Travel and Tourism Promotion Boosts The Bottom Line

August 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment

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I recently drove to Northern California; the East Bay and South Bay areas of San Francisco. Don’t ask me why I chose to drive 12 hours instead of boarding a plane. It was a grueling drive because I was the only driver. I think I’m done with road trips for some time. I did contribute to the economy by spending most of my money on gas!

What surprised me about my visit to Northern California is the lack of travel and tourism promotion. I stayed at an independent hotel and they had no travel information. I looked around the lobby and front desk, but couldn’t find any. I thought this was odd since it was not a BIG hotel chain. They did offer free WiFi and provided a computer and printer in the lobby for guests. Still, it would have been nice to have some travel brochures that provided me with information about the area.

Small businesses within the travel and tourism industry can benefit from advertising and promotion. If you own a bed and breakfast, independent hotel, spa and salon, or restaurant, make sure to have promotional material readily available for guests. It’s a good idea to have a couple of travel brochures about the area as well.

If you want travelers to spend money in your community, you’ve got to help them out. Some travelers like to “fly by the seat of their pants” (I sometimes do) and don’t plan every little detail when they travel. How will they know what historic sites to visit? Where will they dine and shop? How can they improve your area’s economic situation if they don’t know what to do or where to go? This translates to lost dollars for your community.

Of course, I was in the area known as Silicon Valley. Maybe the area doesn’t need any improvement to its bottom line because the techie companies are “pumping cash” into the local economy.

Travel and tourism promotion along with great customer service can improve the bottom line of a small business. Promoting your business will ensure that travelers come back to your establishment. Have plenty of brochures at the front desk or in the lobby. When it’s time to check out, travelers can take a brochure with them. Remember, word-of-mouth is still a viable means of advertising.

Savvy Writer Rebecca

How do you promote your business to travelers?

Filed Under: Clients, Tips and Tricks, Travel Writing Tagged With: ,

Writers Recharge Your Creative Battery

August 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Writers have a tendency to get “stuck” in their writing. It’s recommended that you take breaks when you write, but this may not be enough. You may have to schedule a short road trip to recharge those writing batteries!

Freelance writers can have many clients or work with one or two steady clients. They’re constantly writing non-stop without any real vacation. This can work against you. It’s important to take a “vacation from writing” now and again. It can do wonders for your creative spirit.

Writers often suffer from writer’s block. This can be cured by taking breaks throughout the day. Take a lunch break just as you would if you worked as a full-time writer for a small business. Take 10-minute or 15-minute breaks throughout the day as well. Go for a brisk walk, listen to music, read the newspaper, or watch some TV.

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Tips to Recharging Your Writing Battery

  • Take a week’s vacation. Getting out of town is a great idea. Go to the ocean, visit a National Park (U.S.), or visit a foreign country. Forget about writing and just enjoy your time away from it; you’ll be back to writing in no time;
  • Take a road trip within your state or country. Visit areas that you’ve never been to before and enjoy the ride. Discover “gems” that are right in your backyard. You may even write about your adventure;
  • Get back to nature. Walking on the beach, swimming in the ocean, hugging a tree, or canoeing on a river can do wonders for your creative spirit. Get some “nature therapy” and watch as the creative juices begin to flow;
  • Read fiction books. Back off of the “non-fiction” reading for awhile. A good book of fiction can spark creativity that may be dormant.
  • Do yoga or meditate. Stopping all thought for at least 15-minutes a day can refresh your mind. It’s believed that humans have 60,000 or more thoughts per day. Yikes! Take a reprise from thinking and tune out for a few minutes. You’ll feel wide awake and ready to write!

Getting out of your comfort zone can help recharge your creative battery. Visiting the ocean can do wonders for your creativity. Walking along the beach is a great way to unwind and relax your mind. Let your thoughts drift away and be present with Mother Nature.

Rebecca

What have you done to keep the creativity flowing?

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing Tagged With:

Automate Twitter Promotion and Marketing with Tweet Adder

July 31, 2009 by 1 Comment

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Small business owners who don’t want to spend a lot of time on social media sites such as Twitter, may be interested in purchasing Tweet Adder. It’s not the cheapest software on the market, but it could help you grow your business.

Getting web traffic to your website can be a daunting task if you don’t have a staff to help you out. Tweet Adder can help you gain ‘targeted’ Twitter followers and automate your Twitter posts.

Twitter has exploded and is not going away anytime soon. Oprah, CNN, and major celebrities ‘Tweet’ each day. If you’re a small business owner that would like to enter the social media market, Tweet Adder can assist you with your Twitter account.

Features of Tweet Adder

  • Find like-minded Twitter followers.
  • Increase Twitter traffic to your website to gain customers and increase profits.
  • Set and forget it because Tweet Adder runs daily.
  • Automate your scheduled direct messages.
  • Set-up multiple accounts and create unlimited Twitter profiles.

If you’re apprehensive about spending the money on Tweet Adder, try it before you buy it. Tweet Adder offers a ‘free demo’ that can be used on Mac OsX or Windows. Get to know the program and see if it’s for you and your small business.

The minimum to amount of hours to spend on social media is approximately 40 hours. Tweet Adder can free up some of the 40 hours. If you go on vacation you don’t have to worry about ‘Tweeting’ on your vacation. Your Twitter account will be updated daily!

Let’s face it, small business owners are focused on growing their business by getting in front of people NOT sitting in front of the computer. This is why they’ll outsource work to freelancers such as freelancer writers or SEO experts.

Small business owners who want to gain new customers via social media, consider purchasing Tweet Adder or at least download the demo version. Test the software and monitor your web traffic and sales. How did web traffic increase? How many new customers did you receive? What happened to your ‘bottom line’? Did it increase or decrease? Do some analysis so you can see how much value Tweet Adder added to your small business. If there’s a lot of value, purchase Tweet Adder. If not, find another software that will work for your business.

Savvy Writer Rebecca

How many Twitter applications do you use?

Filed Under: Overcoming Obstacles, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , ,

The Who’s Who’s on Who and That

July 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment

As a freelance writer, I often check myself to make sure that I use certain words properly such as “who and that.” I recently wrote a personal statement for JFK University and had to look this one up. I had a “gut instinct” that I was using ‘who’ correctly, but wanted to make sure.

Apparently, you can use ‘who and that’ interchangeably. Normally, you used use ‘who’ when you are describing a person. For example, “Sara is who Matt is dating.” Who describes a person. Many people are know to use ‘that’ instead. Some people use ‘that’ to show their animosity towards someone.
For example, “Sara is that model looking woman dating Matt.”

The use of ‘that’ is to describe an object. For example, “The blue dress that Emily bought brings out her eyes.” Of course, some people will use ‘that’ to describe a person as in the example in the above paragraph.

Small business owners who send out newsletters may want to check their freelance writer’s work before it goes to customers. They could be misusing ‘who and that’ and you would never know it. Then again you may not care, but your customers may. One of your customers may be a former English teacher! Hopefully, she’s the teacher ‘who’ will overlook the errors. Otherwise, your newsletter could be ‘that’ thing to send her over the edge!

Savvy Writer Rebecca

When have you used who and that lately?

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing Tagged With:

The Art of Networking — The Dont’s

July 27, 2009 by Leave a Comment

In the previous post, The Art of Networking, I covered The Do’s. Now it’s time to look at the The Dont’s of networking. Many small business owners don’t network effectively and end up frustrated because they don’t receive the results or referrals they’re looking for.

Networking is really an art form. If it’s not done properly, it can be pointless and time consuming. Small business owners who don’t network efficiently can waste a lot of time. More importantly, you may not make connections that can serve you.

Strength in Numbers

The Dont’s

  • Don’t pile up the business cards. You’ll receive a lot of business cards when you attend networking events. Instead of stacking them on a table or putting them in a shoebox, create a system. Put them in clear plastic business card holders and into a binder. Make sure to file them according to industry. You could staple each business card to a note card, write the person’s name and industry on the card then file them accordingly in a file box. This way if you’re looking for a realtor, you can go straight to the real estate section;
  • Don’t “chat” with the person next to you when someone is presenting a business. It’s rude and disrespectful not to pay attention to others when they speak. After all, they gave you their undivided attention when you spoke;
  • Don’t leave a networking event or meeting when it ends unless you DO have to be somewhere else. Mingle with people and get to know them;
  • Don’t just sit there, take notes. Listen to people when they speak and take notes because they may something that strikes a chord with you. If they do, you can speak with them when the meeting ends.

Small business owners, if you follow the dos and dont’s of networking you’ll be successful. Remember that networking is an art form. Take advantage of networking events and meetings and connect with others. Develop relationships with others and you’ll see an increase in your business and make some friends along the way.

Savvy Writer Rebecca

How are you at networking?

Filed Under: Networking, Overcoming Obstacles, Tips and Tricks Tagged With:
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