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This
month we have a guest writer. I
hope you enjoy her article.
Remember,
It's the WORLD Wide Web!
by
Marcia Yudkin
Almost
always, online publicity means global exposure, whether your business is
based in Peoria Illinois, Perth Australia, or Paris France. When your
marketing or publicity copy will appear on the Internet, you need to take
conscious steps to ensure that your news makes sense to readers from far
corners of the world. In news releases or your online media centre, here's
how to clue in distant media people and avoid international gaffes.
First,
ground your material geographically. People outside your region won't
necessarily know what state -- and country -- "Hampshire County"
is in unless you say so. Likewise, you may think that the __expression
"Bay Area" unambiguously refers to the San Francisco Bay Area in
California, but Tampa Bay, Florida also uses that __expression. Perhaps
the most geographically useless word you could use in a headline would be
"local." Name the city and state instead.
Second,
avoid gratuitous and unexplained references to political figures and
national culture. During the tenure of President Bill Clinton, many
Americans referred to his wife as simply "Hillary," with no last
name. This was bound to confuse people in other parts of the world.
Similarly, those
outside the U.S. wouldn't know the __expression, "Would it play in
Peoria?" Professional journalists always provide unobtrusive
background, full names for everyone mentioned and brief explanations of
laws referred to, and you should follow suit.
Third,
take great care with relative terms, such as "overseas" or
"foreign." To Europeans, the U.S. is overseas.
To Asians, the dollar is foreign currency. Similarly, remember that
acronyms everyone in your country knows, such as "VAT" or
"EPA," may need to be spelled out for the benefit of those
living elsewhere.
Fourth,
watch out for tricky measurement terms. I once mistakenly corrected the
word "tonnes" in the publicity materials of a client from
Canada, thinking that the writer meant an English ton of 2,000 pounds. In
fact, a "tonne" is a metric ton, equivalent to 2,205 pounds in
the English system. Cumbersome as this may look, it would be helpful to
indicate this as "75 tonnes (metric tons)." Consider adding
English or metric conversions for some of the lesser known measurement
terms, such as hectares to acres or vice versa.
Beware also of "billion," which in the U.S. means a
thousand million, while in Great Britain it can mean a million million.
Fifth,
add your country code to the beginning of telephone or fax numbers on a
news release or at your Web site. A reporter on deadline from around the
world shouldn't have to figure out whether or not (1) or some other
country code has to be added to your Saskatchewan telephone number.
All
of this can be accomplished without making your copy clunky. Use common
sense in deciding how many definitions or glosses to add. Just as you'd
inject explanations for dinner guests from afar when the conversation
turned to local sports or politics, add inconspicuous verbal asides to
clarify your references in material that will be accessible to readers
around the world.
Marcia
Yudkin marcia@yudkin.com
is the author of the classic guide to comprehensive PR, "6 Steps to
Free Publicity," now for sale in an updated edition at Amazon.com and
in bookstores everywhere. She performs press release makeovers and
other publicity services through http://www.pressreleasehelp.com.
You can sign up for her free weekly newsletter on creative marketing, The
Marketing Minute, at http://www.yudkin.com/marksynd.htm.
WORLD Wide Connections
With
the Internet connections can be made worldwide in many different ways.
You
may be looking for an office presence
in another state or country but do not wish the expense of renting an
office, purchasing furniture and equipment and employing someone to staff
that office. Perhaps you
might be seeking someone to handle phone calls for you and receive mail on
your behalf. A Virtual
Assistant already has an office set up with everything that is required
and would be well equipped to handle this for you.
Recently
I participated in a web conference.
Attendees were mainly from the US and it was great for me to hear
their voices over the computer. A
friend of mine was very surprised to walk into the office and hear my
computer talking to me and using my name – I explained I was
participating in a web conference. I
didn’t have a microphone connected at the time so the other attendees
couldn’t hear me, but I could type my responses for them to read and
respond back to. Perhaps you
have a need to connect with clients or associates overseas but hadn’t
realised this facility is available.
www.voxwire.com will give you
a good idea of what is involved and the cost is pleasantly low on a
monthly basis.
For
your comments, testimonials, tips or suggestions, please feel free to
email me at kathie@asecretary.com.au
and they may be added to future issues of ACS News, along with your name
and contact details.
For your comments, testimonials, tips or suggestions, please feel free to email me at kathie@asecretary.com.au and they may be added to future issues of ACS News, along with your name and contact details.
If you are interested in accepting credit cards for payment from your clients, without the cost of setting up bank merchant accounts – please check out the information under Stratapay. Not only will you be able to accept payments by credit card, but also through BPay, Billpay, Austpost and a number of other options. An application form and brochure is linked on this page or I can post out a brochure and application form to you. This is a new service now being made available to small businesses – so we can provide the same facilities as big business.
Testimonials under Case Studies. List of new ACS members at VA Directory. And click here for my current rates. You will note a change in the rates for some services - the rates have stayed the same for several years and only went up because of the addition of GST. However, related costs continue to go up and as such, I've had to adjust my own rates accordingly. Please note that these rates do not apply to the team members of "A Clayton's Secretary" - each member works with their own rates, depending on their geographical location, experience and skill.
Have a great month and a great year!
Kathie
Award-winning
Secretarial
Support with Virtual Assistants
The
team at “A Clayton’s Secretary” wish you the very best for 2003 in
the way of business success, prosperity, family blessings, peace, joy and
contentment.
Providing global support in many languages
to businesses around the world!
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