by Sue Horner | Sep 22, 2011 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Freelancers and independent communicators often agonize over following up with prospective clients. We don’t want to bother people. We worry that we’ll be seen as pushy. This might not be a good time. We’re calling too often. We’ve sent too...
by Sue Horner | Sep 13, 2011 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
For Tom Kaufman of TK Enterprises, attitude is everything. “Do you want to soar with the eagles, or gobble with the turkeys?” he demanded at meeting of IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent Communicators. Tom’s topic was “Marketing on a tight budget,” and he...
by Sue Horner | Feb 18, 2011 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
(Updated April 13, 2016.) You’re tired of getting phone calls from strangers trying to sell you duct cleaning, aren’t you? But if you know a great esthetician, don’t you want to find out that she’s moved to a different salon? Of course you do....
by Sue Horner | Nov 1, 2010 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
(<— Real dog, fake squirrel) Quite a while ago, an association I belong to created some new marketing material. Prominent on what really was a good-looking piece was a stock photo of a group of people, basically standing in for those of us who are actual...
by Sue Horner | May 20, 2010 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
A client called yesterday in a bit of a panic, wondering if I could revise a news release for her by end of day. This is the kind of thing I often refer to as “pulling a rabbit out of a hat.” I was already juggling a number of projects, but this is a...
by Sue Horner | May 6, 2010 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Oh, those funny folks at Honda! They’re doing a good job of keeping in touch with me, long-time Honda owner that I am. But their enthusiasm for selling me a new car always seems to overtake their good sense. I bought a 2009 Honda Civic last year, and I’m...
by Sue Horner | Mar 1, 2010 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Phew. It’s been all Olympics, all the time for the past two weeks, and I’m ready to say goodbye to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. But first, my own gold medals go to the things I loved about these Winter Olympics: Patriotic feelings. Canadians are...
by Sue Horner | Oct 15, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
At a networking event given by IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent Communicators (PIC), I shared why I volunteer, as did my colleagues Leslie Hetherington, Donna Papacosta, Barb Sawyers and Lee Weisser. PIC supports more than 100 independent communicators,...
by Sue Horner | Oct 2, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
While decluttering my office, I ran across a battered 1981 edition of The Canadian Writer’s Market. In it I found 32 pages of agency listings, each entry with a pencilled X or check mark beside it, plus new telephone numbers and scribbled names. Flashback: I was...
by Sue Horner | Aug 4, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
A thank you card arrived today in my mail, signed by someone I had never heard of. Turns out she is part of my local library’s summer reading program, just one of the programs the library notes it is able to run thanks to me and other donors to their literacy...
