Business Archives

Wendy's PR Crash Course
January 10-11, 2008
Orlando Marriott Downtown

It's official. After years of friends and clients asking why I produce killer seminars and conferences for other people and organizations but never host my own, I'm going to do so.

I've already lined up some of the top PR and business development experts in my personal database (developed over 20 years of actually working in the corporate world and PR industry, not just reading about them). From launching your own publicity campaign to streamlining your business, you'll hear from some of the best.

This will NOT be a "sit in your chair and listen to one talking head after another drone on about how they got super rich in just a few hours with very little effort" seminar. If you're looking to catch lightening in a bottle and get rich quick, this event is NOT for you.

Wendy's PR Crash Course WILL be a highly interactive, hands-on educational seminar from which you will leave with tangible results. You'll actually implement some of the tips and techniques we teach before you ever leave the event. That way, if you have questions, you'll still be in the room with the instructor and can ask questions RIGHT THEN to make sure you've got it.

Normally, I like to have every little detail finalized before I promote an event, but this is going to be so big, I wanted to let you know NOW so you can save the date and plan to make 2008 your best year ever.

For more details, visit our seminar page and look for Wendy's PR Crash Course

There are still a few seats left for tomorrow's Get Net Safe event hosted by the Orlando Regional Chamber.

Representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Chamber and Microsoft, as well as other experts on the issue, will be on hand to provide an overview of best practices for cyber security and specific advice for businesses to protect themselves.

Details:
Tuesday December 5, 2006
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

City Events at Lake Eola
409 East Central Boulevard
Downtown Orlando
show map

Register online.

What does your correspondence say about you? Does it say you are knowledgeable, professional and detail-oriented or does it imply you are mediocre, sloppy, and inattentive?

How you present yourself in written form says a lot about you.

I just received a shocking (and sad) marketing pitch letter from the CEO of a company with whom I regularly do business. It was shocking because it is full of typos and grammatical errors, including sentence fragments in random places and bold highlighting used to emphasize almost one-half the letter. It was sad because it was obviously a mass-blast snail mail letter, which means it not only went to all the CEO's colleagues and current clients but probably prospective clients as well. It is a very poor representation of the CEO's abilities and the company's capabilities.

If this were my first contact with the company, I would be unimpressed and toss it out. It was obviously thrown together in a hurry without much thought as to whether the points were coherent or the context made sense. If they are this careless with their own work, how careless might they be with mine? Now, I happen to know the team is extremely conscientious and they produce top quality work. But unfortunately, those prospective clients may never give them a chance.

Here are a few tips for making sure your correspondence accurately reflects your capability and that of your company:

1. Develop a theme and stick to it.
Determine your main point then stay focused on it. If you absolutely must include multiple points, separate them into different paragraphs. Order the paragraphs with the most important point first and provide good transitions between paragraphs so they flow smoothly.

2. When in doubt, check it out!
If you aren't sure how to spell a word, DON'T GUESS! If you don't have a dictionary close by, use an online version.

3. Don't rely on SpellCheck.
I once had a woman apply for a public relations position. Her use of SpellCheck had her applying for a position in a more nefarious field (remove the "l" in public and you get the idea). At least SpellCheck is consistent: her cover letter, resume, and application all had the same mistake. She didn't get the job.

4. Use emphasis sparingly.
If you want to capture your reader's attention, bold and italic formatting are certainly options, but use them judiciously. If you have multiple points you want to emphasize, consider putting them into a bulleted or numbered list. Highlight the point, then include your supporting or explanatory statement(s) as I have done in this list.

5. Use real words.
I've mentioned it before but it bears repeating: irregardless is not a word. And while we're on the subject, "nother" is not a word or a contraction either. "Whole 'nother" is an incorrect phrase. "Whole other" or "another" is correct when talking about something separate or additional.

6. Mix it up.
If you must use the same word more than once in your communication piece, consider synonyms. If you can't think of one, try an online thesaurus.

Additional online resources:

Purdue University's online writing lab has several basic primers, including one on business writing.

Oregon State University also offers Business Writing Help online.

Washington State University has a great list of common errors in English.

The IRS has increased the mileage deduction for business use of your car. Next year, you can write off $0.485 per mile. Charitable remains the same at $0.14 but medical and moving is up two cents to $0.20.