writing travel content when the world is complicated

This episode was originally recorded in early 2021, when the pandemonium was very much still shaping travel decisions.

Emily’s advice from that conversation holds up today, especially as we’re now navigating a cost-of-living environment that has many travelers hesitating.

Her suggestion is to lean into two messages at the same time.

First, give people permission to dream.

Many travelers are ready to start imagining their next trip, even if they’re not ready to book.

Meet them there.

Start the conversation about what that big trip looks like, not just the logistics of when it’s possible.

Second, position yourself as the professional who makes sense of a complicated landscape.

Entry requirements change.

Cancellation policies shift.

Insurance options are more important than ever.

You know this stuff.

Your clients don’t.

That expertise is incredibly valuable, and justifies why the right traveler should hire you.

That’s copywriting for travel industry pros- lead with the dream, and back it up with your expertise. 

Why your messaging needs to center around your client, not you

One of the clearest examples Emily gave was the difference between “I can plan your family reunion cruise” to something like, “You’re swamped. You’re juggling family, work, everything. Let the stress of your upcoming reunion melt away while I handle every detail.”

Can you feel the difference??

This is what separates forgettable marketing from marketing that actually works.

Your potential clients aren’t landing on your website thinking about you.

They’re thinking about their problem.

If your copy leads with your credentials and your love of travel, you’ve made them do the work of figuring out whether you’re relevant to them.

Make it obvious from the first line that you understand exactly where they are and what they need.

Two tools I use to build relationships alongside the copy

Copywriting converts, but building relationships keeps clients coming back and sending referrals.

Two things I personally rely on: weekly emails (affiliate link) and Instagram Stories.

Stories aren’t really copywriting territory, but they’re one of the best ways to show up consistently as a real person.

People buy from people they feel like they know.

Weekly emails are one of my favorite relationship nurturing tools.

They’re like a regular “hey, I’m here” for the people on your list.

And I can tell you from personal experience they work.

A booking came in directly because I had been showing up consistently in that person’s inbox week after week.

They weren’t following me on socials, and I hadn’t reached out otherwise.

Emails don’t have to be long or fancy, but they DO have to be consistent and useful.

You might not be a writing extraordinaire, and that’s ok because there’s amazing people like Emily who can help with that. 

But even the best copywriters can’t do their job effectively if you haven’t clearly identified who you work with and the problem you solve for them. 

If this is still muddy for you, start with Emily’s simple formula of “We do X for Y so that Z”.

Once you’ve gotten that nailed down, fervently own it, as that phrase should drive nearly everything you do in your travel business.

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