By Marsha Hall, Senior Counselor

Newsletters: does your audience read or toss them?

That’s the decision readers make every time they receive your newsletter or Ezine. What they decide will depend largely on two factors: the newsletter’s content and the quality of the writing.

Actually, there is no single or “right” way to write a newsletter or Ezine. Content and style will be determined by the communication piece’s audience and its purpose.

The newsletter you compile for a local hospital to encourage employee retention and boost morale may be light, chatty and personal. The newsletter that updates customers and potential customers about new high-tech products and services will likely be more serious and may have an educational tone.

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By Kristan Leedy, Senior Counselor

The comma is king. 

Writing is hard work. Never mind being artful, or changing hearts and minds. Writing what you mean in a way your audience will understand is tough enough. One reason is that writers have lots of choices. There’s a whole language out there, and choosing precisely the right word can be as maddening as choosing your bath soap: Powder Fresh or Flowery? Antibacterial or sensitive? Exfoliating or moisturizing? Original formula — bingo! 

We also make choices about punctuation. If grammar can make us peevish, punctuation can drive us nuts. Consider the comma. 

The organic, friendly looks of this little mark are misleading. The comma is all-powerful when it comes to writing what we mean so that others can understand it. Indeed, an actual debate rages over the fate of the serial comma, which the AP Stylebook is accused of killing with the stroke of its dictum: 

 ”Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white and blue. He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry.” 

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By Mark Berry, Associate Vice President

In a crisis, actions speak louder than words.

We live in a nation of second-guessers and back-seat drivers. He should have punted. Bad song choice. What was he thinking? Whatever the decision, we knew the right one all along.

Take Tiger Woods for example. When it comes to Tiger, everyone is a public relations expert. We’ve had some lively debates on the subject in our office. I’ve disagreed with Tiger’s team virtually every step of the way, but some colleagues I respect feel differently. Reasonable people can disagree.

You will not find that same difference of opinion when it comes to this recent list of the worst PR disasters in corporate history. Disaster is a strong word but perfectly appropriate for this group, which may have been responsible for $14 billion in losses and more than 28,000 deaths. Toyota, thanks to its extended struggle to control the sudden acceleration story, is the newest member of this exclusive — and infamous — club. Membership dues, we learned this week, start at $16.4 million.

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By Dennis Brown, Vice President

A guide for execs on how to stay relevant in this social media-filled world.

With Betty White set to host Saturday Night Live (thanks in large part to Facebook), I recently saw an article that was only half-joking when it suggested that “80 is the New 30.”  

I had a different perspective when, in the summer of 2009, we started what would become The Middle-Aged Executive’s Guide to Social Media: How to Stay Relevant and Prosper in an Increasingly Social World.  

When it came to social media, 50 felt like the new 80. 

Suddenly, social media was everywhere, and I was feeling old beyond my years. I found myself fighting the urge to rise from my figurative rocking chair, toddle out to the front porch and, shaking my fist in the air, scream, “You kids had better keep your tweeting and friending off my Internet!” 

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By Marsha Hall, Senior Counselor

Those pesky but proper pronouns

I cringed the other evening when I heard a TV reporter state, “And then they presented the award to he and I.”

Whoa, I thought, back up that grammatical train.

He or him? Me or I?

Actually, this reporter would receive a big red line through both pronouns if she submitted this verbiage as part of an English assignment during one of the courses I taught at Marion Technical College. But, she is not alone. Many of us will confess that we have problems determining the proper case for some pronouns.

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By Jenny Fuerst, Director, Corporate Communications

I think we have to admit that we were a little surprised by all the responses to our recent blog post on grammar pet peeves, which even got coverage in Ragan’s PR Daily. The page views, comments and shared links have inspired us to develop a series dedicated to good grammar. You ask; we deliver.

With 140-character limits, text messaging, and all the other instant forms of communication these days, it’s still as important as ever to be grammatically correct, no matter which style you follow. As PR pros, we’re trained as journalists and mostly write for journalists, so we generally follow the AP Stylebook. But, Fahlgren Mortine is part of a full-service communications agency, and as such we often work with advertising copywriters. We understand creative writing and know there are times to take creative liberties. In addition to news releases and story proposals, we’ve also written marketing collateral, speeches, white papers, Web copy, community reports, and even ad copy.

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By Aaron Brown, Associate Vice President

Grammar rules.

I really can’t believe I’m blogging about grammar. I vividly remember sitting in my precision language course at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. I was afraid of grammar. The professor told us, “One day, you’ll be listening to the radio or watching the news and you’ll become frustrated with the bad grammar used.” Seriously? I was used to spelling grammar as grammer. 

But it happened to me. In the nearly 10 years since graduation, I’ve been the annoying guy correcting my friends’ grammar. I find solace knowing that my clients expect it from me. They want their communications to be grammatically correct. Now, if we could just get the lion’s share of the media to feel the same way. 

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By Aaron Brown, Associate Vice President

Spokespeople: it’s time for a tune-up.

There’s no question your business has changed in the past year. You’re probably looking forward to launching that new product or service that had been shelved because of tightened budgets. You’ve got things to say about your business. You want customers, analysts, media, bloggers and maybe even competitors to know how you’re better – and different. 

So before you run to the mountain top to tell the world your story, please know what you’re going to say when you get there. While a seemingly tedious exercise, a thorough messaging and media training update is an important investment. Consider it an update to your corporate and personal global positioning systems. Here are some elements of the update process:

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By Jenny Fuerst, Director, Corporate Communications

Neil Mortine and Kathy Cupper Obert

Fahlgren, Edward Howard to Join Public Relations Businesses

Alignment Forms Independent Powerhouse:

Largest Firm in Ohio and Top 30 Nationally 

The acquisition, which joins the capabilities of Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations and Edward Howard, is expected to close during the first quarter of 2010 although integration and coordinated new business and marketing efforts will begin immediately.

Check out more details of today’s exciting announcement in the news release.

By Kelly Malone, Account Supervisor

Five social media resolutions brand managers should keep

Statistics show that only 46 percent of people who make resolutions are able to keep them six months into the New Year. Well, fellow marketing and PR folks, I challenge you to commit to the following resolutions to help your brand blossom in 2010. C’mon, there are only five.

1. I will not dilute my social media presence.
Many SM gurus are telling us to branch out and try the dozens of new social networks. I certainly agree with that if you’re experimenting on your own, but don’t subject your brand to it before you know what you’re signing up for. Be strategic about where your brand lives. Start with a strong hub – maybe that’s your blog – where most of your content originates. Then focus on pushing your content to your spokes – Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Choose your main social networking sites and stick to them. Enhance your presence and build a strong community on those platforms.

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