Blonde Productions Group

Too many publishers in Denver, Colorado have gained a reputation for not paying their writers and editors for work delivered on time and as agreed. Writers and editors do have a proactive remedy they can take when delivering copy to publishers: copyright your work. Go to www.copyright.gov/register/ for details on how to register your work proactively, prior to publication. The cost is only $35 to the author/editor and the protection priceless.

If you are a writer or editor seeking details on how to protect your original work, contact Blonde Productions Group at 720-221-7126 or email nancy@blondeproductionsgroup.com regarding the upcoming seminar set for Jan. 10 entitled “Firewall Your Copy.”

Less than 13 hours ago, a Florida man saw Jesus in his toast.

Yes, believe it. It’s on msnbc.com, so it must be true. Or not.

Have the post-election doldrums caught up with us? The campaign over and campaign analysis whittled down to bare bones, leaves, obviously, little for the media to report.

Ahh, there’s no better time to get your corporate story into the press. If it is a positive story, i.e. your company has captured an enviable contract or your think tank has proffered up a genius theory, guaranteed it will be the only good news in that day’s tabloid. With today’s news that General Motors might not survive ‘til year-end and Circuit City seeking bankruptcy protection, it’s time for a come-to-Jesus and apparently that confab was held in Florida with no advance notice to the waitress in Broward County serving the French toast.

Blonde Productions Group, a member of the Unleaded Group headquartered in Denver, CO, can help you get your good news out into the world of airwaves and pixels, internet and even direct mail.

Contact us at 303-399-8635 or 720-221-7126.

What makes a magazine inviting to pick up and worthwhile to read?

Blonde Productions Group completed two focus groups in October for a national women’s magazine that focuses on healthy living, relationships and prosperity.

Two groups of 10 women each participated. Ranging from their 20s through 70s, the participants reviewed four issues of the quarterly publication prior to meeting jointly. Discussions were facilitated by Nancy Clark of Blonde Productions Group.

The purpose of the focus groups was to ascertain whether the publication’s original intent was being achieved, according to reader perceptions. Other than a focus group, the publisher had no real way to formally assess readers’ responses to their efforts. Sure, subscription numbers are a telling way to determine whether a publication is hitting the mark, but that takes years to tally and requires an advertisement investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Studies show that people will register a complaint more frequently than a compliment and that complaints travel nine times faster than positive reviews. In a competitive publishing world, the focus group findings can be used to exponentially improve the attraction, reach and results of the publication. Now, rather than too late.

Clark guided the two focus groups through the publication, recording participant’s comments and input. She then assessed that data comparatively, drilling down to the common denominators and differences between the two groups. Finally, Clark was able to prioritize suggestions with an overlay of how the publication could use the data to net ownership of market share.

Often people limit their thinking about marketing to the front-end contact with customers, clients and buyers of their service or product. The fact is that customer retention (in this case, reader retention) is less expensive than it is to attract new customers.

Apply this to your own business, whatever that might be, by asking customers and clients:

• How did you find out about us in the first place?
• What can we do to help you?
• How can we improve?

Remember to look the customer in the eyes when asking these questions. Most people have become desensitized to the inquiry “How are you?” The auto-responder is, “Fine.” Business owners have to be brave to ask customers what it is they’re doing best as a business or what could be improved within their business operations. Some of the feedback can be painful. Realize that you won’t know what to improve upon if you don’t ask for customer input.

Hire Blonde Productions Group to perform your Focus Group and get feedback that will help you do business better in the future. Contact nancy@blondeproductionsgroup.com for details on customizing a focus group to gather data on your enterprise.

The novelty has worn off. Blogs have become so ubiquitous that it’s tough to find tightly-written, purposeful blogs.

If you want your blog to be a standout, start by outlining the points you want to convey. Connect the dots by filling in the facts. Elaborate. Then once you have a first draft, perform a word count and downsize your blog by half. A wise journalism professor explains it this way, “Pretend as though each word costs money.”  Write like you are putting together a paid newspaper obituary and odds are you will be brief.

By now you may be thinking this is a blog, not a thesis. Only seasoned bloggers write off the cuff. If your blog is boring or pointless it will be significantly harder to develop a reader following. Like a newspaper column, the objective in blogging is to find a niche and cultivate a loyal audience.

A successful blog is distinguished by writing style. A salty, yet relevant tone can be tough to achieve. Humor is a wonderful gift, but don’t over-do it.

The most important thing to consider is how to make your blog googlable. (Dear Google, Thank you for having such a relevant company name that “google” is now recognized by Webster’s as a verb and an adjective). Consider what potential readers are likely to search relevant to your subject matter and deploy those words and phrases as often as possible in your blog.

If you need more tips on how to make it googlable (also known as optimized for search engines), consult with SEO expert Jarod Clark of Unleaded Software. He can be reached at jarod@unleadedsoftware.com.

PR-in the moment

Consider what “press release” means: information officially released to the press for the first time. The key is to make it newsworthy.  No matter the topic, it must be written as if it is important that moment. If stale or trite in the least it will be cast aside for more urgent communications. Oh, and don’t forget to put it in the standard format.  See a sample at http://blondeproductionsgroup.com/blog/.

Web writing done right

As important as it is to be concise in a blog, it is even more crucial in writing copy for websites.  No one wants to wade through text-heavy web copy. Use a bold san serif font and make use of white space to achieve aesthetic appeal. Yes, you need a brief attention-getting headline and introductory sentence, but other than that, rely on highly direct copy. Avoid type that is hard on the eyes because it is a proven fact that it takes longer to read text on a computer screen than on paper.

No matter what

It is important to proofread more than once. When a reader finds typographical, grammatical or spelling errors, it discredits the author/source.

Denver’s award-winning website developer and SEO-industry leader Unleaded Software, Inc.
Is chosen to redesign and develop three phases of Cherry Creek North Shopping Districts websites

DENVER, CO - Unleaded Software, Inc. has been chosen from field of seven companies to redesign and develop three new websites for Cherry Creek North. Unleaded Software will redesign and implement additional functions to Cherry Creek North’s consumer website, build an internal website for  store owners/mangers, and a new mobile device website, further enhancing Cherry Creek North’s standing as Colorado’s premier shopping destination.

“We’re honored to be chosen for this important and immense undertaking of redesigning and developing the new websites for Cherry Creek North,” said Unleaded Software president Jarod Clark. “Cherry Creek North has decided to take a big step in its approach to design and functionality both to its visitors and its business owners, and that step will be a bold undertaking. The new websites should reflect positively and professionally on Cherry Creek North. That’s a task we don’t take lightly, and we’re excited about this partnership.”

Located in the Ballpark Neighborhood of Lower Downtown Denver at 2314 Broadway, in a mid-century building refurbished with state-of-the-art technology, Unleaded Software’s background in multiple mediums played a factor in Cherry Creek North’s decision. Not only does Unleaded Software design and develop award-winning websites, but is a recognized leader marketing, advertising and writing.

“The team at Unleaded Software reflects the creativity and enthusiasm we need to create a dynamic website reflective of the area,” said Christina Brickley, Cherry Creek North Marketing Director.   “The combination of writing, design and technical experience among the Unleaded Software team members provides the experience we were seeking in an online partner.”

Unleaded Software’s marketing division also has more than 50 years of writing, editing and publishing experience for both print and websites.  Unleaded Software, founded in 1996 in Denver, Colo., is a full-service web design and development agency that offers hosting for its clients, among other services.  It also specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and hybrid-built website design-proven strategies gaining wide visibility for clients’ websites. Unleaded Software’s affiliate enterprises-Unleaded Media and Blonde Productions Group-integrate the latest in video production for websites and produce award-winning editorial and PR, respectively.

Cherry Creek North is a 16-square-block shopping and dining neighborhood with the region’s largest collection of independently owned boutiques, restaurants and galleries.  The 320 galleries, boutiques, restaurants and salons/spas throughout Cherry Creek North surround Fillmore Plaza, the location of numerous community events including Films on Fillmore and the nationally renowned Cherry Creek Arts Festival.

For information on Unleaded Software Inc., contact Michael Kirschbaum, Director of Strategic Solutions at mkirschbaum@unleadedsoftware.com or call 720-221-7126.

Unleaded Software Inc. is located at 2314 Broadway, Denver, CO 80205 along with its sister companies: Blonde Productions Group, Inc., Unleaded Media, LLC, Trade Show Emporium, and Octane Coffee, a mobile Airstream coffee shop used for private events.

Without question, my undergrad degree served me well. You can’t go to a college that intense without coming out with some level of working knowledge. (The place: Wheaton College, and no, not the place Billy Graham went, but one of the then-called, so-called Seven Sisters, located in Massachusetts.)

Since then, I’ve grown my career space by taking seminars. Curiously, some of the most learning-filled seminars were the ones least likely to pan out that way…at least at the time I enrolled.

I fell on some “chance” learning the year I signed up for a seminar on Assertiveness Training. In the ‘70s, assertiveness training was all the rush, nearly as much as John Grey’s “Dress for Success” in book format and seminars too. Randy advertised his assertiveness training as a means to control situations that weren’t going right basically because one lacked the hutzpha to speak up and defend one’s position.

That would be me as a cub reporter. The cotton-headed editor would make a point 4 out of 5 mornings to turn to me and ask, “Where’s Bonnie?” Bonnie was the next youngest reporter in the room, a keep-to-herself kind of gal who had a mysterious existence that kept her out late and, like domino theory, got her to work late each morning. But to her credit, she never missed a story or a deadline, staying well after quittin’ time to log in her copy.

The problem for me was that the minute I would hear Harriet the editor start to ask the question of Bonnie’s whereabouts, my stomach would tighten and I’d immediately feel guilty for her tardiness. I’d start dialing the rotary phone (no cell phones in these dark ages) and dial repeatedly if I wasn’t getting an answer, just to be sure that Bonnie hadn’t overslept. Geez, I’d mutter under my breath, why is she asking me…like I know…Bonnie, pick up the phone, please. Please.

In Randy’s course, I learned to envision the situation: early morning, no one in the newsroom talking much, bleary-eyed and focused on their coffee and the deadlines ahead. I learned to anticipate the editor’s inquiry and respond with an appropriate answer that was as straightforward as it comes, and as appropriate to: “Gee, Harriett, I don’t know where Bonnie is, but if you’d like, I can call her.”

The first day back on the job after the seminar, it wasn’t 10 minutes past 8 before Harriet asked where Bonnie was. I breathed in deep and as politely as I could repeated what I’d practiced in the car all weekend, “Gee, Harriet, I don’t know where Bonnie is, but if you’d like, I can call her.”

Harriet studied me for a few seconds and then nodded her head as if it had never occurred to her that I wouldn’t know Bonnie’s whereabouts. “I can call her,” Harriet stated plaintively. There, it was that easy. I was off the hook. Harriet got the point. Bonnie was still late. But I had no dog in the fight.

The best take-away I got from Randy’s course was that simple exercise in setting boundaries-worth every nickel of the then-pricy $45 seminar fee. It was, after all, 34 years ago.

If you’re interested in learning multiple tactics to get an editor’s attention and get your story into print, sign up now for the Sept. 20. Promise, we’ll give you more than even one smart answer you can take home with you! Sign-up here.

THESE WORDS DON’T FALL OUT OF MY HEAD. As a writer, that phrase courses through my head when a client or editor or graphic artist wants me to “write up a little quick….” If they’re a client, they tick off the purpose for the writing and all its seriousness and sometimes add, “This shouldn’t take you too long.” If they’re an editor, they call panicked that another writer failed to turn in their copy and that I was the next logical call to make. And oh, by the way, the deadline is COB (Close Of Business) same day. If they’re a graphic artist, they’re likely stumped for copy because, well, that’s not what they do for a living.

Writers aren’t taken seriously, I’ve learned over decades of manufacturing verbs, adjectives and pronouns. English degrees are often interpreted as the choice college undergrads make when they can’t decide on a major. J-school is increasingly something you do before going to law school, a career that ensures that you’re really going to make the money.

Of course, writers have to take part of the blame. As writers, and not so much talkers, we tend to put our heads down and write. The only noise in the room is a cd playing, ambient noise that helps us get into our writing space. I’ve been known to play the same cd over and over for 14 hours straight on a writing project. There was the time my upstairs neighbor couldn’t take another stanza of Madonna’s American Girl album and let me know as much, pounding at my door and shouting, “Are you trying to give me a message?! Well, I’ve got one for you!”

At first I was stunned at his interpretation of my choice in easy listening. Then the more bemused I became as I understood that he really had no affection at all for “I’m so stupid” (one of my personal favorites on the recording), the greater he took offense. Let’s just say it did nothing for our HOA relations.

The point is that writing is as much a science as blood testing in a hospital lab. It’s as much an art as architectural drawings. It’s as serious a business as being a teacher, a cop, a judge. I wouldn’t think of performing surgery because I’d had one; but I know doctors who don’t believe their copy needs editing.

So the next time your editor, your boss, the chairman of the volunteer board you serve on asks you to write a little something up, stop them in their tracks. Tell them that you’ll email them a Project Scope that delineates what you need to know about the writing project so that you can deliver copy that’s on target and on time. Then prepare a formal document that sets you forth as the professional you are. You’ll be surprised at how this single step can take you one rung higher. Toward heaven, perhaps?