Free PR/Branding/Writing/Social Media Advice -- Just Ask!

                     

Friends, I'm planning and plotting and writing the second edition of the Amy Mac PR Newsletter. (What's this? You know not of what I speak? Please click here for the last issue!)

Here's your opportunity to get a little publicity, branding, social media and writing advice for free. Send me your question by clicking here. It doesn't have to be limited to the above categories, either. If you have a question about working from home, running a small business, writing your resume, working with a printer, setting up a blog ... whatever, just send it along. You can also leave a question in the comments, if you prefer.

Be sure to give me your contact information (just an email address will do, though a first name and  your industry will allow me to be polite (hi, Mom!) and give you the best possible answer) in case I need to get in touch.

For the next issue, I'll need your questions by Monday, April 22. Make sure you're signed up for the newsletter by clicking here!

Slash the Trash: How to Persuade by Writing Less

This week, my girls are wrapping up a week of taking standardized tests. As I was helping my 7th grader brush up on Algebra (and yes, my head did nearly explode from the sudden onslaught of "x"s and "y"s, thanks for asking), I was reminded how much non-essential information test writers include in a question to see who can derive clarity in a choppy sea of nonsense. Then I realized  -- how often do we write something just as convoluted?

The girls and I came up with strategies for taking the test ... which work nicely with writing, too. So, let's pretend you're writing your boss an email about potentially attending a fabulous conference in Palm Beach on the company's dime. How can you use test-taking strategies to write the perfect, persuasive email?

1. Underline the question. In other words, get clear about the answer you seek and stay focused on the goal. "I'd like to attend the Awesome People of the World conference in Palm Beach this fall." 

2. Determine the pertinent information needed to answer the question. Are you multiplying? Looking for a percentage? Adding vertices? (What IS THIS? Who am I BECOMING? Why are we DISCUSSING ALGEBRA AND GEOMETRY?) For your email, you need dates, cost for conference and travel, amount of time you'll be out of the office. You also need to provide a sound argument as to why this conference is key to improving your organization, and why you're just the person to go.

3. Slash the trash. As I was demonstrating to my kids how the test writers throw in non-essential information to throw you off (I mean, who's this Josea and why is he measuring Himalayan salt?) my youngest interjected (as she so often does, bless us all) "my teachers' call that 'slash the trash.'" This is precisely why teachers should make way more money: their ability to distill a concept into a catchy rhyme. Your boss doesn't need to know how much you love to travel, that your Aunt Sally lives near Palm Beach, or that you bathe in Himalayan salts. Include only information that bolsters your cause ... and the image of you pruning in a tub of salty bathwater should never be branded in your superior's head.

4. Look at the answer for clues on working the problem. These are multiple choice tests, so I told the girls if you're confused, see if the answer will help you figure out how to work the problem. Think through how your superior might answer your request, then find a working solution to the problem. For example, do you suspect your boss will say "that's a very busy time for you to be out of the office"? Include your plan to remain available to your team and get work done during the conference.  

Apply these test-taking strategies the next time you need to write a persuasive piece -- whether a conference pitch, a presentation or just an important email. You'll find the clear, concise writing speeds decisions along ... very often in your favor.

Tell me: Do you have any test-taking strategies to share? Have you ever used a test-taking strategy in your post-school life?



Source: via Maris on Pinterest

News You Can Use

When someone finds out I'm a writer with a background in branding and publicity, lots of times they'll have a related question for me. Sometimes it's about how to get better rankings for their website on Google searches, sometimes it's how to improve their staff's writing skills, and sometimes it's how to give their resume a boost.

These are always smart, professional folks who know getting a little advice can be a cost-effective way of building their business or personal brand. So in 2013, I'm going to start gathering up the most commonly asked questions, formulating my very best tips and pointers, and sending out a quarterly newsletter. It's my tiny way of helping my favorite small business owners and folks building their personal brands with a free resource for their marketing needs.

The newsletter will differ from the Amy Mac blog in that it will focus entirely on publicity, marketing, branding and business writing tips. So, ya know ... no stories about the kids, dogs, the hubby, or me accidentally trying to destroy the earth. But genuinely relevant information nonetheless.

I'd love it if you'd sign up! You'll get four emails in 2013, chock full of information. (This is an entirely different list than the blog subscriber list, so even if you already follow the blog ... please sign up for this, too!)

I expect the first issue to be ready in the next week, so sign up on the email form below soon! (You can also find the link on the sidebar of the blog.)

Subscribe to the Amy Mac Quarterly Newsletter!

Done? There now, wasn't that easy?

Muchos gracias....see you soon!

PS -- Have something you'd like me to address in the newsletter? Leave a comment!

Five Reasons to Avoid Music on Websites (With All Due Respect to Elvis)

For many businesses, a snazzy website is their announcement to the world they have arrived. They've got their act together: their website is well-written with on-target messaging, has beautifully designed graphics and professional photography, and is easy to navigate. You are tickled pink to arrive at a website that puts you at ease with their organization and general awesomeness. (You can find the definition here.)


Then they go and muck it up by playing music.


I know, I know ... some of you have music on your website right now and you LOVE it. I mean, it sounds spiffy, it seems technologically on-trend, and it was available, soooo..... why not?


Here are 5 reasons you should not use music on your website (I've developed strategic direction for and written scads of websites, so trust me on this one) :

1.  Do you want people shopping or looking for the button to turn off your music? Most people have the attention span of gnats while they are online. One statistic says you have less than a minute to snag a potential  online customer. My professional opinion is it's probably more like 20 seconds, and the first thing most people do if a website plays music is turn it off -- so why bother?
2. That's if they stick around. If they can't find a pause button immediately, they head over to your competition's website, where they can shop in peace and quiet.
3.  Music can create long load times for websites. Again ... gnats.
4. Preferences in music vary wildly. What one person thinks is art another thinks is a simulation of nails screeching down a chalkboard. (Not that we have chalkboards anymore. I wonder if anything makes a horrid noise against a dry-erase board?) Anywho, you run the risk of driving customers away simply because they don't like your taste in music.
5. Everything about your website should enhance your users' experience.  Music distracts and detracts. Excellent writing, on-target message, visually captivating, streamlined websites enhance your users' experience every time -- invest your marketing dollars here.

If music is an integral part of what you do, or you feel strongly about creating a little atmosphere with some tunes, try building a separate music page so visitors have a music option -- something like this. Unless you are a recording artist, save the time, money and bandwidth and let your target audience get their groove on with iTunes ... while you stick to what you do best.


General Awesomeness.

PS --- If I did approve of music on websites, I would only approve Elvis.You can take the girl out of Memphis, but you cannot take the Memphis out of the girl. 

Reference Materials Every Writer Needs

There are a few reference books every writer - from a student to a professional - should keep on their desk. Mine were outdated, old, and in some cases not user friendly (my dictionary/thesaurus combo is in a font so tiny I developed a serious eye twitch during each and every deadline.)

Earlier this week I took advantage of the very unfortunate closing of my local Borders book store and snatched up a new Webster's Dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus and AP Stylebook at a significant discount. Yay, me (well, sorta. I am very distressed the Borders is closing. So, boo.)

If you don't have a dictionary and thesaurus circa 2010 minimum, it's time to replace. While you don't need an AP Stylebook unless you are writing for a newspaper or writing news releases, do grab a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. It will answer all those little grammar, punctuation and writing questions you have when you're writing and do not want to sound daft (I love using words I learned from Harry Potter.)

So, while you're zipping around this weekend, pop into the bookstore and grab these reference materials. You'll feel like a total smarty pants, in a good kinda way.

Happy weekend! XoXo-Amy Mac

Drum Roll Please

Spring has definitely sprung in Atlanta, as evidenced by the lovely blooming tree in my front yard.

And the fresh strawberries, which when tossed with toasted almonds, spinach and a blush vinaigrette make the perfect side for whatever you're grilling.

Plus the blue skies. Makes you want to launch a big project that's been in the making for about six months, doesn't it?

So that's what I'll do right now....please visit my new web site and let me know what you think!

www.amymacwrites.com

Word to Your Mother

It's a busy time of year. Time is at a premium. Let's get right to it:

Amy Mac's Wonderful World of Writing Well Rule # 2:

Don't use big, fancy words when simple, plain words will do.

When writing, aim for a sixth grade reading level. Even if you are writing for a well-educated audience, stick with small, plain words. Why?

Readers trip over long words, even when they know the definition. Bigger isn’t always better, and using a protracted word often breaks up the flow of writing.

See, didn’t you think “Protracted? Seriously?”

The sentence works just as well with “lengthy.” Don’t give your reader an excuse to stop reading by using a hefty word in a (transparent) display of your vocabulary chops.

William Strunk Jr. & E.B White, in their famous writing style manual Elements of Style, say it best:

“Avoid the elaborate, the pretentious, the coy, and the cute. Do not be tempted by a twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy, ready and able.”

And that, my friends, is the last declaration, utterance, remark.

Or word.

PS - Ten points to anyone who can identify where "Word to Your Mother" comes from.

The Good Egg

One of my first post-college jobs was at a public relations and advertising agency in Cincinnati, and I was lucky enough that the woman who hired me was (and still is) one of the best in the business. She taught me more about writing, client relations and creating the “wow” factor for every public relations campaign than any of my college courses … but she also taught me how adding the special touch to the little things can make everything you do memorable. And when it comes to public relations, advertising, branding and writing – being memorable is a key to success.

For example, my husband and I were married a few months after I started working with Gail. She gave us a lovely Williams-Sonoma egg skillet for which we had registered and added the note “For two good eggs on their happy day!” Almost fifteen years later, I still remember that message (and made eggs on that very skillet this morning!)

I still draw on the things Gail taught me all those years ago – the measurable ones (like spell check doesn’t catch all your mistakes, but cultivating an excellent eye for proofing will) and the slightly more nebulous, but equally important (like how being especially sweet to coworkers attempting to undermine you befuddles them, but often makes them putty in your capable hands.)

So, two questions: who’s the person who taught you more than any professor in a lecture hall?

And, what are you doing today to make your product or service memorable?

You Know I Like My Chicken Fried

Yesterday, I started my day with a business meeting at the Buckhead Club, went straight to another meeting with a favorite client, immediately to the PTA office at the girls’ school, zoomed home for a quick snack, swim practice, the library, then back home again to pull together dinner by 6 p.m.

So there I am in heels and suit pants (I shed the suit jacket at noon when the temp hit about 90-something degrees) -- frying chicken. Only in the South would you catch somebody – after a really, really long day – throwing together a dinner involving fried chicken, biscuits and gravy.

Don’t get me wrong – there are lots of days when a frozen pre-made lasagna and bagged salad passes as the evening meal. There are also days when I say “I am too tired to make dinner, or for that matter, clean up afterwards. Let’s eat out!”

But sometimes, ya gotta have biscuits. With gravy. And if it happens to be at the end of a long day – well, you just have to go with it.

And have your chicken-fried.

No Comment

In my last post I wrote about being “published” in Peter Bowerman’s Well-Fed Writer book. Peter sent me a nice thank you note via email for plugging the book on my blog, and mentioned trying to post the thank you as a comment under the blog post. He gave up when he was asked to set up an account or “sign in.” Emailing ensued, and the ever-helpful Peter suggested I check the settings for commenting on my blog.


Lo and behold, the settings (which I’d never considered until the very moment Peter emailed me) are extremely stringent. To comment on this blog you essentially had to provide me with your PIN number, your bank account number and carte blanche to purchase whatever I wanted at Sephora. (Which I encourage you to do anyway if you are so inclined.)


Perhaps it wasn’t that bad, but it was pretty ridiculous - completely by accident, I assure you. So if any of you have avoided commenting because it was going to take too much time, I have unchained the shackles and hope you’ll write, suggest, question… delight me with your creative commentary.


However, I recommend you send your bank account and pin numbers directly to my email. We wouldn’t want just anyone having that information.

Amy Mac, Published Author

Perhaps “published author” is a tiny stretch, as my at-home mom success story was simply included in Peter Bowerman’s recent reissue of his popular The Well-Fed Writer book (which updates and combines the content of both his original Well-Fed Writer titles). But nevertheless, right there on page 317 is my name in bright lights – shining like a huge Broadway sign. Okay, so it’s just my name in bold print but I am still extremely happy about this little turn of events.

It was Peter’s book that convinced me I should launch my business a few years back. Until then I was working under a few (wrong) assumptions:

First, I thought since I didn’t have the professional networks in Atlanta I did when we lived in Cincinnati and Memphis, it would be impossible to launch a successful business. (Sadly, the only networks I developed – or needed - in Wisconsin were ones with the LL Bean Extremely Heavy Winter Wear department). Turns out, I’d developed all the networks I needed through various activities, volunteer positions and friendships I’d cultivated.

Second, I was worried about the extra-large (about five year) gap in my resume. While it’s true being a mom can create a certain “foggy” feeling in the brain, I had not sustained an actual head injury - and had not lost all my writing and marketing knowledge. Fact is, if you are good at what you’re doing most people don’t really care if you’ve taken a break to facilitate nap schedules, potty train toddlers, and provide transportation to the park and the pediatrician (roughly in that order.)

Third, I was concerned about maintaining a professional façade when the reality was loud children, barking dogs, and frequent (yet amusing) household catastrophes. Turns out some well-designed business cards on thick card stock, wi-fi, and liberal use of the mute button took care of those concerns.

Really though, it was Peter’s book that put it all in perspective for me. Part business primer, part pep-talk, it was just the push I needed to start the business that I am still surprised I didn’t start sooner (because I really enjoy it that much! Really!)

So a question: what little things that are holding you back that really don’t amount to a hill of beans … and should they really be holding you back?

So, Peter – congratulations on your newest title, thanks for letting me be a small part of it – but mostly, thanks for reminding me (and lots of other commercial freelance writers) most of the obstacles are just in our head – and easily overcome .

That's That

Good writing is crisp, easy-to-read, and avoids unnecessary words – and many times, the unnecessary word is “that.”

I learned this tip years ago in a writing seminar and it has served me well ever since. Whenever you write, whether it’s a news release or a letter to your local congressman, remove the word “that.” Now re-read the sentence, and see if it still makes sense. I’ll wager 75 percent of the time it does.

As naturally as I run spell check, I also run the “find” tool for the word in question, and eliminate it as much as possible. I’ve even been known to rewrite sentences so I don’t use “that.”

It’s an easy way to trim the fat from your writing. Now, if I could just figure out a trick to trim the fat from bacon …. maybe someday.

And that, folks, is a wrap.

Scare Tactics

I am one lucky gal. I work from home, my clients are fabulous, and to top it all off, I contribute as a writer to a fabulous local publication focusing on women. See my latest article here.

Stay tuned this week - something great is coming your way on the Amy Mac blog!

Limericks and Love

In general, I love my work. I love the writing, and I love my clients. All of them are fabulous (I have a very strict policy for swiftly striking the difficult to work with from my client roster. Strange how once you make that distinction, the good folks seem to find you.)

But today has been even more fun than usual, and I credit that to the fact that I got to write a limerick for a client today. No joke. I have a new client that is opening an Irish pub in the area, and they asked me to spiff up the copy on their menu. “Make it fun!” they said. “Okay-dokey!” I replied.

So you probably already know there’s a county in Ireland called Limerick. And the good folks at my local pub named one of their sandwiches after said county. The temptation was too great, so this is the copy I’m sending over today:

Limerick Monte Cristo

There once was a man from Limerick.
He could not decide on a meal to pick.
He liked turkey and ham,
And raspberry jam.
He chose Monte Cristo -that’s not a trick.

Honey baked ham, mesquite roasted turkey, Irish Farmhouse Cheeses, and raspberry preserves. Served with hand-cut potato chips.

Now, they may say “Ah, we didn’t know you’d take ‘make it fun’ quite so literally,” and strike it from the copy. I hope not, but even if they do, I got to write a limerick today for the first time since fifth grade.

I’m hungry for a sandwich now, so I’ll sign off. Are you doing something you love today?

The Good, The Bad, and The Bio

If you are in business, you need a good personal bio, written and at the ready. Your bio can be your 60 second advertisement for why you are the perfect person for whatever it is you’re seeking – a new job, a writing or speaking gig, or an introduction to a volunteer board with whom you’re working.

A great bio has three key features:

The most important and eye-catching information is at the beginning (don’t save the fact that you were recently featured in the Wall Street Journal for the last sentence.)

The words are in the active tense (for example, “Suzy Q. Jones is the top salesperson at XYZ company, and continues to lead the company to exceed its goals each year.” instead of “Suzy Q. Jones has been the top salesperson for XYZ for 5 years, and has continued to lead the company to exceed its goals.”

It’s short. That’s right, no need to write an actual hard-cover biography book. Hit the highlights of your career, keeping it to 10 sentences, max.

There are many components that make a bio perfect, including excellent writing, but if you keep these three features in mind when you write your bio you’ll be off to a great start!

Grab your laptop and get started writing your bio today. Happy Writing!