tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110423142011-07-07T18:31:55.488-05:00A blog about how businesses should and shouldn't communicate from the folks at <a href="http://www.contentfactor.com">The Content Factor</a>.Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.comBlogger1021100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-71144967927088097422010-04-28T07:19:00.003-05:002010-04-28T07:22:19.327-05:00

In case you arrived here by way of an old link or bookmark, this blog has moved from Blogger to our own platform.Please go to http://contentfactor.com/blogfor the Content Factor Weblog.Thanks and Regards,Your friends at The Content Factor

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-16009654923956374822010-03-12T11:07:00.003-05:002010-03-12T11:19:35.842-05:00

Congratulations to client Manhattan Associates for winning an AMY at last night's American Marketing Association awards dinner. The win was for "Zero Dissapointment Retail," Manhattan's unique offering and clever campaign that helps retailers offer a seamless cross-channel (Web, mail, store, call center) shopping experience to their customers. CMO Terrie O'Hanlon (pictured with her BOA and her

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-52850825805700939642010-03-10T06:43:00.003-05:002010-03-10T12:21:46.128-05:00

As many have said, the B2B "sales cycle" is becoming a "buying cycle" where the prospect has control over the relationship. Although the graphic of the sales funnel will be with us forever, the days are numbered when Marketing and Sales can claim to be the ones moving prospects through the funnel. In the social media world, prospects move when they want to move.If a prospect doesn't want to

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-48314393101895462642010-03-01T10:48:00.001-05:002010-03-01T10:55:39.855-05:00

A year ago, I was a B2B marketing manager in a muddle. I had, at my fingertips, some powerful tools to share my company's message with the world. But I had nothing new to say.My title as "Manager" gave me authority to drive content down a number of channels: an attractive web site, automated email campaigns, and webinars with full in-house tech support. It was my job to maintain quarterly plans

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-66656408710131957672010-02-25T08:19:00.003-05:002010-02-25T10:57:04.771-05:00

Chris Koch wrote an excellent blog post, "There is No Social Media Strategy, Only Marketing Strategy," in which he states:Social media simply makes starkly plain what we’ve known for some time but haven’t had to face yet: We don’t have a lot of content capable of generating trust and relationships.Chris sees, as I do among clients and prospects, that B2B marketers are eagerly adopting the

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-2530079167640107132010-02-19T10:29:00.002-05:002010-02-19T14:51:43.995-05:00

We enjoy a good debate here at The Content Factor, and we're watching one play out on the Demand Gen Report Blog.Marketo's Jon Miller blogged on "Seed Nurturing," suggesting some new practices for using social media to "turbo charge" lead nurturing.Miller writes:"For example, after identifying a prospect’s Twitter username, follow his or her Twitter conversations that include relevant keywords,

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-45106731203957080782010-02-17T10:20:00.000-05:002010-02-17T10:24:29.389-05:00

Recently I spoke with a CMO who wanted to market a commoditized IT product. Naturally, his product has its own competitive advantage. But it was clear to me that his target market would be shopping first on price, and that a feature-benefit message would be challenging to push.Early in our conversation, he asked, "How much will a white paper cost?"Like his own prospects, he, too, was shopping on

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-76091948373318263772010-02-10T06:59:00.005-05:002010-02-10T13:04:26.934-05:00

Back in the 1980s when computer automation first started to make a big impact on business, many people started to realize the truth in the old axiom: Garbage In/Garbage Out. Putting in bad or erroneous inputs, and then processing them faster and more efficiently took its toll on a wide range of businesses, ranging from newly automated dentist offices to numerical punch machines that went awry.But

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-67129071659342657942010-02-02T08:20:00.007-05:002010-02-03T06:26:24.052-05:00

Ever have the nightmare about standing in front of an audience to speak, and having no idea what to say?Evidently that's how salespeople feel every day. To stop the nightmares, they are writing their own content, regardless of what marketing provides them. So says a survey covered on MarketingProfs this week, stating that confidence in corporate and sales message is weak. The article states:

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-44096079588801743242010-01-31T17:08:00.005-05:002010-02-02T06:11:11.105-05:00

As content strategists, we stress to our clients the importance of repurposing content in all channels. This post titled "6 Things the iPad Means for B2B Marketers" by Steve Woods of Eloqua, describes the new opportunities of Apple's iPad as one of those channels. Number 3 of the 6 is particularly interesting:Books and whitepapers become interactive: as books and whitepapers are more and more

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-32837795176027113102010-01-28T06:24:00.017-05:002010-01-28T11:59:24.896-05:00

A survey by Spiceworks reveals that IT pros--key influencers in B2B buying cycles--are increasingly resistant to downloading white papers, because of the registration forms. In an interview on the Savvy B2B Marketing blog*, Jay Halberg of Spiceworks says:Those that do share their [contact information when downloading a white paper] obviously don't mind doing so, but they DO mind a pesky vendor

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-25729032518023811732010-01-26T10:27:00.001-05:002010-01-26T10:27:00.250-05:00

Here's #10 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.Hallmark of Great Web Content #10: Great Web content is dynamic and changing.Your business is constantly changing. (If you were in a static industry, you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog.) New opportunities are emerging. Prospects have new

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-90400954392264978162010-01-18T10:07:00.000-05:002010-01-17T11:37:11.486-05:00

Here's #9 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.Hallmark of Great Web Content #9: Great Web content is interactive.Use cool tools as “link bait”—something other sites will read about and want to link to. For instance, create a handy web-based calculator for a need common to your audience. Maybe it’s

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-62968969426546499082010-01-14T08:50:00.000-05:002010-01-14T08:55:32.930-05:00

Here's #8 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.Hallmark of Great Web Content #8: Great Web content is easy to find and easy to scan.According to David Talbott, a content expert at Studio B, most people who find your content won’t go on to read it unless it passes their scan test. What will pass?

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-27567673022925946022010-01-12T09:28:00.002-05:002010-01-12T09:28:00.542-05:00

Maybe it's New Year's resolutionism that is inspiring content marketers in the blogosphere to confront their norms. Several posts this week throw down the gauntlet.Copyblogger reports: "Dragon Slaying 101: How to Use Heroic Language to Battle Boring Copy". It's an engaging post on using the metaphors of the heroic quest to invigorate blogs and articles.Steve Woodruff, in "Disperse the Jargon

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-2493231022307667702010-01-08T09:11:00.000-05:002010-01-08T09:11:16.715-05:00

Here's #7 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.Hallmark of Great Web Content #7: Great Web content is authoritative.Great Web content puts your company’s best foot forward. It is original and demonstrates your company’s expertise, not lifted from outsiders or distilled from brochures. It is in-depth

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-64593971435935129402010-01-06T10:18:00.003-05:002010-01-06T11:12:34.882-05:00

BtoB Magazine's recent article "When Enough is Enough" describes how Cisco Systems straddles the fine line between spamming its existing customers, and keeping Cisco top-of-mind.The article quotes John Coe, president of the Sales & Marketing Institute, on the role of content:In fact, Coe said, if your messages bring value to your customers—beyond your company's latest product offerings—there

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-78229741052406561942009-12-30T10:50:00.000-05:002010-01-14T08:54:21.936-05:00

Here's #6 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.Hallmark of Great Web Content #6: Great Web content is emotional. It raises the hairs a bit.Whether you’re selling financial services to consumers or databases to businesses, remember: Companies don’t buy things; people do. So their purchase decisions

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-62343629725419261662009-12-29T06:54:00.000-05:002009-12-29T06:55:16.006-05:00

I enjoyed this series of short videos by Brian Solis titled "Ideas Connect Us More than Relationships." There are several points here that are relevant to thought leadership, and how social media changes the game.Overall, I appreciate Solis's comments for bringing social media down to earth a bit. Other analyses about social media boil down to: "it's so cool because everybody can say anything

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-7330977567599095392009-12-23T08:16:00.001-05:002009-12-22T21:49:22.674-05:00

Here's #5 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.Hallmark of Great Web Content #5: Great Web content is search-engine friendly--while communicating effectively.Recently I've blogged about how marketers are being tempted to crank-out content to satisfy increasingly voracious search engines. At the end

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-9515939962668597382009-12-16T19:23:00.001-05:002009-12-16T19:27:34.965-05:00

AdAge has published its Book of Tens, and one page is the ten Ideas of the Decade. In sum, these ten ideas tell the story of the new role of thought leadership in business.Please refer to the article for complete descriptions. The ten Ideas of the Decade are:Consumer Control (i.e., consumers having control)Brand JournalismBranded UtilityCrowdsourcingMarketer as MediaEarned MediaLong TailTipping

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-26382988066652792962009-12-14T15:40:00.000-05:002009-12-14T15:40:57.777-05:00

Here's #4 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.Hallmark of Great Web Content #4: Great Web content is should be repurposed.Copyblogger's recent post, "How to Do Less and Get More," applies to web content and marketing in general. Marketers who frequently rework and rewrite their message might

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-47084470206169400152009-12-11T07:32:00.001-05:002009-12-11T07:32:00.517-05:00

Since the story about AOL's pay-to-play model broke last week, several more stories in the blogosphere raise the question, "What's happening to web content?"This post on the SEOmoz blog, "Great Content Equals Great Rankings, Right? Wrong." is followed by a long string of comments where quite a few SEO pros argue that content is not king--links are king; quality content doesn't drive

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-27603088645500109792009-12-10T17:30:00.002-05:002009-12-10T17:38:42.820-05:00

Jonathan Weber's interesting story about how that coolest of social media companies--Apple--relies on old media marketing techniques is well worth reading. According to Weber, Apple doesn't tweet, use facebook or do any of those other cool things. They do buy a lot of television, magazine pages and billboards, however.

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-90396232557986108102009-12-07T14:16:00.008-05:002009-12-07T15:21:31.595-05:00

Last week the Wall Street Journal broke a story about AOL and CEO Tim Armstrong's new strategy to create a content company that is more attuned to what people are searching for and what advertisers want to promote. The plan is to create a network of freelancers that will write copy based on popular searches. Much of the freelancers' compensation will be based on how many times the content is

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-38539350439187582962009-12-02T07:40:00.001-05:002009-12-09T23:01:35.494-05:00

Here's #3 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.Hallmark of Great Web Content #3: Great Web content is aligned throughout all deliverables.Think of alignment as a security blanket that goes with prospects as they move through the sales cycle. The outbound email features the same value proposition

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-48189366412781920242009-11-30T12:47:00.001-05:002009-12-02T07:28:05.621-05:00

I enjoyed this book excerpt by Grant McCracken in AdAge, "In His Nike Work, Dan Wieden Is the Prototypical CCO" (McCracken's forthcoming book is Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation.)McCracken identifies the trend called the "generous stranger," which is akin to "Pay It Forward" and "Practice Random Acts of Kindness." He tells of how Nike embodies this trend in a

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-87107949842511165572009-11-24T08:11:00.008-05:002009-11-24T09:08:09.616-05:00

Forbes has published a study "The Rise of the Digital C-Suite: How Executives Locate and Filter Business Information" that is particularly useful for b-to-b marketers who want to reach C-level executives with their content.The report confirms, with research, several trends we've assumed to be true:Younger executives are more likely to use social media than the previous generations. The Internet

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-19665092830291622122009-11-20T10:32:00.001-05:002009-11-20T10:57:47.422-05:00

Custom content is up, and trade publications are down. This week, BtoB Magazine published these two stories, and it is up to me to connect the dots.Public companies shedding b-to-b mediaIncompatibility with volatile ad cycles has big publishers selling off propertiesThe global downturn has underscored advertising's cyclicality, with ad pages plunging an average 30% this year. The decline's

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-36002771419747658922009-11-19T11:53:00.000-05:002009-11-19T11:56:59.260-05:00

Here's #2 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.In his post, "Five reasons your content is damaging your brand," Kevin Gibbons writes that in the rush to perform search engine optimization, marketers are defeating what should be their primary objective: building of their brand. The bottom line is

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-38858045173598243852009-11-17T12:31:00.001-05:002009-11-19T11:12:07.207-05:00

Here's #1 of a 10-part series on the "The 10 Hallmarks of Great Web Content." Read the full white paper, or view all the blog posts in the series.There is a lot of tweeting about tweeting--and all the other ways that social media are changing the ways we work and think. But at the heart of it all, every tweeter needs great content to tweet. (Retweeting everybody else's great content is easy, but

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-31646177062867458912009-11-13T10:48:00.010-05:002009-11-16T11:57:48.986-05:00

This interesting report from Technorati, just published in October has some interesting findings. Among them: bloggers are far more well educated and wealthy than the population as a whole and 35% of bloggers have a journalistic pedigree in that they worked for a newspaper, magazine or broadcast outlet.What many are saying in terms of the ongoing ying and yang between traditional media and

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-46087478777980226052009-11-11T12:38:00.015-05:002009-11-12T12:37:18.806-05:00

We've received some interesting questions in response to our white paper, "Is Anybody Following Your Thought Leadership? Five Best-Practices." One, in particular, describes the dilemma marketing departments face: How can we prevent our thought leadership efforts from being interpreted as sales propaganda?The answer lies in the fact that thought leadership isn't built, it's nurtured. It is up to

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598364297932282961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-36867177791143344242009-11-03T12:18:00.001-05:002009-11-03T12:20:40.667-05:00

David Carr wrote an insightful story for The New York Times on the rapid decline of the business press.One compelling excerpt:Business coverage has been, at its heart, aspirational, a brand promise that suggests that if you clip the right articles, internalize the right rhetoric, then you too will end up as one of the shiny, happy people striding boldly across the pages of magazines with names

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-14909044196552337332009-10-15T08:11:00.002-05:002009-10-15T08:13:55.137-05:00

Jeff Sexton of Future Now has written a startling blog post on what websites would be like without copy. Check it out.

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-52495801279546837462009-09-03T14:58:00.002-05:002009-09-03T15:05:27.135-05:00

Singer, songwriter and sometime white paper writer Jeff Silver sent this hilarious parody of the corporate press release. Sad, but true. Satire at its best.

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-70268107019742629902009-08-11T13:40:00.005-05:002009-08-11T13:52:25.793-05:00

This article in BtoB Magazine shows how compelling content can be an effective way to cut through the clutter and garner attention from C-Suite executives. It's based on a late 2008 survey conducted by Doremus and The Financial Times. Interesting reading, but something we've known for a while here at The Content Factor.

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-63193051893569578532009-06-02T13:23:00.002-05:002009-06-02T13:27:06.198-05:00

Great article (and response threads) by Dan Gilmore in Supply Chain Magazine on the merits of saving U.S. manufacturing.

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-15960142818269817402009-04-02T10:27:00.002-05:002009-04-02T10:36:45.393-05:00

The Content Factor is again participating in the successful Social Status Seminar Series. This time, some of us so-called experts are going to make marketing and promotional recommendations for Earth University that utilize social media.This is the second incarnation of the event, which is sponsored by PR firm Trevelino Keller. Here is a link to the invite. There are still seats available and I

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-73633493321345831792009-03-31T16:27:00.001-05:002009-03-31T16:29:40.293-05:00

Just wading in...http://twitter.com/McKeonPaulWish me luck!

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-39508809632568583592009-03-18T11:02:00.004-05:002009-03-18T11:12:04.494-05:00

Subject: Great Advertising and Marketing ConceptsDear sir, This is Bhaskar from Hyderabad, India. Working for a Fortune 10 Company. I am closely watching present market scenarios both in India and abroad. Now its time to redefine the marketing strategies according to the current financial situations. I designed some concepts for the better advertising. That will make the product to penetrate into

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-26794348000992572312009-02-02T14:32:00.004-05:002009-02-02T14:44:37.152-05:00

I was watching TV this past Sunday morning and saw this piece from Jeff Greenfield on CBS' Sunday Morning show. I thought it was very insightful. Leave it to the "old media" to best sum up the implications of the "new media." I especially liked his commentary at the end about what doesn't change.

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-63876438043375479922009-01-23T13:31:00.003-05:002009-01-23T14:10:34.772-05:00

I used to be a Partner at Ketchum so I feel bad for my friends there. I also dabble and work in social media, so I can see the other side of this story too.It's a prime example of the opposing pull of business discretion with self expression as our professional and social lives become more blended. Discretion is certainly required in any client/service relationship, and self expression is

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-21671786068100135762008-12-03T20:49:00.005-05:002008-12-04T17:05:53.709-05:00

Anyone that thinks that is the case need look no further than the U.S. automakers appeal for close to a $35 billion bailout. As this CNN article suggests, public opinion is now significantly against the government bailout. Before the auto executives showed up on Capitol Hill in their highly-publicized corporate jets, public opinion was 50/50.This PR faux pas could end up costing them close to $35

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-19498381496627062812008-11-12T12:14:00.017-05:002008-11-12T21:17:17.785-05:00

I participated in a breakfast seminar today with five other organizations. The event was put together by PR firm Trevelino/Keller and revolved around a unique Monopoly-like game board designed as an interesting way to put together an online social media program for businesses and other organizations. As you move around the board you are prompted to consider options ranging from Facebook and

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-77173583293496583532008-09-18T10:43:00.004-05:002008-09-18T11:58:19.637-05:00

When I was a business reporter, a mind-boggling frustration of mine--and every journalist for that matter--was that I had to spend countless hours deciphering the most obtuse corporate speak imaginable. Here these companies were pitching why they should be written about and I couldn't even understand what they did in the most basic sense. Just take a look on PR Newswire and you'll be inundated

Justin Rubnernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-50261631111202379842008-08-29T11:34:00.005-05:002008-08-29T11:56:33.679-05:00

You can have the best technology in the world behind your online social community. But to keep users coming back -- and back again regularly -- engaging content is mandatory.That's why we're proud to announce a partnership with one of the leading social network developers in the country, Neighborhood America. The company has created many popular Web 2.0 sites including HGTV's Rate My Space and

Justin Rubnernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-85862886209349754332008-07-31T18:50:00.003-05:002008-07-31T18:55:47.578-05:00

If you're interested in an easy read on the value of white papers and a few tips on how to create good ones, then check out this short article I wrote for The NY Enterprise Report--a business magazine catering to small businesses.

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-44434235625809446312008-06-29T20:54:00.000-05:002008-06-29T20:56:10.309-05:00

BusinessWeek recently ran this story about the Orange County Register outsourcing some content duties to India. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Good content will be increasingly in demand. Consumers and businesses want and need it, yet many will insist on paying the absolute lowest price.For now, the OC Register seems to be outsourcing mostly the “mechanical” copy functions, such as editing

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-4179737338510359912008-05-06T09:58:00.008-05:002008-05-06T14:05:33.385-05:00

Congress is debating the merits right now to raise the H1-B visa cap -- a move that would bring in more highly-skilled foreigners to take positions primarily in the tech industry.Bill Gates and many other technology leaders have argued for years that the American high-tech workforce is not adequate to fulfill demand. However, one of my clients, Rudolf Melik, CEO of project management software

Justin Rubnernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-54953983018185903252008-05-01T11:52:00.007-05:002008-05-01T13:37:09.477-05:00

You should check out Brew Blog, a site run by Miller Brewing. What a great tool. Miller can now let beer enthusiasts, analysts and other interested parties in on company happenings before the PR machine sanitizes the news and releases it to the general public, right?Wrong.The site (http://www.brewblog.com/) instead focuses on nemesis Anheuser-Busch. That's right -- Budweiser and Boddington's, not

Justin Rubnernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-41420141722772020512008-04-23T13:42:00.005-05:002008-04-23T17:16:08.062-05:00

The Associated Press has a feature today about one downtown Atlanta bar owner who was so fed up with the massive vagrancy problem near his business that he built a robot to patrol the streets at night. Called the “Bum Bot,” the cube-shaped sentry – equipped with an infrared video camera, spot light and water cannon – barks orders at people when they trespass. Apparently Bum Bot is effective

Justin Rubnernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-59729909412691438002008-03-31T12:12:00.002-05:002008-03-31T12:18:30.593-05:00

Read a great book over the weekend: Made to Stick.I am not reading as many business books as fast as I used to, but this one was truly worthwhile for me. In a sense it is a bit of a follow on to Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. But while Gladwell's book was more focused on widespread social factors, this book is a bit more prescreptive in how to practically create messages that stick. A must

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-35163702838909527162008-03-21T13:37:00.005-05:002008-03-26T10:29:39.844-05:00

This article on MarketingSherpa, "How to Maximize Impact of Email Newsletter Ads - 4 Takeaways on Ad Recall, Forwards & More," is about a study conducted by the American Institute of CPAs on the effectiveness of their own email marketing.Of the four major takeaways, two are lessons in how to use content, especially in B2B marketing. They key is to educate the reader, not push a sale.Substance

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-42637882537389533292008-02-27T18:08:00.004-05:002008-02-27T18:16:28.115-05:00

Ben Worthen recently made a post on the Wall Street Journal's Tech blog about an Oracle press release that was almost unreadable--and certainly not undertstandable. There are lot's of lessons here for how not to write a technology release. Interesting reading for anybody interested in clear communication.My comment on the WSJ blog was that often these types of jargon-filled releases are written

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-85022561016654104262007-11-28T21:04:00.000-05:002007-11-28T21:24:28.638-05:00

I started to to try to write some commentary of my own about the article linked below, but the article itself really says it all. Be sure to watch the video (you'll have to follow the link from this page to YouTube.com).Writers: The Most Undervalued People Online, by Robert Gorrell, on grokdotcom.comMy first experience writing for the web was in a small technology company that suddenly needed

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-21420753080545553142007-11-09T14:38:00.000-05:002007-11-09T14:39:58.582-05:00

I was participating in a panel discussion a few weeks ago at AIMA (Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association). The topic was B2B selling on the web. During the discussion on content, someone seated in the front row blurted out: “Every company needs a journalist.” After the event I was talking to this guy. He further explained what he meant in terms of having someone at the company that really

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-69351365865305929522007-11-07T17:17:00.000-05:002007-11-07T17:18:00.157-05:00

As writers, we at The Content Factor often discuss questions of grammar and punctuation.  Yesterday, Paul needed to know whether the possessive of “business” is “business’,” with just an apostrophe added, or “business’s,” with the apostrophe and an “s.”  Thanks to the Internet, we now have some wonderful resources to help us answer these questions.  The answer: add an apostrophe and the “s,”

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-31841383511842911542007-10-23T10:24:00.000-05:002007-10-24T09:57:18.914-05:00

I don't want to whine too much about Microsoft Vista or Office 2007...I have come to learn that these software upgrades are part of computing life. But I have a word or warning for hard-core writers out there who delve into all the nooks and crannies of MS Word. The warning is: Set aside some time for a learning curve on all the new navigation.If you're accustomed to the toolbars in all Office

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-80059181229045782072007-10-22T14:45:00.000-05:002007-10-22T14:56:16.081-05:00

We recently finished a year long series of white papers that eventually became a book. This is really an ingenious way to accomplish an otherwise daunting task. The project took more than a year, but the client had the marketing benefit of each completed white paper throughout the year. With a little editing at the end of the project, the white papers became chapters and the chapters became a

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-59413849088777685852007-09-11T14:48:00.000-05:002007-09-11T14:56:35.769-05:00

White papers are a great way to convey thought leadership, solve customer problems and create interest for marketing programs. But many companies make some basic mistakes when writing a white paper. Here are the five we see most often:1. Overselling: A white paper may be part of your marketing program, but its first goal is to educate or inform. If you try to oversell, you will likely lose

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-88229445303618556632007-08-26T18:42:00.000-05:002007-08-26T18:54:03.831-05:00

According to a recently released study conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings, people are spending about half their online time consuming and interacting with content. This is up 37% since 2003. Apparently engaging with content has replaced communicating as the top online activity. To those of us engaged in online content development this comes as no surprise. According to the the study, three key

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-30549859258707528952007-07-12T19:33:00.000-05:002007-07-12T19:59:11.804-05:00

That's one way that web usability expert Jakob Nielsen describes the preponderance of shallow copy on the web. In fact, in a recent article entitled Write Articles Not Postings, Nielsen eloquently states the case for in depth, expert-oriented content. His rationale: the web is all about content, and "in-depth content that takes much longer to create is beyond the abilities of the lesser experts.

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-19076882211917847172007-06-05T06:23:00.000-05:002007-06-05T07:07:07.213-05:00

Here's a bold statement: At this moment in history, the quality of written content is more important than it has ever been. It is more important culturally and commercially, to a larger percentage of the population.Notwithstanding bad grammar, abbreviations like "thru" and "nite" (pet peeve), and the proliferation of acronyms like "nbd" and "WTF?", good writing is like an undervalued stock right

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-38670593550504744522007-04-19T15:25:00.001-05:002007-04-19T15:25:50.830-05:00

Here's my third and final "deep dive" into the high points covered in a recent ClickZ article by Bryan Eisenberg.The ClickZ article:Optimizing B2B-Demand Generationhttp://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625240Here are Part 1 and Part 2 of this series of posts.High Point: Set the bait.Your incentive piece, or "digital morsel" as Eisenberg calls it, is the bait that generates the lead. It can be

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-13261287121659488852007-04-03T14:46:00.000-05:002007-04-05T13:46:17.162-05:00

By guest author Todd Miechiels, Internet Marketing ConsultantThere’s a crisis out there in the internet marketing world, specifically in the area of search engine marketing (SEM). Companies everywhere are wanting to throw money at search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising in hopes of getting their share of the new, less-costly-to-acquire customers that internet

Todd Miechielsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-50379378604794286292007-03-28T13:18:00.000-05:002007-03-28T13:20:11.681-05:00

Here's my second "deep dive" into the high points covered in a recent ClickZ article by Bryan Eisenberg. Eisenberg takes the 10,000 foot view...but there is a lot more to be said, deeper down, about content.The ClickZ article:Optimizing B2B-Demand Generationhttp://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625240From these high points, we at The Content Factor can dive deeper into ways you can optimize

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-69548327964569516122007-03-19T11:14:00.000-05:002007-03-28T13:22:21.249-05:00

Here's an article from Bryan Eisenberg, the Persuasion Marketing guru, covering the high points of generating business-to-business (B2B) leads on the web:Optimizing B2B-Demand Generationhttp://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625240From these high points, we at The Content Factor can dive deeper into ways you can optimize your content to make lead generation work--and why the content part of

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-80670129276753746802007-03-07T15:07:00.000-05:002007-03-07T15:08:43.645-05:00

Got feedback? Ideas? Suggestions? Leave em here. Thanks

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-37908701353100405292007-03-01T15:58:00.000-05:002007-03-07T15:45:29.701-05:00

We are launching our blogletter—an email newsletter that is built on top of our blog. What a concept! How does it work? Instead of putting long articles in our e-newsletter, or creating new web pages for the articles, we simply post the articles to our blog. They make great blog posts. Then, we send out our e-newsletter with brief, easy-to-read introductions to the articles, and links to the

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-20933836202583498382007-02-27T15:15:00.000-05:002007-03-07T15:44:34.291-05:00

New research by KnowledgeStorm supports what many already knew: vendors are more likely to close new business when they do a good job of educating potential buyers in the earliest stages of the sales cycle.While sales reps often avoid prospects who are “just kicking the tires,” these prospects are usually doing important research. In most cases, they have not yet established standard metrics such

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-84803316081639311762007-02-21T15:46:00.000-05:002007-03-19T11:12:55.214-05:00

Trying to break in to a new market segment? Wanting to make an impression with an audience that doesn’t know your name (yet)? Conducting a survey is an effective and surprisingly easy way to break through. Collect valuable, relevant data from the group you are trying to reach, and then distribute that data to the participants. You provide value and make your first impression as an industry

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-46474908037285558222007-02-21T15:35:00.000-05:002007-03-07T15:46:36.519-05:00

Feeling misunderstood? Do your clients or prospects have a popular misconception about what you deliver…or about what you should deliver? You can jar them out of their confusion—and relieve your frustration—with a snappy article or white paper that brings the misconception into focus. While your competition is doing what’s safe (and sometimes just plain boring), like playing up the company’s

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-58891301942740918832007-02-19T12:00:00.000-05:002007-02-19T12:37:02.800-05:00

I'm in a networking group called PowerCore, led by Wendy Kinney. Wendy, the diva of Referral Marketing, teaches a terrific seminar on how to educate people to give you referrals in one minute. One of the most valuable things I learned from her is: specific beats general--always. She instructs us not to say, "If you know anybody who needs a white paper or a blog for their business, please let me

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-28181672382977255052007-01-15T11:26:00.000-05:002007-01-15T11:35:00.222-05:00

Many of those in high tech circles may have seen that Garry Betty recently passed at age 49. Garry was the CEO of Earthlink and a friend and mentor to me. He was my first boss when I moved to Atlanta in 1984 and he helped make Hayes Microcomputer Products (the inventor of the computer modem), a leading company in the 1980s. After I left Hayes, I did not have that much contact with Garry, but

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1168861140239511372007-01-15T06:15:00.000-05:002007-01-15T06:39:00.273-05:00

One of my favorite bloggers about blogging is Debbie Weil, who got a lot of agreeing comments when she blogged that on the corporate side, blogging is just getting started, even though some analysts say that blogging overall is about to peak.A terrific indicator that corporate blogging is still in its infancy is Toby Bloomberg's Blogger Stories, a blog about how blogs touch people's lives. Many

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1164918619337094262006-11-30T15:03:00.000-05:002006-11-30T16:15:40.863-05:00

Yes, "white papers are hot." So says MarketingSherpa in their new report, How to Syndicate Your White Paper Successfully -- 12 Steps, 8 Mistakes & Creative Samples –- Part I (open access through Dec. 10).We've known that white papers are hot for a long time. Sherpa's report gives us a good excuse to promote our own white paper on white papers: Eight Secrets for Creating Great White Papers. Since

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1163779876762124382006-11-17T10:30:00.000-05:002006-12-01T10:07:36.996-05:00

If you follow corporate blogging at all, you might have heard of a recent scandal involving Wal-Mart and their PR firm, Edelman. In an attempt to counter the bad press that Wal-Mart was getting about its treatment of its employees, it hired Edelman to do some blogger relations.But Edelman's approach was to create a fake blog, now known as a "flog," about a couple who RV'd across America from

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1163197164817841492006-11-10T17:17:00.000-05:002006-11-10T17:35:30.756-05:00

While working on blogs for a few different clients, I have started "drinking the Kool-Aid" from Google. I'm using a Google custom home page, which gives me all sorts of widgets, which I can organize on my own tabs.Here's a picture of my custom home page (the first tab).I can make a widget out of any RSS feed, including Google News searches and Google Blog searches. So, I created a tab for each

Veronica Brownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1156363320608526442006-08-23T14:55:00.000-05:002006-08-23T16:24:41.296-05:00

Recently my car was broken into and my briefcase (with laptop, Palm Pilot and some important files) was stolen. This is every knowledge worker's nightmare, and let me tell you that it's bad. Luckily, I was reasonably backed up. But even then, there are things you don't think about. For example, my PDA was backed up to the PC and vice versa. My email was not backed up for a month. So, I am calling

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1133029568061001242005-11-26T13:12:00.000-05:002005-11-26T13:26:08.083-05:00

Congratulations to all the hard working folks at S-A. Despite ups and downs through the years, the announcement last week that the company is being purchased by Cisco is a well-deserved reward for a well managed business. Several members of The Content Factor team worked closely with S-A throughout the years. In fact, during the 1990s--first as Crescent Communications and then as Ketchum--we

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1129516295483699802005-10-16T21:30:00.000-05:002006-08-29T19:42:28.633-05:00

We've been playing with it as a blogging plaftorm for ourselves and clients. Very nice!

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1124997409808250102005-08-25T13:58:00.000-05:002005-08-25T14:16:49.813-05:00

Recently, we were working with a very large company on a potential blog. After much discussion, the executives decided that a blog was not appropriate for the company. And it was probably the right decision. The company is primarily a one-way communicator, and because of its business, cannot risk (or tolerate) much dissent or negative feedback--particularly in an open forum like a blog.It

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1123982715835537582005-08-13T20:24:00.000-05:002005-08-13T20:25:44.360-05:00

I'm writing an article for this year's Global PR Blog Week with some other smokin' authors. My article's entitled: Adding Your Voice to the Conversation — Why CEOs Should Blog. I'm taking the Yes You Should side of the coin, with some wise nuggets tossed in to make sure CEOs take the smart path to blogdom.PR PEOPLE AND CORP COMM FOLKS: I want to interview a few blogging CEOs for this article. [

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1117155654659768612005-05-26T19:45:00.000-05:002005-05-26T20:00:54.663-05:00

There has been a lot of talk among search engine optimizers, or "optimists" as I like to call them, about the increasing importance of content in the SEO process. Most specifically, its role in helping to "convert" visitors to some type of next-step action. This may seem like a revelation to some, but David Ogilvy and his contemporaries realized fifty years ago that words translate to action.

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1115142336725508492005-05-03T12:45:00.000-05:002005-05-03T13:13:52.310-05:00

iRiver 1 Gig Flash Recorder I've got my new iRiver MP3 player/recorder--the bare bones minimum for taking part in podcasting. I've read any number (read: a LOT) of articles and posts on podcasting. And I think I understand the genesis and the conflicts around Podcasting -- the concept, the nuances, and the technologies that support the medium -- better than most, not as well as some. That's a

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1111167821577879192005-03-18T12:35:00.000-05:002005-05-03T12:16:41.966-05:00

Superlawyer Denise Howell raises some good questions -- and I attempt to give a couple of answers -- over at Bag and Baggage in Denise's Mixed Media post. She asks:If you're starting a new blawg or blog, why not do an honest to goodness press release about it, of the kind that gets picked up by Google News? That's what Stephen Holzer did to announce his new weblog on all things environmental

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1111115954121522432005-03-17T22:01:00.000-05:002005-03-17T22:19:14.123-05:00

Everybody in the communications business is talking about Choicepoint, and the company's reaction--or lack of reaction--to their business crisis. In Atlanta, were we reside, the buzz is even greater. It's obvious the AJC is out to get the company, and I can't really I blame them. ChoicePoint has made a lot of textbook mistakes in mishandling this crisis. Everything from responding late, to

Paul McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07527122480006779011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1110859579441323672005-03-14T22:57:00.000-05:002005-03-15T08:08:45.103-05:00

from: Tips for productive business writing.(Watch Your Language) by Venditti, Phil via: HighBeam Research COPYRIGHT 2003 Wenatchee Business Journal, Inc.Phil Venditti, who wrote Tips for Productive Business Writing for the Everett Business Journal a couple of years ago, does what anyone who is highly--and I mean highly--organized would do when meeting a new person or hearing a funny joke for the

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1110854082144789012005-03-14T21:24:00.000-05:002006-06-19T17:16:35.460-05:00

After reading Kate Muldoon’s article, The Art of Business Writing, I sat in front of my laptop screen feeling, well, offended.The Art of Business Writing.(Brief Article) by MULDOON, KATIEsource: Direct, January 1, 2001.via: HighBeam ResearchCOPYRIGHT 2001 PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc. All rights reserved.According to the article, business writing can be summed up as “putting together a

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1110064249732459652005-03-05T18:07:00.000-05:002005-03-05T18:10:49.733-05:00

Good writing (and thinking) can only take a spokesperson so far. Promoting your in-house expert is also important. However, it only works when certain criteria are met:Your spokesperson must truly be an expert. Your spokesperson must act as an unbiased resource--not someone that will detail the features of your product.Your spokesperson must be available. Your spokesperson must write well or be

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1110063831886616992005-03-05T18:01:00.000-05:002005-03-05T18:03:51.886-05:00

Whether you're choosing a design firm, an ad agency, or a content provider, some tips can help you weed out the bad seeds. Here are some of our tried-and-true techniques:1. Ask around. The old corporate kiss-and-tell. People are more than happy to talk about their experiences with agencies. (WARNING: This may produce an emotional outburst. Be prepared to protect yourself.) Make a short list of

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1109774959554565382005-03-02T09:38:00.000-05:002005-03-02T09:49:19.556-05:00

From the Dancing Baby to the Dean Scream, Yahoo's netrospective (in celebration of the company's 10th birthday) captures some of the net's most famous and infamous moments.Of course, getting a free ice cream cone is another reason to stop by Yahoo today.In keeping with the tradition of the blogosphere, watch as the circle of detraction begins: "Those were some of the net's lamest moments!" "An

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1109725887086525242005-03-01T19:53:00.000-05:002005-03-01T20:13:41.970-05:00

From the ongoing (and going and going) discussion on business and blogs, The Wall Street Journal has a nice article today on how small companies are using weblogs to get intimate with their customers. And that's really the point, isn't it? That despite the distance between our physical selves and our customers' physical selves, the Net can be our liaison for intimacy.While the discipline of

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1109724334755023272005-03-01T19:27:00.000-05:002005-03-01T19:45:34.756-05:00

There's something happening hereWhat it is ain't exactly clearThere's a man with a gun over thereTelling me I got to bewareI think it's time we stop, children, what's that soundEverybody look what's going downThere's battle lines being drawnNobody's right if everybody's wrongYoung people speaking their mindsGetting so much resistance from behindI think it's time we stop, hey, what's that

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1109723022665620802005-03-01T19:14:00.000-05:002005-03-01T19:23:42.666-05:00

Doc puts it best in describing journalist-blogger-netzian-so-smart Sheila Lennon when he writes: This all comes to mind as I think, If anybody deserves a blogging award, it's Sheila Lennon. Typically, her collection of Hunter S. Thompson rembrances is the best I've read, so far, and I've read a lot of them. I've said it before (though Google and I are having trouble finding exactly where); but

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1109302902628477122005-02-24T22:36:00.000-05:002005-02-24T22:42:32.980-05:00

I've been watering the blogroll over here and watching it grow. I realize one thing after starting anew to build a blogroll for this weblog: There is no shortage of PR blogs. And I mean n-o s-h-o-r-t-a-g-e. In fact, it may be fair to say that the Flacksters have surpassed the Blawgers for category leadership in career weblogs. Which can only mean one thing--PR people can out-talk lawyers.It's a

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1109277105090684062005-02-24T15:28:00.000-05:002005-02-24T16:09:24.253-05:00

The traditional upside-down pyramid style press release still works. It has always worked. It will always work. For the writer, this means taking the most important information and putting it up front--in the title, subtitle and lead.Once you nail the news--or point--of the release, work your way down to the next important item, then the next important, then the background information, and end

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1109251794319770972005-02-24T08:18:00.000-05:002005-02-24T08:38:01.433-05:00

I recently sat face to face at an oblong meeting table across from the best designer I’ve ever worked with. We were discussing the project at hand and I was glad to be working with her again. She's a top-notch designer, fast, smart, good. Together we probably have 40 years of experience doing what we do.So what were we doing as we sat together? Making dummy out of plain white copier paper,

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042314.post-1109219802768900812005-02-23T23:29:00.000-05:002005-02-23T23:36:42.770-05:00

Read this and think about it for a second. Is this the way the pros use adjectives?Every noun should have adjectives clumped to it like barnacles on a ship’s hull. Make everything "one of a kind," "never-before seen," "exciting," "robust," dynamic. You get the picture. The absolutely crystal-clear, unmistakable picture. Not.See Digital Women's "How to Write Ad Copy" for more humorous business

Jeneane Sessumnoreply@blogger.com4