My initial business was Europe a la Carte. I thought that there was a niche in the market to assist people who were looking for something different to the traditional package holiday, put together a tailor made trip to Europe. It is possible to do this yourself on the Internet but it's pretty time consuming. I reckoned that there was a significant minority of people who would value some assistance with planning and booking their trip.
From enquiries I received I began to realise that there was demand for cultural and activity holidays in Europe. The sister site, European Cultural & Activity Tours, was started in January 2003. May aim was to build up a good selection of holidays offered by small specialist suppliers throughout Europe.
I have to say that I am extremely lucky that one of my sons is really good on the computer. He has designed my sites and databases. My other son has also helped me with newsletters and photos.
I have begun to get more bookings and last week I had my first repeat customer. I have learnt a lot in the last two years about IT, the Internet and marketing. I have tried my hand at writing articles for the websites.
I have had some interesting trips to meet up with suppliers and visits to the areas that I promote. I have worked really hard but I haven't really minded that as I have, on the whole, enjoyed the work. I am working toward my dream of having a profitable business in a field I find fascinating. I believe that I have found what I want to do now that I am grown up!
Karen is a travel consultant and writer specialising in travel to Europe. She has two websites: http://www.europealacarte.co.uk http://www.europe-culture-activity-tours.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_Bryan Internet Marketing Sense - Research Your Market
By Allen Jesson
If you want to be successful with Internet Marketing then you need to begin with the end in mind. Far too often would be marketeers have a 'build it and they will come' attitude. Sadly, many times 'they' don't come and those 'would be's' end up being forever 'wannabe's'. Let's not make the same mistake. That is why any Internet Marketing campaign should begin with proper research. The good news is that there are plenty of tools available.
You also need to think about building different web sites for different markets. Even if your market is quite defined, you will find that there are various niches within that market. So, think about building a web-site for each and every niche you identify. The reason for this is quite simple.
Let's say for example you used one piece of software to rapidly build SIMILAR sites in the SAME market. You might achieve some short term success but what happens when Google bans that piece of software or our target market becomes overcrowded or even worse, dead? You get the idea, that is why you need to diversify.
Ideally, I would like you to choose a target market from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Also, go with your first instinct, something you're interested in or an area where you think there is potential. Just to whet your appetite, these are the average fees paid PER CLICK by the top advertisers for the following keywords:
Cheap flight $ 4.00 Credit Card $ 15.45 Holiday $ 15.53 Mobile ring tone $ 5.15 Smoked fish $ 0.20 Vegetable delivery $ 0.05
Source: Sunday Times August 2006
There are many sites where you can find the top paying keywords but I suggest you do not go down that route and follow the 'road less travelled'.