“Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride

The Home of Paul Revere

On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse’s side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry’s height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.”

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We were excited to attend and participate in the first New England regional PAII trade show and conference earlier this month in Nashua New Hampshire. Read the rest of this entry »

“On the road again,

Just can’t wait to get on the road again.

Goin’ places I’ve never been,

Seein’ things I may never see again,

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.”

– Willie Nelson

As the off-season rolls around for many of our clients, we set out to make contact with the innkeepers we know and love, as well as meet new members of our industry.

Steven Dunston's 15 Minute Marketing Makeover Presentation packed the room.

Going back to Wisconsin was a great treat for us. It was everyone’s second visit, at least, to the dairyland, and we were happy to see old-time clients like the Inn at Lonesome Hollow’s Nora Knapik, Honeybee Inn’s Barb Ruka, Westby House’s Marie and Mike Cimino and Naeset-Roe’s Carl Povlick, to name a few.

The Wisconsin Dells was a fun place for the conference to be held, and the whole Logan family attended to partake in the entertainment. Glacier Lodge, where the conference and trade show was held, was also home to several massive indoor water parks. It was a fun place for the kids as well as the adults. Katie made a mad dash for the watersides as soon as she had a spare hour!

Katie Pate with Innkeepers from Wissahickon Farms

There wasn’t much time to spare in the Dells, however, the InsideOut crew was quite busy. Steven Dunston, Katie Pate and Jeff  Logan were all speakers at the conference. Katie and Jeff presented on Facebook and Twitter marketing, while the three worked in tandem to cover “Blogging 2.0: Finding Great Content” and share some of our favorite methods for keeping your web site and your blog an engaging and interesting location on the web. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s still time to get your holiday greeting cards or postcards ready. You can also create all-purpose postcards or personalized notepads to leave in your rooms or sell in your gift shop. They’re inexpensive souvenirs for guests that also promote your business.

InsideOut has great print deals on the following items for a limited time only:

20% OFF! ~ Greeting Cards (4″ x 5″ and 4.25″ x 6″)
20% OFF! ~ Postcards (3″ x 4″ and 8″x 5″)
30% OFF! ~ Personalized Notepads (4.25″ x 5.5″, 4″ x 6″, 5.5″ x 8.5″and 8.5″ x 11″)

For discount to apply, final client approval must be received by 4 pm PST 11/30/09. Contact Jim McCauley for details: Email • 360-683-5774 x 304

Google Maps is a major component with every Google Search.  If you do a search for a business type along with a city, Google is most likely going to provide to you a list of results and their location on a map.  See the example below when a search is done for Eureka Springs Bed and Breakfast. Read the rest of this entry »

As you may have noticed, there is a new voice at the end of the phone here at InsideOut. Our beloved President, Pat McCauley, has been answering general calls into the office for about a month now. Read the rest of this entry »

The British Columbia Bed and Breakfast Guild held their annual Conference and Trade Show last week on Vancouver Island. Pat McCauley and Katie Pate were there for day one, the trade show, and Jeff Logan took the second shift.

Pat and Katie enjoyed meeting the BC innkeepers – this was the first time InsideOut had attended their conference.  There were distinct differences in the Innkeepers that we met and many of those we work with here. Smaller, more residential-based inns seemed to be the typical style, versus large historic homes turned into lodging like so many bed and breakfasts in the states.

Jeff was very busy at this conference, presenting on three different marketing subjects and presenting the Guild with their new site design that InsideOut has created. The Guild knew our great reputation for Association designs, and were excited to work with us and our great designers and programmers. Getting British Columbia’s business was compliment for us. They are our Northern neighbors. I can see Victoria from my house! This is InsideOut’s first international association web site. Read the rest of this entry »

InsideOut Solutions sponsored two soccer teams again this year, and under 7’s and under 14’s. Jeff Logan was the coach for his son Charlie and the under 7’s.

The team is made up of 4, 5 and 6-year-olds out to have a good time in the grass and drink a juice box when it’s all over. Altogether they played 8 games, and had practice once a week. It’s never too early to start learning about teamwork!

Now it’s getting pretty cold to have the kiddos running around like an aimless swarm of bees. Soccer doesn’t have a lot of finesse at age six. As Jeff said, “it’s more like herding cats”.

On Oct. 20 and 21 Katie Pate attended a two-day seminar on advanced Adwords marketing. Lead by Google-approved Adwords Seminar Leader Brad Geddes of bg Theory, the seminar focused on advanced Adword use. Some subjects covered included Setting Goals and tracking conversions, getting in-depth information on ROI and profit tracking, effective bidding strategies and account organization. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, it’s almost that time. So take care of it now and check that off your holiday to-do list. You can send your guests and friends a greeting card, but that $.44-cent postage can be a killer! What to do? Postcards are a great option; they still have that personal touch, plus the $.28-cent rate will make you feel a bit more festive.

If you don’t want to spend anything on postage, use your email instead. If you choose a pdf card, then it can be emailed now with a later option to have it professionally printed. Or send a card using a professional program which also allows you to track open rates, bounces and collect statistics at the same time you’re saying Merry Christmas!

Right now, InsideOut is offering great deals on postcards, pdf cards and e-cards:

6″ x 4.25″ Postcard
Custom design and printing with full color on both sides ~
500 for $125.00*
1000 for $133.00*

PDF Card
Branded to match the look of your business ~ $100

E-Card
Custom designed to match your branding ~ $70

Contact print@insideout.com or call 1-800-500-8401 ext 304. Just mention “Holiday Special” and get those holiday greetings done!

*Plus shipping and tax.

New business cards and postcards set the tone for a brochure redesign.

Lookout Point Lakeside Inn was down to their last box of brochures. Co-owner Kristie Rosset decided this was the perfect time to update the design of the piece. InsideOut had recently established a new look for her postcards and business cards. Now we had the opportunity to brand the brochure.

Kristie was happy with the current format–an 8″ x 9″ piece which folded in half to 4″ x 9″–but she was also open to other options. Staying with a finished size of 4″ x 9″ made the most sense since it would fit both standard display racks and business envelopes. But which format would work for Lookout Point? Rack card, trifold or bifold?

Rack cards: small but mighty

A 2-sided 4″ x 9″ rack card was the most economical option. Although on the small side, a rack card still has enough room for good photos, a map and short-but-sweet text. For most small inns, a rack card is the best choice.

Read the rest of this entry »