Labor Day Links ‘n Such!

“Charleston in the summertime: Like breathing through a wet cat!”

How was your Charleston copywriting summer? Hot and sticky like mine? I’m thinking this Friday before Labor Day might be the most humid day of the year. As I often say, “Copywriting is one per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration – especially in Charleston!”

So what’s happening here at the Exchange?

• Began writing a website for an upscale Columbia SC restaurant
• Wrapping up a website for a non-profit in Boston.
• Started a Facebook program for a Charleston dental practice
• Blogging and Facebook for a Charleston mortgage lender
• Blogging and Facebook for an Upstate SC infrastructure construction firm.
• Word comes of a huge social media push for the international chemical company
• Dreaming up demented, amateurish Photoshops to accompany my blog posts

Seems like a lot of existing client maintenance lately, and that’s just fine. But there’s always room for more at this party, so come on along! For web, print, video and social media copy and content, contact livelyexchange (at) gmail (dot) com!

Photo credits: Fine Art America (bridge), BuyCostumes.com (mask), Dreamz Time (cat)

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Blogging for Dollars!

My hand gets all pale, raster-y and detached after a hard day’s blogging!

The Blogotron was humming at peak efficiency last week as I completed blog posts for a heavy construction company, a chemical company, a CPR training school, an IRS tax defense law firm and a boutique mortgage lender.

If you are looking for a little optimization in your life, contact LivelyExchange (at) Gmail (dot) com. And check out my latest blog samples: Blogging & Social Media Content

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National Book Lover’s Day

It’s National Book Lovers Day, because there is a day for everything!

I’m definitely having a reading year in twenty and seventeen, and heavy on the Dystopias for some reason! Started by re-reading Margaret Atwood’s Madaddam Trilogy – soon to be the next great HBO series. Then, a middling Atwood-lite called California by Edan Pelucki. Some speculative political fiction with Indian Country by Kurt Schlichter. More Atwood as I re-read Handmaid’s Tale for the 8th time. Even MORE Atwood with the more recent, and just-OK, The Heart Goes Last. Finally, this year’s winner so far, Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel.

What are YOU reading?

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A Satisfied Copywriting Client!

“Live, damn you. LIVE!”

I’ve often said that this is a  business where the only thanks you can expect is to get paid…and you’ll wait six weeks for that.

Not much has changed in the 8 years since I wrote that merry little beacon of hope, except that the wait is now 8 to 10 weeks. So, it’s a very pleasant surprise to get a notification from Alignable.com to “claim your recommendation!”

This from a recent client, the owner of a Charleston CPR training school. 

“Michael assisted in the relaunch of our website recently. He is very engaging and takes the time to ensure that he did top notch work for our site. He responded to questions in a timely manner and meet all of the timelines we had. Michael continues to promote and help our company grow in our markets. Would wholeheartedly recommend Michael to anyone looking to launch or relaunch a website.”

BTW, “continues to promote and help our company grow” refers to the social media program we started after the website launch.

This was a fun project and a great client. The recommendation was pure gravy (as opposed to the sauce you get from adding water to Gravy Train dog food.) So thanks to Archie at Southeastern CPR, and Bill from Metatation, the Charleston web designer/programmer who called me in.

Want to read more reviews? You KNOW you do!

And if YOUR web copy could use 150 joules of heart-reviving defibrillation, contact LivelyExchange (at) gmail (dot) com!

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Dystopian Diversion

Original 80s cover art, for the purists!

Allow me, Dystopian Literature Fan Number One, to be officially the last person on the web to discuss The Handmaid’s Tale.

First of all, I’m happy to see that 7 episodes in, people have finally stopped screaming how TIMELY it is. Written in the mid-80s, it was a response to the way Reagan installed a right-wing Christian dictatorship, took away women’s rights and shipped black people off to camps. If you don’t remember that happening then, that’s because it didn’t. But, TIMELY!!!

Anyway, the first 5 eps, I was riveted, watching the book come to life after reading it maybe 10 times. (Let us not speak of the 1990 theatrical release – as much as I love the late Natasha Richardson!)

“So…see you at the Ceremony later?”

The last couple of eps, which have veered almost completely from the novel, I fear I am losing my buzz a bit – even though it is very well done. And I wonder, is this what it is like for those unhappy Game of Thrones book nerds?

I give them credit for trying to expand the story, even if the results are mixed. Seeing the breakdown and overthrow of the US? Excellent. RiotGrrl Ofglen as a symbol of resistance? Very good. The revelation about Offred’s husband? Maybe. Sympathizing with Serena Joy about how the revolution disappointed her? No. And the entire Mexican Ambassador thing? No me gusta!

I see that next week will bring to life just about the last remaining set piece of the novel, other than the ending. And now word comes that the series has been renewed for a second season. For the life of me, I can’t imagine what an episode 19 or 20 will look like. Despite all of this, it’s still appointment TV, and I am enjoying the ride for now. As for Big Splashy Hulu Adaptations, it’s much better than 11/22/63 was.  What do YOU think?

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April Copywriting Pipeline!

Remember kids: crack is wack, so keep those shirt tails tucked in while crouching under the sink!

Spring is here! Back home in Cincinnati, they are waiting for the wheels to come off of the Reds’ promising first-place start (it’s coming, friends. It always does.)

Meanwhile in Charleston it’s heating up, both in terms of 90-degree temperatures and the gigs flowing through the ol’ copywriting pipeline.   So, grab your hip waders – I’m goin’ in!

• Blogging for a Tax Attorney in Columbia SC
• Writing a website for a CPR training provider in Charleston SC
• Writing a website for a CNC machine shop client in South Carolina
• Writing a press release for an industrial client in Europe
• Quoting a blogging and social media program for a fiberglass manufacturer in the Midwest

And some old perennials; some that won’t end, others that won’t start!

• Writing brochures and trifolds for a consumer electronics firm in Upstate New York
• Blogging and social media management for a global leader in floral chemicals
• Blogging for an Extended Stay motel chain in the Southeast
• Writing a website for a dry cleaner in South Carolina
• Writing a website for a real estate attorney in South Carolina
• Writing a website for a pressure washing service in South Carolina

Hope your spring is off to a great start, just like my Redlegs, and it stays that way, unlike my Redlegs!

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Social Marketing Certified

Social Marketing Certified (and factory sealed!)

I have an ongoing social media gig, blogging and doing daily posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. We use the Hootsuite platform to centralize the daily scheduling and posting. It’s a nice way to get several weeks worth of posting done in a day, and it gives you a helpful aerial view of your content. Meaning, you post on several different types of topics in your subject area, and it’s good to spread them out evenly.

Anyway, there’s much more to Hootsuite that I have never explored. It’s that curiosity that led me to discover and pursue Hootsuite Social Marketing Certification. Basically, it’s a lot of theory and best practices on social media marketing and advertising, and a lot of the technical aspects of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and so on. What works, what doesn’t, which platform will work best for YOU, constructing ad campaigns, measuring the outcomes, and on and on. Interesting stuff.

It took a lot of the summer and fall to complete the coursework. Then, as I was completing it, business picked up and I couldn’t find the time to cram for the final exam. Finally, I cleared some time and made it happen. And, voila! Hootsuite Social Marketing Certification! Springboard to meteoric success! Hey it could happen.

 

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Putting the Grrr! in Facebook

The following rant is made possible by the fact that you can delete friends on Facebook without notifying them.

Sleepy Moon Guy: Keeps his browser open all day long, and sitting on Facebook.  Indicated by the sleepy blue sliver of a moon symbol next to his name.  Technically, he’s an “online friend,” but he lies in wait, stealthy-like. If you happen to drop in for a moment, the steel trap springs shut and…and I guess you have to chew off your arm to get free.

The “Go on, ask!” Girl: Brief, cryptic updates like “my heart hurts…” Designed to make someone, anyone, anyone at all, ask “Aww, what’s wrong?” Anyone except me, that is.

The Twitter Newbie: You hear it on TV a lot lately…puzzled news people giving it their best, Seinfeldian “what’s the deal with Twitter?”  I get the deal with Twitter, OK? I get it better than most people who use it– like Twitter Newbie.  TN probably has a reason to tweet. Maybe he has a new business he’s trying to promote. So why is every tweet something like “I’m driving,” or “Just had lunch…chick-fil-a yum!” or, my favorite, “tweeting rocks!”  Here’s a tip…get the rocks out of your head and learn to tweet. Secondly, stop saying tweet.

I could go on and on about the TMI people and the ones who are constantly flinging food at you or challenging you to a pillow fight. But that would eliminate just about everyone. So, I’ll end my Facebook beef right here.

You may say, “Dag, Boo…you must spend a lot of time on Facebook to form such a passionate opinion about it!”  To which, I may reply “Dag, Boo? For real? Are you that kid from To Kill a Mockingbird, or what?”

Dag, Boo...that literary reference didn't seem very forced at all!

Seriously, though. It’s not a waste of time if I am judging you. That’s the first rule of blogging!

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