Archive for October, 2009
Sonoran Bank Hosting Free Social Media Seminar 11/6
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Sonoran Bank will host a free social media seminar in Phoenix November 6th, and yours truly is the featured speaker.
This hour-long seminar will provide attendees with an introductory overview of how social media differs from so-called “traditional media,” how to incorporate it into a business plan, and easy steps to take without becoming overwhelmed or intimidated. It’s especially designed for business owners who have been afraid to try social media, or have tried it and failed to see its appeal or benefits. Read More→
Is Wal-Mart killing publishing as we know it?
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If you haven’t heard, retail giant Wal-Mart plans to cut prices on their hardcover books to only $10.00, and Arizona Book Publishing Association President Bill Fessler had plenty to say about that…
President’s Message
The latest (big) news in the book industry is that Wal-Mart has begun selling bestselling, hardcover books for $10 on their website. Amazon.com decided to match this price, and now Target seems to be joining the fray. Things are getting heated, and the prices have dropped to $9. As a consumer, this sounds awesome; but as a publisher, this is awful. And yes, this includes those of us whose books are not on the bestseller list. Read More→
How to communicate PR’s value? PRSA to the rescue
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The national Public Relations Society of America has released the “Business Case for Public Relations,” including these key message points. Good news to have greater visibility for the value of our profession.
- 1) Public relations is more than managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics. It is a communications discipline that engages and informs key audiences, builds important relationships and brings vital information back into an organization for analysis and action. It has real, measurable impact on the achievement of strategic organizational goals.
2) Public relations and publicity are not synonymous; publicity is a small subset and specialized discipline within public relations, often practiced by dedicated firms who may or may not possess broader strategic communications capabilities. Read More→
Press Releases 101 for your Book
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This Wednesday, I’ll be the “Voice of Experience” presenter at the monthly Arizona Book Publishing Association meeting. I’ll be talking about Press Releases 101: Tips on what to write, when to write, and how to distribute.
Hope you’ll join us. You can register here or through the RSVP hotline at (602) 274-6264. Our new location is the Radisson Hotel Phoenix on the east side of 44th Street, north of Van Buren.
It’s all about the ride
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Chris and Manny, my SW flight #1952 seatmates
I had another great return flight to Arizona on Southwest Airlines last night, and in addition to meeting flight attendants Dallon and Cindy, spent time with my two very cool seatmates, Manny Ferreira and Chris Lima, members of the Mens Senior Baseball League. They were traveling to Arizona with former Red Sox starting pitcher Oil Can Boyd to play in the SMBL championships.
To make the six hour flight go faster, I handed out snacks to Southwest passengers and talked to Manny and Chris about baseball. Before I developed piriformis syndrome, I would spend most flights reading a book and not talking much at all, other than to say “pass the peanuts.”
Manny and Chris were a pleasure to sit next to. We talked about New England, Arizona, baseball, and I watched on as they played several card games, during which Manny was clearly the winner. They joked with each other as well as with Oil Can Boyd, who was two rows behind us. They asked about my mother, my public relations business, and the presentations I was working on during the few times I actually sat down during the flight.
Opportunity comes with adversity. If I were still the old “healthy” sitting Linda, I doubt I would have made three new friends. Now I know all about the Mens Senior Baseball League and that ash bats still break easily, and that Tony Conigliaro unfortunately died in 1990.
Chris – you owe me that picture of me standing in the aisle with Oil Can Boyd!
Meeting up with The Jenn Lee Group
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Can you adapt to change easily? Or are you set in your ways? I can’t imagine a better contrast than my life the last two months, flying back and forth from Arizona to Rhode Island.
On the one hand, I have my life in Arizona, where change comes rapidly, everything is new, and the public relations community is a thriving social media haven.
On the other hand, I have my world in Rhode Island, where I’m getting my ever-resistant-to-change mother settled into assisted living, and driving streets that haven’t been altered all that much since I first drove them in the 70s. Read More→
Travel much?
Posted by: | CommentsTravel USED to be a lot of fun. Ever since 9/11, it has been a complete hassle. A few years ago, meeting planner expert and professional speaker Corbin Ball published this list of travel tips – amongst the best I have ever come across. Sharing the link with you today:
A Frequent Flyer’s Guide to Reduced Travel Stress
©2005 Corbin Ball Associates
Here’s one I hadn’t thought of before:
Are magazines dying?
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Meg Weaver
Meg Weaver of Wooden Horse Publishing analyzes magazine markets and trends, and provides this perspective on the state of magazines today:
Gourmet, Southern Accents, Vibe, Nickelodeon, Today’s Christian Woman, Portfolio, Pink, Spirit of Aloha, Hallmark, Memory Makers, Canadian Home & Country, Best Life, Western Interiors & Design, Blender, Pink – all magazines gone just this year!
What is going on? Are we seeing the end of the American magazine?
No – and yes. Many million-and-more circulation mass market magazines are, or will soon be, gone. Interesting, well-edited magazines, which give us a “good read,” will survive. Humans have always been suckers for a good story. Some publishers have already figured this out. National Geographic, The Economist, Consumers Reports, Smithsonian, Cook’s Illustrated, and others – to some degree even People magazine – have found that great content, targeted at smaller audiences of really interested people, make money. Read More→
Coffee Chat with the publishers
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Thinking of publishing a book? Stop by the Poisoned Pen bookstore Saturday, October 17th at 10:00 a.m. The president of the Arizona Book Publishing Association, Bill Fessler, is hosting a coffee where self-publishers and publishers can meet informally to ask questions and exchange ideas.
ABPA Coffee Chat
10:00 a.m. Saturday, October 17
Poisoned Pen Bookstore
4014 N. Goldwater Blvd #101 Scottsdale
(west of Scottsdale Road, south of Indian School Road)
Mother-daughter relationships, or PR 1.0
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I’ve long had a less-than-perfect relationship with my mother. I’m not good at PR 1.0. She and I parted understanding the minute I entered college.
She had persuaded me to attend Dickinson College in Pennsylvania because it was a “good school.” With apologies to my Dickinson friends, that was the last time I took advice from my mother! I spent 3 years of misery there, with a brief shining year abroad in Durham, England.
My mother has never understood what I do for a living, and when I wrote the first edition of my PR book in 2005 and told her about it, her first reaction was one of disappointment: “Oh, I thought you were going to write fiction.” No, “Congratulations!” or “Way to go, honey!” Just disappointment. that I wasn’t going to write the Great American Novel.
Having been born before the Great Depression, she’s never really entered the technology age. No voicemail, no answering machine, no computers, and only recently, cable. So over the years we haven’t had that much to talk about. Read More→
