Michael Roennevig reports:
“Failure to act quickly if a product your company sells is found to be faulty or dangerous could turn into a legal and public relations nightmare. As soon as you're alerted to a problem with one of the products your business sells, you'll need to move swiftly to make sure your customers…are informed about the issue and know how to return any offending items. One of your first steps will be to write a product recall notice…Gather your management team together when you receive information that one of your products might be faulty or dangerous. Establish which product or products are affected, and whether the problem is isolated to a single batch of goods…Contact the regulatory authority that governs your industry. It might have specific product recall procedures. It also might want to issue a joint notice with your company…Draft a press release with ‘URGENT: [PRODUCT NAME] RECALL’ written at the top of the page along with the date. Include a detailed description of the product and any product codes or serial numbers that appear on the item itself or its packaging. Write a description of the problem. Warn customers not to use the product and retailers not to sell it. Explain how customers or retailers can go about returning the product for a full refund. Include a reproduction of the product's label and a picture of the item itself. Add a telephone number and email and postal addresses where customers can contact your firm about the recall notice…Send the press release to news wire services for distribution to media outlets and post it on your website. If you have a database of email and postal addresses of customers that bought the affected product, send them a version of your press release in the form of a letter or an email. If you've supplied the affected product to retailers or wholesalers, send them a copy of your recall notice and contact them by phone to arrange returns…Produce large posters containing the same information you put in your press release to display in your stores if you also have a retail operation…Design a print media advert containing your recall notice. Put it on your website. Buy media space in local or national newspapers or magazines to display it. You might also want to consider hiring a public relations agency that specializes in crisis management.” Premier Consumer Credit Counseling reports:
"By writing a budget, you will be able to plan for your present and future needs...To write a budget that suits your needs, follow these five steps...Look at your bank statements for the last year. Write down the amount of money that you spent on essentials...Record, as accurately as possible, the amount of money you spent at the supermarket, on clothing, and on any major items you purchased, such as a new refrigerator. Add up all of your last year’s expenses. Look at your last year’s income. Last year, how much money did you fritter away on non-essential items? How much money did you save? Are you happy with the amount of money you saved?...Make a new record of expenses for the next twelve months. If any of your essential items have increased in cost from last year, add the new cost to your list...Your list should include [such things as] entertainment costs, family holidays, and the cost of any sporting activities that you do...Do not add dreams to this list. Only add items that you feel you will be able to afford. Decide on the amount of money you would need to save each week in order to achieve your goal. Start a new savings account with your bank to enable you to save for the item or items on your wish list...Allow yourself money to spend on non-essentials. You need to be able to spend a little money every week on the things that brighten your day...It is important to allow yourself the occasional treat, so you do not become discouraged with budgeting...Once you have written down all of your expenses, it is time to add up your lists and complete your annual budget. Now is the time to make any alterations to finalize your budget. If your expenses are higher than your income, it will be necessary to adjust your expenditure. You may prefer to remove items from your wish list, or you may prefer to cut down on your everyday spending. For example, you could cook more meals at home instead of buying take-away food or eating out. With careful management, your budget will enable you to achieve all of your needs and goals." Monica Carter Tagore reports for Joanna Penn:
"Social media encourages us to amass the largest followings, but building a smart writing business isn’t about collecting the most people. It’s about connecting with the most. Connecting with contacts turns you from simply a name on a friends list or mailing list, to a relationship. And it’s the relationship that actually makes things happen. Relationships mean help requests get answered, favors get performed, and partnerships come together. And for authors, they mean promotional campaigns get built. If you are a freelance writer, author, blogger, or other content producer, relationships can help you grow your business. Relationships multiply your efforts because they mean you can enlist the help and support of others who also want to see you succeed...It’s tempting to try to hide who you really are in some vain attempt to pretend to be someone else or blend in so you don’t upset anyone. But hiding who you are doesn’t do much for making you stand out to your contacts, in the long run...Go for authenticity. Share who you really are in your social media updates, blog posts, and other marketing activities...[by] speaking in your voice when you communicate, and not in some watered down attempt at pretending to be someone else. Your authenticity will resonate with your contacts and make them remember you. And those who truly identify with your message — what you are actually saying, the story you are telling, and the way you tell it — will connect with you. They will respond to your emails, retweet your posts, visit your blog. They will come back again and again. Looking for you...What makes your writing business different from the next one? It’s the story. What is your story? What’s the story of your business?...Did you come to this line of work because of a particular cause or experience? Do you write a certain type of book or about a certain issue because of something that happened in your past? Have you learned from a certain experience a lesson that can help others? Telling your story may be about sharing your hopes, goals, and dreams in the context of your writing business. Sometimes this can be shared in the About page of your company’s website. Sometimes it can be shared in a blog post. Oftentimes, it is shared in a variety of ways — your blog posts, your speaking, your creative projects...Make your writing business or book about more than the writing and the book. Make it about the story. Tell a compelling story, and you’ll have clients and readers who identify with what you say, maybe because they have had a similar experience. Your shared experience will be the basis of your relationship. In some instances, that connection can be so strong that your readers will seek to become ambassadors or advocates for you, telling their friends, family, and contacts about you and your work because they identify so strongly...If you are a freelance writer looking to grow your writing business, or you are an author looking to grow your audience, then why not help others do the same? Are there writers in your community, on your friends list, or on your mailing list who need help? If you see someone tweet a question and you have the answer, then reply with the answer. Or if you see another author on social media working to promote her work, then why not lend a hand? Retweet the link to your followers or share a post on Facebook. Your generosity will likely be noticed. This author will see the way you’ve extended yourself to help and may drop you a thank you note or retweet. This exchange can be the beginning of a new relationship...Maybe you two decide to do cross promotion, where you each share with your readers news about the other. Or maybe you two decide to team up for some other effort that can help both of you...When you turn a person from a contact into a connection, you open the possibility of a relationship as you two get more familiar with and trusting of each other. Whether you have a large social media following or a small one, you can use these tips to build a more intimate connection with those who follow you, or those you follow." Alice Dusenberry reports:
"Meetings often involve questions, lengthy discussions[,] and business decisions. Unfortunately, after the meeting is over, the discussions and decisions can be forgotten by those who attended, or misinterpreted by others who did not attend...[A] report known as meeting minutes is an excellent method for recording questions, discussion topics[,] and the decisions. For easy reading, format the meeting minutes into four or five sections with [subheadings] so recipients can quickly scan for the most important information...Use the first section to record basic information about the meeting: date, time the meeting started, location, meeting manager's name, time the meeting ended, and a list of people who attended. If a large number of people attend the meeting, pass around a form for attendees to sign and attach it to the final version of the meeting minutes...If minutes from a prior meeting are read or distributed, record any changes that are noted. In addition, document the follow-up actions taken on any issues that were previously raised. These actions can be progress reports on current projects, information needed for upcoming projects, or reports on problems that were resolved. This section is optional and can be eliminated if no prior meetings were held...[M]inutes should focus on the major reason the meeting was held. Include adequate detail on the topics discussed: names of people who spoke or asked questions, summary of the discussions[,] and the decisions. If a topic or decision was postponed, provide the reason and time frame when it will be reviewed in the future...Each task should be recorded as a bullet item with the name of the assigned person or work team, description[,] and the expected completion date. At the following meeting, the assigned person or work team spokesperson should provide a progress report on the action item. This section is critical and must be accurately recorded by the author of the meeting minutes. It ensures that progress is made toward the business goals by assigning responsibilities to specific people...If another meeting is scheduled, include a final section to indicate the location, date[,] and time." Dawn Altnam reports:
"Stay on top of broken links and images. Check to make sure plugins are compatible. Switch to cloud hosting from a provider like Rackspace to make sure your website loads fast and is always available for visitors...If your title doesn’t capture the reader’s attention, they’re not going to click the link and read anything else from your blog. Lists are especially popular, but you can attract readers to your blog by being witty or using something potentially controversial. If you’ve got the latest breaking news, your title should say so. Be clear, not cryptic, with your titles...Your posts might be long, but your paragraphs shouldn’t be. Lists, images and headings help break up your content, which is increasingly important as the attention span of visitors shrinks every year. Images can also help illustrate a point, provide comic relief or split up content...Social media is more important than ever. Your video might go viral on YouTube, or your blog post might see thousands of shares on Facebook in just a few days. Visitors want to share, like and tweet the content that strikes a chord with them, but they also want to do it easily. You have to provide ways to share via widgets, buttons and links. Placement is important, too...However, don’t go over the top, or you’ll slow down your site and overwhelm readers...Weekly newsletter, email subscriptions and Facebook pages are all ways to let your readers know when you’ve produced new content. People are busy, and you can’t assume they’ll automatically come back. Some folks can even forget the name of websites they find, so offering these types of services ensures that people who like what you do come back to see more of it. Republish your most successful posts so people who’ve missed out on them have a chance to see them...Add blog URLs to your business cards if applicable. Take advantage of all the opportunities to mention your blog in a natural way. Just don’t get carried away, or you’ll find yourself without friends or followers...Traditional journalists didn’t personally respond to their readers, but this has all changed with the Internet. Reply to your followers on Facebook, retweet interactions on Twitter and stop by your blog’s own comment section. Visitors want to know that you’ve heard their voices, too." Niek Dekker reports:
"By writing compelling and engaging tour descriptions, you will be able to increase your bookings in no time...Target a specific persona before you begin writing. For example, if you are a company that provides kayak tours to experienced adventurers, then develop a persona that addresses your target audience. It might be an open-minded person who has the necessary skills to kayak and enjoys the thrill of a new experience. You need to think about who will be most likely to book your tours, and write your tour descriptions for a persona that identifies with that audience...Choose a tone of voice, and remain consistent throughout your website. Some tour operators want to maintain a corporate presence, and therefore should adopt a professional tone of voice. A smaller, local business might be more interested in connecting with their customers on a personal level. They may choose to use a tone of voice that is lighthearted with a dash of humor...Make your tour descriptions easy to read. Avoid long, wordy sentences...Make every word count, and choose powerful action verbs in order to describe the experience. Instead of writing a paragraph about each tour that you offer, create several bullet points. Bullet points are easier to scan through, and will allow you to keep your reader’s attention...Be specific and persuasive in the description. Be sure to outline the benefits of booking with your company. If your business focuses on winery tours in the local wine-growing region, then be sure to explain what each unique offering is about. Avoid vague descriptions such as 'Our day-long wine tour takes you to several wineries in the area.' Instead, provide additional details and throw in the benefits of booking this tour: 'Our 8-hour wine tour takes you to 5 different local wineries, where you will sample delectable wines and snack on delicious cheese.'...Optimize your content with relevant keywords, but do so in a natural way...If you can place your keywords naturally in the copy, that will quickly optimize your site. However, you also can add keywords into subheadings and image file names in order to increase your rankings in the search results." Kevin Johnston reports:
"You don't need an expensive advertising agency to come up with slogans for your ad campaigns. You can create effective slogans yourself...The process for creating slogans is not complicated, and if you take your time, you can get in the habit of crafting your own messages for each campaign you want to initiate...You can begin your slogan-writing process by simply making lists of words associated with your business or your product. Don't edit yourself at this stage. Just jot down words and short phrases that come to mind as you think about your company and what you sell. If you find yourself getting stuck, abandon the list format and just write words in random places on the page...A feature is an aspect of your product, such as a high-powered motor on a vacuum cleaner. Turn that into a benefit by thinking of how it helps your customers. In this case, the vacuum cleaner cleans better. Create some short phrases, starting with some of the words from your word list, and add benefits to those words...Turn short phrases into sentences. Include your company name if possible. If you can't work your name in, try to include some reference to your brand or reputation...Your phrase becomes a complete thought when you turn it into a sentence...A good slogan is short and memorable. Shorten your sentences as much as possible to see if you can increase their impact...Play with your sentences to see how short you can make them. They'll not only be easier for potential customers to remember, [but] you'll [also] have an easier time fitting them into print and Internet advertisements, and they'll fit more easily into short television and radio spots." Michael Baaske reports:
“Having a coupon is a great way to enhance any marketing campaign, or rid yourself of excess inventory. While coupons are easy to write, there are a few common mistakes that are often made. Below are a few tips to help you avoid these mistakes and write a more effective coupon…An effective title for a coupon is short and to the point. Use the body of the coupon to give the details on what the customer is getting. Use the large bold font of the title as an opportunity to grab attention. Good words [or phrases] to use are ‘Free’, ‘X% Off’ or ‘$X Off’, [so] start out with telling the customer how much they’re going to save!...Use the body of the coupon to explain what the offer is for. The best coupons just simply list out what the customer will get when they redeem this coupon. Don’t leave anything out, and don’t be vague…The disclaimer is the fine print that lists out anything that would void your coupon…A long disclaimer with a bunch of rules may turn off your customer and they may avoid using the coupon [altogether]…The expiration date is one of the most overlooked part[s] of a coupon. If you pick an expiration date that’s too long [in coming], customers are more likely to place them in a pile ‘for later’ and then completely forget about them. However, if you use a short date like 7 days, there’s a sense of urgency to use the coupon as soon as possible, making it less likely that your coupon will be forgotten…While special offers are a great alternative to coupons, because they don’t have that sense of urgency, they’re not as effective at tracking a campaign. The two main difference[s] between the two can be answered by these two questions[:] [‘]Does it expire?[’] and [‘]Can anyone get this price?[’] All coupons expire, and the only people that can get the coupon price is if they have the coupon, or at least know about it…A strong coupon offer can help enhance any marketing campaign, so take your time and make sure you get the best results. Part of this is writing an effective coupon that draws your customers[’] attention, and entices them to come to your store.” Molly Thompson reports:
"Your boss is out of the office for an extended period and has asked you to prepare a report on a recently concluded personnel study, or maybe you are responsible for preparing a monthly report for your supervisor on your department's productivity. Regardless of the scenario, by doing your homework, understanding what your supervisor is looking for in a report and completing it accurately and on schedule, you can produce a report your supervisor will appreciate as informative and useful...Establish with your supervisor his preferred format for your reports...Also, ask how he wants the report conveyed -- electronically or in hard copy -- and how often he expects you to prepare a report...Use the format your boss has requested to present key information related to the subject. A recurring report, such as weekly sales figures or monthly project status, can be presented in a simple memo format with changes from previous reports highlighted. Reports on one-time events...likely require information that is more detailed...At the top of your report put the date, report title, the name of the person for whom the report is prepared and your name as the report writer. If your report is in memo format, use the report title as the subject line. The title should be specific enough to be immediately clear -- 'Trip Report for Santa Fe Conference' or 'October Production Figures for Widget Department,' for example...Create section headers for each key element of the report. The introductory section should introduce the topic and summarize key points. A background section might describe why a marketing study was commissioned or what production problems prompted a workflow evaluation. The body should include the main points of your report...Conclude your report with a summary and include recommendations for action if warranted. For a trip report describing participation in a recent conference, the recommendation might be that it was of little value and the company should no longer send employees. A report describing a recent study should end with recommendations based on the study results...If you are requesting his action on something, state that clearly so your supervisor isn't left guessing...Double-check the report before sending it to your boss. Make sure there are no spelling or grammar errors, that it contains accurate figures and dates and that it is neat and in the correct format. Sign or initial the report. Make a copy for your files." Lisa McQuerrey reports:
“If your superior reprimands you for any reason, chances are an account of the reprimand will be put in writing and a copy of the document placed in your employment file. If you object to any portion of the reprimand or disagree with its contents, ask your supervisor or human resources representative for the opportunity to counter the reprimand with your own written version of events…When writing a response to a reprimand, it can be tempting to go into a litany of complaints you have against your boss. However, to be effective, stick to the specific case at hand and describe only the reprimand you’re replying to…Support your objection to your reprimand by including evidence that bolsters your position…Wrap up your objection by summarizing the issue and stating how you would like future resolution to unfold…If you’re being blamed for an issue outside of your control, there’s more at stake than a letter of reprimand in your employment file. Follow your human resources department’s dispute mediation practices for addressing underlying performance and responsibility issues with your supervisor. Try to work out an equitable solution. Ignoring the problem risks the miscommunication continuing and leading to internal discord.” |
Writing and editing can be pretty rigorous processes if you want to do them well, but that's what this page is here for. Check out the latest tips here. Archives
April 2024
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