PR and Marketing Blog | CP Communications: Sydney Marketing & Public Relations Agency

Virtually every school holidays growing up I shared a tent with my sister. Our family holidays were camping at national parks or at a beach near Byron Bay. Unfortunately we no longer have the luxury of going away every school holidays, but Jo and I make the time in our busy lives to have a short holiday every year together.

Lured by the amazing wilderness and great hiking, the last couple of years we have gone to Tasmania. We are just back from The Bay of Fires where we said hello to a humpback (she waved back) and walked around the Bay. We stayed at a sleepy village, Binalong Bay, where there are only a few holiday houses and, would you believe, an amazing restaurant – Angasi. How do they survive? Word of mouth it seems.

Everyone we spoke to on the trip from Hobart said “You have to eat at Angasi”. I mentioned this to the owner and he said “Yep, marketing in Tasmania is all word of mouth”. They get and give business through referrals and recommendations. We experienced the same last year at Freycinet National Park and I wrote a post about how they use experiential marketing to support local businesses.

Do you have any local businesses that you can develop a partnership with to cross sell products, or can you create alliances with business that gives you access to prospective customers which you aren’t getting now? It is certainly working for the local businesses in Tasmania, it might work for you.

This weekend I am doing a marathon yoga style in the Yoga Aid Challenge raising money for Football United which assists recently arrived refugee children and their families who have experienced devastating life situations. Thanks to everyone who has donated and there is still time to donate.
I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.

How to produce an enewsletter that gets read

Thank you so much to everyone who has given us such positive feedback on this newsletter. We thought we would share our tips on what makes a great enewsletter.

Enewsletters improve communication channels with clients, share good news stories, share expertise through tips and also assists in building a database of potential clients.

Not only is it a great way to share your stories, it can also be a powerful marketing tool providing useful information to the reader while indirectly promoting your services.

Make it regular

The first step is to ask yourself – are you committed to sending it out regularly? There is no point in sending out an enewsletter whenever you get around to it. It has to be at least once a month, but preferably once a fortnight. We send out this newsletter 10 a.m. every second Tuesday.

Make it relevant

The content obviously needs to be appealing to your readership. Have a think about what type of information they may find interesting. Under no circumstances use the opportunity to sell to your readers.

For more tips to help you create a successful newsletter read the full article.

How to use your voice so people will listen

How you use your voice can make a big difference to how you are perceived and to the level of connection to your audience. We asked our favourite presentation skills coach, Mariette Rups-Donnelly for her tips on you can use your voice in a presentation, a pitch or even a meeting.

Warm-up: If you don’t know any specific voice warm-ups, then sing, it will help your tonal quality, vocal flexibility and breathing.

Breathe: Never under estimate the power of a good, deep breath. Breathe at the end of every sentence and comma and you will have a natural pause. Good deep breathing will also give your voice more authority.

Extend your vocal range: If your voice is tense, withheld, or pushed it won’t have a broad range of expression. Play around with shifts in pitch and vocal tone to extend the voice muscles.

Shift your vocal energy: if you use the one energy all the time when you speak your audience will quickly switch off. Practise your presentation with changes in pace and rhythm and differing levels of strength.

Articulate: Speak clearly. Open your mouth to allow the words out and use the ends of the words.

All these tips are exercises to help your voice be more expressive. If you are thinking about tone, pitch, pace, strength, range and energy while you are speaking, you will sound inauthentic.

Learn more at Mariette’s Voice for Business workshops.

The times they are a changin at Media140 Sydney

Last week we were lucky enough to listen to Australia’s leading journalists, broadcasters, social media advocates, politicians and media academics debate over the impact of social media platforms and practices on journalism and the world as we know it.

The Media140 conferences aims to inform, challenge, motivate and update the audience all around the world over a span of 140 days.

As you are well aware there are many forms of social media platforms changing the way we connect with people, the way we conduct business and the way we gather and receive news. One of the most notable of these platforms revolutionising the world is Twitter, a free micro blogging service allowing you to send updates to other users 140 characters at a time (hence the Media140 name).

Not all speakers on the day were pro Twitter, but those who were offered some valuable advice on using Twitter and provided insights into why exactly they use it in the first place.

Leigh Sales (@leighsales) is a presenter on the ABC’s Lateline and author of the popular blog Well-readhead. She answered the commonly asked question; “Why exactly do you use Twitter?” This is what Leigh said:

• To gather information

• To be open to new technology and avoid being a dinosaur

• To diversify her brand

• To market her brand and make it credible

• To entertain people

• To insert some personality into her brand and show she is more than a serious reporter

• To become more approachable

• To create her own perfect newspaper, picking and choosing the information she receives.

With all good things there are usually some risks involved and Twitter is no exception. Leigh explained that when tweeting, individuals need to be careful they don’t disrespect their audience or jeopardise their own credibility by erring on the side of caution before tweeting. She says: “If in doubt, leave it out.”

If you missed Media140 Sydney, the next event will be in Perth on 10 February 2010.

For more Twitter tips from Media140 presenters read the full article.

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