Any Suggests/Ideas.. for travel site

[rachelle123]

Hey everyone.. I have put this one on the back burner and am now starting to pay attention to it. Can you tell me what you think of it so far.. good or bad..

I am also looking for any type of scripts (free) or widgets that I could add to the site that the user would use as a benefit and make their stay longer.

Any comments appreciated!

www.airtraveldestinations.com

Thanks,
Kim

[gatorjack]

First and foremost, capture their email address. That way you can follow up with them later.

[J.Knight]

Originally Posted by rachelle123

Hey everyone.. I have put this one on the back burner and am now starting to pay attention to it. Can you tell me what you think of it so far.. good or bad..

I am also looking for any type of scripts (free) or widgets that I could add to the site that the user would use as a benefit and make their stay longer.

Any comments appreciated!

www.airtraveldestinations.com

Thanks,
Kim

Hey Kim!

Just took a quick look. Not bad.

You should look at building a mailing list with visitors to the site though. I would consider that a necessity. Every day which goes buy when you're not capturing leads, is a waste.

JK

Edit: Woops! Beaten to it :-)

[rachelle123]

Yes definately.. still trying to figure out how to set that up! LOL....

Thanks,
Kim

[JohnMcCabe]

First, some mechanical things...

Under "Feature Video", you need to replace Enter Embedded Video Code Here with an actual video.

Under "Categories", you may want to replace Main Content with something more enticing. Anyone looking may think "if the main content is all here, what's this other stuff and why should I bother?".

The large R images by every article - can you replace these with something more meaningful?

Features 1, 2 and 3 all have the same photo; I'm guessing it's supposed to be Fiji. There is no Feature 4, 5 or 6.

Overall, you have a very attractive, clean layout. Good job.

As far as widgets and such to keep people coming back, how about time/weather for featured destinations? Currency converters? News feeds for feature destinations?

One thing to keep in mind - with a market this broad, you are competing with some pretty big players (Yahoo Travel, MSN to name 2). What can you offer that sets you apart? Can you drill a little deeper, with some background/history of your destination, presented in an interesting way? Do you have personal experiences you can share, stories to tell, pictures to show? Can you find someone(s) that do and are willing to share?

Right now, it looks like you have a pretty site with some generic content. Find that spark that sets you apart and draws people in and you won't need widgets or gimmicks to get repeat visitors.

[gatorjack]

There's monthly services such as Aweber, ConstantContact, or GetResponse. If you want an all-in-one solution (autoresponder, hosting, etc), then try the Ultimate Marketing Center.

[rachelle123]

Thank you guys.. Yes I am still working on the site.. That "Main Category" was killing me too.. I will be changing it.. and alot of other things still to do..

As for making it different i wanted to try this... Plesae give me your feedback.


I want to put a script on the site that allows users to vote...

Should they vote on :

Best vacation pic?
Best Funny vacation pic?
Best Hot spot?

What do you think would go viral more.. they seem boring to me.. but my brain is mush =)

Thanks so much for all your feedback so far..

Kim

[JohnMcCabe]

Originally Posted by rachelle123

Thank you guys.. Yes I am still working on the site.. That "Main Category" was killing me too.. I will be changing it.. and alot of other things still to do..

As for making it different i wanted to try this... Plesae give me your feedback.


I want to put a script on the site that allows users to vote...

Should they vote on :

Best vacation pic?
Best Funny vacation pic?
Best Hot spot?

What do you think would go viral more.. they seem boring to me.. but my brain is mush =)

Thanks so much for all your feedback so far..

Kim

Can you run it as a contest, with users submitting the pics and voting on the winners? Yu can spice up the ideas by making them specific - best sunset, best action shot, best unknown restaurant find, etc. In this instance quirky is good, and if you can make it a leeetle bit racy, even better.

You could apply the same thing to videos. Have users post videos on YouTube, etc. and have part of the contest rules require adding your URL in the video description.

Another way to do it is to pick two of something - karaoke videos, tasteful bikini pics on the beach, whatever - and simply ask A or B. There's a long running banner campaign that asks things like 'Coke or Pepsi', 'McDonald's or Burger King'. Clicking your choice clicks the ad and brings you to a CPA survey form.

[rachelle123]

Thanks,, those are some great ideas.. now you have my thoughts back up and running!! =)

Kim