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About Southwest Paddler
Southwest Paddler is the most comprehensive reference guide to information about outdoors recreational activities on or near rivers, creeks and streams in the Southwestern United States, either in print or on-line. Evolving from Hill Country Paddler, which first went on-line in 1997, Southwest Paddler now offers descriptions of more than 350 river segments in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah. Another 100+ descriptions in the same eight states aare in various stages of development and will be come active upon substantial completion. The guide provides information about where to paddle, hazards to navigation, access points, best seasons, distance from major US cities, campgrounds and accommodations, liveries and outfitters providing boat rentals, gear and boat sales, shuttle services and related services necessary to those who enjoy camping, boating, hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, bird and animal viewing, nature photography and other leisurely pursuits in the Great Outdoors. It also features an extensive safety section providing vital information about hypothermia, heat-related illnesses, First Aid / CPR and swiftwater rescue, with links to professional web sites offering expert medical advise and information.
During 2009, Southwest Paddler saw its popularity soar to more than 58,000 visits a day (more than 21 million annual visits) following exposure in Canoe & Kayak Magazine (March, 2003) and Paddler Magazine (May/June, 2003). It is now linked from the web sites of over 50 US paddling clubs and numerous other paddling clubs and organizations worldwide, as well as countless numbers of boat and gear manufacturer web sites and personal and non-related business web sites. Southwest Paddler enjoys a prominent placement in major Internet search engines making it easy to find by keyword inquiries. Growth and popularity are expected to continue throughout 2010 and beyond.
Significant modifications to the web site occurred before the 2004 season, and additional changes will continue to expand and improve the quality and value of the web site. These changes include additions of river maps to numerous pages, a statistics box on each page giving a capsule view of critical information, hyper links to relevant USGS web gauges for current information on river conditions, an improved layout and cosmetic changes to make the guide more visually appealing. Many new photographs showing river features have been added. Additional features for future development include adding driving directions from major cities, descriptions and information related to state and national parks, GPS waypoints and mileage for access points, hazards, landmarks, campgrounds and outfitters, and other similar detail information.
Southwest Paddler offers advertising opportunities for businesses that cater to the paddlesports and outdoors recreation industries as a means by which a targeted market sector can be reached that might not be available by other media or marketing strategies. Businesses that are most likely to benefit from exposure on Southwest Paddler include canoe, kayak, raft and tube liveries and outfitters, shuttle services, hunting and fishing guide services, boat and gear manufacturers and resellers, campgrounds, hotels, motels, bed & breakfast hostels, resorts, restaurants, bait and tackle shops, sporting goods stores and other businesses that provide products and/or services needed by those enjoying outdoors recreation in the Southwestern United States. Unlike the scattergun approach of newspapers, magazines or other media that provide exposure to the general public at large, Southwest Paddler is focused and targeted to a captive audience of potential customers who are specifically seeking the type products and/or services offered by companies serving the outdoor recreation industry.
Advertising Options
Graphical banners provide the highest visibility and deliver your message with the most impact. As the most prominent vehicle for Internet advertising, nearly all who use the web are familiar with banners, and understand their purpose and function. Advertisers may choose to have their banners displayed on any river description page, the Internet links page or any of the SWP Yellow Pages. Each banner will be hyper linked to the advertiser's web site or e-mail window, whichever is preferred. Significant discounts are available for multiple banners.
River Description Pages: Currently, there are 350+ river description pages complete and on-line, as well as about 20 pages that are incomplete, but on-line. Banners are only available on complete pages to maximize effectiveness for advertisers. Banners will appear on the right side of each page, directly under the statistics box, from top to bottom on a first come basis according to payment received date. Each banner will appear for a period of one year starting the first day of the month following receipt of payment. While any legal, non-offensive business may advertise on river description pages those for whom this section is best suited includes liveries, outfitters and shuttle services, campgrounds, resorts, motels and other accommodations on or near a river or river segment, or other local businesses whose patrons frequently include those who engage in outdoors recreational activities on or near rivers within the 8 states served by Southwest Paddler.
Internet Links Page: Banners will appear on the Internet Links page in the positions currently held by temporary banners (some banners appearing on the page are paid advertisements for the companies they prepresent, and will continue to hold those positions until relinquished.) Banner positioning will be on a first come basis according to payment received date. Each banner will appear for a period of one year starting the first day of the month following receipt of payment. While any legal, non-offensive business may advertise on river description pages those for whom this section is well suited includes businesses not located on or near a particular river, nor dependent upon traffic from river patrons for a significant portion of their sales, including boat and gear manufacturers and resellers, clothing and apparel manufacturers and resellers, sporting goods stores, on-line stores, restaurants, etc.
SWP Yellow Pages: The Yellow Pages section consists of 12 major categories of products and services commonly required by outdoors recreation enthusiasts (see pages for categories available.) Each section features banner advertisements at the top of the page, followed by text listings of related businesses below the display ads. Banners will be positioned on a first come basis according to payment received date. Each banner will appear for a period of one year starting the first day of the month following receipt of payment. Each banner advertiser will also be listed in the text directory below the banners.
Text directory listings will include both paid and unpaid listings. Paid listings, including banner advertisers, will appear first according to payment received date. All paid listings will be displayed in bold typeface and hyper linked to the advertiser's web site or e-mail window, whichever is preferred. Unpaid listings will appear below paid listings in alphabetical order, and will be displayed in normal typeface without hyper links, giving priority exposure and direct contact features to paid advertisers.
Advertising options and rates can be found at Southwest Paddler Advertising Rate Card, along with instructions for ordering and payment options via company check, personal check or credit cards. |
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