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    <title>Insite Advice Articles</title>
    <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles</link>
    <pubDate>Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:08:10 GMT</pubDate>
    <description>Our Latest Articles</description>
    <item>
      <title>Just Launched: anzea.com</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/36</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;We are happy to annouce the launch of the new site &lt;a href="http://www.anzea.com"&gt;www.anzea.com&lt;/a&gt;. We have designed a navigation-friendly site complete with a comprehensive, online product catalogue for this textile and faux leather seller.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:08:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/36</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Insite Advice Named One of the Best in St. Louis Web Design</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/35</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;St. Louis Small Business Monthly names Insite Advice as one of St. Louis&amp;rsquo; best in web design in its November issue. St. Louis Small Business Monthly previously acknowledged the company as a Top Twenty Under Twenty business in St. Louis in 2008.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;St. Louis, MO (&lt;a href="http://www.prweb.com/"&gt;PRWEB&lt;/a&gt;) November 19, 2009 -- St. Louis Small Business Monthly has picked the best web design companies in the St. Louis (Saint Louis) area and Insite Advice has made the list. The publication highlights Insite Advice for its specialties in web design, programming, e-commerce and internet marketing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Insite Advice is honored to have received this recognition and we would like to thank St. Louis and our clients for nominating us. This recognition validates our commitment to continuously improving our services. We are a growing company and we plan to provide the same quality in service moving forward into the future,&amp;rdquo; said the company&amp;rsquo;s president Alex Wolk.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;St. Louis SBM releases its awards each year to recognize the small businesses achieving success in the St. Louis area. St. Louis Small Business Monthly is St. Louis&amp;rsquo; leading small business directory and a respected and important resource to the St. Louis business community.&lt;/p&gt;
For the complete release, visit &lt;a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/11/prweb3215954.htm"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:41:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/35</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Just Launched: epbsi.com</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/33</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;We are pleased to announce the launch of the new &lt;a href="http://www.epbsi.com "&gt;www.epbsi.com &lt;/a&gt;site. This site integrates a flash slide element on the home page, and many great lead generation features.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:32:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/33</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Just launched: friendsoftheslulc.org</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/31</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;We have recently launched the new site for Friends of the SLU Liver Center at &lt;a href="http://www.friendsoftheslulc.org"&gt;http://www.friendsoftheslulc.org&lt;/a&gt;. This site is a nonprofit organization that has raised almost $2 million dollars for the Saint Louis Univerity Liver Center. The contributions allow them to                 continue to make great strides in basic and clinical research in the                 treatment for all types of liver disease.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:11:33 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/31</guid>
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      <title>Don't procrastinate about your web needs.</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/30</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;In today's tough economic times, the very survival of your business could be impacted by your web site and internet marketing strategies. There is no better form of reaching an audience and converting prospects into clients than the right combination of effective search engine advertising and a clean, professional site. We utilize these strategies ourselves at Insite Advice and have seen leads increasing by over 400% in the past year. Stop wasting your advertising budget on outdated phone books and mailers. Reach your target audience at a fraction of the cost!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:00:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/30</guid>
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      <title>Just launched:lumeradiamonds.com</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/29</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;We are pleased to announce the launch of our latest site and one of our best, &lt;a href="http://www.lumeradiamonds.com"&gt;www.lumeradiamonds.com&lt;/a&gt;. This site is an online seller of GIA Certified Loose Diamonds and has a catalog of over 50,000 products. This site incorporates extensive usability features like interactive sliders and dynamic searching and sorting.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:27:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/29</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Just launched: crownvisioncenter.com</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/28</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Insite Advice is proud to announce the website for http://www.crownvisioncenter.com is now online.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:25:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/28</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Insite Advice Receives 2009 St. Louis Award</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/27</link>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 15px;"&gt;Insite Advice                 Receives 2009                 St. Louis                 Award&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;U.S. Commerce Association&amp;rsquo;s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;WASHINGTON D.C.,                 June                 8, 2009 --                  Insite Advice                 has been selected for the 2009                                  St. Louis                 Award in the                 Web Site Design                 category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The USCA &amp;quot;Best of Local Business&amp;quot; Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses                 throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe                 have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business                 category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business                 through service to their customers and community.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners                 in each category. The 2009 USCA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity.                 Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the                 USCA and data provided by third parties.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="heading"&gt;About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a Washington D.C. based organization                 funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America.                 The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing                 and advertising.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community.                 Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional                 associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing                 groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and                 business entrepreneurs across America.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:11:03 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/27</guid>
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      <title>In this economy a quality website is a necessity</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/23</link>
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&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Now more than ever it is essential to have the most professional web presence you can. Your website is your best tool to persuade customers and clients to do business with you. The vast majority of Americans now search for a company online first. While there are numerous inexpensive solutions out there, the old adage still holds true, &amp;quot;you get what you pay for&amp;quot;. At Insite Advice we develop all our designs in house and don't rely on prebuilt, &amp;quot;cookie-cutter&amp;quot; templates. This means that all of our sites are unique and built to your exact specifications. And with our successful search engine optimization (SEO) services, we can put your site in the forefront of search engine results. With SEO optimization, we have had clients see a 300-400% increase in potential customers. Let us know how we can help you. Call us at 314-621-6888 or email sales@insiteadvice.com&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:17:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/23</guid>
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      <title>St. Louis BBB warns people to stay away from this week&#8217;s Internet Marketing Conference</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/22</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class="entry"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There&amp;rsquo;s usually no such thing as a free lunch, or a free MP3 player. At least not when they come gratis at one of those seminars promising to teach the secret of making big bucks at home. Still, that&amp;rsquo;s not likely to stop hundreds from attending the &amp;ldquo;free&amp;rdquo; 2009 Internet Marketing Conference in St. Louis this week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;According to the BBB, the conference will begin at noon Tuesday at Sunset Lakes Banquet Center in Sunset Hills. Other events will be held at hotels at Westport Plaza, near Lambert St. Louis International Airport and downtown. There&amp;rsquo;s no admission charge, and participants are promised an MP3 player and lunch. But you need to be invited to attend.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://stlouis.bbb.org/" title="The Better Business Bureau"&gt;The Better Business Bureau&lt;/a&gt; warns people to beware.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The conference is the work of Utah-based &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.storesonline.com/" title="StoresOnline, Inc."&gt;StoresOnline, Inc.&lt;/a&gt;, which provides software and computer assistance to small businesses and start-up companies. The firm and its parent company, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.imergentinc.com/" title="iMergent Inc."&gt;iMergent Inc.&lt;/a&gt;, seem to have a fishy track record highlighted by law enforcement investigations, lawsuits and at least 640 complaints to the BBB.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Michelle Corey, president and CEO of the St. Louis BBB, said consumers should be extremely cautious when dealing with StoresOnline. The company&amp;rsquo;s calling card, she said, is to draw people to the conferences with a promise of a free meal or gift, and then hoodwink them into paying thousands of dollars to StoresOnline. &amp;ldquo;Too often, they end up frustrated and disappointed,&amp;rdquo; she said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;According to BBB, StoresOnline has been the focus of legal action by attorneys general and other law enforcement officials in &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/734301/fromItemId/2332" title="Australia"&gt;Australia&lt;/a&gt; and at least nine states, including &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/208/RipOff0208726.htm" title="Illinois"&gt;Illinois&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.oag.state.tx.us/newspubs/releases/2005/022205imergentpop.pdf" title="Texas"&gt;Texas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/01/fl_web_biz.html" title="Florida"&gt;Florida&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.ct.gov/AG/cwp/view.asp?A=2795&amp;amp;Q=412534" title="Connecticut"&gt;Connecticut&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/2008/nr051908_CP.asp" title="Wisconsin"&gt;Wisconsin&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncdoj.com/DocumentStreamerClient?directory=PressReleases/&amp;amp;file=iMergent%20StoresOnline%20Consent%20Judgment%20final.pdf" title="North Carolina"&gt;North Carolina&lt;/a&gt;, Indiana and &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.doj.state.or.us/releases/2008/rel052808.shtml" title="Oregon"&gt;Oregon&lt;/a&gt;. Last year, the Florida attorney general&amp;rsquo;s office announced the company had agreed to reimburse the state $125,000 in fees, change its marketing practices and refund money to more than 150 Florida residents.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Local people have lost money, too. A High Ridge woman filed a BBB complaint alleging that, after attending a 2007 StoresOnline conference in South County, she ended up paying the company $4,000 for help setting up three web sites. An Edwardsville woman complained to the BBB that her husband paid StoresOnline $2,000, then thought better of the arrangement and canceled the deal during the three-day refund period. Instead of being finished with Stores Online, the company sent him a bill for $6,000 and put the debt on the couple&amp;rsquo;s credit report after they refused to pay.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;No one seemed to be answering the phone Monday afternoon at the StoresOnline&amp;rsquo;s home office in Orem, Utah.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:58:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/22</guid>
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      <title>Happy Holidays!</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/21</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;We just want to wish all our clients a happy holiday season. Please remember us for your web design needs in the St. Louis region for 2009!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:10:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/21</guid>
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      <title>New Client Updates</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/20</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Insite Advice is pleased to announce some of new web design clients in the St. Louis area, including: Boy Scouts of America, Maryland Heights Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Wilson School. We look forward to debuting their new web sites soon.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:14:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/20</guid>
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      <title>Top 20 under 20 employees in St. Louis article</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/19</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.sbmon.com/CompanySpotlight/tabid/130/itemid/334/Default.aspx"&gt;&lt;em&gt;from St. Louis Small Business Monthly&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="dnn_ctr579_ItemDisplay_ArticleDisplay_lblArticleText"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;INSITE ADVICE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Alex Wolk&lt;br /&gt;
Ever since the days when Alex Wolk was a teenager running a small computer company, being a full-time entrepreneur had been his dream.&amp;nbsp; So after graduating from college six years ago, he started Insite Advice, a full-service website design and development company.&lt;br /&gt;
Proficiency in both programming and design gave Wolk an immediate edge over his competition, but he still encountered challenges.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The first year was very trying,&amp;rdquo; he says.&amp;nbsp; &amp;ldquo;I rented an inexpensive loft work space on Washington Avenue in the Fashion Square Building before it was renovated.&amp;nbsp; I worked so much I essentially lived there as well.&amp;nbsp; This led to a problem&amp;nbsp;considering there was only a small bathroom down the hall.&amp;nbsp; I primarily joined the local Gold&amp;rsquo;s Gym down the street so I could take free showers.&amp;rdquo; &lt;br /&gt;
Eventually, Wolk&amp;rsquo;s hard work began to pay off.&amp;nbsp; &amp;ldquo;We have been fortunate to have grown steadily over the years, and we continue to do so in spite of the&amp;nbsp;tough economic climate,&amp;rdquo; he says.&amp;nbsp; &amp;ldquo;In our first year, I was the only employee, and our revenue was around $30,000.&amp;nbsp; We now have four employees and are expecting revenue this year to be over 10 times that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
Wolk attributes his success to the fact that he never stops pushing himself to move forward.&amp;nbsp; &amp;ldquo;I have found having the confidence to&amp;nbsp;tackle almost any challenges&amp;nbsp;and the persistence to see solutions through are invaluable to my business success,&amp;rdquo; he says.&amp;nbsp; &amp;ldquo;I am also never afraid to take calculated risks because&amp;nbsp;in most cases&amp;nbsp;I am betting on myself to succeed, and it gives me extra motivation.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:48:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/19</guid>
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      <title>Choose Insite Advice and hire American!</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/17</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;In our current economic climate, every financial decision you make is an important one. With record job losses and American IT jobs being out-sourced on a daily basis, it's even more important to hire Insite Advice for your web design and development needs. I am approached weekly with offers to outsource IT work to countries like India, and I know many of my competitors who employ these practices. I have not and will never outsource any IT labor to a foreign country. Not only is our quality of work far superior to these alternatives, are prices are very competitive with them as well. When choosing a company for your web needs, please ask if they use only American labor. Thanks for reading.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Alex Wolk&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:45:01 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/17</guid>
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      <title>Insite Advice named to the 20 Best Companies Under 20</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/15</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Insite Advice is proud to announce that we will be honored in an upcoming issue of St. Louis Small Business Monthly as one of the 20 Best Companies Under 20 Employees. We want to thank St. Louis SBM for this wonderful honor and all our clients that made this possible.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:26:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/15</guid>
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      <title>Give your web site a boost with SEO!</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/14</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Are you looking to market your web site in the St. Louis area, or nationally and abroad? It's essential that you choose a web designer that is on top of the ever-changing search engine marketing field. We at Insite Advice speak from experience. We have positioned ourselves into the first page of results for a variety of keywords and have seen our business expand tremendously. We would like to share these same benefits with our clients.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:45:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/14</guid>
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      <title>We haved moved!</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/10</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;We are now in our new office at 6266 Gravois Ave, St. Louis, MO 63116. We look forward to better servicing our clients with our expanded space.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:01:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/10</guid>
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      <title>Referral Fee</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/9</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;A note to our clients and friends:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We are starting a $100 referral program for any new clients that you bring to us and do business with Insite Advice. Please keep us in mind when talking with your friends and customers about their web design and development needs. Thank you very much for your continued support.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:44:06 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/9</guid>
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      <title>Thank you for your patience during our move</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/8</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;We just wanted to thank all our clients for their patience while we move into our new building. This is a very exciting time for Insite Advice as we continue to grow our web design and development business.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:41:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/8</guid>
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      <title>We are moving!</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/7</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Insite Advice has recently purchased an office building on 6266 Gravois in South St. Louis. We are in the process of renovating it for our needs and will be moving in the coming weeks. Thank you to all our clients for your continued support as we grow and take our services to the next level.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:24:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/7</guid>
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      <title>President Bush delivers speech from Insite Advice client</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/6</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;President Bush defended his choice of ethanol to help the nation meet its energy needs even though increased production of the corn-based biofuel has been blamed for contributing to sharp increases in food prices.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Bush gave his speech at World Wide Technology Inc., which he had planned to visit last October. He postponed the visit when he flew instead to Southern California to view wildfire damage. The company, in St. Louis, provides information technology to the government and private industry, particularly in the telecommunications field.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2006, according to the White House, World Wide became the first minority-owned company with more than $2 billion in sales, and it reported sales of more than $2.5 billion last year. In seven years it has added more than 500 employees.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2008 15:47:33 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/6</guid>
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      <title>Tourism is set for a detour</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/4</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;From the *Kansas City Star*&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The tourism Industry&amp;rsquo;s long-term future is bright, but it will be different. Trends suggest the tourists of the future will be older and more ethnically diverse, Suzzane Cook, a senior vice president of the Travel Industry Association of America, told delegates to the 2004 Missouri Governor&amp;rsquo;s Conference on Tourism meeting in Kansas City on Wednesday. Increasing numbers of them will have physical disabilities, including obesity, which is becoming the nations top health concern, Cook said. &amp;ldquo;The travel industry has a great opportunity to improve the quality of people&amp;rsquo;s lives,&amp;rdquo; Cook told an estimated 200 who attended the meeting, which continues today at the Muehlebach Tower of the Kansas City Marriot Downtown.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As the U.S. baby-boomer population ages, Cook said, the popularity of various vacation destinations will gradually shift from &amp;ldquo;traditional family experience&amp;rdquo; spots, like theme parks and canoeing expeditions, to more sedate activities, like sightseeing and health spa visits. Casinos can also expect a business bump from the boomers. Cook said research polls found shopping and family events the top two vacation activities among all age groups of travelers. But that list changes significantly for travelers older than 55, said Cook. Gambling jumps from the ninth-most-popular activity for all groups to fifth for older travelers. Outdoor and beach recreation plummets from numbers three and six to eight and nine. Amusement parks drop off the list altogether, while travel to seminars and other educational opportunities jump to number six for older travelers. Meanwhile, Cook said U.S. leisure travel this summer was on pace for 3.2 percent growth to 960 million total trips by Americans, up from 2.8 percent growth last year. Those positive numbers are holding in Missouri. &amp;ldquo;Summer is going to be up,&amp;rdquo; said John Robinson, Missouri Division of Tourism director. Early trends show tourism spending statewide up around 3 percent, while hotel and lodging receipts are up 7 percent, Robinson said. &amp;ldquo;The indicators are strong&amp;rdquo; and the travel industry&amp;rsquo;s recovery appears to be for real, he said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cook projects domestic travel spending this year to finally return to pre-Sept. 11, 2001, levels. Tourism is the nation&amp;rsquo;s third leading industry, with 2000 spending hitting a record with 580.8 billion. That figure fell to $550.9 billion in 2001 and $540.3 billion in 2002 before climbing to $554.5 billion last year. Cook said that it is projected to hit $587.2 billion this year. &amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;ve really had one challenge after another in this industry,&amp;rdquo; said Cook, after the Sept. 11 attacks, recession, war, SARS and weather calamities ranging from Missouri&amp;rsquo;s unusually wet and cool summer to the recent hurricanes. Also at the conference, seminar speakers and trade show exhibitors pitched their wares to Missouri&amp;rsquo;s travel industry providers, including local tourism bureaus and attraction operators. Melrose Kelly, Kansas City-based sales and marketing director for CTM, was hoping to sign up more clients to rent space in the company&amp;rsquo;s tourism brochure racks that are found in more than 200 area hotel lobbies and other locations. &amp;ldquo;Business has been very good this summer&amp;rdquo;, said Kelly. In fact, &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ve had to turn people away&amp;rdquo; in the Lake of the Ozarks marketing area.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In Kansas City, Kelly said, brochures that disappeared off the shelves the fastest included Worlds of Fun, the Kansas City Zoo, local restaurant guides and the statewide guide to Missouri wineries. Matt Hussey, an executive with Olathe-based Ruf Strategic Solutions, a database marketing firm, said one good sign the travel industry was bouncing back from three years of decline was that his clients were budgeting more spending for marketing. &amp;ldquo;They know it&amp;rsquo;s getting better, but it&amp;rsquo;s still a challenge,&amp;rdquo; he said. Long range, one of the next big things in U.S. tourism will be the sesquicentennial observance of the Civil War in 2011. &amp;ldquo;Seven years isn&amp;rsquo;t really a lot of time&amp;rdquo; to plan and prepare, said Alexander Wolk, president of St. Louis-based Insite Advice, which runs the www.mocivilwar.org Web site for the nonprofit Missouri Civil War Heritage Foundation. The foundation already is proposing four Civil War-themed routes across the state for auto travelers. The proposed &amp;ldquo;Grey Ghosts&amp;rdquo; and &amp;ldquo;Western Border&amp;rdquo; trails encompass Kansas City and include area attractions like the Jesse James birthplace and the Battle of Westport. &amp;ldquo;Missouri is very unheralded&amp;rdquo; as a Civil War state, said Wolk, who noted the state boasted the third most Civil War engagements, after Virginia and Tennessee. &amp;ldquo;Nationally, the Civil War is going to be a big event, and Missouri should jump on the bandwagon now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:37:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/4</guid>
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      <title>Blogging for Business Consultants</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/2</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;by Jeremy Nulik from the March 2007 Issue of *St. Louis Small Business Monthly*  October 10, 2004, is a day that Scott Ginsberg will never forget.  On that day, Seth Godin, the Web's most popular blogger posted a link to Ginsberg's website.  Ginsberg, author, speaker and entrepreneur, also known as &amp;quot;the nametag guy&amp;quot; received millions of hits to his website.  His email inbox overflowed, and his voicemail was full.   With response like this from a simple blog post, Ginsberg decided to start his own blog and his business hasn't been the same since.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;Blogging is absolutely the No. 1 most important part of my entire business,&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157; says Ginsberg.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;Since I started blogging on a daily basis, my business has tripled every year.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;  Blog is short for &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;Web log.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;  It is an online journal that is written in common, everyday language.  Unlike typical websites, they usually lack a flashy commercial look and avoid overt marketing messages.  A blogger simply posts his thoughts or advice, and readers are encouraged to comment and offer feedback.  The medium is growing at an incredible rate.  According to Technorati.com, a website that tracks blog activity, there are now over 55 million blogs.  Almost 40% of Internet users read blogs daily.  That&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;s about 57 million American adults, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.  Business consultants have much to offer these readers that are starved for information and expert advice.  Sometimes without even realizing it, consultants who jot down a few thoughts and post them online are becoming the venerable rock stars of their industries.  And that Web buzz is turning into real dollars.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;I can track $100,000 from one blog post,&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157; says Ginsberg.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;I posted an article in 2005 called &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;tilde;What&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;s the Most Important Word in Marketing?&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;  It was a simple article to write, and it got great response with a lot of interesting comments.  Then, some newspapers picked it up.  Another person saw the blog and hired me to do a speech, and that one speech was in front of a room full of buyers, which led to me securing about 20 customers.  That led to more customers, book sales and more speaking events for the next two years.  All of this from one blog post.  Needless to say, I don&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;t have trouble getting motivated to write something every morning.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;  By giving first and offering helpful information, consultants are doing more than selling their expertise.  In fact, they are not selling at all from the blog.  They are creating an environment where readers can become buyers.  Dennis Kennedy is another such blogger.  He just turned &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;400 years old&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;brvbar;in blog years.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;  He has had at least one blog since the dawn of blogging, about four years ago.  In that short time, Kennedy, who created the blog for his business, The Dennis Kennedy Law Firm, LLC, has dramatically increased his potential customer reach.  He has turned clients into his fans and fans into clients.  He now has a worldwide audience&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;rdquo;some of his most loyal blog readers are in India&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;rdquo;and is now considered an expert on technology and law&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;rdquo;the topics he writes about.  This community of readers has affected the way Kennedy does business.  He reflects, &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;It used to be that I would get a phone call from a listing like the Yellow Pages, and the first question that person would ask is, &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;tilde;What are your rates?&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;  Now people call me, and we just talk about my last blog entry for a few minutes.  Sometimes, it is not until the end of the conversation that the person mentions, &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;tilde;Oh, by the way, I was going to ask you about your rates, but I&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;m sure they&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;re fine.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;  While not all blogs have been as successful as Ginsberg&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;s or Kennedy&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;s, they definitely are an indication of where the Internet is heading and how consultants can be a part of this medium.  Here are some of the common questions that consultants usually have on the subject of blogging.  I already have a website, do I need a blog?   Compared to a static website, which can be difficult to update, the blog always gives your clients and readers something new every time they return.   &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;A blog creates a mechanism for people to publish content and engages the reader in a way that websites cannot,&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157; says Nicolas Farley, a business technology strategist with CIO Services of St. Louis.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;It stresses the social interaction and allows someone to feel engaged.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;  Also, since the blog is updated regularly, it actually generates more traffic than most websites and creates a more loyal readership.  Ginsberg notes, &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;I get 20,000 hits a day to my website, and my blog gets even more.  The Internet is no longer about having a website.  It is about establishing a Web presence, which is everything on the Internet that is not your site.  A good way to test your presence is to type your name or your industry into Google and see how many hits come up with your information.  If I type in &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;approachability,&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157; thousands of sites come up.  The first 10 are pages on my website, my blog or articles I posted to the blog.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;  I don&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;t know HTML, can I still blog?  If you can use a word processor, then you can start a blog.  Part of the attraction to this medium is the lightweight technology.  Many blog administrators allow you to start one free of charge.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;You can set one up in 15 minutes, just go to blogger.com or typepad.com,&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157; says Ginsberg.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;They have tutorials and design templates to choose from.  Also, there are a million articles and books on how to do a blog.  Getting started is not the hard part.  There are millions of blogs started everyday.  It is keeping it up that people struggle with.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;  *What if I&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;trade;m not a good writer?*  The mechanics of the writing do not matter nearly as much as the quality of the content.  This quality is closely followed by how often the blog receives new posts.  Some blogger experts say daily posts are necessary, while others say weekly.  Frequent updates are part of what makes a blog a benefit to the readership, so it only follows that nothing will turn an audience off faster than a blog with no recent posts.  *Alex Wolk*, owner of *Insite Advice* and a Web developer, agrees, &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;People can always think of something to write about.  It is more important that something gets posted than nothing.  A post does not need to be a soliloquy.  A few paragraphs are better than nothing.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;  *Bad content*  This does not mean bad writing.  This means writing that is not conscientious of a target audience.  Keep the writing fresh and pertinent to readers, or they will go elsewhere.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;Where people mess up on their blogs is that they post stuff that is boring or that is completely irrelevant,&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157; says Ginsberg.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;Nobody cares what you had for lunch yesterday if it is not somehow helpful &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;In a consultant business, you need to focus on your expertise and your field.  You can throw personal things in if it works,&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157; says *Alex Wolk*, owner of *Insite Advice*.  &amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&amp;oelig;A blog should offer unbiased advice and not your services. It is an extension of what is done when you meet with a client.  Demonstrate your expertise.  Show them how to save time or money.  Be helpful.&amp;acirc;&amp;euro;&#157;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:00:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/2</guid>
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      <title>Service fixes up nonprofits with volunteers for boards</title>
      <link>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/3</link>
      <description>by Bill Smith from the *St. Louis Post Dispatch*

Washington University and the University of Missouri at St. Louis have gone into the online matchmaking business. What's that - WU and UMSL competing with Match.com in the Internet dating game?

Well, not exactly.

Over the past several months, the universities have joined with the United Way of Greater St. Louis, the Regional Arts Commission and several other local groups to form a different kind of online dating service.

The aim, ultimately, is not romance, at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, the new group hopes to pair local nonprofits with men and women interested in serving on their boards.

Dubbed BoardLinkStL, the service recently launched its own Web site. So far, 30 area nonprofits and more than 100 potential board members have filled out online surveys. Organizers hope that number will swell to 200 agencies and 300 individuals by the end of BoardLinkStL's first year.

As part of an online questionnaire directed to nonprofits, the site asks the organizations what they are looking for in new board members. The site also asks the organizations how they hope to diversify their membership in such areas as geography, religious affiliation, gender and ethnicity.

A separate questionnaire, for potential board candidates, asks them to list their skills and areas of interest. Interest areas range from international health to crime prevention to civil rights.

The information is then used to get the best possible matches between nonprofits and potential directors.

Lasting relationships

Rick Skinner with the United Way of Greater St. Louis and Barbara E. Levin with Washington University say the similarities between BoardLinkStl and online dating services are intentional.

But Levin says BoardLinkStl will mark its success not on its number of short-term matches, but on the development of strong, lasting relationships.

"We want marriages, and we want long marriages," she said.

Skinner and Levin say area nonprofits see BoardLinkStl as a way to attract fresh faces into public service.

Jennifer Estes, president of Metropolis St. Louis, was among the first to register on the BoardLinkStl Web site.

She said she is looking to join a group that works with children, possibly economically disadvantaged or disabled.

In her role at Metropolis, Estes says, she works to "get young people engaged in the community."

"This could be a huge asset, a tremendous tool to get young people involved," she said of the new group.

She said a nonprofit already has contacted her via e-mail, hoping to explore a match.

Martha Uhlhorn has served as chair of Paraquad for the past four years. The nonprofit offers a wide range of services to people with disabilities in the St. Louis area.

Uhlhorn says that while the group has had little trouble attracting board members with disabilities, it has had significant difficulty attracting ethnic minorities. That, she said, is a major reason why Paraquad's board decided to join BoardLinkStL about two weeks ago.

She also said BoardLinkStl's training programs are critical to a successful match. "There are a lot of people who would like to volunteer, but they don't know exactly what that means," Uhlhorn said.

As part of its program, BoardLinkStl offers what it calls "readiness to serve" and "readiness to recruit" workshops for both nonprofits and potential board members.

BoardLinkStl's Levin and Skinner say the organization charges a nominal fee for its services to help pay for the program. For prospective board members, registration is $50, which includes access to the Web site and workshops for one year.

The registration cost for a nonprofit ranges from $100 to $300, depending on the size of the organization's budget.

Organizers say the group is still in its infancy and no matches have been made.

Other groups involved in the program are Family Support Council/Family Resource Center, Nonprofit Services Consortium, FOCUS St. Louis and Volunteer Lawyers &amp; Accountants For the Arts. Information on the program is available at the group's Web site at www.boardlinkstl.org or by calling the United Way at 800-VOLUNTEER, FOCUS St. Louis at 314-622-1250, Ext. 117, or Levin at Washington University at 314-935-6661.</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:09:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://www.insiteadvice.com/articles/show/3</guid>
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