Liar, Liar Pants on Fire! I hope nobody reading this is making a practice of lying to their customers, but I have seen spam come through with subject lines like..."Knew you would appreciate this site!" and "How are you?" Anyone who knows me knows that I most certainly wouldn't appreciate a website that sells pornography so when I open an email to find this website link, I am a little miffed to say the least! This is an extreme example, but I have also seen subject lines that have nothing whatsoever to do with what they are selling. Most people find it offensive to open an email entitled..."re: your inquiry" only to find an ad for something that they had...
It's Dr. Seuss' Birthday today! To celebrate (and continue discussing “12 Deadly Communication Sins of Advertising"), let's talk about how advertisers can sound a lot like Dr. Seuss wannabees! It happens when marketing begins to hype it up. Here's the excerpt from the article on hype: "Error #2. Hype it Up Today's consumer is very savvy! People can spot hype a mile away-unless it is their own! Too much glitz and glam can make your company, product or service sound too good to be true. Just as I began writing this article, I got a phone call from a salesman who told me that I had been chosen to win a free computer, $1000 shopping spree to some website I...
So far this year, we have discussed several aspects of the importance of communication in every day life. Where most people only think of communication as speech-making, we discussed that the most important communication is in our relationships. Well, so far, we have only discussed this in general terms. Starting this month, I'm going to begin our discussions on specific areas of life. This is a discussion so I encourage you to share your thoughts and feelings on the issues I'll post the rest of this year. This month is Business Communication Month here at Communication FUNdamentals, as is this month's AoE Seminar Panel with Jill Hart from CWAHM.com (Christian Work at Home Moms) and her readers. So to start...
Foot in Mouth Man (FIMM) is our lovable mascot here at Art of Eloquence. A bumbling miscommunicator who sticks his foot in his mouth each month for your amusement and "confusement." He does it so often that he has Athlete's Tongue! However, there are some people I have encountered recently on social media and blog sites who are vying for the coveted title of FIMMpersonator of the Month and I thought I'd give it out to one lucky winner. Communication doesn't break down significantly if someone has a typo or two and, as my editor knows, I can't spell my way out of a paper "bagg" so I'd never complain if someone had a grammatical error or a misspelled word...
Authors just need to know how to write, right? Well, actually writing is a business just like any other. It requires various skills including communication skills. An author needs to be part of the marketing process even if he or she has a publisher: book signings, selling his next novel to the publisher. And an author needs to know how to be a great guest on a radio or tv show! My friend Felice Gerwitz over at Media Angels is hosting a series of seminars for authors on the various skills needed to be a successful author these days. I'll be teaching about the communication skills an author needs on Thursday, April 15th at 8am PST/11am EST. Her seminar on...
