Dec. 11, 2007
Welcome to PRactically Speaking, a way for you to gain practical insights and perspectives about business communications for the real world.
Share this with your friends and colleagues too, and let us know what you think.
Enjoy!
Happy, Happy, Happy, right?
Happy
holidays, Merry Christmas and aren't we all so full of holiday joy that we can
hardly stand it?!
Uh, not so much.
It seems this historical Season
of Celebration is now a season of churn and burn, and spending and
splurging. The time we set aside for rest has been consumed by a spirit of
getting and grabbing. And sadly, it seems Christmas is little more than Bargain
Binging and gluttonous gorging. I'm guilty as charged.
Sounds like I
need an attitude adjustment, right?
Take courage, click
here and get a much clearer perspective.
Communicating what really matters 
Editor's
note: While writing this, I was forced to look in the mirror, more than
once.
Christmas is just weeks away. We wish YOU and your family a
Merry Christmas and happy new year. Here's what we're wishing for you:
- May you rest your body, mind and soul
- May you slow down enough and see how wonderful your life really is
- May your job, daily responsibilities, deadlines and deliverables excite you,
prosper you, empower you
- May the impossible become possible
- May you be resilient and flexible when the most brittle of circumstances
come your way
- May you forgive your spouse, your children, your Mom, Dad, sister, brother,
uncle, aunt, cousins, bosses, ex-bosses, co-workers and anyone else in your life
that has harmed you, hurt you, scarred you, abused or belittled you
- May you know, focus and fulfill your ultimate purpose
- May you speak kind, genuine words--those that build, strengthen and help
people soar not stumble
- May you speak kind, genuine words--those that build, strengthen and help
people soar not stumble (it's no mistake that I repeated this one!)
- May you find solace and peace with God
- May your holidays, new year and life be full and fruitful
- May your days be filled with laughter
- May you never forget you live in the greatest nation on earth
- May you prosper all the days of your life
Controlling the tongue
Power of spoken blessings
The Creative Tongue
Random blogger's perspective
Angry, negative words, hmmm
Favorite
Online Business Resources
Amazon.com
is wonderful. Woot.com
is awesome, but neither is great for my wallet. Or my business endeavors. So,
are there are GREAT online resources for businesses? Oh yeah! See my
favorites below. I've also shared other favorite resources. I'm betting they'll
be yours too!
Trends
on small business
Finding
out about your government representatives
Project
management tool
Free
graphics/image manager program
Send
Personal Email from Outlook to hundreds of contacts
simultaneously
Favorite Web
hosting provider
Favorite referrals
group
Favorite PC
clean-up utility, free!
Favorite screen-capture
utility
Favorite Web
browser
Favorite PR
firm (shameless self promotion)
Enjoy!
NEW from
RGM Communications, it's EMS for Small Business(TM). While entrepreneurs and
business executives focus on what they care about (business continuity,
finances, sales, operations, R&D, and did I mention sales?), someone else
can think about marketing communications. Too often, these two disciplines are
ignored despite the fact that both involve activities that drive business growth
and sales. Also common is the "last minute" fire drill for a brochure, Web site,
trade show signage and more. Reactive needs actually expend more time and money
than planned, proactive, consistent and clear marketing communications. So, RGM
figures the world needs a little EMS, something we call Easy Marketing Service
for Small Business(TM). This allows a business to gain monthly communications
expertise, tap a marcom team for a project (small or large) and actually begin
to build a marketing program that gains attention of investors, employees,
customers, supplies, prospects, the media and more.
Read
more online
Get
the brochure
The CommsCoach: Q&A
QUESTION:
We're thinking about hiring some outside writers but don't know going hourly
rates. Any insights? ANSWER: The hourly rate approach is one option to consider when considering someone to help you with copywriting. A more popular approach is to find a writer who will provide services based on a project fee. This approach offers you and the writer more flexibility in developing an ongoing relationship while also being "more flexible" in terms of actual hours worked and pricing. A project-based approach requires that both parties understand exactly what is included and excluded, when and if extra charges apply, and also should include a "kill fee" that terminates the relationship, if it doesn't go well. More important than pricing, however, is the type of writer you want and hire. A great writer of pithy headlines and cute ad copy may not be the person you want to hire for writing a 200-page technical document. Identify your writing needs, then look for writers that match those requirements. A great resource for communications talent is www.dfwcommunicators.com. Hourly rates vary, but we've found quality writers with 7 years experience or more to be charging between $50 per hour and $100 per hour.
Inside RGM Communications
RGM launches EMS for Small Business. Learn more, click here.
IABC Brazos Valley. In November, RGM traveled to College Station, with Roy G. Miller presenting "Comms Career Crazies and Conundrums," a humorous 'look back' at the universal truths and experiences that every communicator faces. Approximately 20 communicators from IABC Brazos Valley attended, with the majority ranking overall presentation quality as good, excellent or superior. Need a guest speaker? RGM Communications can help. Contact RGM to learn more.
Thank you for reading this issue of PRactically Speaking.
We want YOUR FEEDBACK, thoughts, ideas, questions and constructive criticism. Share those now.
(c) Copyright 2007 Roy G. Miller
Roy G. Miller
RGM Communications
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
email: rmiller@rgmcomms.com
phone: 903-422-5117
fax: 972-692-7190
web: http://www.rgmcomms.com