"Proof of Submission" Pricing

Due to rising administrative costs, Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) will be adjusting the price of our "Proof of DMV Submission" service upgrade for California online traffic violator school (TVS) students. The new pricing will be effective on Monday, September 1, 2014; all payment functionality will be updated accordingly.

The 1-2-3s of Easy Marketing

Not every marketing push needs razzle dazzle. In many cases, the clearer, more concise, and engaging the marketing message is, the more effective its reach might be in driving sales.

Attract Customers with Magnetic Signs

Apply a magnetic sign to the outside of your vehicle to reach more people in your local area. Doing so will allow you to target customers who might not otherwise be aware of your business. In addition, the magnetic sign could serve as a reminder to customers who've taken your courses in the past that your business is still up and running.

Where to Purchase

High-quality car-door magnets and customizable bumper stickers are available with full-color printing through local and online printing companies. Personalize the magnets with your business name, contact information, and slogan, if applicable.

Word-of-Mouth

Word of mouth is another key factor in grassroots marketing. Encourage your customers to post to social media about their experience with your school and tell others how easy your course is to complete. You may want to offer a discount or partial refund for customers who bring in referrals.

Business Reviews

Business review sites like Yelp and CitySearch make it easy for customers to post online business reviews. Other popular sites include: InsiderPages, YahooLocal, and JudysBook.

Using simple, affordable grassroots marketing, you can affordably target customers in your area without a lot of bells and whistles. (Just don’t forget to reward those who have spread the word about your business along the way!)

Instructor Continuing Education

As part of the ongoing efforts by Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) to provide our affiliated partners with not only the highest-quality curriculum materials, but also unsurpassed ease of operation, we are pleased to announce the availability of our new online Traffic Violator Instructor Continuing Education Seminar!

What Is It?

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) allows traffic school instructors to substitute proof of participation in traffic safety seminars or courses, consisting of a minimum of 18 hours of instruction, in lieu of passing a DMV-administered written examination when renewing their license every three years (CCR §§345.23, 345.24). TSC's DMV-licensed 6-hour continuing professional education program, when completed annually, is intended to fulfill that requirement of traffic violator instructor (TVI) license renewal. We'll even send a yearly reminder email with a discount code to ensure that instructors keep up on their attendance.

The easy-to-read curriculum material is revised annually to incorporate legislative changes, so teachers can remain up-to-date on California traffic laws. And the course makes available useful supplemental materials that will help instructors to stay current with the latest teaching techniques and safe-driving information. Further, user accounts never lose access, so the program can be used as a valuable resource for traffic violator school (TVS) curriculum content and procedural information.

Am I Eligible?

All TVSs—even those that offer only Internet or home study programs—are required to have a licensed instructor available to answer students' course-specific questions (CVC §11202; CCR §345.36(c), (d)). This program, therefore, is beneficial for each and every traffic school in California!

If your TVI license is up for renewal soon, you'll need to head to an Occupational Licensing office to take a DMV-administered exam. Because you'll need a total of three continuing education completion certificates, one earned each year over of the term of your TVI license, you won't have enough time to accumulate certificates before your renewal is due.

If you've recently renewed your license, however, you can start accumulating certificates now. You should complete a continuing professional education seminar once every calendar year. You'll need a total of three certificates, one earned annually, to turn in with your instructor license renewal paperwork, in lieu of passing the DMV-administered exam.

How Do I Take Advantage?

To complete the online Traffic School Instructor Continuing Education Seminar, simply browse to TrafficSchoolInstructorCourse.com, register, and get started! We'll send your official certificate via regular mail upon your successful completion of the course. Be sure to file your completion certificate in a safe place where you'll be able to find it again when you need it, as you'll need a total of three certificates (accumulating one each year for three years) in order to take advantage of the continuing education option when renewing your TVI license. (In case of a natural disaster or general forgetfulness, you can always order duplicate certificates by contacting our customer service department.)

As a special service to our affiliates, TSC is making this online program available for just $9.95 (regularly $49.95). To get the course at this special, affiliate-only pricing, simply enter the coupon code (please see your e-mailed notification about this course) on the payment page and click the "Apply" button; your payment total will be updated with the new amount.

If you have any questions about this excellent new benefit from TSC, please contact Chris (via email or by calling 800 . 487 . 1699) or Tara (via email or by calling 800 . 863 . 2590).

SEO and Title Tags

A well-directed search engine optimization (SEO) strategy could be your best—and most economical—shot for reaching the greatest number of customers for your business. Both online and on your website, you can start information flowing to the people who need it most. The key to success, after all, does rest with the customer.

What is SEO?

SEO works by increasing the visibility of your Website in the search results of Bing, Google, and other live search engines. Think of it as providing an actionable and verifiable link to customers. By writing content with keywords most often used by people searching for traffic school—such as defensive driving or traffic violator school—you can increase your site's position and make it more visible to users.

SEO isn't simply crafting content with words and phrases relevant to a topic, such as online traffic school. It's also demonstrating how important your website is compared to others. If your traffic school promotes safe driving skills through hilarious online learning, then your website should explain why your comedy curriculum is the best on the Web.

Don't forget to include links to authority sites, which can bolster your site's credibility and drive SEO. Public safety announcements from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration are a great example, and are easy to obtain.

The Benefits of SEO

Increase your Website's position on search results pages through concise, eye-popping page titles. Title tags are designed to help users searching for information on a specific topic to better determine whether to clicking through to your site will help them or not.

To create an effective title tag, include the name of your website, along with a succinct designation that effectively describes the page's content. For instance, "Online Traffic School – Try Our Hilarious Course Today" could work for an online school that offers a comedic safe-driving course. The title tag is highly specific and concisely explains what readers can expect should they follow the link. In addition, a driver hoping to mask a citation on his driving record might use the keywords traffic school during a search query.

Effective Communication is a Key to Success

It seems hardly possible to manage staff members, develop a strong brand message for the market, or build a lasting relationship with customers without strong communication. Whether that interaction takes the form of reviews and feedback, requests for new services and products (e.g., supplemental completion reporting), or word-of-mouth, the road to success is usually paved through clear, concise, compelling communication.

Here are a few tips for improving your communication skills:

1. It's not the words that make up a sentence that matter, so much as the "picture" or "feeling" that those words create.
2. Do more than just mention your online curriculum. Distinguish it from the rest. Explain to students why your traffic school is the best!
3. Keep Web content fresh and exciting through smart, well-organized blocks of information. Breaking up content into bulleted lists or numbered lists could be an effective solution in presenting large amounts of information in a limited space.
4. Anticipate your customers' needs and encourage users to reach out to your support staff for additional questions or concerns.
5. Explain information that may not otherwise be easily understood. For instance, you might want to explain how electronic completion reporting works and how it and your completion tracking service benefit your customers.

Communicating effectively with staff and students can smooth over a lot of difficult situations—or even help to avoid them altogether.

Winning Through SEO

Effective search engine optimization (SEO) is about designing and executing a strong marketing plan. While you may not be an expert in SEO strategy, your website can benefit from a few simple tips. Check out these suggestions to see where you might be able to improve your online marketing strategies:

1. Create a click-friendly URL scheme using keywords that relate to each designated Web page. The URL http://www.onlinetrafficschool.com/registration is a perfect example. Here, users understand that by following the link, they are going to the registration page of Online Traffic School.
2. Create a navigation structure that makes it easy for users to move through your website. Offering a site map, for instance, could help users more quickly and more efficiently find key Web pages, such as FAQs and registration.
3. Stick to well-polished, well-researched content that is of benefit to your customers. You don't want to give your customers any reason to "opt-out" of future engagement and correspondence.
4. Link your website—or select Web pages—back to your social media pages.
5. Print the name of your website on the back of business cards, and other printed material. Or better yet, consider making the name of your business a URL, as we've previously discussed on this blog.
6. As with any SEO plan, you want to make your website as user-friendly as possible. Whether you anchor text (making it clickable for users to see as a result of a link) or optimize your content through colorful illustrations and eye-popping videos (which, by the way, drives up SEO!) your goal for your content should be the same: to present quality material that keeps customers interested and coming back for more!
7. Consider using Google Analytics or another service for site statistics. Track how much "natural" traffic you're now attracting through search queries and which keywords are driving this traffic. Then, reuse successful strategies in the future.

California Booklet Orders

Due to heavy sales volume and stocking considerations, Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) is implementing new procedures regarding orders for the California Home Study Traffic School Booklet (the traffic violator school home study booklet program licensed by TSC). Effective immediately, all affiliates who wish to pick up copies of the booklet directly from TSC's offices must place their order and pay via the California Course Provider administration system BEFORE picking up the requested inventory.

• To begin the ordering process, you must now pick your delivery method. Choose the "Shipped" option to have the books shipped to you; select the the "Pick-Up" option to pick up your order directly from TSC's offices. You will then enter the quantity of books you wish to order, as you always have. (Note: You are, of course, not billed for shipping charges if you select the pick-up option.)
• There is now an additional payment option that will allow you to pay for your order via a checking account. (You will still be able to pay with a credit card, as before, if you prefer.) Simply select your method of payment from the drop-down menu and then enter your appropriate information on the payment page. If you choose the "E-Check" option from the drop-down and enter the information for your checking account, payment will be debited directly from that account.

If you need assistance or have questions about this change, please contact Chris Kalili (email or 800 . 487 . 1699) or Tara Williams (email or 800 . 863 . 2590).

SEO and Meta Tags

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process by which you drive traffic to your Website using keywords and other content enhancement techniques. This is not to be confused with Pay per Click (PPC), which drives clicks (i.e., readership) through paid placements, such as ads and banners. The purpose in either case is to drive visitors—and potential customers—to your site.

SEO Priorities

Meta tags are text that is invisible to readers of the site but which is accessbile by search engines. Meta tags are included in a Web page's meta data (information about the page itself; not the information that is presented to visitors to the page) directly below the page's title tag, and they offer a straightforward technique for effectively driving SEO priorities. These short, descriptive tags accurately summarize the content that the page is presenting for consumption and, if done right, could drive clicks.

Here are a few tips for writing eye-popping meta tags:

• Don't just inform users about a page's content. Entice them to follow the link.
• Draw users into your site with wit and humor. Veer away from dry descriptions that do little more than provide information. Instead, create a picture of what users can expect inside the website.
• Create a unique meta tag—meaning it has its own description—for each page on your Website.

Using a well-directed SEO plan, you can ensure that your Website appears high in search engine results and gets presented to consumers who might be looking for your services. Meta tags are a critical part of your SEO campaign, but they're just a part. Keep checking back here periodically for more helpful tips on improving your search engine marketing campaign!

The Incredible, Expanding Customer Pool and How to Navigate it!

Don't get lost on the Web.
Make use of it in your marketing!

The pool of customers you enjoy today may not be the pool of customers you enjoy tomorrow; however, through effective grassroots marketing you can more effectively navigate the waters. As you "reel in" more customers, you'll need to widen your "net," and tighten your grip, making sure existing customers don't slip away unnoticed and new customers don't "jump ship" once on-board.

Navigating the Web

Social media and email campaigns offer an immediate and measurable line of communication to customers. In just a few mouse-clicks, a single Tweet, Facebook post, or email blast could reach thousands, if not millions, of customers. Best of all, you don't need an expensive marketing director to help you achieve success. By simply developing an engaging, exciting, unique online presence through social networking sites, blogs, email, and Web content, you can maintain quality, frequent contact with your customers.

Social Media

Posting content to social media websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, is totally free. Facebook, for instance, allows you to post unlimited updates and "tag" content, such as photos and videos. Post a humorous digital image or provide useful updates on a new driving law, and you could see an immediate increase in traffic—along with a few extra thousand electronic thumbs-ups to boot!

All That Glitters Glows

Social media and email campaigns offer an easy (and inexpensive) way to let customers know about money-saving coupons, glossy specials, driving-related games, and exciting online competitions. But don't simply focus on providing incentives and rousing brand awareness. Find new and exciting ways to drive customer support and strengthen communication. Here are a few tips for doing so:

• Develop a pattern of consistency. Produce engaging, high quality content every time and your customers will be more likely to "opt-in" to future mailings, respond to calls for action (e.g., "Enroll in a refresher course today!"), and share the great experiences they've had with your traffic school.
• Your content should be fun, friendly, and filled with the useful information customers need to know about traffic safety.
• In cyberspace, a "friend" is only as cool as his or her last tweet, status update, or email blast—so keep consistent and be creative!
• Strengthen your relationship with your customers one update at a time. As important state driving laws change, send out helpful updates and follow-up materials, or post Web links to useful save-driving news. Drivers can stay informed and kept up-to-date on pertinent state driving laws, and you can remain the trusted, dependable "friend" that you are!
• Uphold the laws of merchant etiquette. Don't overload your customers with too much information. Simply being aware of, and controlling, the breadth of material you regularly send to customers could minimize the number of complaints you receive later on. Whatever information you do provide, though, should be accurate, concise, and up-to-date.

Old Enough to Know Better?

Everyone knows by now that it's dangerous to drink and drive. But what if the substance you're intoxicated by is a medication that you need to stay healthy? (For the record, the law doesn't care why drivers are chemically impaired, or how they got that way, only that they are unable to safely operate a motor vehicle.)

Older Americans are driving more, and driving later in life, than in previous generations. In some cases, this is because they are remaining in the work force longer and need to commute to their jobs. In other cases, they're just seeking to maintain mobility and independence as they age. But a new report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety notes that 90% of older drivers also use prescription medication; and two-thirds of those senior drivers take multiple medications, making them at risk for a synergistic reaction.

A Mature Driver Safety Course from Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) could be just what an older driver needs. Our programs offer all sorts of effective tips to help older drivers stay safe behind the wheel, including a discussion about the effects and interactions of medication. And it's all wrapped in an entertaining and informative package, with colorful charts and illustrations, video clips, and driving-related humor that will have students laughing while they learn. Plus, it's a great way to get an automobile insurance discount (mandated in some states for older drivers who complete a mature driver course)!

TSC's online Mature Driver Safety Courses are available in Florida and now New Jersey, with other states coming soon. To add this beneficial safety program to your product offerings, contact Donna (via email or at 800 . 252 . 9951) regarding the Florida program, or Gloria (via email or at 800 . 252 . 9488) regarding the New Jersey program.

For more great information, also check out: 4 Great Car Features for Older Drivers