AWC Des Moines

October News Briefs: the Business of Communications

SBA Advances Women-owned Small Business Contracting -- The U.S. Small Business Administration recently announced steps to increase federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses. In early October, the agency submitted a comprehensive new rule for inter-agency review and anticipates its publication in coming months.

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‘Word-of-mouth’ the Most Powerful Selling Tool -– According to a Nielsen Global Survey, traditional media advertising remains more credible worldwide than ads on search engines, web site banners and mobile phones. Despite an ever-expanding array of advertising platforms and sources, consumers around the world still place their highest levels of trust in other consumers, according to the Internet survey.

What does this mean for business communicators ... or communicators in business for themselves? Your most important content might be testimonials.

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-- Compiled by Brenda Friedrich, Independent Communications Consultant and Des Moines Alliance Co-Webmaster

Letting Go of the Words

“People don’t come to the web to linger over the words,” says Janice (Ginny) Redish. Except for news sites, blogs, or sites with topics they're interested in, web users just want basic information, and they want to get it quickly and easily.

In her new book, Letting Go of the Words; Writing Web Content that Works, Redish asserts that “most uses of the web are for gathering information or doing tasks, not for the pleasure of reading...  If [visitors] can’t find what they need quickly enough, they’ll leave your site and go elsewhere.

For professional communicators, this isn't breaking news. But Redish's take on what constitutes good web writing may be. And her strategies and tactics are sorely needed by online authors. Tips for writing conversational content. Hints for extracting “usable, manageable pieces” of information from documents. And suggestions for breaking content down by topic.

Best of all, Redish's book is as user-friendly as the web site models she wants us to emulate. Her common-sense guidelines are presented with real life examples, before and after depictions, and case studies. Letting Go ... it's a great start to improved web communications.

For more information, visit the book's web site at www.redish.net/writingfortheweb

Letting Go of the Words; Writing Web Content that Works
Morgan Kaufmann / Elsevier
2007
365 pages
Soft cover
978-0-12-369486

-- Brenda Friedrich, Independent Communications Consultant and Des Moines Alliance Co-Webmaster

AWC Member In Register Article

Did you see the wonderful article about Mary Mendenhall-Core in the Des Moines Register this week? It's a great photo of her and Sherry Barrett, both AWC members.

Congratulations Mary on a great story on such a selfless gift! You're an inspiration!

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