Combining trends and tips

Stephanie Rosenbloom of The New York Times offers a strong trend story on coupon clipping.

Thanks to the miserable economy, coupons — like board games and family dinners around the kitchen table — have made a comeback. The recession has even made coupon clippers out of some groups that once avoided them, including well-to-do and young shoppers.

The story offers examples of the hard-working coupon clippers who pay pennies on the dollars for their groceries while also offering consumer tips and a wealth of data on who’s clipping these days.

Today’s Tip: Integrate consumer stories and trend pieces to create interesting and useful reads.

Readers want tips, and they want to be in the know. By integrating the two concepts, as Stephanie has done, you can offer an appealing story that includes a “you can do it, too” element.

Don't shortchange Web updates

Stephanie Rosenbloom of The New York Times gave readers a real-time story about Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s earnings that non-investors could understand.

The article omits the jargon that plagues many earnings stories – especially earlier versions that hit the Web – and it clearly explains what the numbers mean. Stories on other Web sites tossed in analysts’ expectations or several earnings figures to create long first sentences.

Today’s Tip: Real-time Web updates need the same level of clarity and detail that printed stories do. Once you get the required “competitive-edge” stories up, step back and write a reader-friendly piece.

Stephanie’s Web piece started:
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer and one of the best-performing chains during the recession, reported a profit on Thursday that was essentially the same as last year.

She translated that from a Wal-Mart press release that started:
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) today reported diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010 of $0.88, at the top of the company’s guidance of $0.83 to $0.88. The effect of currency exchange rates reduced earnings by approximately $0.04 per share. Walmart earned $0.86 per share from continuing operations in the second quarter last year.