Saxum|PR

The “Blah Blah Blah” Blogosphere: How to Get Heard

August 10th, 2010 by Evie Klopp Holzer. Posted in Industry Expertise, Tips and Tricks

Hello? Is anybody out there… actually reading this?

Every day, millions of bloggers post content to the blogosphere. With all that noise, how does one get heard? Stumped on this subject, I began mulling through – what else – blogs about blogging. It turns out I’m not alone in my search for the perfect post.

Resources abound online, and bloggers who want to improve their skills and increase their following are taking note. Shouldn’t you?

Here are a few tips to help your blog stand out in the crowd: 

1. Write with a purpose – Are you trying to persuade, educate or entertain? Identify your purpose, and the rest will follow naturally.
2. Do your research – Socialmouths.com advises bloggers to research what else has been posted on the subject, so they can bring a unique perspective. “Don’t make people leave your post with a sense of ‘being there, done that…’ Kick it up a notch and reference the previous material and then take the discussion further.”
3. Omit needless words – This brilliant writing advice, noted in Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, was published in 1918 and remains true today. Numerous articles reiterate that readers prefer a short, easy-to-read format that gets right to the point.

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Notes from the Virtual Office

April 26th, 2010 by Evie Klopp Holzer. Posted in Industry Expertise, Tips and Tricks

After reporting to a public relations office five days a week for the past six years (three of those years at Saxum PR), last year I ventured to a new office space – in my home. Making the switch from an agency account lead to a do-it-yourself freelancer is not uncommon in the PR industry, but it is an adjustment.

Here are a few lessons I’ve learned along the way

Establish a routine- As humans, we thrive on routine. Think of the fussy toddler who missed his usual daytime nap. Adults are no different – except that we may not roll around, kicking and screaming, on the floor as much.

In an April 1 interview with National Public Radio, Tina Brown said, “When my magazine Talk folded, it was very hard for me to get readjusted to not flying out the door in the morning and having my little routine: stopping at that coffee shop on the corner, picking up the paper. You think of them as chores, but actually when you’re not doing them you feel somewhat at a loss.”

For me, the biggest loss that you have to regain as soon as you start working from home is a routine.

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