Books & links to help you with WordPress
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A book that can greatly assist in learning WordPress is shown below. For basic easy-to-read and understand, the Dummies Book is a good read.
You can find many free WordPress themes on www.wordpress.org and by doing a Google search for “Free WordPress themes”.
Domain Registars
GoDaddy is one of lowest priced Domain Name suppliers and is very easy to work with. They also have very good telephone support.
Web Hosting
We have used both Bluehost and Hostmonster to host our websites. This site is being hosted by Hostmonster.
Start a Travel Blog Part 2
By · CommentsI’ve been reading a few questions on various travel agent forums asking for help starting a website. I built my first website in July 1994 when there was no easy-to-use editors or software. I really like the WordPress platform which is what is being used on this site. It is very easy to edit, update and maintain. If you take a few hours to read the online documentation at wordpress.org or purchase one of the many books explaining how WordPress works, your time will be well-spent. On thing to keep in mind when purchasing a book, make sure it is current and not 4 years old and many versions of WordPress past.
There are websites where you can purchase graphics and nice themes for a reasonable price. The cost of these items is much less than paying a webmaster foreven a simple business card style website. It is easy to add content as you find the time to learn more about how it all works.
I would purchase a domain for $7.99 per year and host it with one of the $4.95-$6.95 per month webhosts rather than host it on one of the free hosts. You will be able tgo customize your Blog easier and have more options. If they were to close your account or go out of business you may not have a backup and could lose all of your data. This can also be the case with a self-hosted WordPress site, but there is an easy to use Database Backup Plugin that only takes a few minutes to install and setup.
I’ll list some of the theme sites and hosts where you can host your WordPress application in my next post. Even though WordPress is mostly called a Blog, it can easily be used as a content managemnet system (CMS) with the right theme. Other than saying “Powered by WordPress” a the bottom of the page, you probably would not know it was not a custom formatted website.
Start a Travel Blog
By · CommentsUsing easy to learn WordPress, a travel agent can quickly publish a travel blog. If you specialize in a destination or a special market, say the Caribbean or Honeymoons, a specific blog can be a huge plus for you. A few things to consider when starting your blog:
Have a game plan in mind. If you are a Jamaica specialist and have traveled to the Island many times, let it be known. If there are side trips, excursions that are different from the traditional resort or cruise ship excursion, publish this information. Your readers will appreciate your advice and may contact you for booking assistance for their next vacation.
If you have personal photos that show the destination, this will add more impact to your story. Like they say, “a picture is worth a 1000 words”.
Image Optimization for your Site
By · CommentsYou may think that search engine optimization is all about keywords, but it’s really not. It’s also about good content, back links, and now, image optimization. People search for images all the time on Google and other search engines, so you might as well get in on the act. You can optimize your site for images even if images aren’t one of your products. And besides, people like websites to have pictures. A huge page of unbroken text is intimidating.
Once you optimize your website for images, your site will appear in image search results and pick up new visitors and potential customers. Optimizing your site for images isn’t instantaneous and will require some time and effort, but it’s worth it. Here are some ways to do it. Read More→
Optimizing your New Website
By · CommentsIf you are in the process of getting your business established on the Internet, you want to maximize the visitors (and potential customers) your site gets. To do this, you use search engine optimization, or SEO. SEO is very important when you’re establishing your presence on the web because it helps determine where your site shows up in the search engine rankings when someone searches on words relevant to your business. If anything, small businesses have to make SEO a higher priority than the big corporations do. After all, they have huge advertising budgets they can use to help drive traffic to their site and you probably don’t.
Good search engine optimization is an advertising campaign in itself almost. The higher your website ranks on search engines, the more traffic you’ll get, so you want a website that is search engine friendly. But before you worry about SEO, make sure you have a well designed site. You want your business to reflect your site and your business philosophy. You want your site to be interesting, unique, and (this is extremely important) easy to navigate. If your visitors risk going deep into the pages of your site with no clear way back out, they’ll be frustrated. Maybe so frustrated that they don’t want to shop there. A well-designed website is a great investment that will probably quickly pay for itself in increased visitor numbers and sales.
Welcome to Home Based Travel Agent Advice. Written by a top-producing agent that started as a home-based agent in 1991. Helpful advice and comments that will assist in your travel career.
Travel Agent Education
By · CommentsAttend as many seminars in your area of specialty. Going to a supplier seminar just because you get a free dinner or possibly win a prize is not productive or fair to suppliers. Going on legitimate FAM (Familiarization) trips can be very beneficial and educational if done with the right supplier. It is good to check with other agents that have traveled with this supplier to see if the time and money investment is sound. Take the time to study your destination prior to travel and be sure to take good notes and pictures. Good photos can be one of your best selling tools if used on your website or if showing to a client. Many clients like them better than the air brushed shots many resorts and cruiselines publish.
Being on a 7 night FAM with the wrong supplier can be a huge waste of time and money! If your idea of a FAM is a cheap vacation, you are not being realistic and are not really adding to your destination knowledge. Knowledge is King in the travel industry and the more you know and can properly advise a client, the more sucessful you can be.
Making Money
By · CommentsIt takes money to make money. Most of the time this is very true, but there are always exceptions. In the travel business, you do not start making much income for 1-3 years. If you currently have a decent paying job, it can be a very good idea to stick with it and work part time with your travel business until your client base has built up enough that you are actually making a living from the commissions.
Even with the reduced expenses of working from your home, you will not become profitable
overnight. One very important fact to remember is you do not earn your commission until your client travels on most travel bookings. If your client cancels their vacation, it is likely you will lose any commission that you might have expected on the booking.
Have a Computer and learning to use it!
By · CommentsLearn how to properly operate a PC. E-Mail and Internet are an absolute necccessity in this day and age of instant gratification. Knowing how to store client information on a database program is pretty much mandatory. Knowing your client’s last vacation destination and their style of travel is at your fingertips. As you gain clients, it becomes all but impossible to remember all of their special needs and desires. Your database program can keep all of this information if you will just take a few minutes to update and add the needed information
Whether it is creating mailing list labels, creating a flyer, writing a letter or simply answering a client’s e-mail request for a price quote, your computer can be your best friend. Sorry Rover!
Get Legal
By · CommentsIf your State has Seller of Travel laws, please register. Failing to do so can result in fines or worse. States such as California require all printed agency material such as letterhead and business card to list your Seller of Travel Number. This is also the case for all online and newspaper advertisements. Many potential clients will not do business with an agent that is not properly registered.
Please purchase a Business License for the City or town where you are located, if required by law. Many home businesses do not think they need one, then the City finds out you have been doing business in their City for “X” amount of years and decides to fine you. It makes good business sense to get the proper licensing and stay out of trouble. We have found other travel agencies have turned in a competitor to the City for not being licensed.
Early in your Home Based Travel business is the time to get your accounting in order too. Waiting until later can end up costing you a lot of money if you are not properly using deductions for your home office and for your own travel to destinations you are selling.