Weirding Word®

SOPA and PIPA = Big Brother Infringement on Our Rights

SOPA and PIPA would effectively make YOU responsible for the content of websites that you link to on your own website or blog. It would also give individuals and private businesses the power the shut down YOUR website.

Copyright and intellectual property protection are important, but these bills go too far and inhibit the free exchange of information that is a cornerstone of our democracy. Contact your congress(wo)man and senators to oppose SOPA and PIPA. Look them up on Sopa Track at http://sopatrack.com/. Then call them and tell them what you think.

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a publishing house that promotes engaging books and novels, and provides editorial, design and marketing services.

Copyright 2007-2012 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

The First Time Is Seldom As Good As the Last

It's always helpful to remember that a first draft is just that -- the very first, roughest go at it among all of the revisions and iterations that will come along.  However, that lonely little underappreciated first draft is a doorway to opportunity. It's an opportunity to clarify goals. A chance to assess direction and style.  It literally illustrates where we can improve and how far we've come.

Maybe you know what you want the piece to accomplish or to explain, but the how of it is not quite straight in your head.  You want it to be engaging.  To be clear.  To be simple.  To be better than the competition!  And yet, ACK, that poor little first draft is not what you'd hoped!  Whatever that was supposed to have been.

So, is there any way around that painful first contact?  Whether you write the piece yourself or hire someone to do it for you, these tips will help:

1. Find samples of the things you like -- whether an entire document or just a feature in an article.
2. Briefly outline the main goal of what you're writing. (HINT: More than 3 goals means you probably need to rethink it.)
3. Know your topic -- don't get tripped up trying to explain something you don't quite understand.
4. Write to your strengths -- use your own authentic voice in the first draft and leave the polish for later drafts.
5. Edit, revise and edit some more until it's what you want.
6. Have someone else review and comment on the document.
7. If you've hired someone to do the writing, discuss the process and number of revisions ahead of time.

Keep hope alive and keep on keeping on.  That final draft is going to shine.

 

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Create a LinkedIn Business Page Today

When it comes to the Internet, one of a business owner's primary responsibilities is to make it as easy as possible for potential customers and clients to find the business.  An earlier post described the process for creating a Facebook fan page.  This time, we're going through the steps to quickly create a LinkedIn page for your business or organization.

Step 1:  Login to your account.  (If you don't have an account, shame on you.  Everyone in a job outside the home, who owns a business, or who attends a college or university should have a LinkedIn account. Period. Create one now.)

Step 2:  Click on "More" at the top and scroll down to "Companies".

Step 3:  Click on "Add Company" located in the top right corner.

Step 4:  Follow the steps LinkedIn guides you through, including basic information, web link, loading a small logo, blog feed, location, and financial information. For material, cut and past information from your website, capabilities statement, and brochure.

Still need a sample?  See the following pages:

G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC

Weirding Word® Editorial and Design Services

Brazen Maven^SM

Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

Now, in just 15-30 minutes, you have a LinkedIn page for your business that will improve your search engine optimization.  With such an easy process, there's no reason not to do it today. 

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Inception for Marketing: Plant the Message Deeply

Before we get started, this is a complimentary spoiler alert. If you have not seen Inception, do not read on. Go see it before it's completely out of the theaters, and then come back and see us.

While watching Inception in a packed theater several weeks after its release, I couldn't help but think of the many implications for marketing.  Take for instance, the idea of deeply planting an idea.  The mark needed to believe the idea was his own, so the team created a dream within a dream within a dream to deliver a message and reinforce it.

In the past, we've talked about marketing's repeat rule and connected the rule to research on human memory.  That is, in order to reach your target audience, you must repeat the message at least 7 times.  it doesn't have to be the same way each time, but people remember information that is reinforced and a message that resonates.

So, the Inception team begins by accusing the mark, heir to a corporate empire, of hiding information or not thinking hard enough to share it.  In the second dream, the team brings the mark in on the scheme, telling him that others are after the information and he must unlock it first. And, in the third dream, the mark is taken to a vault in which he will discover his secret.  At each level, despite the complications that arise in the story, the message is communicated to the mark in a distinctly different manner and reinforced through the team's tactics.  And, he remembered that message.

How are you planting your message? How often? At the end of the year, will your target audience remember you? Do you switch up the delivery to better engage your target audience? More importantly, is there a plan?

Success doesn't happen overnight. Aside from the fact that it takes time, most of us don't have an Inception or White House arsenal at our disposal. However, with incremental strategic measures, anyone can leverage the repeat rule.

Gaea Honeycutt
blog at weirdingword.com

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

BRAZEN Double-header: 2 Webinars 8/31 - Branding & Online Marketing

It's elusive. It's mysterious. It's undefined.
It's your business brand identity.

If you're done grappling with the concept of branding, the FREE, 30-minute BRAZEN Quick and Dirty Crash Course in Branding webinar will help you understand what branding means for your business.

Through succinct explanations and relevant examples, we'll help you understand what branding is and how to start thinking about it strategically. Register online at BrazenOnline083110.eventbrite.com.

Not BRAZEN enough for you?

The BRAZEN Online Self-Promotion webinar follows at 1:00 p.m. Learn how to leverage six specific tools and strategies to improve your online presence. A $40 value, enter "BRANDING" to receive the double-session 20% discount. Register online at BrazenOnline083110.eventbrite.com.

For more information, contact info@BrazenMaven.com or call 703-360-1718.

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.