Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Yes, Side Hustles Are Necessary/Mainstream - But It's Still Smart to Keep Brands Separate

Smart.

That's what thought.

For about six months I had been strategically planning and creating promotional content for a one-player IT fixit service. It was only by accident that I discovered that particular entrepreneur also was operating another line of business: music production.

Side hustles or setting up multiple sources of income have become downright required in the current volatile economy.

More professionals, even the buttoned-down rigid professional-services types, are learning that.

Unfortunately, for some it had been too late.

For example, early adopters of blogging played only in that box. When BigMedia moved in, their source of income imploded. Had they other hustles going they wouldn't have wound up financially and professionally stranded.

However, what remains the branding must is: Don't confuse clients and customers with a multiple identity. Make it your business to keep the enterprises separate. Here is the article I published on that.

Usually, that's possible.

From the get-go, a new client and I are focused on segregating his academic communications niche enterprise from his long-term memoir-writing specialization. That entails making decisions not only about "owned" marketing communications material such as his own websites, blogs, emails, podcasts, and in-person presentations.

Also, he has to figure out how to position and package himself on social networks. What should his LinkedIn Profile capture? That's where tough marketing work is required. Social networks must operate on the macro level to create an inclusive enough identity to cover most hustles. What he is moving toward is an identity as a communications strategist. 

All this isn't new, of course. It goes all the way back to the early days of mass entrepreneurship in the U.S.

During that Stalin-like purge of middle-aged middle managers in corporate America, we exiles had to determine what we could sell as small businesspeople and how. That took time - and guidance from branding experts. Probably that was the beginning of the growth of the executive coach. 

For instance, a first step was to put myself out there as a generalist in public relations writing, not a specialist in thought leadership ghostwriting. The latter was too narrow. Of course, though, I developed customized snail-mail promotions focused on niches. Typical was pitching financial institutions such as American Express on my track record in credit cards. The folks at American Express only knew me as that.

Branding exists to simplify purchasing decisions. That means job number-one for those with multiple sources of income is to do the initial positioning and packaging so that clients and customers have an unambiguous snapshot of what you are selling, what are the unique benefits, and the advantages to them of the pricing.

Yes, sometimes the brands can be fused. The synergy will bring in unexpected business.

There has been my  coaching those over-5o enterprise Download BACKGROUNDERJaneGenovaCoachingOver-50. It seeped into my more general marketing communications line of work. Currently, more revenue comes from the latter than the former. Large and medium-sized career transition firms wanted me to prepare promotional material for them, not coach their clients. 

Obviously, creating side hustles as earning hedges is a complex branding mission.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Podcasting - How Long Will On-Demand Audio Remain Level Playing Field?

Remember when the medium of the weblog eliminated the traditional gatekeepers, such as the editors at The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone?

Everyman and Everywoman could put their content out there, as long as they understood the technology of blogging as well as how to attract, hold, and grow followers.

Then the medium was usurped by then well-funded enterprises such as AOL. No longer was it a level playing field.

The same dynamic can take over podcasting.

Currently, with this medium of on-demand audio, anyone can jump into the game. Most laptops already have internal mics and sound cards. Recording platforms such as Zoom are free. Many of the growing number of hosting services for storage, distribution, and promotion are free or relatively low-cost. 

Indie producers and other kinds of amateurs are thriving. Marketing units for professional services such as law firms are getting up to speed on how podcasts can be made and repurposed. 

However, at the Boston Globe warns, this could change - fast. There's money in podcasting. For example, savvy podcasters are scouting up sponsors. Whatever can be monetized can wind up being "owned" by BigWhatever.

Recently, Spotify has acquired two podcasting companies. Brandname media properties such as Abovethelaw increasingly use podcasting. 

Will there continue to be space for indies and amateurs? 

Meanwhile, expect paywalls to go up. So much for the Free Access to Everything Movement. Mediums don't remain "socialistic" for long.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

PR Peril of Celebrity Whatever, Including the CEO

Among PR folks, there is the old warning about featuring an actual employee in recruiting material. Soon enough, the man or woman could be part of a high-profile media story about a drug ring in the geographic region - or even inside the company.

Another common anecdote was the peril of the celebrity spokesperson. Given celebrity per se which loosens the sense of boundaries, there's no predicting what trouble that spokesperson will wind up in.

To that list, reports Axios, has been added the Celebrity CEO.

The AXIOS Harris Poll found how many corporations have declined on the image scale. And part of the problem was the tarnished brand of the Celebrity CEO. As a tactic to boost public opinion - and good will - chief communications officers have been touting the CEOs who have pull force in the media game. 

But, as is well known: The media giveth and the media taketh away. In that shift not only is shade thrown on celebrity CEOs. Damage is done to the very image of the corporation. 

The classic example is Elon Musk's recent seemingly odd behavior. Both he and the company he leads Tesla have suffered in the reputation game. 

The takeaway from the AXIOS Harris poll is for the in-house communications team and the outside PR agencies to not put all their eggs in positioning and packaging the CEO leadership. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

BigPR, Outside Firms and Corporate - How Many Jobs Will Be Cut in Coming Economic Downturn?

Professional services is a changing game.

There are client churn, haggling on price, and lower-price a la carte services established by alternative providers.

Untouched, though, at least currently, has been the top-tier of firms in niches such as law and public relations. Deep pockets go to them for bet-the-ranch issues and high-value transactions. 

That untouchability could change, quickly or in slo-mo, during the coming economic downturn. Already, there have been projections about how even the elite firms in law could get whacked in the next recession. In-house legal departments could also be hit. One forecast is the loss of 10,250 jobs. 

So, how many jobs, in agencies and in corporate communications departments, could be eliminated when the U.S. economy is impacted by the slowdown already occurring in other economies? In some, experts observe, it's accelerating.

According to the Holmes Report, published in 2018, growth in U.S. public relations firms declined from 4.6% the year before to 2.6%.

Nibbling at firms' market share are upstart providers. They include digital-savvy newbie college graduates hanging out shingles around the world. They provide all kinds of affordable services, both domestically and as outsourcing. Increasingly, the influence game is being played digitally.

More help-wanted for public relations services on Craigslist hammer: Agencies need not apply. 

Those mouse bites could become what used to be firms' lunch. 

Also, there is a question how quickly old-line brandname public relations firms are adopting to the shift of communications to be primarily in marketing and, yes, sales.

More and more of my clients and prospects need hands-on experience in selling. A track record in generating Calls to Action (CTA) is the most marketable credential in landing assignments. 

Back in 2017, the USC Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism surveyed those in the public relations loop. Only 8% believed public relations would continue as a stand-alone function in 5 years. Instead the focus would be right smack on marketing/sales. Here is that report.

Obviously, in-house communications departments also have to converge with marketing and, yes, the actual sales force. Those which don't will be vulnerable to decimation in manpower. Here is Weber Shandwick's insight on convergence. 

Overall, convergence of functions is nothing new. When Lee Iacocca was leading the turnaround at Chrysler and Lou Gerstner Jr. was restoring IBM, the corporatewide message was: We All Sell. I worked at both and at both I had to position and package all content to be marketing and selling tools. For example, I worked closely with the win-back accounts function. 

What is new is that few players in what has been known as "public relations" can survive without the ability to construct innovative playbooks for clients and prospects on how to sell more, extend brands, and launch new products and services. 

One wonders, then, why the trade publications such as Odwyperpr.com and PR Week still contain the term "PR" or "Public Relations" in their titles?

They would be clever to sponsor a global contest to identify a fresh inclusive concept, along with a logo. In itself that would be a platform to blast the message that the discipline had already made quantum leaps in integrating the convergence.

Reflection: The most useful seminar I had enrolled in had been the hands-on one in marketing and sales provided by Dale Carnegie Systems.

Not only did I pick up the fundamentals in language and tactics. I had to actually go out there and pitch a new service for my business. That was social-media content. Soon, a public affairs firm gave me a four-year litigation communications assignment in that niche.

During the past 18 months I knew exactly how to pitch my upstart enterprise in career content. It's no longer a startup. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating job search material. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

 

FIRE - How I Went from 6-Figure Debt to Financial Independence, (Semi) Retire Early

In 2003, as I chronicle in this e-book, I was lugging around 6-figure debt.

My industry had collapsed. So, obviously, I had to do a career change.

I was over-50 and feared age bias.

Meanwhile, genius cognitive therapist Amy Karnilowitz, LMFT, based in West Hartford, Connecticut, mandated I get a survival job, any job. That's where humor kicked in. Five-foot me somehow wound up doing security in inner city retail. 

For about 6 months now, I have been doing a FIRE (financial independence, (semi) retirement. That is, my customized version of it. I continue to work about 45 hours a week. But it's totally on my terms. I only agree to accept work I decide is stimulating, with clients who are simpatico, and where the fee structure is fair. 

How did I go from being a pawn in the capitalism to one of its masters? Here is how I interpret the key steps in the journey:

Took a vow of poverty - now called "radical saving" - and stuck with it. Even for professional attire, I shop (carefully) at Goodwill and higher end consignment stores. Although I can afford to buy a house again I don't take on the financial uncertainty associated with the American Dream.

Picked up fast that I had aged out of doing business in New York Metro area. Actually, it took 3 trips into Manhattan from CT to pitch for accounts for my two startups to get it: The "they" perceived me as old. Therefore, paying that high rent wasn't paying off. I retrofitted my businesses to being totally telecommuting and relocated to the lower cost of living Arizona. 

Picked up even faster on what else was changing. Where I residing in AZ was becoming gentrified by those relocating from California. Of course, the cost of living was no longer low. I researched other locations and, again, moved.

Another shift I sensed and acted on was that I had to purge my network of people who were not good fits - probably never had been. Here is how that process played out. And, here is my more recent insight on the need for an ongoing Network Cleanse. 

Invested. That was scary. There are no sure things. Those safe investments might not track with inflation. The ones in equities could be total losses. But, now I have enough of a locked-in reserve not to have to worry. 

Navigated emotional lows in cost-efficient ways. It doesn't take a trip back to Manhattan to shake off whatever. I can't explain the dynamics but a day trip to a large lake in the worst of winter can unleash the same mood-lifting magic.

Learned extreme self-forgiveness. Damn it, I got played two weeks ago by a brandname in my industry. I invested lots of work at the front end. The expectation was getting a piece of action in a big project. Humans plan, the gods laugh. Had I not been able to forgive my gullibility, I wouldn't have been able to reach out for help. The best advice I received was: Pray he gets what he deserves. I pray that every day. 

What specific advice would I give to other over-50 who feel they will never be able to row to the Promised Land of being whole again, emotionally and financially? 

Answer: Take that leap into self-love. It's never too late. And, all too often, it takes the worst of times to see and accept the best in ourselves.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

 

Marketers - Headlining Your Content with a Question

It's well-known that interactive content can be very effective.

Yes, involve the target market to participate in a poll, click for more information/insight, comment, like, and so on.

But one tactic that isn't well know is to headline that content with a question.

In a recent analysis of 912 million blog posts, BuzzSumo and Backlinko found out this: Articles which headlined with a question rather than a statement generated 23% more shares. Here is the coverage of that survey.

Actually, asking a question has been the power tool in communications way before digital.

In his books such as "How to Win Friends and Influence People" human relations genius Dale Carnegie advocates getting things going with a question. Human beings like to talk about themselves. A question puts that in play. 

Anecdotes by those who receive job offers usually include the hunch that they won out over the other applicants because they asked questions. The others sat there passive. 

Salespeople with the highest close rate know how to get the prospect through each "door" by posing questions. One kind could be a trial close, such as "What would it take for you to buy this ABC?" 

In traditional speechwriting, scripting for videos, and now in developing talking points for podcasts, rhetorical questions are always useful.

For example, a podcast by a personal injury lawyer could start out with "The car accident was your fault. Can you still sue?" Then, that is followed up with a statistic. The lawyer does the research and finds out that X percentage of those in a car accident do have a liability claim against such entities as the manufacturer or government entity. 

BTW, more and more clients are asking: Is podcasting replacing blogging? The answer is no. It's part of the marketing mix. The real issue is the amount of resources pumped into podcasting versus other tactics. Also, the podcast can be repurposed in a blog, tweet, LinkedIn Update, Medium article, and on Alexa. In addition there is the possibility of monetization. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

The Most Powerful Voice on the Internet - Your Own (but not a necessary one for your unique communications strategy)

Voice has been enjoying a roaring comeback.

That probably kicked off with Alexa.

Then, podcasting became so popular. And, yes, podcasting can be monetized. 

Now you can use your voice, even on a laptop, to give commands to the Google search engine and you can get what you need. In the box on Google in which you key in your search term there is now a microphone.

You can click it on and tell Google, "Give me the weather in Youngstown, Ohio" or "How many miles between Austin, Texas and Sierra Vista, Arizona." 

Your voice can be the most powerful one on the internet. It can facilitate your control over your universe. 

However, clients and communications students ask me all the time: Do I have to do it all - text, like, share, comment, post original content on social media, and now podcast?

The answer, as with most things, is: That depends.

When what you are doing is yielding diminishing returns, it's imperative to review what is panning out, what isn't, and what should be tried.

You can try out podcasting free on Zoom. Next, research what host to use. Many are free.

Stay at it for a while You may or may not be a voice person. However, give yourself time to uncover any public speaking talent.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Yes, It's Come to This: Wanting to Quit All Social Media But Can't, Not Professionally, Not Socially

Just last night I was reflecting: Can I relocate to a small U.S. town near Mexico, semi-retire, and finally quit all social media?

The communications assignments will have to come from responding to help wanted, referrals from those who already know me, and word of mouth in the new location. Right now, relationships developed through social media and via those reading my three syndicated blogs do bring in new business. 

Connecting with old friends would have to shift from Facebook to email, texting, and phone. Not likely. When I sent them emails those weren't even clicked open. I am not crazy about texting. And most of my friends have veered away from voice except for business. If I want to hold on to those relationships I better remain on Facebook.

It turns out that I am not alone is wishful thinking about bolting out of all social media. In Entrepreneur, Tobin Brogunier explains how that yearning is commonplace, why, and that it's probably impossible to pull the plug on social media. 

Increasingly, folks are discovering that the initial professional usefulness and sense of connection that social media brought have turned to a burden and a source of emotional distress.

If you check the help wanted ads posted on Craigslist you will see how many organizations and even individuals need to hire part-time and even full-time workers to keep up with all the posting that's needed for social media. Also, you have to wonder about the ROI on all that. 

Another piece of the burden is doing all those likes, shares, and comments for the postings by those associated with us professionally. It's a have-to. Yes, you better be following what your client is putting out there on LinkedIn Updates. Then you will do a like and construct a thoughtful comment. Wasn't it a hell of lot easier to send them a note of congratulations when their bylined article had been published in The Wall Street Journal?

As for what you post, you know, as Brogunier hammers, you better ramp up the tone and content to sensationalistic. Otherwise it will not get any page views, likes, shares, or comments. You bet, that lack constitutes the new form of professional shaming. 

The emotional distress is palpable. A colleague has become a like magnet. Despite what we try out, we can't exit the ignore box. 

In addition, there is the intrusiveness. The unsolicited advice can trigger PTSD. Here is my experience with that. The trauma was so brutal that, at the time, I took down my Facebook page. Of course, it quickly became obvious that I had to create a new one. That's just the way it was and is.

Optimists predict that social media will evolve into a less oppressive force. Maybe.

Meanwhile, a new anti-hero is Christopher Knight.

For 27 years he pulled off living in the woods of Main without communicating - not digitally, not in-person - and without a job. In the bestseller "The Stranger in the Woods," Michael Finkel tells Knight's story.

Even my most successful clients will default into the fantasy of a cottage off the grid - for the rest of their lives. Not just for vacations.

If they need to access the internet they have it planned out that they will search for a hotspot. 

My version of that takes place in the desert. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

 

Socialism Is New Cool - But, How Many Will Show Up For Yet Another Revolution?

Socialism is the new cool.

You may not like AOC or even figure her 15 minutes are over. But her signature socialism continues to resonate in all the right circles. 

However, in Boston Magazine, Anna Sims raises the question: How many are going to show up for this revolution?

Even in very lefty Boston she wonders if the movement can generate lots of traction. Sure, folks will chat about socialism. But will they participate in yet another revolution?

Come on, we are revolution-weary. We went through so many since the founding of this nation. Just thinking about John Adams and George Washington makes me tired.

The revolutions that I have invested my time, money, and soul have included the Black Action Movement (lost my part-time as a result), second-wave feminism,, animal rescue, halting spread of public nuisance litigation, and tenants' rights. 

Even before socialism surfaced as a fresh cause to embrace, I got a gut sense America just yearned to settle down in a routine, enjoy an unhealthy meal, and pick up a few side hustles to make ends meet in this wage-stagnant era.

So, I smirked when I picked up on the internet that a woman I disliked from college was a busy bee advocating more awareness of the importance of bone density. That was Sally Conroy Fullman. 

The reality about breakthrough change is that sustainable reform usually happens on its own. No one has to go to the town square and declare himself or herself present for the revolution.

When I was a graduate student on the radicalized campus of the University of Michigan, the dynamic was standard: Females got on the pill, moved in with male lovers (no, an engagement ring had been necessary), and that was that. 

Socialism could soften capitalism. Little by little that will likely occur in a natural manner. For example, GOP candidates in the 2020 Election could recognize giving The Invisible Hand a bit of a conscience is a smart political move. The rest will be history.

Takeaway for public relations players: Ditch the term "revolution."

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Gannett, Once Model for Communications, Got Lost, Can't Find Way Back

In the early 1990s, I went to pitch my content-creation services to a global tech company.

The head of communications looked at me. Then he whipped out a copy of USA Today. 

"That's how we want stories done - broken up into small digestible bits."

That's what he said. Then he assigned coverage of the corporation's win-back account program. 

"Do it as three or four articles."

Those were my instructions for the corporation's internal communications.

I followed them and had that tech player as a client for five years. 

USA Today was not only the model for journalism that would get read. It was also driving all communications. 

That was then. 

Now, Gannett, parent of USA, had a loss of $14.2 million in Q4 of 2018.

Its major shareholder, commonly known as Digital First, wants to take it over at $12 per share and is having a proxy fight about the make-up of the board of directors.

Although the strategy of the chief executive officer Bob Dickey has been to acquire digital properties, that hasn't helped finances. Since 2015, Gannett spend about $350 million on the acquisitions. Yet, EBITDA declined 31% and free cash flow plummeted about 50%. Here are more details from the media. 

Obviously, Gannett, once a disruptor, has lost its way and can't find the way back.

Meanwhile, in a troubled world of media - both legacy and digital natives - some are thriving. Take upstart Axios, launched in 2016 by a Politico founder. For 2018, it had generated revenues of about $25 million. Here is the coverage of its success by Vanity Fair.

Like how USA Today established breakthrough reporting trends, Axios presents information and commentary in short bites. Those are made even more user-friendly by bold-typed directives such as "Why This Matters." Instead of trying to cover everything, Axios selects what will probably engage readers the most. For that reason, followers often click it on several times a day. They know they won't waste time sorting through all the coverage.

If Gannett cannot turn itself around that means additional job losses in media. That human tragedy has been occurring frequently in that category.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com.