This is a modified version of a post I wrote for Spin Sucks earlier this year. Are you tracking the effectiveness of your online content with offline results? Let me step back and explain why I’m asking this question. My Bernese Mountain Dog Jackson is really big. He has hip and elbow dysplasia, poor baby […]
PR vs Integrated Communications
I guess what I was trying to say when I wrote about the Role of Messaging last week, is that public relations is so much more than the Art of Writing Press Releases. In fact, I frequently steer clients away from news releases (they aren’t called press releases anymore, just like books on tape are […]
How to Motivate Behavior With The Right Emotions
This is a very modified version of a post I wrote for Spin Sucks this time last year. On my drive home last night, I was listening to local radio for a change. During the interminably long commercial break, I realized something: All three ads gave me reason to panic if I don’t buy their […]
The Role of Messaging in Marketing
As communications professionals, we tend to be guilty of the very things we preach against: Speaking industry jargon and catchprases. On a daily basis, I tell my clients to keep it conversational. “Would you say it in person?” then don’t say it wherever you’re saying it. The terms “message development” and “storytelling” get bandied about […]
Presidential Campaigns: You Don’t Tell Me Stories Anymore
I’m sick today, and a bit cranky, so there is no better time than the present to rant about the presidential campaigns. I don’t know a lot about politics which puts me in the majority of the population, and therefore well within my rights to write about the topic </sarcasm>. As do most of us, […]
Global Domination and Perspective
Hi everyone, I’m back from traveling around the East Coast the past 12 days in the middle of my month of Down Time. It’s been six years since we last visited my in-laws in beautiful central Virginia, and from there we headed up to central New York to spend time with my grandmother, and to see […]
The Problem With Your Email Marketing
A couple weeks ago, Barrett Rossie asked me about email marketing and how to do it well to generate and manage leads. I’m not sure I gave him a very good answer at the time, and I’ve given it more thought. Email marketing is “easy” in theory and there is no shortage of blog posts […]
Prepare to Become an Outstanding Public Speaker
I’ve spent too many hours sitting through mediocre presentations in my lifetime, so I’ve been giving this topic some serious thought. Public speaking is nerve wracking. It takes a lot of work, and whether you’re new or experienced, the feeling doesn’t dissipate. I’ve only done a handful of speaking engagements so I’m far from an […]
Why I Fired a Travel Writer
I know I promised to blog more in a recent post. But I’m also a big fan of a balanced life and my client work has taken priority, as well as playing in all this amazing snow with my husband and dogs, so my blog has suffered. In my defense, I have done two speaking […]
Brand Loyalty – What Really Matters
Cup of Coffee by naotakem It all started with my morning coffee. I make Peet’s coffee at home because I love the taste. It has nothing to do with the packaging, and whether it’s noisy or not. It has nothing to do with the logo, and whether I like it or not. It’s because it […]