Upcoming Workshops:

BUILDING A MEDIA LIST
Tuesday, October 18, 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
With Demetrio Maguigad, Community Media Workshop
Are you struggling to create a strategic media list for your media outreach? In this workshop you will access the Workshop’s online media database and learn how to create customized contact lists for your organization or campaign. The instructor will give participants tips on how to think about and identify media contacts. Participants will walk away from the session with a targeted media list, as well as 24-hour access to the Workshop’s online Chicago media guide. REGISTER TODAY! Read the rest of this entry »

Writing To Make The News
9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, March 18
$95 REGISTER

Learn the basics and more: how to write a press release, the difference between a media alert, news release, and pitch letter, and how to produce polished versions of all three. Along the way, Alton Miller, author, press secretary to the late Harold Washington, and Columbia College dean offers insights into effective public relations. Learn:

•    Pre-writing and preparation
•    Editing to strengthen your writing skills
•    How to deliver your messages in the context of an integrated marketing communication campaign

If you struggle to communicate your story ideas to the media, then it’s time to learn new writing techniques. Learn successful techniques to write clearly and concisely in ways that help deliver your messages starting as soon as your next news release.

Trainer: Alton Miller is currently associate dean of the School of Media Arts and a tenured associate professor at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches public relations writing and political PR. The first half of his PR career (1965-85) was in the performing arts. From 1985-87 he was press secretary to Chicago mayor Harold Washington, and his PR work has continued in politics and arts advocacy, including work as communications director for Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, City Treasurer Miriam Santos, and the Illinois Arts Alliance. He is the author of three nonfiction books, including a memoir, “Harold Washington: The Mayor, The Man.” In 2005 he received his M.F.A. in Writing from Goddard College. His thesis was a political novel, “Chicago Power & Light.“

Take Social Media to the Next Level
9 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 4
218 S. Wabash – Rm 806

You have the Facebook page, you’re on Twitter, and you’re dabbling with many other social media platforms. Now, learn to use the tools to the max to tell your organization’s stories better and faster than you thought possible.

In this training you will learn how to:

•    Assess which social media tools are right for your organization and strategy
•    Craft a brand message to move online audiences to action
•    Connect social media to existing/traditional advertising and communications
•    Coordinate social media tools so your blog, Facebook page, Twitter feed, etc. present the same message

Adam Thurman has used social media and other strategies to help Court Theatre achieve some of the highest grossing productions in their more than 50-year history. He recommends this workshop for leaders who can make strategic decisions about your social media and overall policies.

Register Today! Cost $95

About Adam Thurman
Adam is president of Mission Paradox, a consulting firm that focuses on marketing and branding issues.  As part of Mission Paradox he has led presentations and workshops for Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Civic Knowledge Project and the Arts and Business Council.

He is also director of marketing and communications at Court Theatre, one of the largest nonprofit theatres in Chicago. During his tenure as director of marketing the theatre has had some of the highest grossing productions in their more than 50-year history.

Adam is a former board member of the League of Chicago Theatres and has served on the Illinois Arts Council’s Advisory Panel.  He has been recognized as an Emerging Leader by Americans For the Arts and the Theatre Communication Group. He has also been featured in Time Out Chicago, the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Artist Resource.

What is web analytics? It is a way to better understand your website’s visitor but tracking and monitoring website traffic. It’s a valuable tool for an organization with an online presence. Learn tips and tools how to incorporate web analytics as part of your organization’s online communications/marketing/fundraising strategy.

Keidra Chaney is Emerging Media Specialist at DePaul University, and a writer and editor for independent print and online media. She presently serves as the strategist for the DePaul advancement office’s online social media and online communication efforts.

Keidra completed degrees in communications at Beloit College and journalism at University of Wisconsin-Madison.She has spoken about blogging, social media and user-generated content at academic conferences at MIT and University of Michigan, and for organizations such as Publicity Club of Chicago and Girl Scouts of Chicago. She is one half of 2chicksblogging.com, which presents workshops on social media. She is a board member of the Association for Women Journalists -Chicago. Her blog about social media is TheLearnedFangirl.com.

Web Analytics Brown Bag
Thursday, November 12: Noon to 1:30 pm
600 S. Michigan Ave. Room 401

Event is FREE but registration required.

Sign Up Today!

By Gordon Mayer, vice president Community Media Workshop

To get a story in the media, you can’t rely solely on the written word; you can’t merely send a fax or a press release. You also must “pitch” your stories through phone calls to selected editors and reporters.

As difficult as it may seem, “pitching” your stories in this way is necessary to getting media coverage. Phone calls humanize and personalize your stories, so if you have a newsworthy story you believe in, get on the phone and tell the media about it.

Set aside time right after you have sent off your media alerts or press releases to make phone calls to those journalists you really must reach. Making “cold” calls to people you don’t know can be difficult, but most reporters and editors don’t and shouldn’t mind getting them; they depend on and encourage citizens to phone in story tips. Here are some tips to make this task easier. Read the rest of this entry »

Edited by Jessica Rosenberg

Words on the Web

Jessica Rosenberg

When writing on the web, panelists stressed nonprofits avoid jargon and use clear, concise language.

Especially when writing emails, Annie Kinnard Williams of EMMA said to never underestimate the personal touch.  No one likes a mass email so when possible, address your reader by name or organization and keep the language conversational.  It’s best to put your organization’s name in the subject line – that way your email is searchable once in someone’s inbox.

“Short updates on a frequent basis” is a good rule of thumb for email messaging, said Williams.  Stick to a schedule and try to be consistent.  And don’t rely on images to communicate information because some people block images and won’t get the message.

Brad Flora of Windy Citizen recommends nonprofits start using blogs to tell their organization’s story. Keep the language simple in blogs too, he said.  Even though it sounds informal, it works.

He also suggests that blogs should include links to other sites or blogs because it tells your reader that you are an authority on your topic.  Images are good too – it creates a visual appeal for your reader.

“The title of a post is absolutely critical,” said Flora.  It’s one of the first things that will grab a reader’s attention.

A good way to generate traffic to your blog or site is to fill a hole in a conversation.  Find out what’s missing in someone else’s blog and provide them with the missing piece.  For example, Flora said if a blogger doesn’t have any photos that pertain to their post and you do, send them over and ask them to link back to your site. Read the rest of this entry »