Master a variety of writing styles on September 16!
Dear Communicator:
If you can’t write, you can’t communicate. It’s that simple.
Great writing shows up in everything communicators do: podcasts, PowerPoints, video, blogs, e-mails, speeches, posters . . . and of course online and print articles.
Today’s communicators have to master a variety of writing styles: news and features; online and print; audio and video; and social media. You have to be able to switch gears easily as you move among different channels and vehicles.
Which is easier said than done. Organizations tend to suck the good writing out of you, don’t they? Crippling approval processes, boring topics, stiff interview subjects, tons of jargon . . . these can all murder good writing.
Writing is so crucial to the modern communicator that Write and Rewrite (Steve Crescenzo and Jim Ylisela) are dedicating an entire Webinar to the topic. Tune in to watch them turn around boring corporate stories and make them sing; watch as they show proven methods that will improve the writing in all of your vehicles.
Using real-life examples, Jim and Steve will show you:
• A proven system for writing better heads and subheads;
• How to write for social media—which demand a dramatically different writing style than most organizational communicators are used to using;
• How to take basic journalism rules and apply them to the hottest channels in the profession: audio and video;
• How to write feature stories online . . . where, supposedly, nobody wants to read longer stories;
• Five essential writing tips that you can apply to any communication vehicle
• How to protect good writing from the #1 threat to its survival: the approval process
As usual, if you sign up, you’re welcome to submit your own specific questions, as well as actual work samples, to Jim and Steve. They’ll use as much of the material as they can in the Webinar . . . and if they can’t get to your question during the show, they’ll answer it offline.
At only $149, it’s the best Webinar deal out there. So sign up today!
Cindy Crescenzo
VP of Marketing, Crescenzo Communications
P.S. Jim and Steve are also offering customized, on-site writing training packages, where they build the content based on your needs. Contact me directly if you’re interested in hearing more.
Write & Rewrite do, well, writing
Dear friends,
Write & Rewrite’s Sept. 16 webinar has but one topic:
Words.
Whatever kind of communications you’re doing, it all starts with words. Throw together some dull, lifeless, corporate-sounding words and presto! You’ve got stories no one reads and leaders whose messages fail to inspire.
But take out the crapola and insert lively, descriptive language involving actual humans doing real human things and ding! You’ve got a following, maybe even a community.
Sounds easy, right? But if it were, communicators everywhere would be doing it— creatively and consistently. They’re not. However unwittingly, many organizations conspire to drive all clarity, personality and color from their communications—even though these very qualities lead to a better-informed, more engaged audience, internally or externally.
Register today for Write & Rewrite’s singular approach to all things writing, at 1 p.m. Central on Thursday, Sept. 16. Here’s what we’re talking about:
• Making the business case for good writing. Why should the bosses care?
• Developing a writing approach for social media. Blogs, forums and other interactive tools have a style and voice all their own. We’ll show you how to get there.
• Writing creatively about important but dreadfully boring topics. How can we get people to pay attention?
• Helping your communicators shake off their writing doldrums. Break out of the “we’ve always done it this way” syndrome.
• Crafting headlines and leads you never thought could fly. We’ll give you our sure-fire tips that draw readers in.
In 90 minutes, we’ll show you how to make your words work better for you. As always, send us your questions—and samples of your work—and we’ll build part of the webinar around them.
At $149 for as many people as you can crowd around a speakerphone, Write & Rewrite webinars are the best deal going. Register today!
See you on Sept. 16,
Steve Crescenzo (Write)
Jim Ylisela (Rewrite)
P.S. Ask Write & Rewrite about their custom workshops in writing and editing. We’ll bring the training to you!
Write & Rewrite tackle social media on September 16, 2010
Join Write (Steve Crescenzo) and Rewrite (Jim Ylisela) on September 16 as they tackle social media. They’ll showcase some great examples and case studies of communicators using social media to engage and educate their audiences. Specifically, they’ll talk about:
• Mastering a writing style that works for social media
• Helping your executives find their “conversational” voice
• Making the business case for social media
• Eliminating the fear that surrounds social media at so many organizations
• Strategies for getting started that you can put to use today
• Linking multimedia with social media to reach, engage, motivate, and entertain your audiences
• Social media: It’s a mindset, not just a set of new channels
• The communicator’s role in social media
• How to create a social media policy to govern your efforts
But there’s lots of other stuff on the agenda as well. Write & Rewrite will show you how to fix those long, lousy first sentences—and how to turn boring assignments into compelling feature stories.
And, of course, they’ll have their regular C.R.A.P. (Corporate Rhetoric Awards Program), where they have some fun with some of the corporate crap that washes across our desks on a regular basis—and try to learn something at the same time.
Don’t delay! At $149, Write & Rewrite is an unbelievable bargain.
But it gets better: For $199, you can get the webinar and a recording for future use. And if you can’t make it on September 16, you can buy just a recording of the webinar for $129.
Again, this is a great bargain, because for one price, as many people as you want can crowd around a speakerphone and a computer. Register today.
Lousy intranet? Get tough with IT
We’ve been thinking a lot about intranets lately.
Boring, ugly intranets. Intranets infested with convoluted mystery links that no employee would dare to click. Intranets held hostage by IT, then launched without the kind of content that engages employees and keeps them coming back.
Lousy intranets—and how to fix them—is the focus of our Write & Rewrite webinar, at 1 p.m. Central on Thursday, June 24. Please join us.
You probably didn’t know this, but Write & Rewrite have gone undercover to prevent the scourge of a crappy intranet from invading your company’s internal web.
How far will we go? Two words.
Jack Bauer. Take a look at our new video and you’ll see what we mean. And then do the right thing for your own organization: Sign up for the next Write & Rewrite webinar. At $149, it’s a steal! Read more…
Write & Rewrite: Back in action on June 24
We learned two important lessons from our first webinar on April 1:
1) You actually took us seriously and submitted lots of your examples.
2) Because of that, we need more than 75 minutes.
This is all good news, as we gird our proverbial loins for our next webinar, at 1 p.m. Central on Thursday, June 24. Get in early and register today!
Write & Rewrite’s April 1 webinar is so, well, April 1.
We’re like sharks, constantly moving forward.
That’s why we’re already at work on our next webinar, now set for Thursday, June 24, at 1 p.m. Central. Register today and get it on your calendar!
At $149, Write & Rewrite is a steal: 75 minutes packed with all things communications, from social media case studies to writing tips to how to convince executives that communicators exist to help their organizations succeed.
Last Call for the April 1 Write & Rewrite Webinar
Friends,
Are you in?
You’ve got about a week left to sign up for our first Write & Rewrite webinar, at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 1.
We’re getting ready for you. As you know, Write & Rewrite is the only webinar where you set the agenda, so the crack staff at W&RW Headquarters has been working around the clock, combing through your e-mails, topic ideas and samples.
That’s a lie. It’s just us. We have no staff. But we can dream . . .
The good news: You’ve sent us lots of good stuff: a few publications, some questions about communicating during tough times and our personal favorite, a series of writing samples that came with this caveat:
Can words kill?
This question recently came up at the regular meeting of the Write & Rewrite Executive Committee.
A story in The New York Times described how karaoke enthusiasts in the Philippines are putting their lives at risk when they select Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as their chosen tune to warble.
Apparently more people get killed singing that sappy Paul Anka-penned tune than any other karaoke song in the box. Personally, Write & Rewrite prefer the Ring-a-ding-ding Sinatra, but we thought we should investigate.
So what is it about “My Way” that sends your average Filipino into a blind rage that far too often leads to carnage?
Part of the answer is that your typical Filipino takes his karaoke quite seriously and seems to have a rather low tolerance for crappy singing. But there’s a deeper reason: the words.
Can you spot our video mistakes?
Dear friends,
You may have caught Write & Rewrite’s recent video, “The Case of the Crappy Lead.” But did you catch any of the little “inconsistencies”— like a misplaced prop, or an impossible angle—that found their way into our finished product?
We counted nine. Our video guy, the incomparable Justin Allen, calls these “continuity issues.” We didn’t know what that meant, so we pressed him until he finally owned up: “It’s when your lazy video guy covers up in editing what he forgot to do while shooting.”
OK, we get that. Been there. Corporate communications isn’t science, after all. Who among us hasn’t stuck a few choice words in an executive’s mouth to make him sound like he knows what he’s talking about?
So here’s your challenge: Watch the video and send us your list of all the “continuity” errors you can find. The person who finds the most gets a free registration to our April 1 webinar. If it’s a tie, we’ll pick someone. Whatever. Then we’ll post the errors on our blog.
Write & Rewrite: The case of the crappy lead
Are you ready to get down to work?
Our Write & Rewrite webinar on April 1 isn’t just fun and games. We’ve set out to solve one of the most perplexing mysteries in corporate communications today:
Why can’t anyone seem to write a decent first sentence?
