Entrepreneur Targets Cyclists Via E-Mail and Events

Fred Ackerman’s biggest adventure so far may be developing an online business catering to the adventuresome traveler.

In 2002, the former management consultant (and later an arranger of adventure travel packages at a larger tour operator) decided he could go out on his own.

“I saw that booking travel was not rocket science and I decided I could do it myself,” says Ackerman, the founder of Black Sheep Adventures.

The San Francisco company, with less than $1 million in annual revenue, books what Ackerman likes to call “sports adventure travel” to such places as Cape Cod, Death Valley, Baja California and even the Netherlands. They specialize in such activities as kayaking, biking, and hiking. Black Sheep’s Trips cost between $1,800 and $2,800—competitively priced, Ackerman notes.

Starting out four years ago with only a few hundred names on his database, Ackerman has built the file to more than 1,000 names he keeps in touch through a monthly online newsletter that currently pulls a 43% open rate. Constant Contact helped Ackerman develop his e-mail newsletter.

His marketing activities also include search engine optimization, e-mail and marketing at free events in places like San Francisco and the Cape. These include local AIDS awareness bicycle fundraisers, tradeshows, bicycle events and other such gatherings where he collects e-mail addresses.

So far, promotion at free events and the e-mail newsletter have been Black Sheep’s mainstays.

He’s also looking into making affiliate marketing relationships with single’s adventure-type Web sites and matching and dating-type Web sites.

Ackerman concedes he hasn’t yet actually bought any key words yet for search engine marketing but that, too, is under consideration for the future. “We’re doing SEO very informally now,” he says.

Black Sheep has thus far drawn customers of all ages, says Ackerman.

From all these efforts, Ackerman (who uses the title “chief sheperding officer”) is looking to double in size over next year.

Before getting into the travel business, Ackerman had been a management consultant working in both San Francisco and Australia.