Mystery shopping articles—once a popular focus by retail editors—could now provide an important response to sagging customer service practices. Also deserving a renewed focus are B2B ethics practices that may have been stretched to the limit. Retail shopper articles, of course, have traditionally presented an assessment of the treatment customers are getting from floor personnel.…
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Many editors talk a good game when describing the value of enterprise reporting. But all bets are off for sites reviewed during my annual e-news study as far as positive performance is concerned. As of this week, I’ve scored 35 B2B e-news sites (out of a target 50). The results to date suggest that many…
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While B2B e-news editing mistakes are not widespread, they occur often enough to be a concern for editors who should know better. A need for improvement is clearly suggested by early scoring results of the 9th annual e-news study by Editorial Solutions, Inc. (ESI). Of 30 on-line packages reviewed so far, only six earned a…
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Hitting more e-news article home runs is a goal that B2B editors in search of digital success must pursue. But to hit more homers, they need to produce original, exclusive content—no cinch. In many cases, common editorial practices get in the way of success. Some of these practices are readily addressed. Others involve budgetary factors…
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Achieving a more acceptable level of enterprise reporting in e-news remains beyond reach, as noted in several of last month’s tweets. The highest hurdle, confirmed by several Editorial Solutions Inc. (ESI) e-news study updates, involves an inability to deliver substantial end-user coverage. For the first time, ESI’s report evaluated the percentage of total coverage reflecting…
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Many B2B sites often stumble when it comes to following best practices for writing and posting basic e-news. That’s why Editorial Solutions, Inc. (ESI) conducts annual studies that include a summary itemizing easily-remedied oversights. But year after year, the suggested improvements remain ignored. The results of ESI’s Ninth Annual B2B E-News Delivery Study are somewhat better, but…
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Wouldn’t it be nice if B2B e-news managers finally made good on all their claims over the years that “content is king”? In fact, some publishers have followed through on those declarations. But for the most part—as confirmed by preliminary findings in the ongoing ninth Annual E-News Delivery Study from Editorial Solutions, Inc.— the majority…
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Anyone wishing to improve his or her prospects for a freelance career would do well to attend ASBPE’s webinar, “How to Manage and Grow Your Freelance Business.” Although the live event took place on December 8, the recorded session is still available by registering for the event. The panelists for this event were veteran freelance…
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While analyzing articles for my current e-news delivery study, I found that many B2B posts rarely identify story sources properly. This prompted a memory of how a prominent consumer publication treats identification of sources. Its written policy advises authors to include at least one reference per article indicating that a personal exchange occurred between editor…
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The focus of my November tweets was on the early scoring results in Editorial Solutions’ 9th annual B2B e-news study. The 15 e-news sites I have so far reviewed showed disappointing levels of enterprise reporting. Too many of them let vendor-sourced articles dominate their e-news sections. Of the 146 quotes used in this sample, 121…
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