I attended a book club meeting once. It was after having surgery back in the year 2000, and I was supposed to rest on the couch for six weeks so I figured I had time to read and go to a meeting. I’m not the kind of person who can actually sit still on the couch for six weeks. I think I actually took about 10 days off then I had to go back to work (Confession: I have a bit of OCD.)

Anyway, the book was “Ahab’s Wife” by Sena Jeter Naslund. It was a fabulous book and I enjoyed the experience  of reading the book and discussing it with friends immensely. I wish I had time to continue to attend book club meetings  regularly, but I haven’t been able to in the past 9 years because my schedule … with business, family, and life…is crazy.  For better or worse, I just don’t have time to read the books and go to meetings. Continue Reading »

 One of the important things I learned early in my PR career was the power of great photographs. My PR mentor, Chip Carey, taught me to always try to include a photograph with a press release for the media. Sometimes that slowed me down (and those of you who know me know that I don’t like to be slowed down at work!), because I had to look around for a good photo, and back in the day, I had to make duplicates (sometimes by myself  in our own darkroom!….talk about time consuming!)

I am now more convinced than ever that a great shot adds enormously to a press release. Sometimes, particularly in dealing with travel editors, having a great image means the difference between a cover story in the travel section or being buried in the back of the section. Or sometimes it means your story being placed above the fold rather than below the fold. And obviously when dealing with television news, they need great video. When pitching a story to a TV news editor it’s important to describe what the visual images will look like.  TV people thrive on images, not on words alone. Continue Reading »

At Marshall Interactive, we work with clients to create Web strategies that define their goals for their Web sites.  Then we create Web sites that will help them reach their goals, and undertake an ongoing Internet marketing program to promote their sites.  We also analyze what visitors are doing when they arrive at our clients’ sites and make changes to the sites’ content each month in response to what the visitors are doing. When it comes to online marketing, you need to decide whether you want to spend time or money.

Let me explain. Continue Reading »

 Many of you know that my family is heavily involved in skiing and ski racing. My son Craig, who is 16 years old, has qualified for the JII Nationals in Aspen, Colorado. He is heading there tomorrow for ten days. This is quite an accomplishment. The top 20 male and top 20 female skiers aged 15 and 16  from all over the East were selected for this high level competition in Downhill, Super G. Slalom and Giant Slalom.  There’s a play by play overview of the Downhill course by U.S. Ski Team member Lindsey Vonn on this website from Ski Racing News. I have a hard time watching because they go so fast. In the Downhill, they will gain speeds of up to 75 to 80 miles per hour on this course. My husband and Craig have been working hard for the past ten days preparing the surfaces of his skis so they are as fast as possible on the race track. Continue Reading »