Category Archives: Master Posts

The most important, significant, time-consuming and engrossing content that I have produced

May I Enjoy This

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May, I Enjoy This, Cycling in Spring

I don’t advise snapping a selfie as you cycle but in this case it gave me a photo for this blog post.

I love May, especially the beginning of the month.

For me, the beginning of May means many birthdays: my uncle’s, mine, my mom’s, my dad’s and my father-in-law’s, in that order – all true Tauruses. All of them except my uncle live nearby so there are family get-togethers that include amazing food and time together outside in the backyard.

The beginning of May means that softball is back and I can begin to once again experience all the glorious pain and discomfort that comes with sprinting around the bases with sudden stops and starts in-between, throwing a ball as far as possible and wrenching my right arm in the process, and general stiffness throughout my body that requires extended stretching sessions. All that passes after two weeks and the real joy of the game begins. Continue reading →

Misunderstanding Leads To Confusion

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new story, writing, communications, details, editing, media, journalism

A disturbance at a local park may be no cause for concern, depending on the clarity of the details of the news story.

More information, please

When I think about the need for clear communications, I think back to my news writing days and my thoughtful editor Dan, who used to say it’s preferable to give people extra information rather than not enough, so they don’t misunderstand the information that you provide. Misunderstanding leads to confusion and misinterpretation, which leads to second guessing and disbelief.

Disbelief is what we felt when Dan told us about a viewer of our website who wrote us to insist that we weren’t correct when we called the sky ‘blue.’

Yes, some viewers would be ridiculous in their comments. There were many that chided us for covering certain stories because they didn’t feel those stories were newsworthy. We always responded kindly and sincerely but what we really wanted to say was: ‘This site is a free service from a private broadcaster. Your tax dollars don’t pay for it so if you don’t like the site, don’t visit.’ Continue reading →

Low-Hanging Tree Branches and Such

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tree branch, tree, branch, twig

I give you an ominous low-hanging tree branch.

We have low-hanging tree branches that may or may not have the potential to gauge out your eyes. We don’t have a strong likelihood of a street corner stabbing or other violent public encounter.

When I consider the former, I think of my city, Burlington, which is so comparably devoid of crime that it doesn’t much enter our daily conversations or affect municipal policy. In contemplating the latter, I think of Hamilton, my hometown and the most troublesome parts of it. Fights, stabbings and even shootings are not uncommon. (Still, they’re practically nonexistent in comparison with many major U.S. metropolitan areas.)

You’d think I don’t have much to complain about here in terms of looming physical danger. Relatively speaking, that’s true. Ceding that point, allow me to introduce to you the hazards that we do have, the ones that ought to cause concern for those of us who are lucky enough not to have to worry much about vicious beatings. Continue reading →

The Extroverted Writer: Me

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beach, van wagner's beach, lake, lake ontario, walk

The extroverted writer gets some outdoor time.

My mom and dad have two friends that used to work in the steel mills of Hamilton by day and attend the symphony or opera by night. Now both of these fine men are retired and they have more time to enjoy the performances.

Getting dressed up and going to the downtown concert hall for a recital is part of their Eastern European upbringing and is a perfectly natural thing for them. When you see these elegantly coiffed gentlemen in their fine threads, it would never occur to you that they once toiled in the steel mills. The two parts of their lives are in direct contrast to each other.

I often think of my life in somewhat the same way. I’m an extroverted writer and sometimes I spend all day with my head buried in my computer, typing feverishly. At times like this, I’m contemplating the deeper truths of humanity and that sort of nonsense. Either that, or I’m trying hard to think of something silly and fun to say that will catch the attention of my Facebook friends. My thoughts run both ways: ardently serious and extremely silly. Continue reading →

Online Marketing Content: Relevant AND Inspiring

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online, marketing, trends, predictions, 2015

It’s refreshing to see a move toward great content in online marketing, but why wasn’t it always this way?

Oh, look: we will now supposedly be getting more online marketing content that’s relevant AND inspiring.

For those of us in the fields of writing, communications and journalism, we have one big question to ask about this sudden dramatic shift: why wasn’t it always this way? After all, if you visit places on the Internet that are not marketing-related (websites for organizations dedicated to science, health care and education, for example) the emphasis on long-form, high-quality content has always been there, just as it had been there for them before the Internet came along.

Supposedly, now “companies will pay more attention to customer experience and curate content in a more emphatic, client-oriented way.” I guess this means that the uber-love of gadgets and pushing buttons to make digital magic has finally given way a bit to allow for real, thoughtful and provocative insight … the stuff we used to call ‘writing.’ Continue reading →

How a Business Blog Eases Information Pain

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Chiropractic association blog is painlessly effective

The Canadian Chiropractic Association (CCA) has one of my favourite websites. I like it because it’s simple yet stylish, well laid-out with large feature images and buttons, the text is easy to read and the drop-down menus are well arranged. And, the site has a comprehensive and regularly updated blog that reaches out to potential clients and offers a solution to their problems.

The blog page of the Canadian Chiropractic Association

The blog page of the Canadian Chiropractic Association

The CCA is responsible for giving chiropractic care a good name in Canada and advocating for its member practitioners. They know that one of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to educate people about the value of chiropractic care and offer a convincing case for its inclusion in every Canadian’s healthcare regimen. Point in case is their November 12, 2014 post – The Future of Canadian Healthcare: A Chiropractor on Your Health Care Team. Continue reading →

Those Benevolent Business Owners

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Benevolent business owners, giving, charitable, merchants, shops, boutiques

Small business owners give what they can, in different ways.

They are connected, committed, customer-driven, compassionate and community-oriented.

Having interviewed dozens of business owners in my community and in the community where I grew up, I can honestly say there are many small business owners out there conducting themselves admirably. They are, in fact, benevolent business owners.

In the last few weeks, I have spoken with numerous merchants and have found them all to have the “5 Cs” that I’ve listed above.

They seem eager and happy to give back to their community. Some are actively doing it in large and public ways, while others are doing what they can to contribute.

The owner of a successful clothing store is spearheading efforts to raise funds for a new digital mammogram machine for the local hospital. Most of her staff have been with her for years because they are happy to be there and love making people feel good about the clothes they wear. They could choose to work elsewhere but they stay. I felt their positive energy as I spoke with them. I can’t help but believe they like being part of a charitable business. Continue reading →

The Interview: Conversation over Concentration

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interview: conversation vs. concentration

An interview conversation: I sub an iPhone for the clipboard

Stop it, I scold myself repeatedly.

Before each interview I conduct, I remind myself to keep from straying and stay focused. It’s a tough proposition because I’m the extroverted writer who works from home and doesn’t get to talk to people.

Typically I interview business owners about their story. These people have graciously allowed me to quiz them in exchange for getting their story in print. I shouldn’t waste their time with my opinion on the article I read on the bus on the way over – on the state of digital marketing – or the awesome meal my wife created the night before: baked white fish with grilled pineapple and herb-dusted asparagus spears: yummy. They also probably don’t want to hear me complain about yet another cyclist that I saw who wasn’t wearing a helmet AND had no light or reflective device.

Well, they’re going to get a little of that because I’m only human, and I need something to break the ice: to put them at ease and get the conversation flowing.

There’s the key to the interview: conversation. While it’s okay to think in terms of concentration – staying focused and speedily gathering the relevant information – there has to be a natural flow to the interview. You need to take the time to relate. I believe no one wants to talk to a journalist who can’t relate. Continue reading →

Erich’s Writing Guidelines: Be Yourself, Carefully, with Editing

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writing rules, writing guidelines

The rules for writing begin with ‘keep on writing.’

During my extensive networking efforts of the last several months, an age-old communications reality has once again come into focus: people typically know want they want to say, but they’re not so sure how to write it and make it sound good.

“I can sell you a great bar code management system but don’t ask me to create a resume,” says the curly-headed sales team leader.

“I have a hard enough time writing a post-it note, never mind all this social media muddle” adds the astute accountant.

“Yeah,” agrees the bespectacled logistics analyst. “I’m used to numbers and data, not flowing sentences and fancy descriptions.”

For these people and any interested others, I offer the following writing guidelines.

Coming from a writing and broadcasting background, I’m used to interacting daily with people who have an extraordinary gift for written and verbal communications. They relish playing with words and making them sing. But the truth is that’s just one God-given gift in a world full of God-given gifts. On one hand, it accomplishes a great deal. On the other hand, it doesn’t fix your car’s brakes, it can’t discover a cure for cancer, and it won’t put food on store shelves.
Continue reading →

What? They’re Not In It For The Money?

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Come In, We're Open signAll of the small business owners I’ve interviewed in recent weeks have one thing in common: they love what they do and they are dedicated to it. This became evident to me the other day as I was walking from one of the merchants to another. I realized I never heard any of them talk about money.

We might suppose that the primary reason to get into business for yourself is to make money. Well sure, this makes perfect sense. We all need money to live and who doesn’t want more of it? But it turns out this isn’t factor number one when setting up your own shop. It might not even be number two or three.

I’ve spoken to owners and managers of flower shops, massage studios and a spa, a jeweller, an accountant, a chiropractor, a music store owner, a veterinarian and others, and have heard these merchants describe in detail about how passionate they are about their line of work, how much they love their clients and customers, and how they want to make a difference in people’s lives. Continue reading →