However, with all these words at our fingertips, we do not read.

We scan.

We are insatiably information-hungry—and extremely impatient. We expect the copy we read—on a brochure, on a website or in a letter—to be broken up into bite-sized chunks and delivered to us in pre-digested form. Browsability is almost as important as grammar.

Good writing = Competence

As readers, we also equate attractive, well-written copy with competence. Everyone has their grammatical pet peeves—whether it is text speech (which is gr8 4 ur phone but not 4 copy), misspelled words or run on sentences. When a potential client reads your wedding stationery site but sees that you have spelled stationery with an “a” (stationary)—they immediately question your quality.

Improved search engine placement

The best reason to have excellent writing on your website and blog is to help improve your SEO (search engine optimization.) Web spiders DO read. Proper spelling and grammar along with targeted keywords improves your search engine placement.

Whether in print or online, it is worth the time to create valuable content with near-perfect grammar for your customers.

Print File:

• List of signature fonts
• Standard colors formulas (PMS, CMYK and online color recipes)
• Tagline(s)
• Past promotional ads and tear sheets

Computer Folder:

• Logo(s) in color and in black and white
• Zipped files of signature fonts
• Company biography text (two versions: one longer and one short)
• Key product descriptions and photos
• Headshots of top management (.jpgs)
• List of researched keywords
• Prepared reusable ad copy (elevator speech, mission statement, standard press release, sales sheets, flyers, etc.)
• Contact information and log-in information for all online networks (Facebook, Twitter, industry specific forums, etc.)

Luckily, your branding can go a long way toward convincing your customer that you are the authority and expert on your product or service, therefore worthy of trust. But your branding and marketing message only has milliseconds to work before they turn the page or turn the corner.

Advantages of Consistent Branding

Consistent, repetitive use of your logo, tone and verbiage in your marketing efforts can yield in numerous benefits. Your company and brand is recognized on multiple platforms; from print ads in local guides to social media marketing avatars. The more often your logo and marketing message is received, the more recognizable you become.

Your level of perceived professionalism is raised because your marketing appearance is consistent. A simple, compelling marketing message is best communicated through a strong use of visual elements and repetitive communication.

Consistent branding also makes marketing easier. It is far simpler to jump on an impromptu marketing opportunity or to throw together a last minute campaign when your branding message stays consistent.

Logo

An excellent logo is the first step to a consistent branding campaign. Life is too short to have a bad logo. Invest the money into a strong, professional logo in order to create a strong first and subsequent impression. This is the face of your company which will be used on every printed piece, on your logo and as an avatar across your social media platforms.

Tagline

A tagline is often used to help support your logo and your elevator pitch by clarifying further on who you are and why you are the best choice. This can be a tacked on line of text added to your logo or it can be the basis for your current marketing campaigns. It is acceptable to have more than one tagline or change taglines periodically.

By creating a strong, initial basis for your marketing campaigns, you will begin to see an exponential growth in trust. And you will hear¸ “I saw your ads. Everyone has told me you are the best.”

Excerpt from an article appearing in Wedlock Magazine.

The Road Map to Success

A detailed outline is crucial to your ghostwriting project. This is the skeleton of the project as well as the complete road map towards what you want to convey.

The outline occasionally will have its own fee, independent of the book writing. In fact, after this first step, you might feel confident to proceed on your own–perhaps with a bit of editing at the end of the project.

The outline carries the bulk of the responsibility for your book’s direction. The completed outline will guide the research and first draft writing. For example, the ghostwriter will be working on chapters 3 and 4, while the client is reviewing chapters 1 and 2. Typically there are milestone payments as well as milestone due dates.

Keep in mind, changes to the outline, once agreed upon, might also incur addition charges.

When speaking with potential ghostwriters, do ask about having your outline priced separately. Depending how detailed the outline is, you might feel the courage to take the next steps by yourself. But even if you want to outsource the whole project, you want a detailed, expansive outline so you and your ghostwriter are on the same page–and the same map.

If you would like to discuss your ghostwriting project, please email or call me.

Getting to Know Each Other

The first step towards launching a ghostwriting project is an investigative phone call. This will help establish the 1.) goal of your writing project, and 2.) the method which your book will be written.

It is also an excellent way to determine how experienced your potential ghostwriter is–as well as giving you a chance to get to know each other.

A non-disclosure agreement is traditionally signed early in the project so there is no fear of ideas being stolen or used with consent. The first questions will likely be discussed with any ghostwriter you are considering.

The initial investigation questions could include:

• Is your book fiction or non-fiction?
• Who is the audience?
• What problem or issue are you addressing?
• How will the book be printed? Distributed?
• Are their extras to the book such as illustrations, diagrams, etc.?
• What research will need to be done before writing? Interviews?
• Is there an outline available? Will one need to be written?
• What is the timeline of the book’s delivery?
• How will revisions be processed? How many revisions are allowed?
• Are their other factors outside the ghostwriter and the client? (ie. corporate compliance, additional editors, family, friends, etc.)
• How can the agreement being dissolved by either party?
• What are the payment terms?

Once many of these questions have been answered, a formal contract is written up and agreed upon. A partial payment is almost always due upfront and a rigorous time schedule is agreed upon. It is important for both parties—client and author—to adhere to these pre-determined timelines.

If you are interested in discussing your ghostwriting project, please email or call me.  We can discuss your details and I can provide a no-obligation quote.

WE Mean Business Dayton (WE-MBD)—a group of women entrepreneurs—announced their partnership with Crayons to Classrooms, a local non-profit organization that provides basic school supplies at no cost to teachers of children in need. WE-MBD will be hosting a one-of-a-kind networking event, called Execs in the City.

I am a charter member of WE-MBD and excited about the plans for this one-of-a-kind fundraiser event.

The Execs in the City event will be held on October 12, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the Cox Arboretum in their Fifth Third conference center. The evening will be filled with wine-tasting, light appetizers, jazz music, raffles and business networking.

Tickets are $50, with $35 directly supporting Crayons to Classroom. Tickets may be purchased through any of the group members or through the group’s collective website at www.wemeanbusinessdayton.com.

Crayons to Classrooms performs a vital function by partnering with local Dayton schools who are in need, providing necessary school supplies. Most of the supplies are donated by individuals and local businesses. But the need continues, especially as the next school year approaches.

The women of WE-MBD include myself and the following businesses: Carlyn Sales Solutions, Encore Professional Organizers, Global Event Management, JOG Marketing and Regeneration: Living by Design.

This week, however, I had three complaints to make–with three decidedly different outcomes.

1. I hired a business to fix my paver patio. Instead, they did over $2,000 worth of damage to my whole patio and then refused to answer their phone or messages.

I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and I am hoping for an acceptable resolution. If it is not resolved, you can be sure I will be sharing their name and their shoddy business practices with everyone I know.

2. I had an issue go from bad to worse (which I am not at liberty to share–but trust me, it’s not a pleasant story.) When I called to make a complaint, it was not to ask for anything in return. I just wanted to save other people from the trouble and I felt the business should know so they could fix it in the future.

The first person I spoke with was helpful and apologetic. But he felt the person in charge needed to know the details. When that person called me, she was combative and accusing. Essentially, they wanted me to waste my time and resources to “prove” my complaint.

3. Third time must be the charm. I had a computer issue which required me to use the customer service feature at Carbonite, my online backup system. I have only been using Carbonite for a few months and I needed their assistance quickly and at an odd hour. The problem was solved but it inadvertently removed the program from my computer.

When I was sent a customer service survey, I mentioned how happy I was with my customer service person (Josh) but that I hadn’t been able to reload Carbonite onto my main computer. They had already sent me an automated response, telling me how to reinstall the system so the problem was already fixed.

So I was puzzled when I got another email from Carbonite. But this is what it said:

“We noted in your survey response that you indicated that you were pleased with Carbonite. We are glad to hear of your satisfaction and appreciate your business. We look forward to serving you in the future.

Further, as a token of our appreciation for your having completed our survey and for your business we are adding an additional month to your subscription.”

I didn’t even complain–I actually complimented Carbonite and they still sent me a bonus gift!

This is how customer service should be handled in a world where complaints can be magnified by a massive Twitter feed or viral outreach.

How do YOU handle complaints?

I have an article in this month’s WedLock magazine on time management tips for social media. I am often asked to speak on the subject as well. One introduction suggested I was a“social media time management specialist” to which I promptly snorted the water I was sipping up my nose!

There are no experts or gurus in social media concerning time management (or social media, for that matter.) We are ALL learning as we go. It would be like claiming to be the nation’s utmost tour guide for the North America continent upon disembarking the Mayflower. We all just got here and we are all learning as we go.

That being said, I am happy to share the few time saving tips I have discovered with you. Social media has a bad reputation of being a time suck and rightly so.  A few time management tips can help whack away some of the brush as we travel further inland.

• Gather ideas for blog posts, Tweets or Facebook updates continuously. This can be on index cards you carry in your wallet or purse, on an open document on your computer or even in the notes section on your phone.
• Blog in batches. Write a month’s worth of blog posts—or at least start a month’s worth of blog posts—in WordPress and then save as drafts.
• Use tools such as Ping.fm, Hootsuite, or SocialOomph to manage more than one platform at a time or to schedule posts and updates.
• If you do not already, start using a RSS feedreader (such as Google Reader) to cut your reading time down. I also schedule a quarterly RSS purge, dropping the blogs that are no longer useful to me.

What tips have you found? How do you tame the social media monster?

Midnight Oil Scrapbook Design, Inc., scrapbook wholesale company

Problem:

MOSD, Inc. has several exciting developments to announce including new designers and new product lines. They needed several targeted press releases written as well as a media kit created for an upcoming trade show.

Solution:

A press release must follow certain guidelines while highlighting the newsworthy aspect of the release. The media kit allowed us to be creative while using MOSD, Inc’s actual products.

After interviewing Alison, the owner of MOSD, Inc, I was able to quickly identify the newsworthy aspect of their press releases. The media kit required working closely with Alison to choose specific products to build into the media kit. I wrote easy to browse copy and allocated media kit pages for only their most important products.

Results:

The press releases communicated  their most pertinent news but the custom media kit was a huge hit! Especially created for the craft-savvy press, it was printed and adhered on MOSD’s own chipboard books, featuring elements of their own product line including rub-ons, laser cut papers, chipboard tabs, acrylic elements and scrapbook papers. It was a media kit to remember!

MOSD Press Release