PR copywriting training – Manchester, Cheshire, Liverpool, Lancashire

Half-day one-to-one copywriting training modules are now being provided by Buzzwords from its offices in Knutsford, Cheshire (south Manchester).

Interested individuals start with a two-hour Assessment in Knutsford to identify what is expected of the subsequent training sessions.  A written report is provided which sets out future training recommendations.

This highly personalised approach uses a copywriting coaching model to make sure that the training is tailored to an individual’s specific needs, such as how to write news releases, articles, websites and so on.

Buzzwords’ one-to-one training will be useful for:

• Aspiring copywriters (who want a new career as a copywriter but maybe aren’t sure where to start)
• Owners of small or medium-size businesses (SMEs) who want to take the copywriting function in-house and save themselves money
• Employees in larger organisations who want to broaden their copywriting knowledge and improve their writing skills.

The initial Assessment and Report costs £POA + VAT.

Half-day training modules cost £POA + VAT

For more details, call Mike Beeson on 01565 654023 or visit Buzzwords’ website at: buzzwords.ltd.uk/copywriting_training_courses.htm (adding  the ‘www’ prefix).

Buzzwords embraces Twitter and PR 2.0

Follow Buzzwords’  Twitter updates on

twitter.com/COPYWRITINGBUZZ

(See sidebar for Buzzwords’ latest ‘tweets’ and to visit the site!!!)

 

Social media is coming of age and companies like Buzzwords need to know and see what’s going on in the PR 2.0 world, from both a B2B and consumer marketing perspective.

SEO copywriting meets PR?

As a PR practitioner who also practises the black art of SEO copywriting, I’ve been surprised at how easy it is to infiltrate the online ranks (and ranking!) of larger PR companies.

It begs the question as to whether certain PR companies are serious about having an online presence.  I read a lot about how concerned PRs are about social media, but what about SEO and SEM – not to mention the wider implications for integrated marketing?

I suppose I should be happy that so many PR companies are hiding their light under a bushel – and that’s not to deprecate the quality of Buzzwords’ PR services, nor the complementary value of SEO copywriting expertise.

In these straitened times, I do wonder whether there are still PR companies out there who merely pay lip service to ‘being digital’ by having a website and some occasional Pay-Per-Click advertising? 

Of course, I’m generalising.  It’s clear that some PR companies have grasped the nettle – and run with it. To those who haven’t – and you probably won’t be reading blogs if that’s the case! – you’re missing a trick that could prove fatal.

A Merry PR Christmas!

It’s been a strange year by any standards.  Everything came to a head in October when we all thought the world was coming to an end! 

It didn’t of course, but PR activity will need to change over the coming months as clients grapple with a new economic landscape.  ‘Free lunches’ have long been out of the window.  What the equivalent is, further down the scale of professional privation, is a question that’s had me scratching my head – but probably goes along the lines of abandoning all that stuff about strategic thinking, reputation management and everything else that distances PR from the (highly successful) Max Clifford school of publicity. 

For 2009, we are where we are: in deep quagmires of a claggy consistency that won’t be helped by pompous pseudo-professionalism.  This is the year(s?) when results are all that matter.  With client budgets trimmed, it’s time for a tactical awakening.

Buzzwords’ response to all this is pretty much as it always has been ie. provide clients with a range of services from which they can pick and choose.  That’s simply because the smaller, B2B clients prefer the more cautious ad hoc approach.  I’m certainly not decrying the turnkey PR services offered by larger agencies.  There’s a lot to be said for the integrated marketing approach – if you can afford it.

This year, increasing numbers of (even the bigger) companies will be looking at ’bigger bangs for their buck’.  To this end, Buzzwords will continue to offer traditional media relations programmes and online PR services together with specific offerings like article marketing, case study writing, newsletters (of course) – and even the odd annual report thrown in for good measure!

It’s all about flexibility and cost-effectiveness.  In times of dearth, agencies and consultants have to respond with services which will help our clients’ clients respond positively which in turn will help to pay our own rents. 

Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas -  and, most of all, a prosperous New Year!

Buzzwords new Content Managed website is good news for more news more often!

Today, I’m celebrating Buzzwords’ new Content Managed (CMS) website!  (see: buzzwords.ltd.uk)  No longer are CMS sites poor performers on the search engine optimization front either.  I’m guessing that because they can be updated as frequently as you like, the search engines look on them much as they would a blog i.e. favourably.

As a copywriter, journalist and PR person, it’s good to have the freedom to write new pages and add them to your website instantly.  No more waiting around for web coding man to do the business.  And no more bills into the bargain.  A CMS website means I can publish news releases, articles and new pages on the site at any time.  This is orgasmic!

We have PR industry shake-outs. So why not in banking?

I remember well the so-called PR ’shake-outs’ in the early-90s recession.  In our current global financial mess, why should anyone be shocked by the demise of banks?

We hear that economic cycles provide the ‘correction’ that’s built into capitalism.  Excesses and inefficiencies are punished ruthlessly by the market.

To be sure, there will be yet more PR shake-outs in this latest round of economic corrections.  No-one will be surprised by the wave of bankruptcies, increased unemployment and ‘restructuring’ of industry.

To see esteemed names in the banking sector disappear comes as a surprise and must make most of us a little uneasy, especially as their activities (some say) underpin all our day-to-day financial doings.  (Others would argue that commercial banks are little more than parasites who had what was coming to them.) 

The fact is, most banks will come out of this alive and ready for the next round of capitalist capers.  Some may be chastened.  Some may be gone.  But aren’t they simply suffering the same fate that the rest of business goes through every time a recession inevitably rolls round?

 

New content on Buzzwords’ PR & Media Relations web page

This new page sets out Buzzwords’ PR stall!  Clients in Manchester, Cheshire and beyond can expect a broad range of PR services based on many years’ experience of B2B public relations.  In addition, there are résumés of Buzzwords’ various PR services including:

• ONLINE PR
• ARTICLE MARKETING
• CASE STUDY WRITING
• NEWSLETTER WRITING
• ANNUAL REPORT WRITING

Very soon, each of these services will link to its own web page.

New PR Manchester & Cheshire page on Buzzwords’ website

Reflecting Buzzwords’ increasing focus on B2B PR clients based in Manchester, Cheshire and across the North West, you’ll find a new ‘local PR’ page on Buzzwords’ website (see: PR in Manchester & Cheshire on the PR & Media Relations page – there’s a direct link to Buzzwords’ website from the ‘About’ page of this blog).  This is the first of several new PR pages planned for the site which relate to the wide range of B2B PR services Buzzwords has provided over the years.

Annual Report Writing – PR for multiple audiences

I’m currently writing an annual report for a national organisation.  The number of elements and audiences to consider when writing an annual report are never-ending.

Not only does the copywriting have to be impartial and authoritative.  You also have to weave in mentions of corporate social responsibility, business risks, the past, the present, the future…

And all of this in a financial context that will tell audiences ranging from journalists to bankers to shareholders what the business is all about, who its people are, what their Key Performance Indicators and objectives are – and how far they’ve accomplished last year’s objectives.

There’s even a new consideration this year because of the introduction of electronic shareholder communications provisions in the Companies Act.  Writing a blog post like this comes as a little light relief after that lot! 

Social media and B2B PR

Is there a role for social media in the context of B2B PR?  Is PR 2.0 relevant in a hard-nosed B2B world where ‘wanting to be someone’s friend’ sounds, to put it mildly, slightly pathetic?  I read that FaceBook is overtaking MySpace in the social media stakes – but, when it comes to B2B, isn’t the mass market mechanism of social media irrelevant to the targeted world of  industrial marketing, financial PR, pharma etc?  Of course, we’re all consumers and potential customers of some company or other – but is the time-consuming activity of PR 2.0 cost-effective?  It’s difficult to know what the reality of all this actually is.  Few people would stand up and pour scorn on a trend that is highly successful in the mass marketplace.  If there’s any research out there, I’d love to know what the conclusions are!

Forget about PR – it’s Christmas!

With Christmas just a week away, PR is fading into the background as parties and planning for 2008 take over.  PR Week’s done its Review of 2007 – and a busy year it was too!  There was a time when people complained that Christmas was growing into a holiday too far – that it was stretching into a month off for most people and that the economy would suffer etc etc.  With more and more people working silly hours, Christmas is a good time to re-charge the batteries and get everything in perspective!  Have a relaxing time this Christmas.  Forget about PR and come back in January feeling like a new man (or woman), so to speak.

Blogs as a PR tool

A great addition to your PR armoury is a blog or two, optimized for the cuddliest keywords in your life.  Once you’ve established the blog, all you need to invest is a couple of hours twice a week to keep the momentum going with the search engines and to maintain your blog’s ranking.  

Even better, your blog can be cathartic: that is to say, you can get all those things off your chest that have been bugging you all week.  Far better than having a rant at a supplier or employee, cheaper than getting pissed and much safer than plonking someone on the nose.

From a SEO point of view, it may be beneficial to set up a blog which is linked directly to your website so you get all the SEO spin-offs and the added bonus that traffic is coming direct to your main website and not to your standalone blog which is a few clicks away at best.  http://wordpress.org  is the place to go if you’re interested in integrating a pro blog into your website.   

Buzzwords’ PR Services

Buzzwords provides online PR and media relations services on a monthly retainer-fee basis, primarily to small and medium-size companies looking for one-to-one business-to-business PR services. 

Much is written about online PR – but many people don’t have a clue what it is.  That’s hardly surprising because not many people understood offline PR when I was busy selling-in Buzzwords’ press relations PR services to companies in Manchester and north-west England throughout the 1980s and 1990s!

Online PR is pretty amazing in its speed, world-wide range and ability to promote both your website and your company.  Best results come from putting out information on a regular basis – and it stays around the web for ages!  It doesn’t have to be world-shattering news as long as it’s relevant to what you’re all about as a business.  It’s also important that the releases are optimized with your favoured keywords.  That’s because  you’re trying to increase inbound links to your website and improve its search engine ranking. 

Of course, you should also use online newswires to distribute your releases – and of course, you’ll have more success with editors if your release is well-written with newsworthy content.  Amid all this, it’s important to remember that the UK has a huge and vibrant offline media which allow for great targeting of information.  Combining this with online PR can produce impressive results.

Buzzwords’ PR clients

Buzzwords specialises in business-to-business (B2B) PR services for small to medium-size companies (SMEs).   Online PR can be used successfully for companies across all sectors.  Traditional press relations works better for manufacturing companies or those which have a wide range of products or services which are changing regularly.  Historically, the service worked best for those clients where personal contact was easiest ie. within a hundred miles or so of my Manchester base.  Today, geography is less important and Buzzwords combines online PR and offline PR  to great effect.