YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
It’s among her favorite slogans.
A huge part of publishing stories and information in SBJ and on sbj.net is connecting businesspeople. And it seems readers appreciate those efforts.
A trend has emerged: sbj.net readers like to read about each other. Web traffic is always high when there are articles about people changing jobs, receiving awards or making a mark on the community.
With that in mind, SBJ has created an e-newsletter called Movers & Shakers. The new e-newsletter, which debuted Jan. 9, is e-mailed each Wednesday to keep readers on top of who’s doing what in the business community.
Each week, Movers & Shakers includes feature profiles of the past year’s honorees from SBJ events – Dynamic Dozen, 40 Under 40, Economic Impact Awards and Most Influential Women – as well as profiles from our recently debuted 12 People You Need to Know, a special publication and monthly breakfast event that introduces important but behind-the-scenes professionals.
You’ll also find a peek at the top-ranking companies from SBJ Lists and a handy compilation of features from our latest printed edition, such as Newsmakers, On the Street, Open for Business, Five Questions and Quote of the Week.
It’s all packaged in a quick-read format, sent directly to your inbox, that lets readers skim through the highlights and read more on the people they’re interested in learning about.
Movers & Shakers comes at no cost to readers. To sign up, go to www.sbj.net/register. If you’re already registered, log in and update your e-newsletter subscriptions.
Big hits
SBJ statistics in the fourth quarter show Web readers have a penchant for green building, the world’s largest retailer and employee pay.
The most popular article on sbj.net for the period was “The Battle for Green Building,” published Oct. 29. Reporter Jeremy Elwood provided an education on two certification programs for commercial projects – the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and the Green Building Initiative, both popular options for building certifiably environment-friendly structures.
Green building is a hot business topic – so much so that it garnered the No. 5 spot on SBJ’s Top 10 business stories of 2007. Conduct an article search on sbj.net for “green building,” and nearly 60 articles come in 2007 alone.
With the potential benefits of going green on the environment and economy, it’s no surprise that our readers are hungry for more. Watch for a green focus in SBJ’s May 19 issue.
Any time Wal-Mart sneezes in the Ozarks, people pay attention. The second-most read story was an sbj.net Breaking E-newsletter in early December headlined “Major south-side development nabs Sam’s Club.” Popularity of that news nugget didn’t shock us, since the story quoted a Wal-Mart spokeswoman saying Springfield shoppers had been clamoring for a second Sam’s for several years. Expect a spring 2009 opening for the retailer that will serve as the anchor of the 80-acre James River Commons development at South Campbell Avenue and James River Freeway.
The third most popular article on sbj.net was “Minimum wage cooks up more controversy,” Reporter Cory Smith’s Oct. 22 look at the effects of the minimum wage increase to $6.65 an hour. The Jan. 1 upsurge followed a wage increase in 2007 to $6.50 an hour. In October, some sources told SBJ they were expecting to cut job hours and revenues, while others pointed to a positive economic boost.
Web exclusives
This column is my avenue for keeping readers up-to-date on what’s happening with SBJ’s online product. What better way to do so than to post Web-exclusive installments at sbj.net?
While Web Watch will continue to appear in our print edition, you’ll find even more installments online in 2008. I’ll post them more frequently, and I’ll keep them short for our on-the-go Web readers.
To read Web-only Web Watch columns, sign up for our Daily Update e-newsletter or simply visit sbj.net.
We’ve got more in store for the Web site in 2008, but we’re keeping it under wraps for now. Keep an eye out for some exciting new ventures.
Dee Dee Jacobs, Springfield Business Journal’s online editor, can be reached at djacobs@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]
New academic buildings, residence halls in works for sesquicentennial.