In the last issue of my biweekly newsletter, I raved about my experience with Hover Ads. Well, the "official" results are now in: a 158% increase in email opt-ins!

But I'm surprised that so few of my subscribers actually seem to have taken advantage of the marketing power that Hover Ads represents. Why could this be? I wondered. Seems there are several possibilities.

1. You don't have a web site.

2. You do but you are not using a device such as downloadable ebooks or a regular newsletter to collect email addresses.

3. You are collecting email addresses, but you just don't see the importance of making that process more productive.

If you fall into categories 2 or 3, I strongly urge you to take a second (or first!) look at Hover Ads.

If you don't yet have an email collecting mechanism in place for your web site, then you need to learn the basics of Internet marketing. The same goes if you do not yet have a web site.

I have long maintained that the Internet is not a threat to home-based travel agents. In fact, it largely serves to siphon away the kind of customers who will be a thorn in your side -- the tirekickers and price shoppers. This is still true.

But -- and it's an important but -- technology and the ingenuity of Internet marketers don't stand still and every day someone is figuring out a new way to chip away a few more customers from more "traditional" forms of travel sellers.

It is imperative that you keep up and find creative "guerilla" tactics for using the Internet to your advantage.

I am going to assume that most home-based travel agents still don't have web sites. Or that if they do, they are mostly ineffective, cookie-cutter sites with canned content and no individual personality.

Over time, I hope to use this blog to explore the ways, the many ways home-based travel agents can sell travel on the Internet, but for now I'd like to challenge you to do something very simple, yet something that will have powerful implications down the road.

Start collecting email addresses!

Even if you don't have a web site, you have access to the Internet and the email capabilities that go along with it. Email is what I like to call the Other Internet. And if you're in business, you can use it.

So set yourself some goals to ask everyone you come in contact with for their email address. Assure them that you won't use it indiscriminately, but that you would like to have their permission to contact them if you come across something -- a cruise, a tour, a special offer at a resort -- that you think might interest them.

Note: It is crucual that you get people's permission to send them email. If they don't want to do that, then don't press them. Just make a note that they "opted-out."

If you already have a client list, check it to see how many email addresses you already have. Missing some? Get them.

Don't feel you're under any pressure to use these email addresses immediately. You're not. But you should save them. You should also at least begin to create a "database" of this information.

Don't freak out. It doesn't have to be fancy to start with. Ideally, it should be in some electronic form that is scalable, that is it can grow and expand over time. A spreadsheet like Excel will work, or you can use an actual database program like FileMaker. You can even use a word processor like Word; just create tab delimited lists or tables.

But even if you keep your list in pencil and paper format, start to capture some useful info about your contacts. First of all, to my way of thinking, you want to be able to separate the lists in to customers and non-customers. (Hint: Your customers are mnore valuable to you then your non-customers). Another important area is the interests of the people you are adding to your list. For example:

John Jones, email@aol.com, golf, cruises

Simple, but if you have a great cruise to promote, you'll be able to find John quickly.

Now this may all seem screaming obvious and unbelieveably basic to some of you. But the fact that so few are jumping at the chance to add Hover Ads to their marketing arsenal leads me to believe that it's a lesson worth relearning.