Tighten your angle The editor of a travel magazine once asked me to write a story about Kansas City. “Kansas City,” I said. “Would that be Kansas City barbecue? An insider’s guide to where the bodies are buried? The perfect weekend for lovers? Kansas City on the quick, on the cheap or for the family?” “Yup,” she said. “Kansas City.” Well, I know Kansas City. I’ve … [Read more...] about Find your focus
Archives for November 2010
Find your ‘I wish’ song
Get the story started The first song the main character sings in a Disney movie — not to mention many other film and stage musicals — is the “I wish” song, reports Ira Glass in a recent episode of “This American Life.” In the “I wish” song, the protagonist declares what she wants. That motivation launches the story’s action. “Funny Girl” starts with Barbara Streisand … [Read more...] about Find your ‘I wish’ song
The verb is the story
Drop the modifiers on Facebook Strunk & White were right, says viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella: Modifiers aren't as effective as nouns and verbs. And now Zarrella has the data to prove it. Adjectives and adverbs don’t perform as well on Facebook as nouns and verbs. Zarrella learned this by analyzing his Facebook data set to study the relationship between parts of … [Read more...] about The verb is the story
Track outputs, outtakes and outcomes
Tips for measuring communication success Good PR measurement doesn’t just track ad value equivalencies. Instead, it links your efforts to the organization’s key performance indicators, or KPIs. So track outputs, outtakes and outcomes, says Shonali Burke, ABC, principle of Shonali Burke Consulting. Then link outputs to outcomes, communication results to KPIs. A lecturer … [Read more...] about Track outputs, outtakes and outcomes
Eat your budget dust
Invest your year-end money before it gets swept away 'Tis the season for many of us to use what remains of our 2010 budget … or lose it altogether. Here are five ways to invest your budget dust this year to improve communications for years to come: Schedule 2011 writing workshops today. Lock in 2010 prices for 2011 events and save 5 percent when you prepay my speaking … [Read more...] about Eat your budget dust