SEO-Focused Web Content Writers
Archive for March, 2011
Mar 28th
Of all the things that make me sad or sentimental about the continuous march of technology, one of the worst is probably the demise of printed words…whether they be in newspapers, magazines or actual, non-Kindle books. Sure, looking up fantasy baseball stats every morning at the breakfast table from the Sports section was a lot less convenient to logging on at any time and getting them instantly…but in retrospect, maybe a bit more fun…and more of an “experience”. This recent news:
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Newspaper advertising in the U.S. has sunk to a 25-year low as marketing budgets followed readers to the Internet, where advertising is far cheaper than what publishers have been able to command in print.
Advertisers spent $25.8 billion on newspapers’ print and digital editions last year, according to figures released Tuesday by the Newspaper Association of America. That’s the lowest amount since 1985 when total newspaper advertising stood at $25.2 billion.
After adjusting for inflation, newspaper advertising now stands at about the same level as nearly 50 years ago. In 1962, newspaper advertising totaled $3.7 billion, which translates to about $26 billion today.
Print advertising has fallen in each of the past five years, dramatically shrinking newspaper publishers’ main source of More >
Is Groupon Good or Bad For Retailers?
Mar 21st
This social coupon craze has become a big thing. For retailers, the question is whether it’s a good thing or bad thing. Sites like Groupon and the many clones that have sprung up (the local newspaper, the Post Dispatch, now has a similar service) can certainly drive traffic into stores. But many are not prepared for the onslaught – creating negative customer experiences.
And these services are also creating what we call the “Famous Barr syndrome”. (For those not familiar, Famous Barr was a Midwestern U.S. department store chain, since absorbed into Macy’s). They had “big sales” and offered large discount coupons so often that people became reluctant to shop there unless there was a current promotion. Sites like Groupon do the same thing, training people to expect that they can get a coupon for almost anything.
Coupons have of course been around for years, and have been available on the Internet since the earliest days. But now there are so many services and websites offering discounts, the customer is becoming trained to never, ever pay full price. This pricing model works well for some businesses, not so well for others.
And whether a retailer or other merchant makes money depends on many factors, More >
Article Marketing in 7 Easy Steps
Mar 14th
Article marketing is a great way to improve your credibility and boost your website traffic. But you can’t just submit any old rubbish to the directories. Here are the seven pillars you should consider every time you want to write an article.
1. Prepare A good article requires good research. This requires visiting websites, reading the news, spending some time surfing forums in your niche, reading blog posts and comments, and reviewing sites like Yahoo Answers. Find problems that people have that you can provide a solution to.
2. Produce When you have your article idea you are ready to start writing. Your article needs to be well structured. In the introduction to the article you need to outline the problem for the reader. Then break the solution down into a series of short paragraphs; walk them through it step-by-step. Finally you need to summarize the solution. The first two steps in this process are often the hardest for business owners and others with limited time and resources, which is where companies similar to Hat Trick Associates and other freelancers come into play.
3. Polish When you’re finished re-read your article. Does your article provide the reader with enough useful information to make them want to take More >
