• Visual referral: The best form of advertising is certainly word-of-mouth referral business. Your website should facilitate this. When a friend tells a friend, trust is conveyed in your company. A website cannot compete with this form of promotion, but it can certainly help if your website address is on the brochure or business card handed to a friend by a past client.
• Hook people with good content: We've been promoting different types of business on the Internet for four years. Again and again, we see that BIG websites are NOT the answer to successful promotion. The secret is to get people hooked so they may send you an inquiry to begin building a personal relationship.
• Promote your specialty: Your existing marketing success should go hand-in-hand with whatever you put on the Internet. If you specialize in Tibet tours, be careful not to offer all kinds of other services. You will lose the advantage of your specialized knowledge.
  
• Logos: Your logo may be used to create your company image. Many organizations have logos printed on cards and stationary with one or two colors to be cost effective. However, the Internet offers you a chance to use Graphics, photos and animation to draw attention to your logo in full color! Don't be afraid to do a little more with your logo, or change it all together, for the Internet.
• Offer a personal touch: People want to FEEL who you are and what you do through your website. Hearing stories, seeing smiling faces, and knowing personal experiences are all part of the cultural immersion that attracts visitors to your site on a regular basis. Why not present this information on your website? Don't you like to hear a funny story instead of watching a TV commercial?
• Humor: Be funny, clever, and personal and people will want to work with you.

A successful Internet marketing campaign and proper web-site design will allow a client to contact you from any page of the site with an email link or a suggestion to fill out and submit an inquiry/input form.

• Email link: A simple email link to yourname@myeasylink.com may get lots of inquiries. Many of these concern temperature, weather and the best time to travel somewhere. An alternative solution is to qualify clients with an inquiry/input form.
• Inquiry/input forms: Request more information to qualify the client and promote for add-on sales. An inquiry form lets you ask questions about the client. How many people will be coming? How long will they stay? Would they like help with hotel bookings, tours, etc?
  
• Offer less information but more reasons for contact: Another clever Internet marketing tip is to hook clients into sending you an inquiry. Some examples are to offer a FREE brochure or to show a single itinerary and offer more through further contact. We have many ideas of how this may implemented on your site.

Even if you have no answer for a specific question, at least acknowledge the message and send a note saying it will take some time to answer all the questions.

• Same day response: All responses to inquiries should be clear, concise, and sent within 24 hours of receipt.
  
• Clear English and specific answers: We have an example of one sponsor receiving 100 inquiries and not booking a single client. Further analysis of their responding emails showed the sponsor answered with poorly worded English, and tried to get clients hooked on fixed-departure treks that they were not interested in. After reviewing the 100 emails and bringing in a trained marketing manager, six of the inquiries were converted into business!
• Know your competitive advantages: Most web-surfers looking for travel information and pricing will shop around 3 to 5 sites that look appealing. These sites will all receive a copy of the same email. Just like in the real world, you'll need to be competitive and build trust with the client. Less experienced companies often are overlooked for a more experience company that offers a more expensive package.