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It’s my birthday tomorrow - here’s a free report to celebrate!

POSTED BY ruth on Mar 3 under Uncategorized

I’m taking the day off tomorrow because it’s my birthday.  Not going to reveal the milestone I’ve achieved suffice to say it’s time to start counting backwards!

So to celebrate, I’ve just uploaded a link to a free report called “How to Write a Feature Article and get Published” for all new newsletter subscribers.  You just need to enter your name and email address in the “Free Newsletter” section on the homepage to access it.

Because I don’t want all current subscribers to miss out, if you’d like me to email you the report, just go to the Contact Us page on the website and enter your request in the enquiry details box, not forgetting to include your email address, and I’ll send it to you.

Have a great day!

Been MIA for a while - now I’m back!

POSTED BY ruth on Feb 24 under Uncategorized

I have finally climbed out of a sea of paperwork and finished editing a 100 page catalogue.  It was a fun job, a bit different to the regular work I do and was a good challenge that really got the creative juices flowing. 

The catalogue is produced by an overseas publisher and promotes their range of childrens books.  The text I edited had been translated from French into English by a native French speaker.  Hence some of the words had been translated literally and lost a degree of meaning in the process. 

So it all had to be knocked into shape to create a catalogue that not only accurately summarised the content of each book using eye catching sales messages, but also got treated to all the usual editing tasks such as checking punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc.  

It was quite a challenge searching for alternative English words for some of the book titles.  One of the books is called “La Tetine” which had literally been translated as “The Teat” (as in udder).  The picture on the front cover is of a robber riding a horse and if you look closely, you can see a dummy in his mouth.   The book is aimed at very young children and encourages them to be a big kid and throw away their dummy.  So I changed the English title to “The Dummy Thief”.

The books are beautifully illustrated and charming to read, if you can read French!  If you’re interested, check out the publisher’s website:  http://www.casterman.com

Catalogue editing is just one of the many services we provide.  If you have text that needs “knocking into shape”, just send me an email via the Contact Us page.

Some useful tips on e-media releases

POSTED BY ruth on Feb 12 under Uncategorized

Distributing media releases via the Internet offers certain advantages over the traditional method of sending them by post or fax.  It is cheaper, more convenient and provides a degree of interactivity that is not possible with traditional releases.

Although the subject matter of media releases should stay the same whether they are distributed in print or electronic format, there are some differences in terms of how you write and layout a release for the Internet.

Here are some handy tips to follow when writing and sending releases in email format.

There are, however, some guidelines that remain the same, regardless of whether the release is send by snail mail or email.  Here’s a summary:-

Distributing the media release is straight forward.  When sending the release to a number of journalists, make sure you enter their address details in the Bcc field so that you avoid each journalist knowing the other journalists the release has been sent to.  You could use an online news wire service but would have to pay for this.

If you have any questions on e-media releases, send us an email. 

Why don’t you sign up Purple Chameleon News for the latest news and hints and tips on improving your marketing communications?  You can also find us on the Purple Chameleon Facebook page, or follow us on Twitter.

Is it time you reviewed your website?

POSTED BY ruth on Feb 4 under websites general

The Purple Chameleon Communications website is approaching its first anniversary. 

Over the last year, the number of visitors to the site each month has been steady and I’ve been happy with the way things have gone.  However, there is always room for improvement and I knew in the back of my mind that I could do more with it.  I just needed to work out what to do and feel confident that any changes I make will generate more enquiries and bring in more business.

Yesterday, I spent one of the most productive hours of the last few months with an expert who shows people how to harness the power of the internet in your business.  Wendy Moore from Savvy Web Women did a review of my website and gave me a bunch of very useful tips on how to improve it that will help to generate more traffic and increase my database.

Here are a few of the useful tips Wendy gave me:-

You’ll see more enhancements to my website soon as I work my way through the “to do” list Wendy gave me.  In the meantime, why not sign up to Purple Chameleon News?  If you have any questions, please send me an email.

Find me on the Purple Chameleon Facebook page , or follow me on Twitter

School’s back - time to get back to business

The holidays are over and it’s time to officially knuckle down and get on with business, not an easy task after spending last week soaking up the sun on the wonderful beaches at Binnalong Bay on the east coast of Tasmania.  The good thing is I do feel as if I’ve had a break and I’m quite excited about the opportunities the next few months are going to bring. 

Amongst other things, I’ll be editing a publishing catalogue for the Bologna Book Fair, creating a new website for a business coach and writing articles for Jane’s Airport Review.  

When I checked my emails yesterday, I noticed I’d been paid for an article I wrote for Jane’s before going to Tassie which meant that it had been published.  I always like to check how much of my original content had been used in the finished piece and was pleased to see that nearly all of it had.  If you would like to receive a copy of the article, send me an email ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.

Freelance writing doesn’t pay terribly well and you really have to know your stuff, have a good list of contacts and be able to do your research and write quickly and succintly to make it worth your while.  I get paid by the word, which is quite common, and have developed a good understanding of the industry I write about which makes writing for Jane’s more cost effective now than when I first started.

Here are some of the skills you need to be a successful non-fiction writer (the type of writing I do for Jane’s Airport Review):-

If you have any questions on feature writing, why not send me an email ruth@purplechameleon.com.au?  Don’t forget to sign up to Purple Chameleon News from my homepage.  The first issue for 2010 will be out soon.

E-newsletters - more things you should know

POSTED BY ruth on Jan 14 under Uncategorized

I’ll shortly be putting together content for the first Purple Chameleon Newsletter for 2010.  As I mentioned in my previous blog on e-newsletters, I’ll be asking my contact database and newsletter subscribers for input on content they would like included in future issues.  This will ensure I provide my audience with information they will find useful and is a great way to build trust.  Avoid blatant self promotion in your e-newsletter as this will be counter-productive and will turn your audience off.  You don’t want to over-use your company name or repeatedly refer to your products and services.  Yes, your e-newsletter is a business publication but be careful to limit any blatant bias.   

Increase the value of your newsletter by making it more objective.  You can do this by only including material relevant to your business area, asking for contributions from your subscribers or including material from other sources which could be magazines, websites or other e-enewsletters.  Maybe include a Q&A page, this is another great way to promote your business or website by providing legitimate responses.

How long should your e-newsletter be?  There are no strict rules and I’m a firm believer that less is more.  Maybe focus on a few articles, a latest developments or news section and a Q&A page, totalling around 1000 words.   You can include a series of themes each issue which provides consistency and gives subscribers something to look forward to each issue.  These themes could be “Top Ten Tips”, ”Three Ways To…” or “Tip of the Week/Month”.   

Remember that if you write too much there’s a danger you will turn off your subscribers and they will just delete the newsletter before they even read it, regardless of how useful it is.   If subscribers really value your content they will be prepared to read more. 

How often you send out the e-newsletter depends on time and money, but most successful newsletters are sent out on a fortnightly or monthly basis.  

In terms of formatting, consider the following:-

When it comes to distributing your e-newsletter, you can either do it yourself or pay someone to do it for you.  I prefer the diy option as I have more control over when I send the newsletter and who it’s going to.  It is also practical because I have a relatively small distribution list.  If your list is say, over 1000 subscribers, it will take more time to send out and becomes a more complicated admin task: removing and adding subscribers can be a real chore. 

If you are going to do it yourself, you need to create a subscriber list of email addresses.  People can subscribe to my newsletter from the PCC website, and when they do, I receive an email that contains their email address that I can copy and paste into a subscriber list.  This list also contains contact emails from my Outlook address list.   

To distribute the e-newsletter, enter the email addresses into your Bcc field.  This preserves the confidentiality of your subscription list and avoids frustrating your subscribers by sending them a page full of e-mail addresses.  Then insert your own email address in the To: field which will send a copy of the newsletter to yourself.

One last tip:  make sure you make it clear that any information people give you will remain confidential and will not be sold on to mailing list companies.

If you have any questions on e-newsletters, send me an email ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.  Don’t forget to sign up to my e-newsletter from the PCC homepage!

E-newsletters - why you should have one, Part 1

POSTED BY ruth on Jan 7 under e-newsletters, newsletters

One of the jobs on my “to-do” list is to write the first Purple Chameleon newsletter for 2010.  It’s something I was going to get started on during the Christmas break but the holiday season slowed me down…

Why should you have an e-newsletter?  There are a number of reasons why businesses should engage in creating e-newsletters and some useful principals to follow in order to ensure you get it right.

Firstly, they are an excellent direct marketing tool because they allow you to communicate with your audience directly and at a much deeper level than standard e-mail messages.  Secondly, they are cheaper to produce and distribute than printing and posting a hard copy version.  Thirdly, you can include interactive links and therefore involve your reader to a greater extent than an offline version, enabling you to build a two-way relationship.  Lastly, it’s quick - you can distribute an e-newsletter simultaneously to thousands of people at the click of a mouse.

One main reason e-newsletters can be effective is because they combine ‘push’ and ‘pull’ marketing techniques.  You ‘push’ the newsletter to your subscriber’s email address and they ‘pull’ the information towards them because they have subscribed to it.  As a result of this ‘push-pull’ combination, e-newsletters are a great way to:

It’s important to carefully consider content for your newsletter.  Write on topics that are relevant to your audience and not just your business.  Provide useful, practical information readers can learn from.  If you are going to write about your business, only include it where it is of direct interest to the people who buy your products.  You can turn your e-newsletter into an informative and valueable resource by doing the following:-

I’ll shortly be contacting all subscribers to the Purple Chameleon newsletter asking them what they would like to read about in future issues.  There may be certain topics they want more information on and asking what your audience wants to read about is much better than pushing out content that could be dull or irrelevant. 

Remember that you should only send your e-newsletter to people who have subscribed to it.  Don’t send it to a mailing list you have created because you will really annoy them if they haven’t requested to receive it.  I know, it’s happened to me before.

I’ll be writing more about e-newsletters soon including some useful tips on length and frequency, suggestions on formatting your e-newsletter and distributing options.  If you have any questions, please email them to ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.  Until next time.

Christmas is over - now it’s time for New Year’s resolutions

POSTED BY ruth on Dec 28 under Uncategorized

As we count down the last few days of 2009, many people review their achievements for the last year and start making New Year resolutions and setting goals for the year ahead.  I have a few personal goals that no doubt will be shared by many - lose weight, get fit, save money, which I’m sure are the same resolutions I made in 2009..

According to wikipedia, the most popular resolutions are ”quit smoking, stop drinking too much, lose weight and get fit” (I’ve got two of those covered).  However, recent research shows that only 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals and only 12% actually achieved them.  Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting by setting small, measurable goals like “lose a pound in weight a week” rather than just “lose weight”, while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from friends.

In the early 20th century, New Year’s resolution postcards were printed which focussed on more socio-centric intentions.  These included ”attempting to live a simple, sincere and serene life, repelling thoughts of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity and self-seeking and cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity and charity.”  Take a look at wikipedia’s definition of New Year’s resolutions for more.  How the world has changed since then!

I shall take the next few days to reflect on my business goals for 2010 before getting back into the swing of things on January 4.  There are a couple of new ventures starting early in the New Year which include working with a new business coach and networking with Wendy Moore from SavvyWebWomen.  I’m very excited about both of these and look forward to getting started!

Purple Chameleon Communications has a Facebook page and you can follow us on Twitter.

How does PR contribute to meeting marketing goals?

POSTED BY ruth on Dec 18 under Uncategorized

To continue with my last blog on the difference between PR and Marketing, I thought it might be useful to list the many ways that public relations activities contribute to meeting marketing objectives:- 

The above demonstrate the important role public relations plays in its market-support function and how PR can help to raise awareness, inform and educate, gain understanding, build trust and give people reasons to buy.

If you need help producing a PR plan and implementing any of the activities listed above, please send me an email ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.

What distinguishes public relations from marketing?

POSTED BY ruth on Dec 15 under Advertising, Marketing, PR, Public Relations

Public relations differs from marketing in many ways, although their functions often overlap mainly because both deal with an organisation’s relationships and use similar communication tools to reach the public.  Both have the ultimate purpose of assuring an organisation’s success and economic survival, but each approach this task from slightly different perspectives.

Public relations is concerned with building relationships and generating goodwill for an organisation whereas marketing is concerned with customers and selling products and services.  Marketing and advertising people tend to speak of “target markets,” “consumers,” and “customers.”  Public relations professionals tend to talk of “publics,” “audiences,” and “stakeholders.”

Public relations is often referred to as the 5th “P” of the marketing mix, in addition to Product, Price, Place and Promotion.  When public relations is used to support directly an organisation’s marketing objectives, it is often called marketing communications, or Marketing Public Relations (MPR).  Other public relations activities that deal with a corporation’s relationships with its non-customer publics is called Corporate Public Relations (CPR).  These non-customer publics include governments, employees, stockholders, communities, etc.

Another difference between public relations and marketing is the purpose of the dialogue with each of their target markets or publics.  Public relations purpose is to create mutual understanding and cooperation through two-way dialogue.  Marketing, however, is intent on being persuasive with the aim of selling products and services.

In my next blog post, I’ll describe a number of ways in which public relations activities contribute to meeting marketing objectives.

Until then, please email me ruth@purplechameleon.com.au if you have any questions.

Discover the difference between public relations and advertising

POSTED BY ruth on Dec 8 under Advertising, PR, Public Relations, media release

I’m writing about this topic today because I believe there is some confusion in the world of small business about public relations and advertising.

Many times I’ve read on forums how a small business believes that sending a press release to the media is a great way to promote their product or service to a target audience free of charge.  WRONG!  This misplaced believe highlights the confusion between publicity and advertising and the following definitions will help to clear up any misunderstanding:-

Advertising is a paid form of mass communication which primarily uses print or broadcast media (ie tv or radio) to reach its target audience.  The form of public relations that is most closely related to advertising is publicity which, of course, is only one aspect of public relations.  Unlike publicity, advertising allows an organisation to control the content of the advertisement, where it will be placed and how often it will appear.

Publicity is information from an outside source (often provided in the form of a media release) that is used by the media because the information has news value and will be of interest to the target audience.  It is an uncontrolled method of placing messages in the media because the source does not pay the media for placement.

Publicity is widely regarded as being more cost effective and therefore more credible because the message appears in a news context, giving it the effect of third party endorsement.  However, bear in mind that publicity is not necessarily something you seek: public relations can also be about keeping things out of the media and away from public knowledge.  This is not necessarily because there is something to hide: other reasons such as timing, confidentiality, resources, etc may all come into it.

To find out which approach is right for your business, contact me ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.

I’ll be blogging again soon about the relationship between public relations and marketing - the differences can be difficult to grasp since the activities sometimes overlap.

Teaching the facebook generation

Earlier this month, I read an interesting article from Business Week.  It was written by a college professor in the US and discussed the impact that changes in technology have had on marketing and PR students and how, in addition to knowing the 4 P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Place Promotion), they also need to demonstrate technical skills that a decade ago were required only of those in highly technical major subjects. 

I completed my MA in Professional Communication 2 years ago but since then, the social media revolution has taken off big time.  Practical skills such as optimising content for a website, developing keyword strategies and managing e-mail marketing campaigns were not part of the curriculum but if they were, would have been extremely useful and saved me alot of time in my business.  Nowadays for students, a basic knowledge of how social media including sites such as Facebook, Linkedin, Tumbir (? - never heard of that one), and Twitter can be used to leverage a marketing message isn’t optional - it’s a requirement.

PR students must now write news releases that are search-engine friendly, pitch bloggers, “listen” to a continual flood of consumer-generated content on multiple social sites from YouTube to Facebook to Twitter, generate social media news releases, and engage with blogs, Facebook fans and multiple other sites.  These are all great skills that potential employers need from graduates to help them manage their digital strategies for them.  And they assume that because the students are young, they are familiar with the social media world.  The problem is that students cannot leverage these tools professionally unless they are taught them.  They must learn the difference in writing a news release, a blog post, a Twitter update, or generating content for a Facebook fan page. They have to know which metrics should be tracked on a Web site.

Why is all this important? Because businesses that don’t know how to respond to and use social media are filling knowledge gaps in staff by hiring students with these skills fresh from college. In the lean organizations of 2009, students will not simply learn on the job; they will be asked to implement these tools strategically because no one else knows how.

The challenge for faculty in all business functions—and all disciplines across higher education - is staying on top of these changes and knowing what to teach in the classroom.  Professors need to lead students by example by knowing the mechanics of social media and showing students how to use them strategically for the good of their employers, and also for the good of their career.

Click here to read the entire article from Business Week.

PRO. PT website has gone live!

POSTED BY ruth on Nov 11 under Uncategorized

I am delighted to announce that the PRO. PT website I have been working on over the last couple of months has gone live, and it looks great. 

This has been an exciting project for me as I have been going to PRO. PT Fitness Professionals for the last two years and I am a great fan of what they do and what they believe in. 

Rohan and Marlene Erard, joint owners of PRO. PT are committed to helping their clients achieve balance in their lives through regular exercise and healthy eating.  Clients who had weight issues or injury problems have benefitted from the advice and support provided by Rohan and Marlene and claim they have “turned their lives around.”

Purple Chameleon wrote the website copy and did all the project management to ensure PRO. PT are happy with the end result.  Design for the website was done by the wonderful Ally from Web Graphics by Email.

If you need a new website, or would like help writing or editing existing copy, send me an email ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.  To check out the PRO. PT website, visit www.proptfitness.com.au.

Time to take a break

POSTED BY ruth on Oct 29 under Uncategorized

Melbourne Cup Day is around the corner and we’re taking advantage of the long weekend and heading to Deans Marsh near Lorne for a few days camping with friends.  It’s an area of Victoria I’m not familiar with so should be fun exploring what’s on offer.  The weather is forecast to be warm with showers but I’m sure that won’t deter three excited kids from messing around on the beach.

It’s been a hectic but exciting October for the Purple Chameleon.  The website has been live for nearly 8 months and on the 19th of November we celebrate our first birthday.  I’m cooking up a special promotion for that day so check out the website to see what’s on offer.

As well as looking after the needs of existing clients, I’ve expanded my networking opportunities and recently joined Business Women Unite.  It’s only over the last few months that I’ve started to appreciate how important it is to make contact with other small business owners and contribute to forums through networking because you never know where it can take you.  If you are genuinely interested in helping others and have good advice and support to offer, it can lead to some great mutually beneficial opportunities.

Tomorrow I’m heading into Melbourne for the MCEI Conference.  It promises to be an exciting day and there’ll be lots of learning and hopefully some great contacts to make.

Until next time…

Rising up to the challenge

POSTED BY ruth on Oct 27 under Uncategorized

A weight loss competition is being run by our local gym and last night my husband and I went along for our weigh-in.  We’ve been training at PRO. PT Fitness Professionals for over a year and our diligence at the gym doesn’t always follow through to our diet.  We both got a bit of a shock - their scales weighed us heavier than our scales at home.  Yes, we were fully clothed and it was late in the day, but reality hit that we’ve both got some hard work ahead of us.

We go back for our weigh-in on Monday 30 November - less than 5 weeks from now.  Each male and female who loses the most weight between now and the final weigh-in date wins 5 personal training sessions worth $220.  We’ve had to limit our visits to twice weekly group training sessions since the Global Financial Crisis hit our house, so winning the competition would be fantastic and the prospect of returning to personal training is a great incentive.

So this morning my husband went to work with 2 small tins of tuna in sunflower oil, 5 ryvitas (wholegrain), an apple, banana and kiwi fruit and a jug to measure his water intake (he needs to drink 3 litres a day).  Boy, will he be starving tonight!  As for me, I’ve had porridge for breakfast with a glass of orange juice.  My coffee break at 11am will be just that, a cup of coffee with light milk - no cake or biscuit.  And lunch will probably be a wholemeal sandwich with ham, avocado and tomato. 

I’ll snack on fruit this afternoon and dinner will be grilled baby whiting (which my neighbour caught on a weekend fishing trip) with a pile of veggies.  And during the day I’ll be glugging down 3 litres of water…and making regular trips to the toilet.

The lovely Rohan and Marlene at PRO.PT have given us great advice on diet and exercise since we’ve been training with them.  We really hope that we win this competition because WE WILL HAVE EARNED IT!.

Purple Chameleon Communications is in the process of producing a brand new website for PRO.PT.  For a sneek preview of the site under development, visit www.proptfitness.com.au.

Active vs Passive Writing

POSTED BY ruth on Oct 26 under Writing Tips

It’s been a while since I caught up on some good reading so when the opportunity presented itself on the weekend I grabbed it.

My “library” hasn’t been stocked up in ages and I don’t have any recent bestsellers but instead own a collection of travel narratives, cookbooks and crime novels that I rotate every couple of years.  On Sunday, I chose one of Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta novels.  Never boring, always exciting (although at times gruesome) I settled into the sofa and started reading.

One of the things I like about Cornwell is her active and engaging writing style.  Her narratives move at a good pace yet she doesn’t skip detail instead including it with descriptions that are compelling and captivating.

This active style of writing is something I enjoy in a number of travel narratives.  English author Stephen Clarke is one of my favourites along with Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux (although I find some of Theroux’s descriptions can be a bit boring…)

When studying non-fiction writing as part of my Masters Degree, I learnt about the importance of active writing and how important it is to write as actively as possible. 

Active writing engages.  Passive writing is boring and can be clumsy.

Consider the following:-

Active:  The player smashed the shuttle over the net.

Passive:  The shuttle was smashed over the net by the player.

In the active sentence, the player is the subject, smash is the verb and the shuttle is the object.

In the passive sentence, the shuttle becomes the subject, smash remains the verb but the player becomes the object.  This sentence is passive because the object, not the subject, is performing the action described by the verb.

When you next do some writing, try and make it as active as possible.  And keep your writing engaging by showing, not telling.  This way you won’t turn your readers off, you’ll be engaging them with something interesting.

Showing enables you to paint a picture with words so that your reader can see, feel and smell the things you have seen, felt and smelt.  It’s a good technique to use in all types of writing.  If you have any questions about how to make your writing active, not passive, send me an email ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.

Until next time…

A lesson learnt…

POSTED BY ruth on Oct 20 under Uncategorized

I learnt the importance of being organised the hard way when I couldn’t find Gold Class movie tickets and Flybuys vouchers on the weekend.  Tucked away together inside a blue envelope, I searched for them all over the house in every conceivable place, starting with the obvious and ending up with the more obscure (and less likely) such as books in case I’d used them as bookmarks.

And of course I couldn’t find them. 

My filing system for both personal and work items is seriously lacking in organisation, in fact, at times it doesn’t exist.  A heavy work commitment over the last 6 weeks hasn’t helped but it made me realise I had to make time to get and stay organised.  

Losing those tickets and the vouchers was really disappointing.  So on Sunday afternoon I made time to sort through all the paperwork and either file it away or leave in folders for future action on the dining room table.  All work stuff was put in the office for me to sort out this week and personal items like bills and school correspondence were stacked together and filed away in the filing cabinet.  

I created a separate file for personal correspondence which I will go through at the end of each day.  Diary items are entered immediately into my personal diary and the paper thrown in the bin to limit clutter.  Important items like gift vouchers now go in an envelope and sit in the top draw of my bedside table to avoid them getting mixed up with everyday correspondence.

I felt so good after my clear out - and so organised!  After the weekend, I made a commitment that I won’t allow myself to get swamped by paperwork and correspondence again. 

And…I think those tickets and vouchers got scooped up with junk mail and ended up in the recycling bin! Aaaaargh….

Good customer service - when did you last get it?

POSTED BY ruth on Oct 12 under Customer service

When was the last time you experienced good customer service?  And what exactly is customer service?  There are a number of varying definitions around but one of the simplest I’ve come across is from wikipedia that defines customer service as ”the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.”  Another more modern day definition is “the ability to attract new customers, retain existing ones and service them for life. ”  Keep your customers happy and there’ll be more cash flow for your business.

Exceptional customer service is the feeling a customer gets when they have experienced a product or service that has exceeded their expectation.   When was the last time that happened to you?  Where were you and what were you buying?

As a business, I try to offer exceptional customer service to my clients who are paying me good money in return for a product or service I agreed I would deliver to them. 

In all aspects of my business, communication is the key to delivering good customer service.  Keeping everyone involved and updated on what’s going on during the process of, for example, producing a website is important.  I use third parties for projects like this and do all the project managing to ensure my supplier gets the information they need on time, in order to deliver a product to my client that meets their needs and expectations.  There’s alot of going back and forth but it’s all part of the process.  I’d like to think I go the extra mile to ensure that everyone is happy and enjoys working together to achieve a common goal.

Do you have any good or bad customer service stories to tell?  Why not email them to me ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.  Look forward to receiving them.

My Health Nurse - Purple Chameleon’s latest client

POSTED BY ruth on Oct 6 under PR, Public Relations

I’m very excited to be doing some PR work for My Health Nurse - Victoria’s first private nurse led community health clinic.  Jodi Campbell, Registered Nurse, Div 1 is the visionary behind My Health Nurse and Jodi will be opening the doors of her new clinic in Boronia, Victoria on Thursday 15 October.

Jodi spent months creating a vision for patient focused health care and hopes to get client referrals from busy GPs and under-resourced hospitals.  Jodi’s approach is unique and she plans to open My Health Nurse clinics across Victoria, particularly in rural areas where her services will be of great benefit to the local community.

Jodi originally approached me to do some copywriting but after we talked a bit more about what she wanted to achieve, it became clear that a PR plan was the way to go, and it’s worked really well. 

I used my template for the 30 Minute PR Plan which first time around with a new client takes much longer than 30 minutes (when you’ve done it a few times for one organisation, it does get quicker..) and the key messages were simply lifted from the Plan and inserted into the tactical devices, which in this case was a brochure, flyer and press release.  I wrote some measurable objectives for Jodi to evaluate the success of her PR campaign and will follow up on this over the coming weeks and months.

I’m looking forward to the “official” opening of My Health Nurse next week, which will be performed by Mr Jason Wood, MP and Federal Member for La Trobe.  Jodi deserves all the success in the world with My Health Nurse and I hope that I’ve made some contribution to help her on her way…

How to showcase your business

POSTED BY ruth on Sep 25 under Advertising, Marketing, PR

Last night I went to an interesting event organised by the great team at MCEI.  The guest speaker was Joe Dorfman from Tradeshow Coach who talked about how businesses can get the best possible results from conferences and expos.  If you put the right strategies in place, customers will come to you rather you having to chase them (wouldn’t that be great?)

Briefly, Joe took us through the 4 P’s of maximising your attendance at a tradeshow…

Visit The Tradeshow Coach website to find out how they can help you get the most of out your next exhibition.  If you need any help promoting your attendance at a tradeshow, whether it is writing copy for invitations or organising publicity, send me an email ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.

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Purple Chameleon Communications | 0411 889283 | ruth@purplechameleon.com.au | www.purplechameleon.com.au

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