By Leo Valiquette
Ernest Hemmingway once said in an interview, that he rewrote the last page of A Farewell to Arms 39 times because he was having trouble “getting the words right.”
Effective writing is about much more than appropriate comma use, subject-verb agreement, passive versus active voice, or avoiding exclamation marks and adverbs. These details are important. They are the nuts and bolts of writing, the technical stuff that, if diligently policed, gives prose its final polish.
But the essence of great writing is much more subjective. Great writing engages, entertains and educates. It distills ideas, opinions and concepts into provocative new forms that find resonance among audiences they haven’t before.
As Hemmingway’s timeless example illustrates, great writing seldom emerges in the first draft, no matter how skilled the writer. It is an iterative process. Review and revision by wise readers who are representative of the intended audience, as well as eagle-eyed editors, is crucial. Review and revision is the difference between good and great.
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By Leo Valiquette
It can sometimes be a thankless job, this eat-what-you-kill world of marketing and PR guns for hire.
As I wrote about last week, poorly managed expectations can torpedo any client engagement. So too can penny-wise-and-pound-foolish budget decisions that all but guarantee the failure of a marketing program by starving it of the resources it needs.
Word of mouth is crucial to bring new business in the door. We rely on referrals from happy clients, and we prize positive and meaningful testimonials that give us credibility with prospects and illustrate what is required for a marketing or PR effort to be successful.
We judge ourselves by the results we achieve for our clients, and hold ourselves accountable to that.
What we don’t do is attempt to ride our clients’ coattails and crowd into their time in the spotlight
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By Leo Valiquette
A beloved alumnus of our shop, Danny Sullivan, once wrote on the subject of managing client expectations:
“Every story has a natural news value and, while it’s important for PR people to understand what this value is, it’s even more important that the client understands it too. Without mutual agreement about what level of media traction can be expected, you’re flying blind and all too likely to crash.”
And our namesake tells this story:
“One of the first of what I like to call ‘Francis’s favourite fictions,’ or ‘Everything I know that’s wrong about PR I learned from technology company executives,’ was a line from the CEO of one of the very first tech companies I pitched when I originally ventured out on my own in the early 1990s.
“‘I want to be on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen tomorrow morning,’ he said.
‘I was a lot younger, thinner and more intemperate in those days, so I replied, ‘Okay. Go home and shoot your wife tonight.’”
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By Leo Valiquette
Back in the day when I was a full-time journalist, I would often rouse the ire of hired PR guns by daring to contact their clients directly.
I mean, the sheer gall I displayed by responding with such enthusiasm to whatever pitch or media release they had sent my way.
As a busy hack trying to pump out a dozen news briefs a day, it only made sense for me to take what seemed to be the most direct route to get a source on the phone as quickly as possible. If I had to go through a middle man, then fine; if not, why bother?
And here I am today, one of those PR guns, often sharing the bottom of a client’s media release with one of the client’s own communications people. Who should the media call? Either one of us is fair game. In the end, it’s the result that matters. I am much more concerned with the thud value of a pile of media coverage than nitpicking over who the media called to arrange the interview.
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By Hailley Griffis 
We found no shortage of amazing startup articles to share this week. One challenge that startups often face is getting media coverage and one of the posts in our lineup today addresses this issue for startups, even if they are from small towns. Next, we have advice from investors like Mark Cuban on how to pitch, as well as startup tips from the founder of ScaleOut and comments from Y Combinator’s Paul Graham. This week’s posts come from TechVibes, The Washington Post, The Telegraph and Ventureburn.
How to make the media care about your startup — no matter which city it’s from
This subject is relevant, even in a city like Ottawa. Despite the fact that Ottawa does not suffer the same disadvantage as startups in Atlantic Canada, startups in Ottawa often talk about being overlooked in favour of those from Toronto, Waterloo or Montreal. Shaun Markey makes a great point about the need to reach out to individual editors and reporters if you want media coverage for your startup, because they will not come to you.
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