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Advertizing
I am happy to list phone numbers, addresses, and a brief description for businesses that may be of interest to tourists. There have been requests for commercial web links or other additional exposure and I am willing to comply in most cases for a nominal charge.
Advertisers are still subject to the same review as everyone else in the Visitors' Comments sections. It is my hope that this encourages deserving businesses to prosper. Comments are typically positive but often mention a downside as well. Those who advertise here tend to be well-received, as suggested by the Visitors' Comments. Becoming an advertiser on tomzap.com does not mean that your business will be "recommended" on tomzap.com. These recommendations generally come as a consensus of the readers of tomzap.com.
The tone and focus of these pages is to be informative and candid. Advertising must be informative and truthful as well. No limit is set on the length, the number of pages, or the number of photos and graphics in an advertisement as long as it continues to be informative and reasonable. If the advertiser has another web site, a link to that site will be included in the heading of the ad. I do not provide commercial links without an ad. There will be no blinking text, banners, or other annoyances. Advertisements will be integrated into the existing pages with hyperlinks to and from related topics.
How do I advertise on tomzap.com?
It is pretty simple. First send me a request and tell me what you want to advertise. If we both agree to proceed, then you pay for the first year, send me the text for your ad in the body of an email and send me photos for your ad. Photos may be attached to emails, about 3 per email, or uploaded by FTP. You may leave the photos at full resolution, at least 640x480 please, and I will reduce them as appropriate. Click here for FTP Instructions.
The content of your ad should include the name of the business (if you are selling or renting a home, then the home needs a name), contact information, the main features or highlights, any additional description (unlimited amount), and 2 to 10 photos.
That is all. It usually takes me 1 to 3 weeks to build the ad.
How can I increase my exposure on tomzap.com?
I would like to invite advertisers (and anyone else) to write articles for tomzap.com. Articles can be about any subject relating to the areas covered on tomzap.com. Your article will have a link to your ad on tomzap.com, thus increasing your exposure. Articles will be also linked to and from relative information. So it's a win-win situation; you create a new avenue to your ad and you provide helpful information for the readers of tomzap.com. The most prolific advertiser/writer has been Alvin Starkman of Casa Machaya.
Can I advertize more than one thing in my ad?
Maybe, but if it requires more than one listing then you need more than one ad. I will provide a second ad at reduced cost.
Keeping it Legal
In order for a foreigner to legally earn money in Mexico, he/she must have a work permit. For example, if you have a home and you rent out a room, you need to have the appropriate permits. If you are bringing a group of people to Mexico from your own country for a retreat of some kind and you collect payment in your country and conduct the retreat in Mexico, you still need permits in Mexico because the work is conducted in Mexico. The Mexican authorities do sometimes review the ads on this web site to find violators. If you need more information about permits, it would be best to ask someone who knows (not me). You may find some of the information in the Living in Mexico section.
The Listing
The listing for your business needs to be brief. I usually write this myself based on the information in your ad. You can make suggestions. The business name will be in bold type and will link to your ad. If you are providing accommodations, I will decide whether to list in the budget, moderate, or expensive category based on what you charge for a double during the high season. There is nothing wrong with being in the expensive category. That is generally where the best places are listed and they do get business. Most ads will also get an entry in the Main Index. If your ad is for property for sale, it will not appear in the main index but will be in the Real Estate Index.
Using PayPal
PayPal is a company that makes it possible to send money electronically to an email address using a credit card. I can accept payment for advertising by PayPal by sending to my email address, tom@tomzap.com. The web address for PayPal is http://www.paypal.com. It is best to go directly to this web URL and not use links in emails because sometimes email links take you someplace other than PayPal in order to attempt steal your credit card information. There is no charge to the sender to use PayPal unless a currency conversion to U.S. dollars is involved.
I asked PayPal about the use of Mexican credit cards to send U.S. dollars by PayPal and here is what they said:
PayPal will work with most credit or debit cards issued in Mexico
regardless of the bank of issuance. It will not work with pre-paid cards
in most cases.
You can require that your Mexican customers pay in US dollars and they
will have to pay the conversion fee.
PayPal uses the current wholesale rate and adds a 2.5% spread above this
rate to calculate our currency conversion rate.
Our basic fees for receiving international payments are also 3.9% of the
transaction plus $0.30 USD rather than 2.9% plus $0.30 USD as it is with
domestic payments.
About Priorities
I created The Pacific Coast of Mexico in 1984 for the purpose of sharing information about the coast of Oaxaca, originally. Later the states of Jalisco and Colima were added. The purpose was not to create a venue for advertisers. That came about as a byproduct due to the popularity of tomzap.com. The advertisements do contribute to the information on tomzap.com but they are not my top priority, and frankly are not necessary for the existance of tomzap.com. During times of high workload, I may temporarily not be accepting new advertisers.
There may be times when events occur such as hurricanes, violent protests, armed uprisings, thefts, or murders. The reporting of such events may temporarily discourage tourism in the area and be harmful to some businesses, including those who advertise on tomzap.com. Nonetheless, these are important events and they will be reported on tomzap.com because the priority is to share information. This kind of candor is what has made this site stand out among travel web sites in the first place and is fundamental to its popularity which, in the long run, is what makes it attractive to advertisers.
The Pacific Coast of Mexico continues to be not-for-profit but advertisers who can accept the conditions and brave the Visitors' Comments are welcomed, especially if they can contribute to the informational focus of the site. Receipts for advertising are used to defray costs of providing these web pages about the coastal areas of Oaxaca, Jalisco and Colima. Your support is appreciated.
Tom Penick
tom@tomzap.com
This page has been visited 
times since January 19, 2008.
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The Pacific Coast of Mexico
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Tom Penick:
tom@tomzap.com