Author: David Meerman Scott

ISBN: 0910965714

Publisher: CyberAge Books

The following review was contributed by NORM GOLDMAN:  Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW  Norm Goldman's Reviews

To read Norm's Interview With David Meerman Scott CLICK HERE

It would seem that the topic of content should be first and foremost on the
minds of web publishers; however, unfortunately such is not the case, as
evidenced by many sites that focus on pretty-faced graphics with little
information, forgetting that most individuals access the Internet to seek
information and are not looking for fancy ads.

Some interesting questions are raised when we discuss the subject matter of
content. Why, for example, should publishers pay attention to what information
their site contains? How should the content be created, managed and deployed in
order to support larger business objectives?

David Meerman Scott, who is one of the country’s preeminent web marketing and blogging experts, makes this timely topic come alive in his recently published book, Cashing In With Content.

Scott’s web content topics are divided into four parts, E-Commerce,
Business-to-Business, Nonprofit organizations, and Putting Content to Work.

What the book offers are case histories of twenty successful savy sites dealing with
what they have for sale, what is so interesting about their site, why should
they be concerned about their content, who are they trying to reach, and how do
they cash in from their content.

Particularly effective is how Scott turns his insider eyes into the web site
workings of many well known profit and non-profit companies such as Tourism
Toronto, Sharp HealthCare, CareUSA, Booz Allen, UPS, ServiceWare and others in
order to find out what challenges they had to overcome and what makes them
successful.

As an example, Tourism Toronto was faced with cases of SARS that hit the city in
2003 that led to several deaths. The effect on tourism was shocking,
particularly as Toronto was singled out as one of the first locations outside of
Asia with a SARS outbreak. The challenge, which seemed to be insurmountable at
the time, was met head on with a redesigning of the site that now contains
content that acts as an essential educational and informational tool.

Another interesting case history is that of Kenyon College located in Gambier
Ohio. In 2003 the college’s site was rebuilt in order to raise the college’s
profile, attract more donations, and increase the number and quality of
applications for admission. Here again the challenge was not an easy one to
overcome, however, as mentioned by the team in charge of redesigning the site,
they came to the conclusion that it was essential to bear in mind that the
college’s personality is centered around the strong sense of community at the
college. Subsequently, the site was organized to reflect the many and varied
individuals, who make up the college community, permitting these individuals to
tell their stories of the college.

The last section of the book, entitled Best Practices from Innovative Web
Markets, enumerates and briefly sums up twelve common strategies and techniques that are the modus operandi of the sites examined in the book with cross references as to the sites where readers may find these strategies.

As Scott states: "drawing best practice ideas from industries that differ from your own should prove an englightening experience that may also lead to unexpected success."