Turning Weekendesk’s Newsletters into a Revenue Machine

Content For Paid Channels · Email Content Strategy · Segmentation & Behavioral Analysis · Strategic Partnerships

The Company

Name: Weekendesk

Product: Travel stays, hotel packages, thematic circuits, single vouchers, giftboxes & giftcards, website ad spaces.

Role: Marketing Manager Benelux

The challenge

Weekendesk realized that simply translating the same content for the Flemish and French audiences in Belgium didn’t work. They needed more tailored content that reflected the preferences and behaviors of different segments in Belgium and the Netherlands, and they needed it in both languages. On top of that, they aimed to boost email revenue and grow their brand’s reach by partnering with partners such as National Tourism Offices.

What I did

I was in charge of the brand’s tone of voice and product messaging across the Benelux. Every bit of copy — from landing pages to emails to paid ads — came through me.

We dug deep into customer data to figure out what the differences between the two regions were. The differences we found were pretty stark, both in terms of interests and purchasing behavior.

We adjusted our newsletter strategy accordingly. Copy, travel packages and deals were tweaked based on those differences, and over time, newsletters moved up to become the third-largest marketing revenue source in the Benelux.

We didn’t just tweak our newsletters. We applied those same insights to all of our paid campaigns too, across Search, Display, and Social. One standout example was the Libelle Christmas Market campaign, which delivered a 25% year-over-year increase in net profit, the biggest the company had ever seen for this recurring holiday campaign.

Results:
🔹 Newsletters went from 5th to 3rd most effective revenue channel (#1 and #2 were Paid Search and Affiliation).

🔹 €507k revenue, €92k margin (+25% YoY) for the best Libelle Christmas Market campaign ever.

Content partnerships

I also built strategic content partnerships with public tourism bodies across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, including Mechelen, Ostend, Rotterdam, and Aachen, among others. These partnerships enabled these public institutions to advertise their city/region on our website for a certain amount of time. These seasonal campaigns produced €120K+ in net revenue within just over a year for Weekendesk.