Speaking Opportunities: Content Gold Mine!

While it is hard to deliver a speech that garners praise from wildly different audiences (thank you, Michelle Obama) most public speaking opportunities fall in the "preaching to the choir" column.

Generally, a public speaking gig is gift. Typically, your audience wants you to be there and they want you to do well.

Exception: when you are presenting dissenting opinions in a public/civic meeting. 

In which case, practice deep breathing and take a friend along for moral support!

GREAT BOOK!

No one likes public speaking. Or at least, virtually no one will admit to enjoying it. But speaking opportunities are excellent lead-generation activities - it's old-fashioned, effective marketing at its best. And, while you might find it uncomfortable, making a good impression during a live presentation is actually pretty simple.

Plan Out Your Talking Points

Your audience wants you to do well, but they also want you to be prepared. There are oodles of different methods. I prefer to write a rough draft of what I want to present. That usually takes the form of a narrative - in the "letter to a friend" style. Then I read it out loud.

Yes, out loud. Practice makes prettier presentations.

Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

But it sure helps! Take that rough draft, or outline, or list of things you want to say and just say them. To a friend, your cat, the mirror. Just say it. Out loud. You can't deliver a speech without speaking practice.

This isn't brain surgery, folks. Practice OUT LOUD. Edit your message, revise, and practice your talking points again.

I say "talking points" rather than "speech" because most people think a speech is something you memorize, and memorizing your talking points will almost always backfire. You'll go on autopilot, then forget what you said and repeat something...or leave something important out.

So practice your message, refer to your talking points, but don't memorize a speech.

DO outline your talking points. (Outlined in a slide presentation is ideal, if you're using slides, of course.)

What Should I Talk About? And How is Speaking a "Content Gold Mine?"

Time to deliver on the headline! Public speaking opportunities really are a content gold mine. 
Here's how you can come up with great material and make the most of your public speaking opportunities:

As you prepare for the speaking event, dig into your own mine of content about your business or organization. Reading a blog post verbatim isn't a great idea, but gathering your primary talking points from some of your most popular blog posts, web pages, even FAQs is smart. In fact, it's kind of silly not to do that. (Why reinvent the wheel?)

The person, organization or event that has engaged you to speak is also a rich source of information. Ask your contact what he or she would like you to speak about. Ferret out as much information as you can about the people in the audience. Where will they come from? Why do they want to hear from you? What matters are most pressing to them? As you review your existing content pull what is most likely to be helpful and interesting to your audience.

Once you're prepared to deliver a dynamite presentation, get ready to learn more while you're there! The people you're speaking with are not only a "captive audience" but something of a focus group. As a speaker, it's completely fine to ask questions of your audience and gather information from them. (So record the presentation or take notes.)

Maybe they love your company. Hate your latest product release. Have a wish list of things they'd like to see next season... whatever feedback they offer is truly gold, and should be helpful as you market (and work to improve) your business or organization.

Maybe Public Speaking Isn't So Bad...

Try these practical tips the next time you have an opportunity to speak to a group, staff a booth at a trade show, or even as you just work the room at your local Chamber of Commerce meeting. You might find that you're soon looking for more public speaking opportunities, and even enjoying them!

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PS: When you're speaking, make sure that what you're saying makes sense. Go easy on the industry jargon and Corporatese. Want help preparing for your next presentation? I can work with you to make sure you get your message across, and make the most of the information you collect at your next speaking engagement! 

Please Don't Tell Anyone: Free Marketing/PR Advice

Hey, you do marketing/publicity/press release stuff, right? Would you have any tips for me on publicizing my crowd funding appeal? Hey, I've got a Facebook page. I could make you a manager and you could write something for it! Can you tell me how to use the 'boost post' feature? That's advertising, right? Want to help me write a grant? ...business plan? ...employee manual? 

Funny thing is, professional marketing/advertising/copywriter types are good at what they do because they stay current on industry and audience trends, write, rewrite, and practice their craft. They even attend seminars and stuff... sure, it's all available online. So is everything you'd need to drywall your basement. So, why don't you Google it and go for it?

Sorry for the snarky 'tude - I've been asked for free advice one too many times already this week. All right; if you came here to learn all the tricks of the trade, I'll dish. 

Whether you're crafting a business plan, press release, Facebook or email campaign, customer or employee newsletter, white paper or case study, here's what you need to know: they all start with the same basic ingredients.

All you need to do to write great copy

• Look at likely prospects. What do you know about them?
• Where are they, what do they read, what do they care about?
• Why would/how could you appeal to them more than competitors would?

Once you answer those questions, you have all the raw material you need to craft your message. When you have the nut of what you need to say, you go back to the first step, which is understanding your prospects. Then, just tailor the message so that it's most likely to hit the target. To do that, all you have to do is hone the message to fit into the appropriate format (structure, length, tone, etc.) and stand out just a little.

Yep. That's it in a nutshell.

Please don't tell anyone about this post. The next thing you know, everyone will be creating great copy. And pretty soon, we'll have a glut of finished basements, too.

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Here's another secret: good copywriting only looks easy to write because it's easy to read. Effective copywriting doesn't get noticed because its job is to get your message noticed. I specialize in writing that works. Contact me so we can start getting your message out. And yes, my Website Reality Check is still available at the posted price. You'll find it here under "Looking for a Deal" 

~Diane Stresing

So You Think PR is Easy?

Look, PR isn't exactly rocket science, but good Public Relations execution requires knowing more the basic grammar rules and how to offer a proper handshake.

The best article I've read on the subject in several weeks, at least, comes from PRNewser's Shawn Paul Woods.

I have to admit, I am a bit surprised PRNewser didn't land on PRSSA's list of blogs every student should read. What other fountains of good advice were omitted? Your additions are welcome here, as comments or tweets.

Wondering what PR experts say on the subject?
Best Practices for B2B Public Relations (PRSA; $)
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^ Hey, just checking - you do know what those hashtags are for, right? 

Press Releases Had Value Before SEO Existed (and they still do)

Let's say you want to get the word out about your product, invite the world to your website, give current customers a reason to talk about your business, and generate a little buzz in the media. Are press releases worth the time? Twenty years ago, the answer was YES. A total no-brainer.  

Because, of course, the fundamental purpose of a press release was to generate awareness among potential prospects.

Today, the Fundamental Purpose of a Press Release Is... 

Then web 1.0 arrived and we started stuffing keywords into places we'd rather not talk about now. A few (bajillion) revisions of SEO rules and Google updates later, it's worth asking again: Are press releases worth your time? 

The answer might be, IT DEPENDS. On your marketing strategy and the success of your other lead-generation tools. IT DEPENDS on the news you have, the audience you've identified as most receptive to your release, and other means you have to reach them. 

However, my answer, generally, is still YES. It's a no-brainer.  

Primarily because, of course, the fundamental purpose of a press release (still) is to generate awareness among potential prospects. 

What PR Experts Say about Press Releases and SEO in 2013

"Press releases are more than simple SEO tools. Press releases [still] reach journalists, influencers and consumers.  ... Press releases drive social interaction.  They meet financial disclosure.   In short, they drive broad discovery of your message.  None of this has anything to do with linkbuilding and SEO. This is all about building awareness."

-- Sarah Skerik, writing in Beyond PR

In spite of Google's latest changes to link weighting and algorithms, press releases (still) can include inbound-link-building, but Google will penalize you for trying to pre-build the inbound links. Instead, the link-building will have to develop organically. 

In other words: In fact, the only true potential SEO benefit of press releases is if a journalist or blogger thinks the content of the release is compelling enough to write about and links back to you naturally. This also means that, as I said, the content of the release needs to actually be compelling." 

-- Pamela Vaughan, writing for Hubspot

All of which brings me back to my initial assertion - the point of a press release, really, is to generating interest among qualified leads or at least well-identified prospects. 

If you've got news to share, by all means, a press release is in order. 

Bloppers, or why you need a little help

Recently seen in a real magazine, with ellipses placed to protect the identity of the writer:   

"They made there first record... and I was fortunate enough to do their first official shoot." 

(I couldn't help thinking, if they're really fortunate, you won't be their English teacher.) 

Look, if you don't make mistakes, you're not human. But the reading public - meaning your customers and prospects - will judge you by your mistakes. 

You can argue some mistakes are OK - if they get you noticed, for example, and you're of the any-attention-is-better-than-none mindset. Of course in business, that's a pretty lame operating principle. 

Sure the bible's had several famously flawed editions, and we're still reading those.* While you can take a few cues from religion and history when you're developing a PR and marketing strategy, I highly recommend you toss in some tips from folks with more practical industry experience. 

*Copywriters, note: word has it the biblical scribes were flogged or otherwise severely reprimanded for their errors.

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~Diane Stresing                             

Some mistakes are more expensive than others.


Know any copyeditors who charge $25,000/minute? Now there's justification.

What should a writer do for the holidays?

Recently, I've seen several articles listing opportunities for photographers to use their cameras for good and I thought, of course writers can do that, too. Many of us do, providing pro bono copywriting for charitable causes, not charging for author presentations at our children's schools, writing press releases for our local parks system or library levy campaigns, or simply by polishing up a friend's resume gratis.

But writing for free is a great way to make no money. And besides cheer and glad tidings (and good intentions, like doing pro bono work) the holidays bring bills. Lots of bills! So what can writers do to manage, and make good, on their good intentions while not ending up doing ALL charity work?

One solution is to put your offer in writing. If you're a professional writer and have great resume writing skills, too, a note to a friend, like this, might be very well received: "Dear Tom, I know you're looking for a job. Can I help you polish your resume this year? I'd consider it an honor, and a gift to you."

Similarly, if you'd like to do more to help out at church, but aren't able to tithe quite as much as you'd like, you might contact the church secretary with an offer to polish resumes for job-seeking church members, and suggest that those who can pay for the service should donate (your hourly rate) to the church.

Hint: I'm sure you have a big heart and all, but if your congregation is very large you should consider putting a limit on this offer, say, good for the first 10 or so folks who contact the church office.

Maybe you can start a Twitter account, manage a Facebook page, or create some Google+ buzz for a charity or one of your favorite organizations that hasn't done so yet.

What else can you do as a writer? Quite a bit of good, I bet. Words are powerful tools. I'd love to hear about how you're wielding them.

The next-to last word -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Highly recommended reading; found it just before publication. Kismet!
 Give back & get new business - from All Business

The last word -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Add your pro bono work and charitable intentions to your business plan. Make time for it so it gets done, and so it doesn't undermine your primary business goal (whether it's to make money or finish that novel) in 2012.

Updating Your Social Media AND Communications Skills

Here are 3 tips just as applicable to those who were waiting to see if social media would catch on (it did) as they are for those who jumped on the social media bandwagon five years ago. (As it may be time to brush up, or catch-up.)

Inspiration for this post came from an article with the ironic subhead, The last in a series about Facebook. The article was published in 2008. Insert laugh track here. The article proved (once again) that while communications vehicles change constantly, the basics of communication don't.

Whether you're just jumping into Facebook and Twitter conversations or have been participating for years, it pays to observe what's working and what's not, and to borrow liberally from folks in the first category. 

For your consideration:

• Beyond the Hype offers a good look at what worked - for the administration and the people - in the lastest State of the Union address.  

Takeaway: Keep your message on message, and remember a little humor can help get that message across. 

• Comcast shows Twitter can be a powerful business tool. 

Takeaway: In business, you are not the message; your service is.

• The tech journalists at Venture Beat remind PR professionals that lessons learned in Pitching 101 still apply. 

Takeaway: Do your homework, provide your reader(s) with some clear benefits, and be honest.

>>>>and this just in>>>> Know your niche!
R.E.M. hits all the right notes with its free, re-mixable downloads. Read, then mix it up if you want to, here:
http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/08/r-e-m-remix-soundcloud-garageband

-- -- -- --Full urls for hotlinks above-- -- --   

Beyond the Hype's analysis of SOTU message, 

http://blog.loispaul.com/blog/2011/01/4-things-the-state-of-the-union-tells-us-about-the-issue-of-message-control.html 

Comcast's Customer Service Twittter feed, 

http://twitter.com/comcastcares

How to pitch to Venture Beat (or anyone else),

http://venturebeat.com/2011/01/24/pitch-to-tech-bloggers

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DOH! Catholics Deserve Better PR

Newsflash: Homer and Bart Simpson are Catholic, according to the Vatican, yesterday.

Which begs the question, so what?

Media and religion analysts have stated it's an attempt to make Catholicism more relevant. The Vatican's press release further suggested The Simpsons is good family entertainment. And from there it grew even...less relevant.

Sorry, folks (especially Catholic folks) PR should do a lot better than that. Maybe the Vatican needs a refresher course in public relations. A list of do's and don't's or better yet, a "Doh!" list.  Here's mine:

• The conversation cited as "evidence" Homer and Bart are Catholic occurred in a 2005 episode. 

Doh! Any high school journalism student knows press releases are supposed to be confused with news. (News that's five years old is called recent history.)

• Homer and Bart talked about religion in general, and broached the subject of converting to Catholicism, but didn't. 

Doh! Jumping to the conclusion that they are now Catholic, based on a single scene in a single episode is called faulty logic. Or unclear evidence. Or a weak argument. Until now I thought the Vatican was really into fact-checking. Didn't it take the Catholic powers-that-be more than a few years to come to the conclusion that yes, in fact, the Holocaust actually happened and was a really, really bad thing?

• "Few people know it and he does everything to hide it but it is true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic," according to the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. 

Doh! Repeat after me: it's OK to lead with a quote, if it's a really good quote. IF we're going to ignore the fact this little gem is five years old, IF we're going to buy the argument that the Simpsons are Catholic, and IF we're going to accept the idea that the Simpsons being Catholic is good or that it matters at all, can we at least get a better quote? IF I were considering converting because Homer and Bart did (if they did) well, sorry L'Osservatore, you lost me at "...he does everything to hide it..."

Hey, I'm all for churches using PR. And I believe (to some extent) that "any publicity is good publicity." Unfortunately, this isn't. It's getting lots of airplay but none that really furthers the faith, good news, thoughtful dialog about religion. In other words, doh!

I'd love to see an effective PR effort  - like (pick a denomination) saying "God said meet me on Facebook!" or something even more relevant. Facebook may have had its 15 minutes...but the Simpsons,  converting to Catholicism? That's so 2005.

Recommended reading: Anything by David Ogilvy, a dead guy who's still relevant, or about him, like this:
http://www.copyblogger.com/the-david-ogilvy-playbook-for-business-blogging/