Writers and reviewers can provide some really great publicity.
Often the publicity you get from writers and those in the press is more than you can get with any form of advertising.
But is it worth it to offer freebies to critics, reviewers and influencers?
It’s an interesting question. In some cases you might think it’s pretty common knowledge that influencers are getting things for free. But in others, the public might feel deceived if they find out.
Let’s explore the pros and cons of the situation.
Pro: Great Exposure
The influencers in the travel world often have large audiences. It doesn’t matter if they’re a writer for a major publication or a social media travel star. They have an audience that trusts what the person is saying. And if you want that audience to become customers you might need to get on the influencer’s good side and that may be well worth providing a freebie.
Con: Potential For Bad Reviews
Just because you let an influencer review your product or service for free doesn’t mean they’ll have nice things to say. This is actually a good thing. It gives the reviewer a good reputation, but there is always a risk. Your work isn’t over just by giving the freebie. You have to put in the work to prepare for the reviewer. You need to read their work and follow them to figure out what they like so you can provide the best experience they’ve ever had.
Pro: One Review Can Lead To Many More
Press coverage can work in a great way for you even if you’re a small business. A review with a blogger that might not have a relatively big audience might not seem like a good first step, but each review allows you to work up the ladder. Believe it or not, the major influencers look at those that maybe don’t have as much of an audience for inspiration. Each review you get is proof that there is buzz building around your business and eventually bigger and bigger influencers will want to review your product or service.
Con: Annoyed Followers And Customers
People don’t like to feel like they’ve been had. When you’re working with a reviewer you want them to make it clear that they’re doing so for free if you offer them a freebie. Or you want them to say they paid for the service if that was the case. Honest, in the cliché sense, is always the best policy. Even if the reviewer doesn’t make the situation entirely clear you can always publish a post with the full story to keep your customers in the loop.
Action Steps
I definitely think offering freebies to reviewers is a good policy if you setup some rules.
First, make it clear that freebies are only for reviewers. You don’t want to discount your product or service and make customers think that they can get everything for free. Reviewers provide a service so the situation is more like an exchange. And people understand as long as you’re upfront about the arrangement.
Second, you don’t want every person with a blog to come to you asking for a free trip, stay or whatever you sell. You have to draw the line somewhere. If you’re starting out you might want to bring in some reviewers with smaller audiences so you can work up the ladder like we discussed earlier. But maybe you cut it off at 10 reviewers per year or something like that. You don’t want to get in financial trouble.
Third, require honesty from reviewers. You can take care of this ahead of time if you do your homework on the reviewers ahead of time. You can see if they’re honest in their reviews. Read them objectively and see if what they’re saying would influence your purchasing decisions. If it’s all fluff and no substance then you probably don’t want to work with that person. The same goes if the person isn’t being upfront about their arrangements.
Your Dream 100
You can wait for reviewers to come to you, but that can take time as your reputation builds. Instead, it’s okay for you to reach out to reviewers, but you’ll need to do some homework. I like to create lists and a good list to create would be your Dream 50 or even Dream 100 list of top reviewers in the travel industry or whatever niche industry you’re in.
This is a sales tactic for targeting your Dream 100 clients or customers, but it works with reviewers too. Take the time, maybe one hour each day, to research the top reviewers in your industry. Continue taking the hour each day to research their writing style or maybe video style.
List them all in priority order. Don’t be afraid to list the really popular ones. You can work your way up to them if you don’t think you can get them to review you right now.
You can create this list in a spreadsheet. Have a column for the name, a column for their URL. Then also include a column with notes. Write your thoughts on the type of reviews the person does. You can reference this style when you reach out to them later. Learn what they like and dislike. You’ll probably learn some tips for running your business and when you reach out to the reviewer you can mention specific details and cater their experience to the things they like.
Finally, when you reach out, use their previous reviews to your advantage. You can include a nice note along with something like this, “I saw you reviewed Joe’s Tours last summer. Joe’s Tours have a lot in common and we think it would be something your fans would like to learn more about.”
Final Thoughts
Reviews can be great for your business. A freebie to the right reviewers can be better than any advertising budget. But you have to follow a few best practices and setup a few rules all while doing your homework if you want it to work out in your favor.
Follow the tips in this article and you’ll have a review program that can really benefit your travel business.
