http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/internet/blogging/the-value-of-branding-your-blog.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/blogging/the-value-of-branding-your-blog.html Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Seeing your blog as an extension of your marketing and branding efforts is the key to maximizing the benefits of blogging. Remember, the purpose of your blog is to attract your target customer base – and keep them coming back for more. With that said, there are several strategies you can utilize to maximize the marketing power of your blog.

What does your blog say about your company?

A major element of your marketing efforts is brand congruency. McDonald’s, Apple, Nike, and the other highly successful global organizations have achieved their status through intelligent, congruent branding. Keeping this in mind, it is critical that your blog stays in line with your branding efforts. Readers see the blog as a personal extension of the company, and thus, it is important that it reflects the same character of your branding strategy.

For example, if you run an online party supplies store that is known for creativity, then make sure your blog reflects that branding. Include innovative party ideas, such as themes, unique DIY decorating tips, and recipes. This creates significant value with your target customer base, while keeping in line with the creative branding your company employs.

How is your blog valuable to your target customer?

Although blogs are indeed beneficial for SEO purposes, the most power you can generate from your blog stems from attracting your target customer. With this in mind, carefully evaluate how valuable your blog postings are to your client base. Put yourself in their shoes; would you bookmark your blog and come back regularly?

One strategic – and easy – way to increase the value of your blog is to create specialized content. Positioning yourself as a specialist and expert in the field not only provides value to the customer, but inherently reinforces the legitimacy of your company.

For example, if you are a recruiting firm, then your blog should discuss pressing HR issues that your clients would find valuable. You could expound upon changing laws, new legal rulings, powerful interview questions, and background check tools. Not only do you reaffirm your expertise in recruiting employees, but you present very valuable information that would prompt your client base to become regular readers.

How does your blog stand out from the crowd?

With many of your competitors utilizing blogs, how can you compel your target audience to visit your blog? The key is to create innovative content that stands far above mediocre articles. While many blogs simply write average, keyword-rich articles for SEO purposes, make sure your blog shines with innovative content. Whether you infuse humor, compelling research, breaking news, or expert knowledge, writing interesting blog articles is the most powerful way to generate attention. Keep in mind that your goal is to create articles worthy of links – ones that other blogs and social networks will want to re-publish – and your content will easily stand out from the blogging crowd.

When you create innovative, valuable content that is in line with your branding strategy, your business can fully reap the benefits of blogging. Leave your competition in the dust as you jumpstart your marketing campaign with the power of today’s blog!

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Discover how blog content can increase your company’s potential by visiting our Learning Guides. CommunicateBetter.org offers powerful freelance writing services, whether you need valuable, ghost-written blog articles or engaging, converting landing pages.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/disaster-in-the-soviet-union-the-chernobyl-nuclear-meltdown.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/disaster-in-the-soviet-union-the-chernobyl-nuclear-meltdown.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500
How It Happened

Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was scheduled for a shutdown to perform routine maintenance on April 25th, the day before the disaster. This shutdown was to take place, in part, so an experiment could be undertaken. The engineers at the plant intended to test the turbines running the generators in the reactor to see if they would continue to run even if there was an external power outage. This would be an important safety component, as the reactor type used at Chernobyl requires a constant spray of water in order to remain cool. Of course, the turbines could not turn forever under their own momentum (or else there would be no need for a nuclear power plant). There was a forty second delay between the shutdown of the electricity and the initiation of the backup generators. The engineers needed to test if the turbines could continue to turn for a minimum of forty seconds, thus producing a seamless transition in the event of a power outage.

In a twist of fate, the grid controller in the area requested that the reactor stay online, however, rather than decreasing power output. This was due to a regional power station gong offline that day, and the controller anticipating the need for the electricity during the peak hours of the day. Chernobyl agreed, and the power decrease did not start until nearly 11:00 that night. Thus, the safety test was put into the hands of the less experienced and understaffed night shift. The new crew was not made aware of the fact that they had postponed the power decrease, and thus followed the plan for shutdown as if it had been decreasing throughout the day.

Without getting into the scientific aspects of the disaster, suffice to say that this lack of knowledge (and the plant’s unacceptable safety systems), led directly to the meltdown. While trying to complete the experiment, the staff removed the manual control rods for the reactor, since they were not getting the desired results from their shutdown. The reactor, set inexorably towards a runaway reaction, was left without anything to prevent it. By the time systems began to show instability on the computers, it was too late. The staff tried to reinsert the rods, but they melted and broke. Fire and explosion quickly blew the roof off the reactor, and a disaster was born.

Taking The Measure

The Chernobyl disaster and its aftermath has been difficult to quantify. Conflicting reports exist as to the extent of the damage. It is known that there were fifty-seven deaths as an immediate result of the radiation, mostly concentrated on power plant staff and fire and rescue workers who were not told of the severity of the risk. Almost five miles of forestry in the vicinity of the plant changed colors and died due to the radiation. The animals were destroyed. It has been estimated that as many as 10,000 cases of fatal cancer among the surrounding residents as a result of the contamination, making it one of the most deadly manmade accidents in history.

The incident slowed greatly the Soviet Union’s abilities to carry on with a nuclear program, and it forced the government to be more open in future dealings with the press. The disaster may have been less serious had the government been prompt with its acceptance of what had happened and dispersed correct information more rapidly.

It is interesting to note that it was not until the year 2000, some fourteen years after the incident that Chernobyl finally shut down. Today, workers are still there around the clock, as the nuclear core cannot be left unsupervised. The town of Pripyat has been a ghost town ever since, and has actually become a haven for wildlife in the absence of humans.

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Learn more about the Chernobyl disaster by visiting http://www.rememberchernobyl.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/writing/copywriting/how-to-choose-a-freelance-writer-for-your-online-business.html http://www.articletrader.com/writing/copywriting/how-to-choose-a-freelance-writer-for-your-online-business.html Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Evaluate your specific content needs

You should first consider two elements pertaining to your content before you begin your search for a freelance writer:

• Content Goals: What is the ultimate goal of the content you would like the writer to develop? Would you like sales copy that will convert each visitor into a paying customer? Or, would you like informative articles that will build your reputation of expertise? Are you seeking link-bait articles that will generate buzz in the social networks? Each type of content goal will require a different style and focus of writing, and it is important that you firmly establish your goals in order to find the best content writer for your project.

• Branding Tone: The value of branding cannot be underestimated, especially online where information flows with full transparency. If your branding portrays a fresh, hip style, then you want to ensure that your content is in line with that strategy. On the other hand, if your positioning is based upon conservative professionalism, it requires a different type of style and voice for branding congruency.

Important freelance writer elements to consider

Once you have your content goals and branding tone in mind, then you are ready to begin selecting an appropriate freelance writer. As in most industries, freelance writers have specialties. Some may focus on editorial or travel writing, while others are specialized in SEO web content. There are a myriad of freelance writers from whom to choose, and the key is narrowing down which ones have writing expertise that fit your customized needs.

• Writing Niche: If the purpose of your content is to promote and enhance your website, then it is important to select an article writer who understands the fine line between SEO and great writing. Although you can always hire a “SEO expert” to go into the content to make the necessary revisions, choosing a freelance writer who is versed in SEO will ensure that the content is not only great for the search bots, but also eloquent for the humans from the very beginning.

• Copyright Considerations: Keep in mind that not all writers will release the copyright of the content to you. For many freelance writers, they keep the rights of the content, and you are limited in the avenues and number of times you can publish the article. If you would like to keep the copyright of your content (which is a smart business move), then you should find an article writer who will automatically give you the rights to the content written on your behalf.

• Non-Disclosure Agreements: A large portion of freelance writers will require that their name is credited with the development of their articles, as this is standard practice in the journalism and editorial fields. However, if you would like to publish the articles under your name – which is an intelligent strategy when you are building expertise and credibility in your industry – then it is important to find a content writer who is happy to give you the “credit.” In addition, the freelance writer should be comfortable with a non-disclosure understanding; the fact that you hired a ghost-writer should not be divulged to the public.

• Portfolios and Duplicate Content: In the writing world, it is common for article writers to publish the writing samples they crafted for clients. However, if your media outlet is online, this could be detrimental to your website. Keep in mind that the search engines will penalize your website’s rankings for duplicate content. Therefore, even if a freelance writer publishes your articles as “samples,” the search engines will not be able to discern the difference, and instead, reprimand your SERPs.

• Writing Style: Choosing a freelance writer with the right style and tone for your content is important for your brand identity. Whereas some content writers may have a casual, off-the-cuff style, while others have an esoteric tone, finding the right balance between friendly and professional bodes best for engaging most target audiences.

Grow your online presence with content

Capitalizing upon powerful content is the key to unleashing the potential of your online business. After you ascertain your content needs, choosing a synergistic freelance writer gives your company a competitive edge against the rest.

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http://www.communicatebetter.org

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>