By Joshua Malbin, Magnificent Publications, Inc.
August 27, 2008
Only a handful of companies specialize in expert meeting coverage. We’re one. Another is The Conference Publishers, based in Ottawa. If you’re a long-time reader of The Editorial Advantage, you may recall a guest article written for us by their senior managers about the continued importance of face-to-face meetings in a world of teleconferencing.
Recently we received The Conference Publishers’ own e-newsletter and wanted to share their interesting new approach to meeting coverage, which they call “online nested content.”
This approach allows our clients to present content coverage online in three tiers:
- An initial landing page that lists our story lineup by day, with links to…
- A series of 225- to 450-word stories, with links to…
- A collection of longer summary reports, each providing coverage of 1,000 to 2,250 words, the equivalent of two to five typescript pages.
The Conference Publishers further enhances these long reports with video and audio excerpts from the much longer recorded sessions.
Their approach reminds us of a project we did several years ago in covering a conference on the use of technology in community development. The Conference Publishers go a step further, using conference summaries as gateways to further conversation in blogs, wikis, or other online discussion forums.
Check them out. We compete, but we’re both on a mission to make meetings more productive. Capturing the gist of important presentations and discussions on the Web multiplies the return on your meeting dollar many times over. Furthermore, when you preserve key decisions for future reference, you answer for good the irritating question: “We talked about that. What did we decide?”
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By Gabe Goldberg, Computers and Publishing, Inc.
August 22, 2008
Holiday Inn Express TV commercials notwithstanding, there’s no such thing as instant expertise. Not even—or especially—when it’s alleged to come from purchasing a complex editing or design tool it can take years to fully master.
Accomplished writers, editors, and designers are out there, but distinguishing the best from the rest can be a challenge. Objective measures of talent and qualifications are scarce and disputable. Managers seeking to fill mid-level or senior staff positions cannot set minimal credential levels, such as CPA or DDS, because few exist in the publications professions.
This is a reason why professionals in our field don’t always get the respect they deserve. Low barriers to entry—no aptitude test or alphabet-soup license required to claim titles—are probably the single biggest factor depressing compensation for publications professionals.
Since objective measures of talent and qualifications are scarce and disputable, what’s a pubs manager to do? Minus a CPA, DDS, or dental hygienist certificate to prove your that applicant has at least minimal skills, thoughtful digging is required.
Academic credentials such as a graduate journalism degree from Columbia University or the University of Missouri are a good start, but that’s all they are. More important is a resume or CV demonstrating real—and increasing—skills, talent, and achievement.
Note that “demonstrating achievement” doesn’t mean logging time served in a position, listing tasks performed, or citing increasingly impressive job titles. Instead, it means having a credible portfolio with clips or links. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or publications/media relevant to your needs and niche are nice. But check references to make sure that the impressive copy or design you’re perusing wasn’t a team effort or heavily edited.
Lacking credentials and big name venues, look for an application pitching someone who knows precisely what you need—with more detail than they found in your job description—because he or she has scoured your Web site. Better still, look for the applicants who tell you precisely how they’ll meet that need. Best is when they’ve done it before and can explain why and how they’ll do it for you.
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By Robert Freedman, ASBPE Foundation President
August 18, 2008
Many publications and Web content managers are trying to help their constituencies understand what is really going on in the economy. The American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) recently took a giant step in the right direction by setting up an educational foundation to raise the caliber of business journalism. As shown in this excerpt from ASBPE’s blog, the market is ready.
It’s true. If you build it, they will come. [This summer] ASBPE formally launched its tax-exempt educational foundation and the results are in: two dozen contributions from institutions and individuals. We’re well on our way to reaching our first-year goal of $30,000.
Everyone I talked to at the launch and throughout the national ASBPE conference said the same thing: a foundation dedicated to ending the stature gap between b2b and the consumer press in our university journalism programs is long overdue. Our plan to endow the country’s first b2b journalism chair at one of our country’s top universities and to offer generous scholarships to students committed to b2b journalism resonated more than I expected….
Of course, the foundation isn’t just about curriculum equality in our schools; it’s about helping editors today master the new-media skills they’ll need tomorrow to stay in the driver’s seat as content increasingly is delivered on platforms other than print….
What’s clear is that editors and their publishers aren’t just agreeing to the need for the ASBPE Foundation; they’re committing themselves to making it happen. Questex Media in Cleveland and CFO magazine in Boston (part of The Economist Group), Access Intelligence of Rockville, Md., and the BNA in Washington, D.C. — these are just a few of the institutions that stepped up as founding donors. My employer, the publications group of the National Association of REALTORS®, has also donated, along with Adobe (which made an in-kind donation) and the Stephen Barr family (the sponsors of ASBPE’s Stephen Barr award for exceptional work by b2b journalists), among others.
Particularly inspiring, though, is the level of the individual donations … from professionals in our industry from every region of the country….
If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation, you may do so online.
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By Gabe Goldberg, Computers and Publishing, Inc.
August 14, 2008
Anyone creating Web sites should have long ago abandoned the idea that a home page is the only way visitors enter a site.
In this age of search engines, any page can give a visitor the all-important first impression and also do the work of selling, educating or entertaining.
Many sites, if they monitor traffic at all, simply count visitors and map clicks, without matching page design to website goals. Web design guru Jakob Nielsen cautions against the business cost of bad design and illustrates how inadvertent obstacles waste visitors’ time, discouraging or preventing them from accomplishing what they came to do.
Two sites with effective landing pages are Wikipedia and Amazon. The former site, a collaborative encyclopedia whose pages are often in the first few search results, doesn’t waste time when you land; it simply delivers the information sought. Entries’ consistent format provides central topical text surrounded by ancillary links and site navigation—but content is king. Amazon’s site allows purchasing on every book’s Web page, either by “Add to Shopping Cart” or by one-click ordering.
For an example of what not to do, Nielsen cites Christopher Norman Chocolates for using ineffective landing pages and internal splash screens hiding product assortments that may interest visitors. To avoid similar mistakes, examine Web pages you create as if you’re new to your site and on a mission. Ensure that what you see satisfies visitor needs and sells, educates, or entertains. Check how pages look using as many different browsers as possible, including the increasingly popular mobile devices.
Web Marketing Today gives specific—and extreme—advice on creating narrowly focused landing pages: “Any element of the landing page that distracts your visitor from taking the intended step must be ruthlessly eliminated.” Use your judgment. You don’t want visitors to feel buttonholed by a hard sell. But you must keep them focused on their (and your) business at hand.
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By Suzanne Harris, Magnificent Publications, Inc.
August 12, 2008
Organizational life is full of outdated rituals, from office parties to annual performance reviews that do little to improve the quality of product, process, or personal experience. Technology can do away with many of them. For instance, an organization can do an online survey to find out how staff would really like to socialize. A manager can conduct a round of “exit interviews” after a project ends and provide feedback while the project is fresh in everyone’s mind.
One ritual may well go away on its own, the telephone call. Not the serious conversation with subtle, sensitive dimensions that must be conducted right away by two or more people who can’t meet. Or the pleasant, thirty-second, “Hi, are we still on for drinks at 7:00?” But perhaps the discussion of a topic that neither party understands very well, or the interminable conference call in which half the participants are multitasking and the rest are wondering who’s speaking and whether anything is really being accomplished.
And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Citrix, a vendor of Web-based business support services, recently sponsored a Webinar in which participants were asked to choose their favorite way to communicate at work. The results:
- E-mail: 41 percent
- Face-to-face: 34 percent
- Collaborative technology: 17 percent
- Telephone : 6 percent
- Text messaging : 1 percent
Only 6 percent like talking on the phone best. I predict that number will drop even farther as more people get used to collaborative technology, in which we confer with our colleagues while looking at data or documents that they put up on the screen. Imagine, we can actually know what we’re talking about.
And save a bundle on conference calls.
Best of all, when word gets around that nobody really likes talking on the phone, the office will be much quieter. Won’t that be nice?
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By Gabe Goldberg, Computers and Publishing, Inc.
August 9, 2008
Most Web sites brag about products, services, or programs. Better sites offer proof in the form of success stories or case studies. They may also toss in analytical white papers. These real-world resources give site visitors a reason for feeling confident in whatever is being sold.
But, as Jakob Nielsen points out in “Writing Style for Print vs. Web,” Web users and print readers behave differently. Web users want content they can act upon, immediately. What does that mean for a Web content developer who wants visitors to read a narrative documenting the organization’s success?
A little strategy is required. The greatest benefit of a case study or white paper Is having it circulated and discussed among decision makers. That means it needs to be mailed or downloaded and printed. Nobody wants to read it online.
Web managers often use “teaser” copy to persuade visitors to access long pieces. They identify the customer who is profiled (recognizable marquee names are best), state their pressing problem, and then present the elegant, economical, innovative, or otherwise superior solution. Finally, they supply an offer or link for full details.
Requiring a minimal registration process to access a full story generates a supply of prospects for marketing or sales follow-up. Registration also helps you understand and document your site visitor demographics, which is essential for advertising-supported sites.
For an example of a site that gets it right, look at the popular and comprehensive TechTarget (PDF). It is a network of technology information sites that offers enough valuable and instantly available content to make individual sites worth visiting. The site-family advantage allows one registration to open doors to dozens of Web sites. For example, SearchDataCenter.com offers abundant tips with simple clicks, but protects white papers and other valuable resources behind a registration screen that elicits information for follow-up.
Posted in Management Strategies, Marketing Communications No Comments »
By Brian Platzer
August 4, 2008
Taking their cues from wildly popular websites such as MySpace and Facebook, new services are using social networking for professional ends.
Consider Help A Reporter Out, a service that connects journalists to potential sources. If you crave publicity for your publication or website—who doesn’t?—acting as a source is a great way to achieve wide exposure.
The best part: it’s convenient and free.
Sign up, and you’ll begin receiving up to three e-mails per day, each with as many as 30 queries. Scan the queries, verify that your expertise matches up with a journalist’s needs, and you’re likely to see your publication or website’s name in print.
I used the site for an article about Brooklyn commercial real estate, and I was able to find a source just 40 minutes after submitting my query. The source was happy, and so was I.
Part of what makes HARO so appealing is that it minimizes the role of the middleman. There is no fee for the journalist or source, and only a brief verification process to deter spam, which means that you will be able to contact journalists within hours or even minutes after they submit their queries.
PR Newswire, or ProfNet, is HARO’s biggest competitor. ProfNet was founded in 1992, and many large businesses have been relying on it for years. It charges sources for its services and points with pride to its success.
Both sites are worth checking out, but for those of you seeking free publicity, I recommend signing up with Help A Reporter Out. Why not peruse a few days’ worth of queries? You’ve got literally nothing to lose.
Posted in Marketing Communications, Developmental Editing 1 Comment »
By Suzanne Harris, Magnificent Publications, Inc.
July 30, 2008
First, the good news. The majority of editors of business-to-business, or B2B, publications think their editor-in-chief demonstrates effective leadership behavior.
But what they see isn’t exactly the most effective behavior. Close, but no cigar.
This was what Heather Onorati, Chief Editor of Advanstar’s Healthcare Centralized Content Group, concluded in her survey of 211 B2B editors, which she discussed at the recent editorial conference of the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). ASBPE co-sponsored the study.
What do editors want in their editors-in-chief? Take a deep breath. They want everyone to regard the editor-in-chief as powerful, confident, and the personification of inspirational ideals. They want a role model, someone with whom they can identify.
Not surprisingly, few editors-in-chief get that gold star. But a lot come pretty close. The behaviors reported most frequently were:
- Fosters understanding and agreement
- Encourages creativity in approaching problems
Do all that, and you probably don’t need to walk on water. What not to do is to get wrapped up in the formalities of the job description and the technologies. As far as staff members are concerned, the editor-in-chief who only points out mistakes and aims to maintain the status quo is not much of a leader.
How does an editor-in-chief ascend to the heights? Vern Henry, executive editorial director for Advanstar Communications, told Onorati:
“When you’re talking about leadership, you’re talking about an editor-in-chief or a managing editor having to be kind of the quarterback of all the information and being able to call the plays as to what’s the best packaging and the best game plan for a particular story.”
So it comes down to winning. To learn more about how to make yours a winning team, check out the ASBPE newsletter article (PDF).
Posted in Management Strategies, Developmental Editing No Comments »
By Gabe Goldberg, Computers and Publishing, Inc.
July 28, 2008
No matter how much great content you’ve created for your website, if you’ve omitted or skimped on one crucial area, you’re not getting full value for your investment.
That essential bit of Web space is a Press Room. Consider the plight of a journalist who visits your site—often on deadline—intending to give you much desired publicity. Recently, for example, I needed information on a major technology company, so I visited its site and clicked “About Us”—the rock under which Press Rooms are often hidden. But no luck—I saw “Who We Are,” “Take a Closer Look,” and other cheery but vague links. After floundering a while I clicked “Making Headlines” and the door finally creaked open to the comprehensive Press Room I’d expected.
They had crafted lots of material. Why, I wondered, did they hide it?
Many companies do even worse. Rob Pegoraro, the Washington Post’s personal technology columnist, notes that while it’s rare for companies to completely omit information for the press, it’s much more common for them to “post an archive of press releases that is out of date, missing crucial data like pricing or system requirements, and devoid of contact info.”
When all else fails, journalists will ask their friend Google what it knows about your company. Googling “company [x] press release” often turns up random hits, perhaps documents at your PR firm, someone that partners with your company, or a news site. But will it create the best possible first impression? Was it created this century? Wouldn’t you rather guide reporters to your carefully crafted messages?
A virtual Press Room caters to the press by organizing what they’re likely to need and allowing them to quickly reach staff who can answer questions and provide more information. Content will vary somewhat across sites but can include basics such as:
- A brief fact sheet about your company or organization
- Product/services descriptions and prices
- Current (that means recently posted!) and archived press releases
- Executive/management biographies
- Whatever financial information you disclose
- Customer/client success stories
- Links to published material about your company/organization
- Relevant white papers and other studies featuring your business
- Useful photographs and graphics/logos/illustrations
- Contact information for your media relations staff
A reminder: the Internet never forgets. Needing to reach the author of an article, I consulted his organization magazine’s masthead—no luck. When I couldn’t penetrate his robotic phone system, I Googled him, found his telephone number, and left a message. He called back, gave me the information I needed, and asked how I’d gotten his cell phone number.
When I told him via Google, he was astonished—then he remembered: needing to be reachable during an event several years earlier, he’d issued a press release listing that number. But he’d hardly intended to make it permanently available.
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By Andrew Palmer
July 25, 2008
Designing effective book covers, to the frustration of publishers everywhere, is more an art than a science. Fortunately, a few loose guidelines apply.
Betsy Kulamer, Vice President of Washington Book Publishers, reports that WBP used the following criteria for selecting the winners of the WBP 2008 Book Design and Effectiveness Awards. To see images of the winners, go to WBP’s website.
An effective cover should:
- represent the book’s contents. This means not just its subject matter, but its tone: see, for example, our earlier entry about a WBP award-winning cover designed by Dan Kohan.
- appeal to the book’s intended audience. This means, of course, knowing what a book’s core audience is, while at the same time allowing for potential expansion of that audience.
- be aesthetically appealing. Even readers who think they have no interest in the material should be drawn to the book.
These interrelated criteria are a fine place to start when designing or sizing up a book. But what do they entail on a more concrete level?
The 12.5 Percent Rule. Kulamer says the judges for the WBP Awards often apply the “12.5 Percent Rule”: scan the cover of a book and, in a PDF, reduce its size to 12.5%. If it looks like mush, the cover is probably not doing its job. This is especially important in the Amazon era, when many readers first encounter the cover in a miniature version on the Internet. The three different regions of text on the cover—title, subtitle, and author—should be discernible at a glance, and the images should enhance the text’s readability rather than interfere with it. Less, as is so often the case, is more.
Keep it readable. One way to make a book stand out from its competitors is to use a funky or obscure typeface. Unfortunately, such an approach tends to lessen a book’s visual impact rather than heighten it. Kulamer recommends using a clean, readable font, so that consumers can jump immediately from the letters on the page to the concept behind those letters. Probably best to stay away from Wingdings and its cousins.
Pay attention to the whole package. One often-neglected aspect of a book cover is its spine. This is what people see if they are browsing the shelves in a bookstore or library, and the impact it makes is important. Here, again, the emphasis should be on clarity and legibility. Kulamer also notes that the WBP Awards judges especially appreciated books that integrated their spines into the front and back covers, so that the design of the book when it’s spread open creates a unified effect. As for the back cover, Kulamer says a common pitfall is to use a thin, white sans serif font against a dark background. Instead, she recommends using a heavyweight sans serif against a lighter background.
For a book that puts all of these elements together, check out Great Growing At Home: The Essential Guide to Gardening Basics, by Allan A. Swenson, which won a WBP Award for Illustrated Cover or Jacket for a commercial publisher.
Note the simple design that manages to incorporate several different images, the earth-toned images against a wood-like background, the bold font, the emphasis on the word “HOME,” and the clean division between title, subtitle and author.
Posted in Developmental Editing, Advocacy Support 1 Comment »
