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Since about December 2012, articles about LinkedIn, the social networking site for business professionals, have been landing in my inbox on an almost weekly basis. They have covered the site’s many changes and the ways in which it can help someone promote a company, products, services or even one’s own expertise. In other words, LinkedInRead more

  Presenting a story idea to bloggers and journalists is one of the most common tasks that communication professionals undertake. Of course, this means that the recipients of your pitch are wading through a mountain of other people’s pitches. Practice these four habits and you’ll increase your chances for success. 1. Do Your Research BeforeRead more

One way of establishing credibility and expertise is having articles published in trade and professional journals. Many such journals not only require articles that contain a fair amount of research, but they also require you to cite the information sources you used to create the article. Actually, ethics and copyright law also require you toRead more

Human beings are wired for stories. Experts believe that the way that we evolved predisposes us to be drawn in by storytelling. In fact, it’s been found that in cases of oral storytelling, engaged listeners’ brains synchronize with the brain of the storyteller, making it easier to convince or inform the listener. Communications professionals areRead more

One of the key elements of effective communications is clarity. Your persuasiveness, accuracy or interesting subject matter cannot achieve your objectives if the audience is struggling to understand your message. Below are 10 principles for creating understandable copy: 1. Use Short Active Verbs Simple words get your point across more quickly than complex words, andRead more

PR practitioners dream of getting stories placed in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and other “big name” publications. But concentrating on the big media may cause you to overlook  niche publications that can offer more focused exposure to your target audience. So while you’re keeping an eye out for the story that willRead more

The abundance of broadcast and online multimedia channels means that audiovisual versions of an organization’s message can expand your reach. And it seems that an increasing number of communications and marketing professionals are hearing the siren call of video. eMarketer  predicts that spending for mobile video ads will increase 614.8 percent by 2016. In additionRead more

The use of quotation marks is usually considered to be straightforward: they typically indicate quoted material, dialogue and, in some cases, composition titles. Still, you can encounter tricky situations, so let’s look at some issues that might arise. Quoted Language When quoted conversation or dialogue for a single speaker runs on for more than oneRead more

Whether you’re writing promotional or editorial copy, the first element of your piece that will draw a reader in will be your headline or email subject line. A  few details distinguish subject lines from headlines. For instance, the word free works in print media and on Web sites, but generally gives the impression of spamRead more

Research takes up a significant amount of every writer’s time, and the Internet is an incredibly useful and convenient research tool. However, it’s so huge, you need to know how and where to look. Let’s take a look at your online options. Search Engines and Subject Directories A search engine such as Google lets youRead more