COLLATERAL COPY FOR PROMISE HOUSE, DALLAS, TX

TONIGHT, THE PROMISE OF TOO MANY YOUNG LIVES IS LOST ON THE STREETS.  They're kids who are the victims of family crises, of personal stresses -- even physical or sexual abuse -- that make them take to the streets.  But there aren't any better alternatives there.   Instead, they find dangers like drugs, prostitution, crime, violent behavior and chronic homelessness.

As the only free private shelter in Dallas County, Promise House gives kids a safe alternative to the streets.  Founded in 1984 as an outreach program of Lovers Lane United Methodist Church and now an independent organization licensed by the state, it provides a stabilizing force for trouble youths, while offering discipline, education and therapeutic counseling that help them toward a positive future.

WEBSITE CONTENT FOR EDL CONSULTING

EDL has long, deep and wide experience in resolving and simplifying the complexities of developing and maintaining effective eCommerce systems, and addressing these challenges:

Complex Product Configuration — We can show you how to deliver the precise product configurations customers want, accurately and effortlessly, helping to shorten your inquiry-to-cash process.

Search Engine Optimization — Optimizing your sitewide, on-page and offsite visibility is key to driving traffic and transaction, and we (and our e-marketing alliance partner, Biersma Creative) cam  can make sure you’re getting outstanding search rankings and awareness.

Usability – Usability is one of the largest contributors to customer conversion and retention rates. Are you following best practices for usability? EDL can show you how to make your user experience efficient yet immersive.

EMAIL CONTENT FOR NORTH BRIDGE STAFFING

FIVE REASONS FOR HIRING TEMPORARY STAFF IN TOUGH TIMES.  As a Chicago temporary staffing consultant, we've seen a lot of temp-to-hire and contingency hire situations, and we've learned some basic tips.  They may seem obvious, but they always bear repeating – and the dynamics of a particular business category, location and economy can affect them, as well.

First: You can react more quickly to workload or staff change.  There are a lot of reasons why  you may find a sudden need for qualified temporary hires, including employee absences due to illness, leaves or vacations, firings, season needs, spikes in activity, skill shortages, and more. As of right now, there’s a real sense the economy can go either way – and hiring temps can be part of how you remain able to exploit an upturn or existing business, without making commitments you might not be able to sustain.

COLLATERAL COPY FOR DURAKON INDUSTRIES

ONE BILLION NICKS, SCRATCHES AND RUST SPOTS...THAT NEVER HAPPENED. A long time ago, Durakon became the premiere in protection.   Because when inspiration's lightbulb flashed on, and we developed the first-ever insertable polyurethane pickup bed liners, we started our customers down a long road that's just gotten longer.

Providing patented protection to hundreds, then thousands, and now literally millions of pickup beds around America (and the world!) was never just about cosmetics.   It's about maintenance and durability.  Plenty of hard-working pickups have seen extended life thanks to the toughness of Durakon liners.   

And for retailers like you, it's been your chance to realize revenue that never existed before. Lasting longer, looking better.  It's what Durakon's about, and it's what every Durakon customer demands.  And as long as they keep buying pickups, they'll be buying Durakon.

DIRECT MAIL COPY FOR GENERAL MOTORS

ITS MELODY IS STYLE.  ITS HARMONY, PRECISION.  FOLLOW YOUR MUSE WITH AURORA. Aurora is not for everyone. It sings out as an original in a world of mainstream design and 'me too' styling.  It's a symphony of art and science.  And it follows no one.  No elements conflict; nothing vies for attention.  Fluid.  Balanced.   Poised. From any angle, Aurora is in perfect harmony.

When it comes to styling, Aurora is completely unique. Familiarize yourself with Aurora's grand composition.  A grille-less front end, aggressive shoulder haunches, fluted rockers, and tightly-arching wheel wells.  Aerodynamic, stable, and seamlessly integrated into a remarkably poetic shape. Aurora virtually ignores the wind, and defies convention.  Thoughtfully refined and richly inviting, Aurora's interior is crafted from the finest materials. You'll find hand-selected, leather-trimmed seats.   Tasteful burled walnut accents.  And enough space to help ensure everyone's comfort.

COLLATERAL COPY FOR HENRY WEINHARD'S

A PIONEERING SPIRIT. From the very beginning, the stories of Henry Weinhard and the Pacific Northwest have been almost inseparable, making Weinhard's the West's oldest and most established brewer. It wasn't easy.   And he faced more than his share of obstacles along the way.   But the same drive that brought him to the Northwest in the first place helped him build a beer that's lasted for nearly 150 years.

Ever since, that beer has been brewed right and brewed here, in the Pacific Northwest, using only the finest Northwest ingredients and a healthy dose of old-fashioned craftsmanship. But, perhaps best of all, it's been brewed with a sense of adventure and possibility that still guides us to this day.  After all, while consumers' tastes may change, one thing never will, and that's their appreciation for quality.  So we still handcraft our beers in small batches, right here in Hood River, Oregon, using the same Old World methos Henry himself used all those years ago.

From the classic taste of our Private Reserve to new favorites like our Amber Light and Northwest Trail, each and every Henry Weinhard's beer is still made with care, with pride, and with a passion for brewing the best.

BLOG CONTENT FOR GONEREADING.COM

Ask people what first comes to mind when they think of Los Angeles, and there’s a good chance they’ll say, “driving.”  If you ask a native, they may say so, too.  In a kind of resigned mutter.

Los Angeles is the 20^th century automotive city: the triumph of the car over topography, centrality and distance.  Which mandates sitting in your automobile for long stretches of time, and not being able to read along the way. Major eastern cities with long commutes and public transit systems allow unique opportunities to dive into a book while you’re waiting to reach your station.  When you’re in a car, audiobooks are, IMHO, a slight (and pricey) substitute for being able to pull last week’s New Yorker or your dogeared Ed McBain out of your backpack. But Los Angeles is still a city with plenty of readers.

You’ll find them in the coffeehouses of Los Feliz or Studio City.  Reading scripts.  Running lines.  Diving into self-actualization guides (yes, we do that out here.  You would, too).  Or actually reading honest-to-God fiction.  There are plenty of iPads and NOOKs to be seen, and plenty of people hunkered down over them in places like Starbucks or the indie spots like Alcove or the Bourgeois Pig.  Sitting on a sculpted, landscape slope at the Getty with the city laid out below you is a spectacular venue, as well.

If you want to leave the city in your dust and read under the open sky, it’s a remarkably convenient trip to the recesses of Griffith Park or Topanga Canyon, too. But my favorite spot to read is one that, frankly, surprised me.  It’s purpose-built for readers…and it’s symbolic of present-day struggles: The Los Angeles Central Library is a monument, a veritable temple, designed in 1926 by Bertram Goodhue.  The mosaic pyramid atop this landmark makes you think of shrines of antiquity, as it was meant to; its sleek, Modernist/Beaux-Arts design is gorgeous and timeless, its interiors spacious and cool and replete with reading rooms, nooks and benches.  It’s a throwback to a different era, and I get a sense of real retreat into a more cloistered place, mentally and physically, when I enter it.

But the temple allusion holds, in my mind.  Libraries are about people coming together in common cause.  If you atomize reading and libraries too much, you lose part of their purpose – the singular sense you get that you’re among people who are there to read, to learn, to explore the stacks for a book that’s an exploration in and of itself.  Anyone who’s ever perused a checkout card knows what I’m saying.  In a city like L.A., already scattered and partitioned in so many ways, libraries like the Central are essential glue in making this city – or any other — seem like a community.

BLOG CONTENT FOR MARKETINGLAND.COM

BEST PRACTICE PROS: HOW LINKEDiN MANAGES ITS EMAIL PROGRAMS. Before we get into LinkedIn’s email tactics, let’s start by considering how the company makes money, because, like all marketing efforts, its email initiatives are aimed at driving revenue. LinkedIn is a social network that aggregates eyeballs, so they need members to come back to the site and to stay engaged.

Bringing members back to the site regularly – to check on job openings, respond to connection requests or see who is viewing their profiles – translates into multiple lines of revenue, including advertising, premium paid subscriptions and specialized services for recruiters and HR professionals.

LinkedIn also acts as a publisher of content on all matters regarding professional development and career advice. To cultivate and sustain all these lines of business, it’s key to alert or remind members that consequential things are happening for them on LinkedIn.

BLOG CONTENT FOR MESSAGE SYSTEMS

PHISHING FOR SENIORS?  FOR SHAME. The Social Security Administration has implemented online access to account via their mySocialSecurity portal. Naturally, the cons came out almost immediately, as phishers began spamming seniors to connive them into “creating mySocialSecurity accounts” on fraudulent sites.

The phishing isn’t restricted to email – scammers are already making cold calls, claiming they need to obtain personal data as a way of updating Medicare accounts. Phishing has become the fourth more prevalent form of consumer fraud as of 2012, according to the Better Business Bureau and reporting sources.

Keep your brand safe from phishing and online fraud. Watch our Don’t Deprioritize DMARC webinar replay to learn how!

 BLOG CONTENT FOR THE REAGAN GROUP

4 BIG REASONS TO BUILD A SWEEPSTAKES AROUND BRANDING.  Digital sweepstakes and contests are in a position similar to that of email marketing several years ago: with the advent of automated platforms, many small and mid-level e-mail marketers decided to save money and use those seemingly cheaper platforms.

Pick a template, slap in some call-to-action copy, a product image, hit a button and go!

Yet.  Even today, the most successful marketers still spend the time and resources necessary to build truly customized email and eCRM campaigns.

Why? Why haven’t the cut-and-paste, punch-a-button solutions entirely taken over?

Here’s why: Because the most successful marketers are also the most successful brands, and to build a truly compelling brand experience with customers, it’s not enough to rely on tools that don’t deliver an outstanding level of creativity and customization.

Today, the same holds true for digital sweepstakes and contests. There are any number of Cloud-based platforms for creating and launching a sweeps or contest, but there are hidden costs -- in opportunity, R.O.I., consumer perceptions and even in real dollars – involved for your brand.

Those Cloud-based solutions are contributing to a flood of "sweeps spam" that makes it harder and harder to stand out, unless you've got an activation program or offer that's actually engaging and exciting for the consumer.