Tag: Writing
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Press Release Headlines: When Short Is Just Right
A famous saying in my family is, “Our family is SO short, our family tree is a bush.” Ba dum bum. Seriously, there are certain times when being short and sweet is right on point. Example: press release headlines. My colleague Brandon Glenn recently wrote a blog about the 2021 State the of Press Release…
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Blurred Lines: When My Work in Healthcare Became Personal, Again and Again
When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a pediatrician. And a writer. I had no idea as an idealistic young lady that there wasn’t really a career that combined the two disciplines. And when I learned how long I had to go to school to be a pediatrician, I leaned in…
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Kindly Do The Needful: Coping With Outcomes Anxiety
In healthcare, we’re always talking about improving patient outcomes, clinical and financial outcomes, or even the mind-numbing phrase ‘operational outcomes,’ whatever that means. Recently, I’ve been thinking about the intersection of language and performance anxiety, and I keep circling around the concept of what I’ve been calling outcomes anxiety. Our inability to control the future…
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Why “Writer’s Block” Isn’t Really Writer’s Block—And How to Fix It
In the 1994 book Bird by Bird, author Anne Lamott dispenses advice legendary among writers on how to write a draft worthy of hitting send. Her key gem (and the only piece of advice I recall after nearly 30 years): “Just write a “sh***ty first draft.” That short sentence is the mantra that informs every…
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Write 200 Lousy Words Per Day, That’s It
Writing is drudgery for many people, which is part of the reason our clients let us do some of that writing for them. Often, the hardest part is just getting started, even if you write for a living. As I’ve described before in this blog, at the start of a writing project we may become…
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Top 5 Blog Posts of 2020: The More Things Change…
COVID-19 left no industry unscathed in 2020 (well, except maybe Wall Street). One of the hardest-hit industries was healthcare, which is Amendola’s specialty. Throughout the year, we posted blogs with helpful advice about adjusting to the massive changes occurring in the economy and how to steer your organization when so much was uncertain. Well, judging…
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Walking the Tightrope between Great Content and SEO
It may not quite be Lincoln and Douglas, or even great taste/less filling. But the debate about which is more important to a brand’s online presence great content or search engine optimization (SEO) continues to rage on. On one side you have the writers. Especially the “old school” writers (like me) who launched their careers…
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Keeping Up with Changes to the AP Stylebook
The writing “Bible” for public relations is the AP stylebook. Anytime a PR professional (or anyone writing for media publication for that matter) is unsure of what to do, such as whether to capitalize an executive’s title in a press release, a quick glance at the print or online version will provide the correct answer.…
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The importance of feedback in PR from media, to writing to client relationships
Like many around the world, I enjoyed watching the Winter Olympic Games. I love the fanfare of the competition, tracking medal counts and seeing well-known athletes winning gold again. Shaun White is my hero! Like many around the world, I enjoyed watching the Winter Olympic Games. I love the fanfare of the competition, tracking medal…