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Quill Writing Blog

Using a good yarn to sell your stuff!

Carol Dorman - Tuesday, October 20, 2009
It's wacky, it's "out there" -- like REALLY "out there" and just a hoot. Don't know how much glue they sold but I'm sure it was worth the ride.


Why saying "Sorry" was the right thing to do

Carol Dorman - Wednesday, August 12, 2009
This post has nothing to do with marketing or proofreading or editing
or any of the other stuff I do at Quill Writing Services. It’s just
something that really spoke to me ... I guess in that sense it has a
lot to do with communication … but I digress …

For years the Stolen Generations issue has been debated, argued over
and, in a way, divided Australians into various schools of thought. 

When on 13th February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a formal
apology to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the Government, debate
still raged over whether it was the right thing to do.

It was. For a poignantly beautiful glimpse into the reasons why, just
watch and listen to this:




And in case you needed more reasons to proofread your stuff ...

Carol Dorman - Thursday, July 23, 2009
You may have seen this before - it's been 'doing the rounds' for a while now but certainly worth another look.
If you've not seen it before I must warn you it's a teeny bit "M" rated with some blushworthy language. Very funny though! 


In case you think proofreading is a waste of time ...

Carol Dorman - Monday, June 22, 2009

Life in the monastery

A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand.

He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript.

So, the new monk goes to the head abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.

The head monk says, "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son."

He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives in a locked vault that hasn't been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot.

So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing.

"We missed the R !  We missed the R ! We missed the R !"

His forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably.

The young monk asks the old abbot, "What's wrong, father?"

With a choking voice, the old abbot replies,

"The word was ... CELEBRATE!!!"

(Ya gotta wince)

Credit for this one goes to Brian from wideformatonline.com - the online magazine for users of wide format printers in Australia and New Zealand.


Yes, it is just a joke but illustrates the point methinks :D

Cheers,
Carol

 

Why clear communication is so important

Carol Dorman - Tuesday, June 09, 2009
I think this says it all. Enjoy :)



Billing scam (or "When good telemarketers turn bad")

Carol Dorman - Friday, June 05, 2009
WARNING! WARNING! DANGER! DANGER! BIG FAT SCAM ALERT! 

Okay, okay, enough with the dramatics. Still, I would like to warn you about a billing scam raising its ugly head again, trying to ensnare unsuspecting small business owners ...

In the past two days I've had calls supposedly from two separate non profit magazines, each letting me know my copy has been posted. One of them asked if I'd like to fix up the account via credit card there and then over the phone. When I brought up that I had no record of agreeing to any kind of sponsorship package they quoted dates from months ago that I supposedly spoke to them. (Mind you, on one of the dates I wasn't even in Sydney) When I asked to see emails that transpired between us as verification, one said she'd email (still waiting) and the other said not to worry about it.

The thing to watch out for though is that they quoted an ad back to me that I did place for another magazine and was legitimate, the account for which I had already paid.

Basically, don't ever just pay something unless you see the proof of your agreement in writing. I know that sounds like a no-brainer but when you're busy or perhaps placing a lot of ads, sometimes things can slip through the cracks.

For some additional info click here


Cheers,
Carol

Susan Boyle--A marketer's dream?

Carol Dorman - Saturday, May 30, 2009
OK, I admit it, I'm all caught up in the whole Britain's Got Talent--Susan Boyle phenomenon thing. In fact, I've already worked out how the Hollywood movie ends ... Susan wins, Piers Morgan proposes (on stage of course) to which Susan answers "The biggest 'Yes' I've ever given anybody", they get married in Scotland, Sue sings for the queen, her beautiful music brings about world peace and everyone lives happily ever after. Fin

Of course in the real world, although I wish Susan all the best and really do hope she nails her performance tonight in her final, anything can happen. But what I've found almost as astonishing as Susan's profound impact on people is the fodder her name and life have provided for the marketing set.  And yes, I do count myself among them by blogging about her right now.

Susan's name is mentioned in blogs, articles, tweets all over the web, instantly raising the chances of their authors appearing in a Susan Boyle google. And that got me thinking further about how jumping on a bandwagon, any bandwagon to raise a business profile may or may not make good commercial sense.

I mean, if the bandwagon you're hitching your coat-tails to is so far removed from your own sphere, are you at risk of being labelled exploitative? By the same token, if you let the wagon pass by are you showing a lack of business savvy?

My feeling is that there's probably room enough on the wagon for everyone, as long as we all play nice. :)

What do you think?

Cheers,
Carol

Welcome to Quill's Brand New Site!

Carol Dorman - Tuesday, May 19, 2009
It's taken a little while but it's finally here. And thanks to the wonderful web workings of Waratah Web I reckon it's pretty darn cool! (But hey, I confess a little bias ... )

Seriously though, I look forward to bringing lots of useful information for you to use in your business ... and maybe just some fun horsin' around stuff too. (Sherbet told me to say that ;D)

Cheers,
Carol




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