This article should give you some inspiration for future trekking reference, as well as a few ideas of what resonates with women travelers overall from the marketing perspective.

Life is a Journey

As the numbers of women business travelers continue to grow (more on that in the next issue), women are also becoming more comfortable traveling just for the experience.  Why not heighten the journey of life by experiencing different cultures and time zones?

Evelyn Hannon founded Journeywoman.com for all the women of the world (literally) who get the itch and have the gumption to travel with or without friends.  Celebrated by TIME Magazine in early 2001 as one of the “100 most innovative minds of the new century,” Evelyn’s mandate is to “inspire women to travel safely and well.”

For business purposes or not, the adventure of world travel is what will first draw your attention to the online resources Evelyn has developed for the solo journeywoman.  According to her, women plan travel differently than men.  For women, the process of preparing for a trip is fun in and of itself. Women work out their fears and trepidation during the planning stage of any trip, so the information gathering process is just an added bonus to the romance of the expedition.

Hermail.net, Journeywoman.com’s sister site, is a female traveler’s directory, facilitating the personal connection aspects of trip preparation.  By using this email director, a woman can gain email access to women who have been where they are going and already know the ins and outs of getting there.  By using this traveler’s dream tool, women can receive real-world advice on cultural differences and safety concerns of exotic locales, among other things. (Did you know, for example, that in China a Western woman becomes an “honorary man?”  While the women cook and clean, you're invited to drink beer and play cards…) 

The Business of Reaching Women Travelers

The women who arrive at Journeywoman.com and participate in Hermail.net are from age 18 – 80, with the core group being 35 –55 years old.  Through word-of-mouth alone (but for that measly $300 Evelyn once spent on advertising), 1 million visitors have found Journeywoman.com, and 43,000 have signed up for the newsletter.  Hermail.net has attracted 8,500+ members and, more importantly, has facilitated about 18,000 connections between women travelers to date.

The synergy of the site’s community and the directory’s networking interactions has completely surprised Evelyn.  She could not have guessed at which aspects of her site would spark the most interest. For example, she’s been amazed that the travel “love” stories developed almost as an aside, and noted with little red hearts on her home page, have gotten so many page views (the latest story involves a woman’s need for unattainable peanut butter in Poland and how her mom sends it to her in a care package).  

Because Journeywoman.com functions so well with its thriving classified ads section and some powerful custom sponsorship relationships, Evelyn does not run around trying to attract the attention of traditional banner advertisers. 

After a recent trip to Australia, for example, she put together a package for a wine maker, airline and tour company.  Roughly $6,000 USD gets your company three months smack dab in front of very passionate and focused travelers.  To ensure that her members get only truly helpful information, Evelyn does every bit of research herself and from there develops the site’s articles. She allows no advertorial at all.  Furthermore, since all articles are archived on Journeywoman.com, the sponsorship mention at the end of each piece often remains in view for much longer than the contracted three-month term.  Such a deal!

As society and technology are paving the tarmac for women to more easily travel alone, online resources like Journeywoman.com and Hermail.net are equipping women with a powerful mutual support system.  Such sites and directories may also be helping to convince marketers with more traditional mindsets that there is something to the passion and connect-ability of women after all.

Next issue we’ll journey into the realm of business travel. 

Links:

http://www.journeywoman.com
http://www.hermail.net