Trip to Turkey Was my Mission Accomplished

Everything to do with using your own website to advertise your rental property. Design, usability, hosting, getting listed on the search engines, optimising your site, pay-per-click, etc, etc.
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Hanorah
Posts: 322
Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 2:50 pm
Location: Turkey

Trip to Turkey Was my Mission Accomplished

Post by Hanorah »

Well I am back from Turkey and taking pictures turned into a bit of a drama. My well meaning in laws had arranged for people to visit nearly every day meaning taking photo's was impossible as lots of cars and washing up around the house.

As they were staying they had lots of stuff around the house and it was most difficult believe me. We also seem to have a nightmare house both inside and outside to take decent shots. The kitchen is spilt in the middle meaning it is hard to show the actual size which is actually quite large.

I think my mission was mini accomplished as my villa tour looks slightly better than the previous one but I know it could still be improved (will have to be October now). The front of the house was also a no no as our neighbours were drilling for water and the believe me there was a massive drill in shot for nearly all of the week. Once they had struck the liquid gold the weather changed for the last two days and we had lots of rain and thunder storms. I am getting paranoid that I will never get any decent shots ever!!.

The upside is when guests visit the first word is Wow (in a good way) so it is kind of reverse psychology and I have never had complaints just lots of praise so far.

Anyway the next time I go in-laws and family will be banned for at least two days and I will have another go.

So here goes

previous

http://www.villahanorah.co.uk/virtualtour.htm

All new

http://www.villahanorah.co.uk/Untitled-1.htm

I am still working on the page and need to optimise the photos and check the text etc so have not made it live yet.
Always Learning
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debk
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Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:01 pm
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
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Post by debk »

Wow. Given your working conditions, it's a wonder you got any useable new shots!

Personally, I find the Porch Area and Dining Room fotos quite inviting. Also the beach and hotel pool.

Mostly, I like your overall site design. It's easy to navigate and full of extra, very useful information... things that would get me excited about my trip and glad I'd found you to help me plan it. I think you should take a moment to pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Now... on a personal note: Visiting Turkey has been a dream of mine for a wide variety of reasons. One being that both of our children have a rare disease and some of the best specialists for it in the world are located in Turkey. Is a plane the best way to get to (or from) Istanbul to Dikili? Is a train an option? (I didn't see any info about trains on your site.) I once tried to decipher Turkish train schedules online. What a hoot!
debk
ps-forgot to mention that your link to email correspondence with the Lonely Planet guy appears to be broken
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vrooje
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Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:48 am
Location: Burgundy, France

Post by vrooje »

Lovely new photos!

Take comfort in the fact that even though the kitchen's size may be hard to convey with a photo, in my opinion there is no doubt that everything in the kitchen (as well as the rest of the house) is of high quality.

Flowers and fruit in the table photos -- beautiful!

In addition, I think your copy is descriptive and alluring. Excellent job. :)

Cheers!
Brooke
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paolo
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Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2004 1:18 pm
Location: Provence, France
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Post by paolo »

Well done Hanorah, mission accomplished! :)
Paolo
Lay My Hat
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Hanorah
Posts: 322
Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 2:50 pm
Location: Turkey

Post by Hanorah »

Debk/Vrooje/Paolo

Thank you for your kind comments. I feel much better now! Although taking photos was a bit of a nightmare I had such a lovely break with my daughter and my husbands family and it was horrible having to come back after just a week.

Debk I am so sorry to hear about your children it must be very hard on you all. Re your question the trains in Turkey are slower than any other form of transport and are really bad that most Turks would never use them.

Coach travel is good with comfortable seats, toilets and onboard refreshments so this is often the transport of choice. However from Istanbul there is a state of the art fast ferry to the nearby port of Ayvalik that takes approx 4 hours and is quite cheap. Plus you have the benefit of the lovely coastal views. A family of guests did this last year and had 4 days in Istanbul before coming to Dikili and highly recommended it.

Once again thanks for the input it is much appreciated but at some point I think I will have to bite the bullet and hire an expert so that we can convey the villa properly.
Always Learning
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

at some point I think I will have to bite the bullet and hire an expert so that we can convey the villa properly
For most owners the idea of hiring a professional photographer is a step too far, but I think it is the best investment we can make. It's not even all that expensive. I got a local photographer (an arty one, not a specialist house photographer) to take some pics on a spare morning, and he gave me a disk of good pictures for £150.

Pictures are much the most important element in the marketing of a property, so why not get the best you can?

Another way to look at the expense is to ask: will great photos sell even one more week over the course of all the years you'll be renting the house out?
Paolo
Lay My Hat
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