President's Message
What’s the first impression your clients form about you?

Building Your Web Site to Blockbuster Levels
By Gary M. Fee, OSSN President

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As you read this article, open a new window in your Internet browser and pull up your Web site. What impression does your site give average consumers who find you on the Internet?

If you're 100 percent satisfied with your site, then you're in trouble. Remember the old saying about railroad tracks: If you're on the tracks, you'd better be running -- otherwise, you'll get run over if you simply stand still. Rest assured that your competitors (including the huge online travel agencies like Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz) are never happy with their sites!

This month, take a long, hard, discerning look at your site. Decide whether you want to make your site "bookable" by posting one or more online booking engines, so that your clients can plan trips at any time, even while you're sleeping. (Some agents like this route, while others prefer to handle reservations directly to help their clients avoid booking errors online. It's your call.) What kinds of content -- destination descriptions, photos, "podcasts," etc. -- can you add to make your site more lively and enticing to travelers? How easy is it for viewers to quickly locate your email address and other contact information? Do you want to post specials and hot deals, or would you rather emphasize your one-on-one, customized trip planning services?

The beauty of the Internet is that it's like a chalkboard. You can make minor adjustments to the look and feel and content of your site -- or you can wipe the slate clean and start all over with a totally new design. Your costs are your time (and the help of a good Web designer, in many cases), but you're not out of pocket for re-printing old-fashioned brochures and flyers for your agency. It's just images on a computer screen.

At OSSN, we're very proud to offer you special deals with several allied supplier members who specialize in helping home-based agents design, host, and maintain superb Web sites:

Primary Hub is the Web design and hosting company that exclusively handles OSSN's own site. They offer many affordable, full-feature packages and designs for travel sites. If you need help designing and maintaining your site, please check out their services.

Passport Online provides many types of content for travel agent sites, from the latest "hot deals" offered by leading suppliers to full-fledged Web site templates. Passport just announced last month a new level of destination content that will be added to its agents' sites soon.

Here's even better news: Passport Online is now giving OSSN members a FREE Web site of their own! Called NexCite Express, this service will help you get your site up and running quickly (or help your existing site bring in more sales!). Check for more details.

And, Word Travels provides updated destination guides that you can offer to your clients before they take their next trips.

Set aside time this month to review your site, and take a look at the offerings from these three OSSN supplier members. It's a level playing field for you on the Internet, but as home-based agents, we have to work just as hard as the big guys to put our best faces forward!