News

The Three Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Blog

Just a few short years ago hardly anyone knew what a blog was, but now, because they are so easy to set up and maintain, their popularity has blossomed beyond all expectations. Blogs are not just for ordinary people who wish to expound on their hobby or area of special interest. Blogs are for the smart small businessperson who understands the power of the published word online.

A blog can provide a low cost means of marketing online, a feedback mechanism for establishing your side of the story against someone spreading negative and potentially damaging things about you and your business, and a means of connecting and communicating with existing clients and potential clients. The purpose of this article is to explain these three main positive reasons why your small business needs a blog.

1. A Blog as a Marketing and Promotion Tool for Your Small Business

Small business internet marketing seems easy at first glance, but many have tried it and failed. Others have persevered, perfecting search engine optimization techniques, keyword density and linking strategies, which work for some but not always for others. They have followed the advice of every “guru,” only to be more mystified at the end of the process than when they started out. They invariably end up thinking that there has to be a better way, and there is – a blog.

The search engines love blogs. Yes, a little optimization with careful keyword placement and some back links will never go amiss, but even the complete novice knowing nothing whatsoever can enjoy good results simply by regularly maintaining a blog. All it takes is a simple strategy, perhaps focusing on a particular product line and posting just once a day, to get results that will make a difference.

With time and as your understanding of blogging techniques improve, your small business internet marketing efforts will bear significant fruit. And remember, the cost of all this is negligible compared to newspaper advertising, for example. Of course, this is not the only reason why your small business needs a blog. What if someone is “badmouthing” you by blogging all over the Internet, perhaps because they didn’t like something about the way you do business? How do you defend yourself and give your side of the story? You need a blog!

2. A Blog as Feedback Channel to Establish a Positive Image for Your Small Business

A real-life example of someone who found themselves dealing with negative blog posts involves a medical doctor who practices on her own in California. She treated two patients whose poor health situation was largely of their own making. She told them that they needed to take some responsibility for their own health. This was not at all what they wanted to hear. Feeling insulted, they started to blog about it online, giving only their side of the story and painting a very damaging picture of the doctor in the process.

If you were to go to Google or any of the major search engines now and do a search for her name, the only information you would find are negative, almost libelous, rants created by these two aggressive individuals who couldn’t face up to the truth about their own health situations.

However, had this doctor previously considered the advantages of blogging for local small businesses to complement her business activities, she would have been able to limit at least some of the damage caused. Patient confidentiality rules would have prevented her from posting a positive rebuttal to the negative blog posts -her side of the story in other words. But she could have built up an archived library of positive and factual information about herself and her practice, automatically dealing with negative blog posts at the same time. Anyone then using Google to search for her name would still have found the negativity, but they would also have found the positive balanced view.

This type of situation can happen to anyone running a business, not just doctors. A blog for your business offers you the chance of great flexibility to promote your business, publish a positive image, and to communicate with all your clients, even those who don’t know that they have yet to become your clients!

3. A Blog as a Communication and Connection Tool for Your Small Business

People love getting free things on the Internet. We all do, in fact. And one of the most successful things to give away and help build your business at the same time is a free newsletter. Traditionally, this has taken the form of a specially formatted email, but increasingly small business owners are turning to blogs for publishing their newsletters. They still send out an email to the people on their list, but only to send them over to the blog where the newsletter can be read online.

This is a great way to communicate with your existing clients. You can regularly give them useful information, making them realize that your newsletter has real value. And every so often you can pitch an offer – a special bargain offer perhaps, and a percentage will make a purchase that you would not have had otherwise. But it doesn’t have to stop there. Your blog can be a tool for getting new customers too.

If you have carefully built up your business blog with regular and useful posts, the search engines will have noticed and in time your blog will be ranked according to whatever the search engines deem appropriate. Hopefully this will be a favorable placement, and if it is, people who search for the kind of product information you provide will find your blog.

When they are on your blog you can ask them to sign up for email alerts to whenever you make a new post, or whenever your latest newsletter is published. Once you have them on a list you can make offers to them and a percentage of them will buy. Blogging for local small businesses can be a wonderfully inexpensive and highly effective method of acquiring new customers with little effort.

There are many more ways to use a blog for any small business. Often it just requires your imagination to come up with new ways to use it. And you don’t have to limit yourself to only one blog; you can have several, each one dealing with a particular topic, and all of them linked together. This can be extremely powerful if done properly, and it isn’t hard to do either.

The three reasons I have offered you for why your small business needs a blog are indeed important ones. But they are not the only reasons. Don’t waste time now trying to think up other reasons. Get a blog in place first, and then the ways to use your blog will become increasingly obvious. You really do owe it to yourself to get your own small business blog in place today!

 

Trip

Galveston Deep Sea Fishing – How to Have the Best Deep Sea Fishing Trip in Galveston Texas

Galveston Island is located on the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, USA. It has an approximate population of 60,000. The city is very popular for all kinds of fishing adventures especially deep sea fishing which is the most expensive.

Deep sea fishing attracts people from all walks of life to the city of Galveston. Fishing trips are organized through out the week. These trips are expected to be very exciting. That means a peaceful expedition with good fishing. There are some adequate preparations that need to be made by those going on the trip to achieve this goal.

First of all, determine what type of boat is needed for the trip. There are many types of fishing boat that go deep sea fishing. The size of the boat will determine the distance to go. The farther the boat goes the better the chances of catching all kinds of fish which are not heavily restricted by the State of Texas. Go for the boat that goes about 100 miles to sea.

Another important area to consider is the fishing route. These boats have special fishing routes. Ask the guide about the routes. They can tell you what kind of fish to expect on the routes. That will determine which boat to prefer. Boats that stop by oil rigs in the water and shrimp boats create better chances for good fishing. Oil rig or platform is a large structure used to house workers and machinery needed to drill wells in the ocean bed. The shade under the platform attracts a lot of fish and this is a great spot for fishing boats. Shrimp boats usually stay at sea for days. They fish at night and rest at daytime. All kinds of fish like wahoo, tuna, sail fish, king fish and sharks gather around the boat to feed on shrimp waste poured into the sea. That makes it an excellent target for fishing. However, good fishing will depend on the weather. Fishing is done through out the year but a gloomy weather can determine where the boat goes and how far it goes.

Time is factor here. Be on time. Most of these boats live the port of Galveston between 5am-6am. They are not ready to wait for any late comer. They have to be at their target at the exact time. If you are not able to get to Galveston before the departure time, then try to get there a day or two earlier.

Look forward to having a peaceful fishing adventure. That means no arguments and confusion.

You might be joining an unknown group or you might be going with your group. It is much easier going with your group, but if you do not go with your group, then make it a habit to be nice to everybody on board.

The fishing team needs to be very nice to the fishing guide. Share food and drinks (not alcohol) with them.

They could extend the fishing time like they usually do to friendly groups.

Be careful of seasickness. This can ruin the adventure trip. There are many over the counter and prescription medicines or other methods meant to counter seasickness. Some of them are Dramamine, Bonine and Antivert. Some have side effects. Do seek advice from medical expects before using some of them. Ginger is considered the best natural remedy to sea sickness. Ginger capsules and real ginger root are believed to dissolve into the bloodstream very fast.Raw ginger is very common in many stores in Galveston. Other ginger product like ginger tea and ginger sweet could be of help but the most reliable is the hot ginger root.

The area that creates confusion after the days’ catch is the “biggest fish rule” Most deep sea fishing boats tend to keep the biggest catch without informing the fishing crew. Kindly ask the guide what fish they intend to keep and let all the fishermen be pleased with the outcome. This will ensure a very smooth ride back.

Finally, you can ask the captain a favor. Find out if he could let you steer the boat for a few minutes.

Most captains allow their fishing crew to practice under their surveillance. Remember to have a camera to record this.

This information will enable people interested in deep sea fishing in Galveston Texas to have the best time at sea.

Travel

Start a Cruise Travel Home Business

Cruise Travel Home Business:

You’ve gone on your first or your 100th cruise and loved it. Did you ever consider starting a cruise travel agency? You enjoy the searching for the perfect cruise for yourself and everyone around you. You like setting up and taking care of all the arrangements. If this sounds exciting and fun, why not profit from it, and start your own travel agency.

The travel industry currently shows $4 trillion annually spent in flights, cruises, cars, hotels and more. The amount is expected to continue growing as more people are living in two-income families and have access to more money. Why not take part of the $4 trillion for yourself, and let your travel home business pay for your next cruise.

If you have considered starting a home business, but are afraid to quit your full-time job, a travel home business is just right for you. You can start the business part time, and expand it slowly or quickly. No matter what the reason, this is a pajama job that will grow quickly and show results almost immediately.

Starting a cruise travel home business does have start up costs. Depending on the route you take to open your business will affect the start up cost of your home business, however, many have only minimal costs. These start up costs include national organization fees, software fees, and possibly affiliation fees, depending on how you want to work your business. You have many options available.

The first step is to start researching the the industry. Check out all websites and books published by National Organizations affiliated with travel and cruise agents, such as the National Association of Commissioned Travel Agents. These resources will give you information on affiliation with a parent travel agency as an independent contractor, and steps on how to pursue a travel home business from the ground up.

Either way you decide to go, it is best to create a brief general business plan. You can download a sample business plan from the Small Business Administration website, or go to the local office for a copy. This plan will help you understand what you will need to do to be successful and how to budget for profit. This plan is dynamic and ever changing and should be updated frequently.

Becoming affiliated with a large travel agency gives your business a few benefits. Some of the benefits include the reservation software training, support, updates, newsletters, and industry best practices. They have established industry connections all you need to do is find travelers.

Your travel agency will usually take off quickly, when associated with a large parent travel agency. You do not have to worry about setting prices for your services either. The parent company will set the prices and you will receive up to 50% of each reservation you book. This takes the anxiety and frustration out of worrying about profits and losses you have to contend with when setting your own prices.

The other option requires more work. You research reservation software, and talk to companies within the industry to establish connections. This option can have a higher start up cost and will take longer to show a profit for two main reasons. Until you get comfortable with the pricing of your services, you will have a trial and error phase that can create losses to your cruise travel agency. But once you get the hang of it, the profit is yours. Second, you have to contact hotels, car rental companies, airlines, cruise lines, and such and build relationships, which can take time.

However, it is not important which way you decide to start your travel agency. You will receive benefits as well as profits. These benefits may be better if you work with a travel agency but you get benefits either way. These benefits include up to 50% discounts on hotels and vacation packages, up to 70% discount on cruises, and much more.

If you decide to expand your travel agency to include other types of travel, it is much easier when associated with a larger travel agency. If you built your cruise travel home business yourself, you will need to make more contacts and create new relationships to be able to compete.

Now you have some information about a cruise travel home business. You need to look at industry periodicals, books, and websites to decide on your next step. In any event, this cruise travel home business will have your vacations and cruises paid for by your clients at discounted rates. For those who love to travel this business is perfect.