06.30.08
tips on writing a news release, from The New York Times
The New York Times ran a story on the fine art of writing a news release. It was, in my humble opinion, dripping in condescension. Just lovely.
Found via Catching Flack.
06.28.08
public relations news & links
Tips on writing an RFP executive summary
Bloghound give us a list of the 10 Most common mistakes in writing an RFP executive summary, which makes this a tip in reverse I guess. The shortlist:
- About us vs. the prospect
- Proposal summary vs. a business case
- Opening with blah blah platitudes vs. guts and convictions
- Verbal runoff and information overload
- What’s at stake?
- General to industry vs. personal to prospect
- Educating vs. selling
- Bland writing inadvertently conveys lack of real interest
- Too many pages
- Where can I find more?
My favorite:
Effective executive summaries are about the prospect– not you. How you’re going to solve their problem. Advice on how to burn down their obstacles. How much money they are going to save. New ways for them to be innovative in their industries.
It’s definitely worth a read or bookmarking.
Track open records requests in Houston
The Houston Chronicle’s Houston Politics blog reports that blogHOUSTON has “launched a new forum to let readers post their open-records requests for everyone to read.” Worth watching, even if you aren’t subject to TPIA requests.
Public relations best practices
From BNET’s Catching Flack column:
The authors of the USC-Annenberg study of PR departments compiled a list of 13 best practices among the more than 500 PR departments that responded to their survey:
- Maintain a higher than average ratio of PR budget to gross revenue.
- Report directly and exclusively to the C-Suite.
- Optimize the C-Suite’s understanding of PR’s current and potential contributions to the success of the organization as a whole.
- Establish an effective social responsibility strategy for your organization.
- Establish an effective digital-media strategy for your organization.
- Establish an effective issues-management strategy for your organization.
- Optimize integration and coordination within the PR/Communications function, and between it and other organizational functions.
- Encourage highly ethical practices across the organization, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a long-term strategic point of view, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a proactive mindset, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a flexible mindset, beginning with communication.
- Optimize the integration of PR and reputational considerations into top-level organizational strategies.
- Measurably contribute to organizational success.
If you’re not already reading Catching Flack, you should add it to your list.
Learn better pitching from Hollywood
Another Catching Flack feature, “A Hollywood Exec Teaches Business Pros to Pitch Their Ideas.”
- It’s more important to be interested than interesting
- It might be counter-intuitive but focus more on relationship
building than the immediate outcome of a meeting- Brevity has value, but don’t pitch your idea in an elevator (or at
the dentist, or in the men’s room)- Traditional networking is a waste of time
- Send hand-written notes in non-business sized envelopes: assistants
will automatically put small envelopes at the top of the mail pile.
Don’t use old rules to pitch new media
Dan Schawbel give us tips to keep in mind when pitching bloggers:
- Know your blogger.
- Don’t play by the rules because there are no rules.
- Lead with your personal brand.
- Become a part of their community.
- Content is king, even with PR pitches.
- The social media release.
- Be passionate and creative.
- Relationships still trump everything.
Let me repeat that last one: “Relationships still trump everything.” Just a reminder.
Brand yourself
Looking for ways to enhance your personal brand? Chris Brogan has “100 Personal Branding Tactics Using Social Media” that has some very practical and easy-to-use tips. Even doing just a couple will help.
06.19.08
copy tips, three questions to answer
If you don’t already have Copyblogger on your reading list, add it today. There are always good tips to help your writing.
Today’s tips are given in a post entitled “Three Questions Your Copy Must Answer to Succeed“:
- Why Do I Really Need This?
- Why Should I Choose You?
- Why Should I Decide Now?
These are things that need to be answered when creating a sales pitch in copy. And, remember, all our copy is sales… we’re trying to produce an action, a result.
06.15.08
music journalist Ramiro Burr quits
I’m shocked to find out that Ramiro Burr quit. Though initially I became aware of him because he wrote about Tejano music, amongst others, lately I’ve been able to read his work via blogging, etc.
From the Houston Press’ blog, Houstoned:
Music writer Ramiro Burr, who for years has written columns and stories for the San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle, has resigned.Express-News editor Robert Rivard says Burr “caused [the paper] to unknowingly publish work under his name that was not, in fact, his own work.”
A writer Burr used has hired a lawyer seeking byline credit for stories he worked on.
On his blog, Burr says he resigned as a way of “taking things to the next level,” which apparently means the Web. He says he had “editorial differences” with the Express-News over crediting other writers who worked for him.
[snip]
From an article in the Houston Chronicle:
[snip]“It was the work of at least one other writer who did not receive credit and who we did not know about. Ramiro decided on his own to resign just as our investigation was concluding and we were preparing to take appropriate action. We have a zero tolerance policy whenever someone on our staff presents work as their own that is not their own.”
In a brief statement, Burr said, “I sincerely apologize for breaking any rules.”
[snip]
Whatever is going on, it’s sad to acknowledge that he’s no longer going to be writing for the Houston Chronicle.
Lopez Negrete is first in diversity-owned businesses in TX
Congratulations to Lopez Negrete for earning one more ranking. Found at OnlyInHouston.com:
LOPEZ NEGRETE COMMUNICATIONS RANKS NUMBER ONE AMONG TOP 100 DIVERSITY OWNED BUSINESSES IN TEXASIn recognition of the economic power of multicultural businesses, DiversityBusiness.com, the nation’s leading multicultural Internet site, ranks Lopez Negrete Communications as number one among the Top 100 Diversity Owned (Div100) businesses in Texas. The second largest independent Hispanic owned and operated, full service agency in Hispanic marketing in America also received national honors ranking 5th among the top 100 Hispanic American Owned businesses in America, and 36th overall among the top 500 Diversity Owned businesses in America.
[snip]
06.13.08
“One Day in Houston” wins PRSA award
Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau earns kudos for documentary of city
– reported by the Houston Business Journal
The Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau has won an award for its documentary, “One Day in Houston.”The bureau received a 2008 Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America “for superior performance in the design and execution of an individual public relations tactic within a broader public relations campaign.”
The GHCVB, along with video partner Zen Film of Houston took the honors in the External Video category for the 12-minute documentary.
[snip]