Using material from other websites in your blog

OrbellComms (OC) is here to provide a marketing and communications resource which interests and informs its readers. This why I include not only my own articles but material from other sites which I think should have a wider audience. On an earlier blog post I was asked in the comments section about permission to quote content on their own site. Personally I don’t have a problem with people doing that with copy that I have written myself just as long I’m given a name check and a back link to this blog but what if it isn’t mine?

To be clear as to what is and isn’t OC written copy, look at the top and bottom of any blog post – if it lists a persons name or the title of a website this is material I have reproduced from elsewhere. I have given credit to the authors and/or websites in every instance and provide links back to the original material. It is very important that the people who have done the work do get that acknowledgement.

Communicating with yourself: Acting on your decisions

Why are you here? On this page I mean. What was it that made you decide that you should look at this particular article over all the other thousands on the Internet?

That’s not for me to say but hopefully I can persuade you to stick around a while. It might not be as easy as it sounds because you are a free spirit – you make your own decisions and you decide what’s coming next in your life, not me.

Now think about that for a moment. Are you already wavering as to whether you should carry on reading this or not? Are you thinking that I’m wasting your time by not getting to the point? Just what is it that I’m trying to say? Well I’ll tell you: At every single moment of every waking hour you are making a choice and it is you that is in control of every one of them. It may not feel like it but it’s true.

Sure, there will be occasions when we will be placed in awkward situations by other people that we don’t want to deal with but it is us that writes the next scene. For example my boss could fire me. What would I do? I may get upset or angry or violent. I may be philosophical, rational or pleased. Hey, you always said you wanted to leave that crumby job.

Do you see what I’m saying? I’m faced with a situation, I react to it. The question is what reaction will it be?

Promoting your business for free

If you or your organisation has something to say getting your message across is very important but in financially difficult times many are taking the decision that the cost of distributing that message is too great. This is understandable if you stick only to traditional methods of promotion such as PR agencies but more and more ways of promoting a business are available now than ever before for little or no cost.

The word ’solution’ is not the solution

There is a marketing and advertising word that has always irked me though maybe not enough to really annoy me. You could argue that ‘irk’ and ‘annoy’ are the same thing but they’re not really. Irk is a roll of the eyes word while annoy is on page one of the book of anger.

The marketing and advertising word to which I am referring is ’solution’. One definition to the word reads: “The act or process of explaining or proposing an approach to solving a problem”.

Why does it bother me so? Well, it’s such a darn cliché – if a company is offering a service that solves a problem then that’s a solution I agree but surely the same tired old word doesn’t have to be used every time. I recently read that the English language has welcomed it’s one millionth word to the dictionary so I would like to think that there are at least two or three alternatives for the half-decent marketer or copywriter.

Letter writing and journaling – it’s a gift!

Journaling

When was the last time you wrote in a diary or journal?

I’m not talking about blogging here but a real written record of your day. I don’t know about you but I did this on-and-off for many years to the point that I pretty good idea what I was up to for more than a decade. Well, for the first couple of months of each year anyway.

I would always start with the best of intentions but then I would miss the odd day and then try and catch up the next night but before I knew it was a week behind. It would then to be too much of a chore and then I would give up. That was a shame but at least I had a go. I am actually rather thrilled that there are books of varying sizes plus lever arch files with detailed diary entries of my life stored away. I can look back and be reminded of memorable events more clearly but more importantly it is a family record that can be passed on down the generations.

Seeking permission to publish others material

I just thought I would update the site on the situation regarding the OC newsletter. It is still going to happen but in preparation work one or two issues came to light as to what I can and cannot publish.

I’m looking to include a news section with brief stories on what’s happening across the industry but of course I need to be sure that I have permission to do so in a different format. The newsletter is still going to be electronic but it is being used in a different way.

In an online world, articles are published and re-published many times but this is only acceptable if the article source is quoted with a direct link back to the original website. I have always included that information plus the journalist’s name when available. This is so important because the material must not be seen as being mine. That is why I am careful to add that information at the start and end of every news article published on here so that there is no doubt as to the source.

Factors Influencing Content and Design of Printed Publications

In an earlier post we looked at the basic considerations in designing your own newsletter. The following piece takes the subject a little further by examining other factors that influence the content and design of newsletters, newspapers and magazines.

I will take about issues to consider with online publications another time but for now, we shall look at the traditional printed way of communicating a message.

Submitting Material to Newspapers or Magazines

One of the questions I have been asked since starting this site has been how to go about submitting material for newspapers. This is understandably an attractive goal to have as it can provide exposure for your work on a local and national level.

Newspapers can have circulations that run into the millions and to get the recognition of seeing your name in print is the holy grail of any writer. However, it is a notoriously difficult path for the new or freelance journalist from outside the industry to break into but there are techniques you can use to increase your chances of success.

Usage of statistics in press material

When you are using figures to emphasise the strength of your business in a particular area, how do you display it in press material? For example, would you say ‘nearly 300′ because that takes the figure up to a significant milestone or would you say ‘in excess of 280′?

Ideally we want to be precise with statistics but the very nature of business means that such information is subject to change so the apparent vagueness above actually gives the communication material a longer life span. However, there are other issues to consider too.

How to write an effective article

When writing an article for on-line or print publications, a knowledge of the fundamentals of style and layout will stand you in good stead in making sure your piece stands out from the crowd.

If you look at a newspaper report or press release, you will notice that the whole piece is summed up in its opening paragraph. This gives the reader enough information to know whether the topic is interesting enough to read further. In addition, you can expect to find five key issues explained during the course of an article: Who? What? When? Where? How?