by Sue Horner | Apr 29, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
The clever folks at The Bookseller, a British trade magazine, have a way with words and a good sense of humour. Exhibit A: The Oddest Book Title contest. I’ve written before about this funny contest, conceived in 1978 by The Diagram Group’s Bruce Robertson as a...
by Sue Horner | Apr 24, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
This time of year, corporate sustainability reports bloom like algae in a lake. These reports show the efforts a company makes to do the right things for the environment and the community. However, the language that describes what they do is often thick with jargon....
by Sue Horner | Apr 20, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Gerry Lewis wants to help you stand out. “Everyone can be a better communicator if we just take it up a notch,” the author of SHINE: Stand Out. Get Noticed. Be Brilliant told a recent gathering of IABC Golden Horseshoe members and friends. Start by...
by Sue Horner | Apr 12, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Anything worth doing is worth doing with WOW. So says online retailer Zappos, which for years has been a name synonymous for great customer service. At least, that’s what I had heard. I hadn’t experienced it myself because Zappos no longer ships to Canada...
by Sue Horner | Apr 6, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
A friend has a LinkedIn profile, but beyond listing his title and employer, he has nothing — nothing! — to say what he does and how well he does it. He doesn’t even have a photo. Of course, I’m bugging him about it. “At least get a photo...
by Sue Horner | Mar 25, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
How do companies communicate with their employees these days, when so many don’t have a desk or a computer? How do you reach those who work in a mine, in the cab of a delivery van, on the sales floor? Since it’s been a long time since I’ve been in a...
by Sue Horner | Mar 19, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
When it comes to a Request for Proposal (RFP), the first question you should ask yourself is this: To bid, or not to bid? At a meeting this week of my local group of independents, the Communicators Connection, presenter Paul Heron pointed out that for small businesses...
by Sue Horner | Mar 10, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
If you’re new to freelancing, you probably charge by the hour. However, a better plan for both clients and solopreneurs is to charge by the project, according to panelists at an IABC/Toronto Professional Independent Communicators (PIC) session on pricing. This takes...
by Sue Horner | Mar 3, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
(Updated March 8, 2018) The issue is serious — colon cancer — but those of us running/walking to raise money for the cause in February couldn’t resist a little word fun. Thus the Sacramento Undy Run features teams with names like the SemiColons, WHAtch...
by Sue Horner | Feb 22, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Author Harper Lee’s recently discovered book, Go Set a Watchman, will launch with an e-book and audio book – and two million print copies. Her original 1960 book, To Kill a Mockingbird, still sells more than a million hard copies a year. Clearly, print is not dead....
