I am interested in starting some sort of travel business with my yet to be published web site travelatlantic.?

Question

I have been thinking of publishing a magazine or creating website with much information dealing with the travel and vacation industry.Any and all disscusions are well apreciated.

Answer 1

You've got a few avenues to explore, as I can see it -- magazine publishing, online informational site and the travel & vacation industry. Let's tackle one at a time.

Re: Publishing a magazine

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Publish Your Own Magazine, Guide Book, or Weekly Newspaper: How to Start Manage, and Profit from a Homebased Publishing Company by Thomas A. Williams
* Starting & Running a Successful Newsletter or Magazine (4th Edition) by Cheryl Woodard
* How to Start a Magazine by James Kobak
* Producing Successful Magazines, Newsletters and E-Zines: Great Ideas, Practical Help, and Straightforward Guidance…by Carol Harris

I also posted links to some free articles in the source box.

Re: Online informational site

There are a few issues & I wasn't sure what you exactly needed assistance with so I'll address the ones I can think of --

Web Site Design:
* Make Your Small Business Web Site Work: Easy Answers to Content, Navigation, and Design
by John Heartfield
* Small Websites, Great Results by Doug Addison
* The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build, and Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business by Janice Reynolds
* Six-Week Start-Up: A Step-By-Step Program for Starting Your Business, Making Money, and Achieving Your Goals! by Rhonda Abrams

Online Business:
* Starting an Online Business For Dummies, 4th Edition by Greg Holden
* How to Start and Maintain A Successful Online Business by Kelly Thornton
* The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build, and Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business by Janice Reynolds

Marketing:
* The Complete Idiot's Guide to Marketing Basics by Sarah White
* The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries, Jack Trout
* Creative Advertising: Ideas and Techniques from the World's Best Campaigns by Mario Pricken
* Entrepreneur Magazine's Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide: Over 1500 Great Marketing Tricks That Will Drive Your Business Through the Roof by James Stephenson
* 301 Do-It-Yourself Marketing Ideas: From America's Most Innovative Small Companies by Sam Decker

Re: Travel & Vacation Industry

Definitely check out your competition:

Frommer's
Conde Nast Traveler
Travel & Leisure
TimeOut
National Geographic Traveler

What do you like about them? What do you not like? What do you want to offer to your readers? Who are your readers?

Approach this from the point of view of a consumer -- what would your ideal consumer want in a travel & vacation magazine?

Again, associations are a good place to start -- check below.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

Sports having a bet grew to be so trendy in North America that via the mid 1980’s businessmen from all walks of lifestyles started relocating to Caribbean Islands to established toll-loose mobilephone-in retail outlets in which Americans would fund having a bet banks with bank card and receives a commission by way of assess.

Answer 3

I interviewed the owner of EuropeforVisitors.com http://www.europeforvisitors.com , named one of Forbes Magazine Best of the Web site for the travel business. Travel information is a very competitive area on the Web, and Durant Imboden offers tips on how to succeed in this market segment http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol129/durant.htm

Here are some things you need to consider to succeed in an online business focused on the travel business:

1. Choose your focus. With so many travel sites on the web today, why would a person actually go to YOUR website? What will you offer that can't be found in other websites? I suggest you search the Web. Select a geographic region, then find out what travel websites talk about for that area. Now, how can you be different from the others?

2. Think of how you will monetize your website. Getting traffic to read your content is good, but getting checks in the mail or transfered to your account every month is even better. From the very start, plan how you will get income from the website.

There are several options for you:

- Advertising such as Google Adsense and/or banner ads (they can go together)

Banner ad networks:
Burst Media http://www.burstmedia.com
Fastclick (ValueClick). http://www.fastclick.com
Advertising.com. http://www.advertising.com
Tribal Fusion http://www.tribalfusion.com

Contextual advertising:
Google Adsense https://www.google.com/adsense/
Yahoo! Publishing Network (currently in beta and available to US publishers only) http://publisher.yahoo.com/
Intellixt http://vibrantmedia.com/site/web_01a5.htm
Quigo Adsonar http://www.quigo.com/adsonarexchange.htm
IndustryBrains http://www.industrybrains.com

- Affiliate programs so you can focus on the content but visitors can use the affiliate programs you promote to do their online hotel bookings or air travel reservations

Commission Junction http://www.cj.com
Linkshare http://www.linkshare.com
Clickbank http://www.clickbank

- Partner with hotels and resorts in the area, and get commission for any visitor you refer to them

3. Consider the size of the readership. There are travel destinations where not many people go to -- and if there are less traffic, then it means lesser income as well. If lesser people are interested in what you are writing about, then there is a chance that you may find it hard to monetize the site. This is something to consider when deciding on what site to create.

4. Pictures, pictures and pictures. A travel site needs to have gorgeous pictures of the place. Consider how and where you will get pictures to put in your site.

5. Type of audience you want to attract. Who are you trying to reach with the destinations you will be featuring -- the independent travelers or package tourists? The type of audience can significantly affect your revenue models.

If you are attracting independent travelers, these people are on the lookout for deals, ways to get to their destinations easier, how to plan their travel, etc. The implication is that they are more responsive to your contextual and affiliate ads -- which means more money for you. On the other hand, if you are attracting package tourists, they already have their travel preplanned and prepaid. This implies that they are simply looking for information about the place -- and less interested in your ads. Banner ad networks that are CPM based are better suited for this type of website.

6. Key is content. Put yourself in the shoes of a traveler: if you go to a certain area, what do you want to know about the area? If it's a tropical area, discuss the scuba diving. A cold weather area, skiing.

I suggest you read the following articles:

7 Steps to Successful Web Site Development http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol142/website.htm
10 Ways to Convert Visitors to Buyers http://www.powerhomebiz.com/072005/conversion.htm
Free Ways to Promote an Online Business
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/guide/cases/ii-lexi.htm

My final advice is to BE PATIENT. It takes time to be listed in the search engines and to build a good base of readership. Continue to develop good original content, and assess your business model.