Publisher's Note

It’s been a busy start to the summer at SMG. The sixth annual SMG Lake Tahoe Tourism Conference was held on June 1st at Embassy Suites Resort in South Lake Tahoe, CA, and drew nearly 200 attendees. Delegates were privy to presentations on such timely subjects as sustainable resort development, mountain resort trends, as well as local tourism marketing efforts.

Additionally, we’ve introduced a blog to the SMG web site, which we invite you to visit and bookmark. We’ll be updating it regularly, so check back often. Jenn Gleckman’s article provides a good overview on the how, what and why of blogs. She also provides an update on the state of email marketing. Despite numerous blows to email’s deliverability and effectiveness, it’s still one of the better performing marketing tools.

Similarly, I’ve been busy with various Business Improvement District (BID) projects throughout California, which have taught me quite a bit about the politics surrounding this unique funding mechanism. I’ve distilled all of it into an article, which I hope captures the excitement of the possibilities for such a mechanism.

Here’s wishing everyone an enjoyable and productive summer.

Regards,

Carl Ribaudo
Publisher
carl@smgonline.net

Blog 101 - A Primer

Blogs have become the darling of the online world recently, for numerous reasons. They are easy to set up and maintain and allow virtually anyone to share his/her comments with the world.

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Current Trends in Email Marketing

Email marketing has an image problem. Not as sexy as paid search or online marketing, it doesn't always get the respect it deserves.

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Tourism Business Improvement Districts: Is One Coming to Your Community Soon?

For many years, tourism promotion agencies have been funded primarily through the collection of Transient Occupancy Tax (room tax) levied on visitors when they stay at a local lodging property.

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