Tourpreneur Tour Business Podcast

Next week I will be attending the virtual event Arival 360. In this bonus episode I share with you the 15 sessions I am most excited to attend.

Rob Dowling of Game of Thrones Tours shares why he chose Checkfront as his booking system on Meet the Res tech.Julianne, Rob, and Emilie join me today to discuss Res Tech for tour operators. Rob shares why he chose Checkfront as his booking system and reveals the one thing he wishes Restechs would offer. Julianne discusses the website integration options of Checkfront and the pricing models and coronavirus support users can expect from the company. We also discuss Checkfront’s multi-language support, reports, and inventory sharing and management.

Oskar Bruening, the CTO of Peek Pro, and Michelle of Miami Tour Company, and Emilie of Cyclo Services join us today to discuss tour booking software from the perspectives of the booking systems developer, tour operator, and prospective client.Oskar shares how Peek Pro differs from other reservation software. Michelle highlights the Peek Pro features she loves, and how by switching to Peek Pro, her tour business increased its online sales by 30%

Tour operator Lauren Shannon joins us today to share the surprising benefits of launching virtual experiences in response to the coronavirus pandemic. She shares how virtual tours can be a tool to build connections and reveals how virtual could become the new travel planning tool. We discuss the benefits of producing virtual tours, including their use in marketing. Lauren shares the methodology behind creating an online experience and how to drive engagement and overcome the obstacles you might encounter. She also reveals what it is like to become an online personality and highlights the importance of sharing your knowledge and giving back to the industry.

We continue to follow Morgan's journey on the Tour Operator Startup.   Morgan shares how things are going for her tour operation startup since her previous appearance on the show. She shares how her first tour went and the results of target marketing using Facebook Ads, radiuses, and demographics. We discuss testing and adapting tour narratives using feedback and reviews and discuss ways of getting local media attention. Morgan also shares her experience with the FareHarbor booking system and the value of her business training with TripSchool.

Choosing a tour operator booking platform is one of the most important decisions we will make for our tour business. We are spoilt for choice with over 160 booking platforms offering services to tours, attractions, and activities. We decided to create the Meet the Res tech series. These conversations are unique in that you will be able to listen to a res tech, a res tech customer, and a tour operator who is in the market for a new tour operator booking platform. You will hear an authentic conversation and is about as far away from a sales pitch as you can get. We don't do the keynote, conference format exec pitch here at Tourpreneur, our goal is to deliver you a genuine conversation full of value. We hope you enjoy it!

We run the rule over 3 Tour Operator websites with suggestions on how to improve copy in our first ever copywriting for tour operators clinic. Veteran digital marketer Dorene Wharton joins us today to share her advice on copywriting for tour operators. We discuss creating concepts to keep your visitors reading and ultimately choose your tour. We offered listeners the chance to have their tour copy evaluated by Dorene and Shane. We selected three very different tour operators who volunteered and on this episode, you can hear/watch us provide constructive feedback. There are plenty of lessons, tips, and advice or all tour operators. We share the methods and strategies that create an aspirational and ‘ready to book’ mindset. We discuss when copy is too much and the areas where you should reduce the amount of detail. We share ways to optimize your homepage by focusing on decision factors and unique selling points. We also share how you can convince and persuade your target audience - even if you don’t have a lot of PR - and discuss why your copywriting and SEO strategies need to work hand-in-hand. This week on Tourpreneur, the podcast for tour operators: Why you should focus on behavior as target audiences change due to travel restrictions Using insights to create a tagline to grab attention and explain what you are all about Positioning your COVID-19 updates, information, calls to action, and reviews Adding clarity and being direct by avoiding the passive voice What 'stops' are and why you should limit their number What you should include on your about us page and establishing a personal connection How to encourage newsletter subscriptions Using photos, videos, and small, bold paragraphs to maximize effect Organizing your homepage hierarchy and structure to maximize opportunities How to make your copywriting and SEO work together Our Favorite Quotes: “Focus on behaviors. Just because Americans aren't traveling, that doesn't mean that someone from Germany, who might be able to travel, doesn't have the same views and opinions of various tours.” - Dorene Wharton “When you are direct and straight to the point, it just has more impact, and it's a little more punchier.” - Dorene Wharton “Choose the things that are the most interesting and go into more details in the details section.” - Dorene Wharton "The higher the price, the more copy or images are needed." - Shane Whaley

On our Tourpreneur Facebook Group recently, a regular listener asked the following question. Tourpreneurs, help! How do you cope with decision fatigue and/or burnout, especially if you're a one-person show? I can feel it big-time right now and it's really affecting my ability to get things done, plan, and make decisions. 6 months ago today, we went into complete lockdown and I feel like I've lived in a pressure cooker since then. Some people thrive on uncertainty and pressure, but that is not me. Tell me about your (healthy) coping mechanisms! What works for you to help you keep a clear head? Shane reads out how our members responded and shares his own tips on how to beat fatigue and burnout.

Midgi Moore joins me today to share the story behind Juneau Food Tours. She shares how to build relationships with restaurants and get them added to your food tour. She discusses the essential elements of a successful tour, how to create value and price your tour, and how to build your tour brand. Midgi discusses the advantages of working with travel agents, sustainability within tourism, and why she changed booking platforms. Midgi also shares how she vets tour guides, how her company is surviving the COVID-19 pandemic, and her top three tips for growing your tour business.

in this series, we follow a tour operator on their journey from start to, well, we don't know where. We hope it is to success, but you're going to have to listen in each month to find out what happens. Today we feature Morgan Cantrell of HistoryWellTravelled.com. Let me introduce you to Morgan. She started her walking tour business just as the pandemic hit. Morgan shares why her dream is to build her own tour business. We also discuss some of the growing pains, she's experienced so far in starting her own tour business.We won't be sugarcoating anything during these chats, you know me well enough over the past 113 episodes that I'm all about authentic and genuine conversations. We will discuss Morgan's' wins and her losses. I know you're going to be thrilled when you hear Morgan share with us what it was like the day she picked up her phone and read that she had her first bookings.So today's episode is Morgan's tour operator start-up story. We will check in with Morgan monthly to discuss her wins and her challenges building her tour business.I'm excited. Strap yourself in. Let's go.This week on Tourpreneur: What inspired Morgan to start a tour businessDeveloping a brand name, website domain, and logoHow Morgan went about designing her first historic Carrollton walking tourMorgan's determination to create a tour in a market were none existHow to research and build a website with a WordPress themeHow Morgan is marketing her business in her town through Facebook targeted adsCreating awareness and experimenting with Facebook ads, including images, demographics, and keyword pluginsWhy Morgan chose FareHarbor software to streamline bookings, payments, and data analysisThe emotions and excitement Morgan felt taking her first bookingMorgan's biggest frustrations on starting a tour business and how she motivates herself