The Red Jacket Diaries blog

Sue Horner is a freelance writer in Oakville, Ontario, who blogs about writing, newsletters, communications and running an independent business in The Red Jacket Diaries blog.

Clever LinkedIn – I clicked, did you?

By Sue Horner | Published: May 21, 2013

When it comes to engaging and involving the people who use their networking site, the folks at LinkedIn are doing a good job. This is somewhat belated, but I thought the short video put together for LinkedIn’s 10th anniversary (what? already?!) on May 7 was nicely done. As described on the LinkedIn blog, it asked [...]

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12 tips for reducing email overload

By Sue Horner | Published: May 15, 2013

And you thought your in-box was already overflowing. Now that Google Reader is on its way out, many bloggers are suggesting people subscribe by email rather than to an RSS feed. Canada Post is encouraging consumers to sign up for epost, to get bills by email rather than snail mail. And businesses are seeing the [...]

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Friday fun, Mother’s Day edition

By Sue Horner | Published: May 10, 2013

Time for some Friday fun! Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. Awkward family photos, Mother’s Day style. Of course your Mom encouraged you to spell properly. Here’s a funny way to remember commonly misspelled words, from The Oatmeal. Thanks to Amy Sept for pointing to it. Teachers say they can tell the children whose parents read to [...]

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Start your business already! Here’s some advice

By Sue Horner | Published: May 2, 2013

If you know all about starting your own business, specifically a writing business, my friend and fellow writer Marnie Hughes at Communication Artistry wants to talk to you. Marnie is well into the 16-week “Write Your Book Already!” group started by Chris Brogan; her book is for people who want to start a writing business. [...]

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Fight for readability with five easy fixes

By Sue Horner | Published: April 25, 2013

The easier we make it to read our newsletters and other material, the more people will read, understand and retain. Sometimes copy reviewers – engineers and lawyers spring to mind – will challenge you. They’ll try to turn simple words into stilted, formal comments. Sentences will lengthen, stuffed full of every fact. Jargon and acronyms [...]

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Seven pet peeves about Twitter use

By Sue Horner | Published: April 18, 2013

I’m not the first to post about Twitter pet peeves, and I won’t be the last. But given that Twitter launched in 2006, it’s about time to get rid of some bad habits. Beyond the basic offences like having an egg for a profile photo and no bio to speak of (as outlined in an [...]

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Panelists agree: Social media changes everything

By Sue Horner | Published: April 12, 2013

People have a compelling need to share our information with each other, and we’re finding it easier than ever with social media. That means huge change for business. At a session sponsored by IABC/Golden Horseshoe and IABC/Toronto Westend on April 11, a trio of speakers gave their perspectives on social media. Here are just some [...]

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Boring topic? 3 secrets to spin straw into gold

By Sue Horner | Published: April 5, 2013

Some days I look at the topic a client has asked me to write about for the employee newsletter and think, “How on earth am I going to make this interesting?” You know the topics. They’re necessary, but they aren’t the sexiest. Safety reminders, maybe, or a potentially dry explanation of a process improvement. It’s [...]

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Make your media pitch relevant

By Sue Horner | Published: March 28, 2013

Working with the media has changed since the days of PR people sending pitches by fax. Yet what hasn’t changed is the key to getting media coverage – which is likewise key to newsletter effectiveness: relevance to the audience. I don’t have media relations expertise, but my Halton-Peel Communications Association colleagues Karen Majerly, Angela Rea [...]

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Remembering Joan, 35 years on

By Sue Horner | Published: March 26, 2013

Thinking of my big sister.

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