Marketing 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

MEGA Book Marketing University
Learn from the best of the best!
March 2-3-4, 2007
The Westin LAX
Los Angeles, CA

Register by Midnight PST this Thurs., Feb. 1 and bring a friend for free! Plus, you'll get the complete $349 home-study course at no additional charge.

One reason I recommend and attendees return again and again to MEGA Book Marketing year after year is the amazing faculty of best-selling authors, marketing mavens and publishing pros the MEGA team pulls together for each event.

It's an inviation-only event, so this is your personal invitation from me. Here's the catch, you have to register using this link so Mark will know I invited you.

Mark hand-selects each speaker, so you get a comprehensive education in everything it takes to become a best-selling author. Everything is covered… from how to get your book proposal noticed ... to cutting-edge marketing techniques ... to staying sharp mentally and finding the inner strength and persistence to never give up on your dreams.

This year, you’ll learn from not only Mark but his ”Chicken Soup” co-founder Jack Canfield...one-of-a-kind motivational mentor and “A Child Called It” author Dave Pelzer ... nationally syndicated columnist and best selling author Harvey Mackay...superstar literary agent Jillian Manus, and others.

You'll also have the opportunity to meet a variety of top agents and publishers that always say "yes" to Mark's personal invitation for them to come and scout for talent.

Read more about this year’s faculty and what you’ll learn.

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.

I just returned from my latest jaunt to L.A., which included Mark Victor Hansen's MEGA Marketing Magic conference. As usual, Mark tapped into his extensive rolodex and brought in a stellar lineup of industry experts, this time focused on marketing with particular emphasis on internet marketing.

Mark's MEGA conferences are high energy and high intensity. Days start with breakout sessions at 7:30 a.m. and end with special bonus sessions that run until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. Mark definitely gives attendees their money's worth!

Normally I fly out the day before the conference starts so I can do a little pre-conference networking and get a good night's sleep before the complete immersion, but I couldn't miss FPRA's Roast of Fred Leonhardt Thursday night (more about THAT event in another post).

My flight didn't get in to L.A. until 9:30 Friday morning so I missed the opening session with Mark. I also missed Scott Hallman's Power Implementation session while Mark and I were off discussing a project on which we're working. Fortunately, Mark has Barry Ackerman record the entire three days of sessions and breakouts so I have already ordered cds for the sessions I missed.

I did take copious notes and as soon as I decipher them, I'll post them on my website. In the meantime, you can see photos from the event on my flickr site.