The Radiance of Knowing

These days, everyone’s looking to save a buck. But if you plan to cut corners by using a fledgling copywriter or marketer, expect to put the money you just saved towards a really good lawyer. Because you may just find yourself in court.

Lawsuits abound in today’s world. Lots of people are more than willing to sue at the drop of a hat. No one wants to think that they “know” anyone like this, but the truth is, this planet is crawling with lawsuit-happy consumers who can make your life a living hell. You may think, “Oh, I’m just a small start-up; no one would bother trying to get money out of me!” But do you know this for a fact? Even if you’re miniscule now, you want to grow your business. With any luck, one day you’ll be earning more than just a comfortable living. The best way to ensure your legal protection in the future is to start practicing caution today.

How does this relate to your advertising, and who you hire to work for you? Every bit of written material put out by your company is a statement issued by you. If you hire someone who has little to no experience in the real world, you’d better be on top of them at all times. You’d better make sure that what they’re creating for your company doesn’t contain any legal “loopholes” or claims you can’t fulfill. Because as soon as your advertising makes a statement about anything, someone will try and hold you responsible. They might even seek legal counsel on the matter. Yes, what you say can and will be held against you in a court of law.

I worked for the “R”Us family of stores for seven years, writing and editing everything from catalog copy to sales promotions to coupons to informative marketing mailers. Nearly everything said in our ads was supported by a legal disclaimer that prevented the company from being held responsible for any “unforseen events” that might occur as an indirect result of our statements. At the time, these legalities posed a great annoyance to our department, slowing down progress and hampering creativity. But today, I’m incredibly grateful for the “extensive legal training” I received while working there.

What are some examples of loose-lipped writing that can land you in legal hot water? What situations might you get yourself into in today’s fast-paced, maximum-output world of marketers?

E-books are hot right now. Everyone wants one, and they want it yesterday. But beware the trouble of an untrained eye taking control of your e-book content! Last year, I worked for a small start-up company. They wanted an e-book written fast, so they hired an unpaid intern. Although the e-book served its purpose well, it was riddled with statements that could get us in trouble! Why? Our e-book was for children. In it, we had included a long list of ways kids could spread holiday cheer. One entry was something to the effect of, “Offer to help your neighbor carry in the groceries.” Innocuous as it may seem, the end result of this remark could be some parent taking us to court because their child went out and tried to assist some unsavory character, and was abducted in the process! Heaven forbid, but nothing’s impossible. In our e-book, we took care to state “Never do anything without first asking permission from your parents” - many times, and in many ways.

Article content: seems like everyone wants it in mass quantities. But how smart is it to hire a wet-behind-the-ears intern to write pages and pages of information and then publish it under your company name? One little slip-up, and guess who’s getting a subpoena in the mail. Not the intern! I recently wrote an article on credit card debt elimination. As I was crafting my copy, I kept stumbling over “red flag” statements that could prove troublesome. “Some debt consolidation companies may even be able to erase the interest fees you’ve accrued.” Was that true?? If it wasn’t, somebody might be getting an earful down the road. It’s difficult to know what information found on the internet is accurate, or just somebody’s assertion. If you’re not sure - disclaim! Or, simply avoid commenting.

Coupons and limited time offers that aren’t properly disclaimed can cost you money. Say you run a sale on your website, but you forget to include start and end dates. If the sale prices are valid in January but you don’t tell your customers, someone could very well come along and demand a discount in May! Or what if you post an ad for your business offering 50% off all design jobs but you forget to exclude the really high-end projects? You could find yourself working on an extensive web-design job that’s only bringing in five hundred dollars when it could have made you a thousand!

What about your return policy? You want to be known as a company with its customers’ best interest in mind - but what if your return policy is so open-ended, it leaves you vulnerable to excessive returns, when in fact there is really nothing wrong with what you offer? I worked for an e-greeting company this summer. How is an e-greeting company supposed to guarantee “customer satisfaction?” It’s not possible! So, in such a case, a statement like this has to go. Would a newborn to the industry have the foresight to make such decisions? My guess is no.

Do you sell products via the web? Anything that poses a safety threat should be disclaimed to avoid future legal headaches and thousands of dollars lost. Everything from over-the-counter drugs to children’s products to baby clothes to automobile parts to finances must be shielded from potential legal action. Never thought about legal ramifications? Best to get an expert’s advice before going forward with your business plan.

Still thinking of hiring a novice to help you run your business? Think again. A little extra money spent now can mean a ton of money saved later. Hire a copywriter or marketer with corporate experience, who will exercise legal caution in your business writing and provide financial security for your future. Who knows… you may never even need that lawyer.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Dina Giolitto is a New-Jersey based Copywriting Consultant with nine years’ industry experience. Her current focus is web content and web marketing for a multitude of products and services although the bulk of her experience lies in retail for big-name companies like Toys”R”Us. Visit http://www.wordfeeder.com for rates and samples

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Your website is done, your business cards have been delivered, and your brochure has received accolades. In the promoting department you have everything you need, right? Well, there is one item you lack and by having this item in your arsenal it can be a dealmaker for you.

When I pitch my services to potential clients I always have on hand copious amounts of business cards. I drop them almost everywhere. I want people to look at my cards and then get online to view my website. So far, so good. However, besides a brochure there is one item I have learned to use — and modify — as needed. This item is a promotional flyer. That’s right, a simple 8.5 x 11 sheet of buff paper outlining what I have to offer.

Why do I use a flyer? No, I do not pin this information all over the office nor do I pass them out as frequently as my business cards. Instead, when I run a promotion — which is always — I feature the “special” on paper and hand it to prospects along with my business card.

I have found that people want information at their fingertips. Sure, going to my website is important, but I also want them to know that the “deal” I am currently running is something they need to know about up front.

What do I put on the flyer? For starters, I put in big bold letters my special. Currently, one of my web packages is on sale for $549. So, the top of the flyer says: $549 Web Sites!

Immediately after in four short paragraphs I list the following information:

1. Qualified customers will receive my $795 package for 30% off.

2. I list all the features of the package. Did I say I use bullets? You bet!

3. Other services I am offering at the same time are listed briefly. I also state when the promotional period ends.

4. All my contact information including my name, phone number, email address, and web address are given.

What have I learned from implementing this method?

1. Black lettering on bright [not neon] paper gets attention. Leave out the graphics and simply state your offer. Underline, italicize or make bold certain keywords as necessary. Why not use neon paper? Neon equals cheap or tacky. Stick with pastels, they are elegant.

2. People are accustomed to receiving special offers. All the stores and most everything you purchase online today is priced lower than the sticker price. Slash your price and people will gladly reap the savings.

3. You can change your offer at any time. Go through the expense of creating a brochure and you cannot make changes to it without incurring additional charges. If your flyer matches your brochure consider “tri-folding” your flyer and sticking it neatly in with the brochure.

Remember, you are marketing not only your product but you are marketing yourself. Design a promotional flyer that you can be proud to call your own and reap the benefits of being able to modify your campaigns as necessary. Your customers will receive “a deal” and you will receive needed work.

Matt Keegan is the The Article Writer who promotes his business online as well as in person. For samples of some of his work, please visit: http://www.thearticlewriter.com

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The Braun D410 Digital Camera

Pros
A camera compact in shape and function - size of a packet of 20 cigarettes. Designed for simplicity in use and the ladies handbag with a neat case included 4MByte sensor - very respectable: and a three times optical zoom - a good lens. Simple to use and gives excellent results - prints of up to 10 x 8 inches are feasible on best settings.

Cons
Only space for two AA batteries - but the case is small! - take some spares. Lacks an optical viewfinder, LCD display difficult to see on a sunny day. Flash is good up to 10 feet max - but then that is true of most on camera flashes. The Braun D410 is a compact camera that comes compete with batteries and camera case - rare nowadays - and a set of leads for connection to your PC or to your TV. While this is a still picture and a movie camera, this review is more concerned about the still picture capability of the Braun D410.

I was able to operate the camera from the box - but then I am a photographer. Reading the first few pages of the manual will get you going - and that will probably be all you require. As with all things electronic, there are many functions included, most of which you will never use.

Indeed the camera manual - printed in 7 languages - is considerably larger and heavier than the camera - so leave it at home! Same applies to the CD Rom containing software for your PC.

Inserting a 256Mbyte SD Memory card allows the camera to store in excess of 100 images at its highest resolution - 4Mega Pixels. This card can be used to transfer images to your PC or can be taken to a photo lab to get the images printed. The camera will take either Secure Digital or Multimedia memory cards - they are physically identical. The only difference is that the SD card has a small switch in its side to lock the contents of its memory. Take care when inserting batteries or cards. This is a small and delicate piece of equipment! The cards can be inserted the wrong way around - but the battery cover will not fit back into place!

Switch on the Braun D410 camera by pressing the small button at the centre of the command dial at the top of the camera. The dial sets the mode of the camera - fully automatic or a range of options including landscapes, portraits, sport subjects rapidly moving) and night photography.

The controls are intuitive to operate starting with the upper toggle switch on the rear of the camera switching between wide angle and telephoto. The image you are focussing on is displayed on a small screen on the rear of the camera - there is no eye piece as such.

Slight pressure on the picture taking button causes the camera to focus and calculate exposure - a full press causes the camera to take a picture - there is a small delay between pressing the button and taking the shot - so keep the camera still!

Most users will use the fully automatic mode which involves no thinking or playing. The built in flash gun switches itself on as and when needed for individual groups or small portraits. Do not expect it to fill a hall though - this is a compact camera!

The screen on the back of the camera is able to review images taken and stored in memory. Press the playback arrow button to go into review mode - press it again to go back to photograph mode. Use the lower toggle switch to step through the shots you
have taken. Individual images can be deleted - and taken again - if required. I found the screen difficult to use on a very bright sunny day.

A drawback of any small camera is that there is little room for the batteries. The Braun D410 accepts 2 AA size batteries. So take some spares with you as they soon run down should you be making use of the camera over a period. The motors for the telephoto lens, flash and other circuits drain the cells.

I am not going to go through all of the options and control functions of the camera. The manual does that very well. So I
would suggest that should you buy this camera you spend half an hour reading the manual and then put it to one side and take

some photographs! The advantage of digital is that you are not exposing film - and you can delete the images you do not want to keep.

The camera can take short bursts of video as well, but I am not going to describe that!

In summary
The Braun D410 is a very competent consumer camera which will delight the user in its simplicity and quality. Ideal for the ladies and their handbag.

For more information on this product visit http://www.view-link.com/contact.html

Christopher Thomas is a keen photographer and company director at Viewlink Ltd based in Amersham, Uk. The company specialises
in digital photo developing for both amateur and commercial photographers as well as supplying a range of photographic supplies. For more articles by Christopher Thomas please visit the company website at http://www.view-link.com

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What is bad PR?

Well, if you’re a business, non-profit or association
manager, bad PR does nothing positive about the
behaviors of those important outside audiences of
yours that most affect your operation.

It fails to create external stakeholder behavior change
leading directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

And it never does persuade those key outside folks to
your way of thinking, or move them to take actions that
allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

Good PR, on the other hand, really CAN alter individual
perception and lead to the changed behaviors you need.
At the same time, however, it requires more than special
events, brochures and news releases if you really want to
get your PR money’s worth.

Your inoculation against bad PR is the underlying premise
of public relations, and here it is: people act on their own
perception of the facts before them, which leads to
predictable behaviors about which something can be done.
When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by
reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very
people whose behaviors affect the organization the most,
the public relations mission is accomplished.

You may be surprised that good PR can generate results like
prospects starting to work with you; customers making
repeat purchases; stronger relationships with the educational,
labor, financial and healthcare communities; improved
relations with government agencies and legislative bodies,
and even capital givers or specifying sources looking your way

As the effort gains momentum, you can also see results
such as new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
rebounds in showroom visits; membership applications on the
rise; community service and sponsorship opportunities; enhanced
activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels, not
to mention new thoughtleader and special event contacts.

Just how vital is it that your most important outside audiences
really perceive your operations, products or services in a
positive light? Vital indeed, so assure yourself that your PR
staff has bought into the whole effort. Be especially careful
that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always
lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Take the time to review the PR blueprint in detail with
your staff, especially how you will gather and monitor
matters by questioning members of your most important
outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you
know about our organization? How much do you know
about our services or products and employees? Have you
had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the
interchange? Have you experienced problems with our
people or procedures?

The perception monitoring phases of your program can
obviously be handled by professional survey people, IF the
budget is available. But always keep in mind that your PR
people are also in the perception and behavior business and
can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false
assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies,
misconceptions and any other negative perception that
might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Now, let’s talk about your public relations goal. You need
one that speaks to the aberrations that showed up during
your key audience perception monitoring. In all probability,
it will call for straightening out that dangerous misconception,
or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or doing something about
that damaging rumor.

The realities of public relations are that goals need strategies
to show you how to get there. And also that you have just
three strategic choices when it comes to handling a perception
or opinion challenge: create perception where there may
be none, change the perception, or reinforce it. Unfortunately,
a bad strategy pick will taste like ice cream on your corned
beef and cabbage, so be certain the new strategy fits well
with your new public relations goal. For example, you don’t
want to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce”
strategy.

Your PR team must create just the right, corrective language.
Persuading an audience to your way of thinking is awfully
hard work, so we’re looking for words that are compelling,
persuasive and believable AND clear and factual. You must
do this if you are to correct a perception by shifting opinion
towards your point of view, leading to the desired behaviors.

Here you must select the communications tactics most likely
to carry your words to the attention of your target audience.
Meet again with your communications specialists and review
your message for impact and persuasiveness. You can pick
from dozens of available tactics. From speeches, facility tours,
emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews,
newsletters, personal meetings and many others. Just be sure
that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like
your audience members.

On the chance that the old line about the credibility of a
message depending on its delivery method is true, you might
think about introducing it to smaller gatherings rather than
using higher-profile communications such as news releases or
talk show appearances.

Consider yourself alerted when the topic of a progress report
is suggested. Time for you and your PR folks to return to the
field for a second perception monitoring session with members
of your external audience. Using many of the same questions
used in the first benchmark session, you’ll now be watching
very carefully for signs that your communications tactics have
worked and that the negative perception is being altered in your
direction.

If impatience rears its head, you can always accelerate things
with a broader selection of communications tactics AND increased frequencies.

Obviously, this will convert bad PR into good PR by doing
something positive about the behaviors of those important
outside audiences of yours that most affect your operation.
It will do the job by creating external stakeholder behavior
change leading directly to achieving your managerial
objectives. And it will pull this off by persuading those key
outside folks to your way of thinking, thus moving them to
take actions that allow your business, non-profit or association
to succeed.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
Word count is 1100 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and
association managers about using the fundamental premise of public
relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR,
Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR,
Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi-
cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press
secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree
from Columbia University, major in public relations.

eMail: bobkelly@TNI.net

Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com

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Free press release distribution sites like prweb.com offer you an opportunity for additional exposure beyond your media list. Not that submitting your release on these sites necessarily gains you more coverage, though that’s a distinct possibility. What these sites really do is act as a rather large pay per click ad–only you don’t have to pay and your release won’t appear with the “Sponsored Links”.

Confused? Don’t be, it’s really quite simple. When you submit your release to a prweb.com, you will be asked to submit keywords as well as a summary of your release. You can choose any keywords you like and those words don’t necessarily have to be in the press release. With a little research, you can find the keywords for your subject area that people search on the most. Then submit your release.

Since prweb.com houses so many press releases, most with links to the sites of the people sending the releases, it becomes a search engine magnet. Consequently, your release will rank higher in the search engines just because you posted it on prweb.com.

The most important part of this process is to make sure you run your release with a link back to your Web site. Getting a higher search engine ranking for your press release will not mean that much to non-media members so you want to make sure that you have a way for potential customers to get to your Web site where you can talk about your business in more detail.

That prweb.com will get you higher rankings than your own Web site is certainly not always the case. At least it shouldn’t be if you hired an SEO company to make sure you get higher rankings. If you haven’t, it’s an affordable way to improve your search engine rankings, at least temporarily.

Freelance copywriter Joe D’Eramo owns and operates Hiroad Communications (http://www.hiroadcommunications.com). To read more of Joe’s articles, please go to http://wwww.writingup.com/blog/deramojd.

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Of all the unknown factors involved in receiving guidance from a phone psychic, the one certainty is that each person will have a unique experience. Psychic advice is subjective and it is up to the individual to evaluate how each psychic met their expectation and needs.

However, guidelines are available to assist a person in making a comparison of phone psychics in order to best match their own needs with the perfect psychic and reading. Those experienced in connecting with a phone psychic are familiar with the many different types of readings provided including the use of astrology, clairvoyance, and Tarot cards.

One way to gauge the reliability of a psychic phone provider is to ascertain how long the provider has been in business or in the role of professional reader. Like most companies and organizations, psychics have a “mission statement” along with testimonials available from their satisfied customers. These can be very informative in your phone psychic comparison.

For callers wishing to thoroughly compare the available psychics at each phone psychic provider, photos, biographical profiles, and information about their experience, can often be found at the provider’s web site. A small handful of truly dedicated phone psychics invite callers to view them live online in their own environment while they actually give phone psychic readings to the advice seeker on the other end of the line.

The mission of certified psychics is to provide ethical and professional standards through the use of reputable psychics to deliver accurate psychic readings. Unfortunately, the phone psychic practice also attracts its share of frauds, con artists, and fakes, so it’s buyer beware when evaluating for a phone psychics comparison.

If the idea of speaking with a reputable local psychic appeals to you, a listing can be found via an internet search for phone psychics.

Phone Psychic Info provides detailed information on psychic phone readings, phone psychic advice, phone psychic jobs, phone psychic comparisons, free phone psychics and more. Phone Psychic Info is affiliated with Original Content Web.

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The biggest risk is that that if your distribution is shared with other material, your leaflet may not be read at all. Often when a pile of ‘junk mail’ arrives on the doormat of your potential client, their temptation is to pick up the whole lot, and throw your professionally designed, carefully worded leaflet straight into the bin. When planning the intricacies of a leaflet distribution campaign, one will have to choose between ’solus’ or shared distribution. ‘Solus’ simply means that the flyer is distributed on its own - no other material from any other company (conflicting or not) will go through the letterbox with your leaflet. This is widely regarded as the preferable option, owing to the far superior return rates that one can expect from this method.Shared distribution is of course, the direct opposite, and involves, as the name suggests, sharing your door drop with a number of other companies. Naturally, this will reduce the costs involved, but return rates are difficult to ascertain, and lower doorstep recognition may also hamper your own back checking and verification process. The biggest risk is that that if your distribution is shared with other material, your leaflet may not be read at all. Often when a pile of ‘junk mail’ arrives on the doormat of your potential client, their temptation is to pick up the whole lot, and throw your professionally designed, carefully worded leaflet straight into the bin.No form of advertising produces instant response, and doing one door drop will not make you millions. Building brand recognition is hard work, and can take months, even years to achieve. It’s easy to fall at the first hurdle and get disheartened when the enquiries don’t come flooding in from the very first drop. Conducting a targeted leaflet distribution campaign over a period of time, dropping to the same houses each week is certainly not the easy way out, and will never be regarded as a quick fix

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