Miscellaneous Resources

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Miscellaneous Resources

Newsletters

Canadian Fundraiser
The Hillborn Group Ltd. 109 Vanderhoof Ave., Ste. 205, Toronto, ON M4G 2H7 Tel (416) 696-8146 Published 48 times per year. $197/year ISSN 1183 8957.
Toronto-based, but national in scope, Canadian Fundraiser specializes in news coverage of the fundraising management community. Besides current events, sponsorships and major donations, this publication tracks happenings of people involved in the non-profit and fundraising communities and provides tips and helpful advice for its readers.

PR Perspective
Canadian Public Relations Society Toronto 1 Yonge St., Toronto ON M5E 1W7 Tel (416) 360-1988 Published Quarterly.
PR Perspective's new design is not just for looks; its editorial content has increased substantially. A calendar of events, Web Watch and relevant opinion pieces ensures it meets its mandate: Providing "information and viewpoints related to the public relations profession and the activities of CPRS Toronto." A nice bonus for any CPRS member.

Front & Centre
The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy/Centre canadien de philanthropie 1329 Bay St., 2nd Fl., Toronto, ON M5R 2C4 Published six times/year $59.95 ISSN 1198-0761
The larger, newspaper format of this newsletter is full of information for the charitable, volunteer community. Ethical investing, arts funding, and software solutions are a few of the features you'll find on the pages of Front & Centre. The size of the newsletter allows for larger articles usually seen only in magazines.

Raise Your Voice!
P.O. Box 129, Wolfville, NS B0P 1X0 Tel (902) 542-2421 Published six times/year $24
The current issue of Raise Your Voice! is a special theme: Promotional Materials. The information within its pages is valuable to professional public speakers, as well as anyone needing to learn presentation skills. Articles in this issue include audio recordings, newsletters as a promotional tool, and what to include in a promotional package.

Words of Mouth!
Fax (905) 792-9818 Published 5 times/year $150
Words of Mouth! is a compilation of articles by Canada's leading professional speakers. Time management, teamwork, corporate values, and business writing are just some of the issues and ideas that are covered in this substantial newsletter. A keynote contact list helps readers keep in touch with professional speakers across Canada.

Books

A Complete Waste of Time: Tales and Tips About Getting More Done
Mark Ellwood
Pace Productivity Inc., 1997. 251 pages. $19.95.
What a great book! In a really novel approach, Mark Ellwood has bracketed his practical tips on time management with hilarious modern fairy tales illustrating the issues at hand. I laughed out loud at the adventures of Willard Thistlewaite in "Chronicle of a Chronically Ill Meeting" and Nicholas Wigglesworth in "Tribal Quest on the Fifth Floor." The jargon free, easy to implement solutions Ellwood outlines are as memorable as the he characters has created. Since finishing A Complete Waste of Time, I have been inspired by its hero, time management guru Crispin Quirty, to slay some dragons in my own worklife, including runaway paperwork and run-on meetings. A truly rare find in an "industry" book, A Complete Waste of Time is educational and entertaining.

Relationship Marketing: New Strategies, Techniques and Technologies to Win the Customers You Want and Keep Them Forever
Ian Gordon
John Wiley & Sons, 1998. 314 pages, $34.95.
With Relationship Marketing, Ian Gordon attempts to lay down a blueprint for a way of doing business tailored to the new millennium. Emphasizing the development of reciprocal lifetime relationships with customers rather than short-term gains, Relationship Marketing responds to the increased inter-activity between supplier and purchaser brought about by the digital age. Although packed with industry jargon, Gordon's judicious use of examples, many of them Canadian, and his obvious passion for his subject make Relationship Marketing a worthwhile read.

1998 Canadian Internet Handbook and the 1998 Canadian Internet New User's Handbook
By Jim Carroll and Rick Broadhead
These are the books to have for those getting started, and those looking to go deeper into the online world. Refreshingly Canadian in an area usually dominated by American perspectives.

The Internet Unplugged
By Michael A. Banks
This tome will show you around the bells and whistles that turn a neophyte surfer into a Big Kahuna. Don't be fooled by the first glance - The Internet Unplugged is written in a very accessible style.

Guerrilla P.R. How You Can Wage an Effective Publicity Campaign...Without Going Broke
By Michael Levine
HarperBusiness, 1993, ISBN 0-88730-664-0
This book is an action-packed, how-to and why-to manual that empowers anyone dealing with the media. Through his conversational style and hundreds of real-life stories, Levine actually instructs the reader on how to think like a publicist.

In the News The Practice of Media Relations in Canada
By William Wray Carney
The University of Alberta Press, 2002, 225 pp., ISBN 0-88864-382-9
Excerpts from this book have been featured in recent editions of The Sources HotLink for good reason. It's an all-Canadian, comprehensive text that is research based and provides both a practical and philosophical guide to dealing with the media.

Public Relations Kit for Dummies
By Eric Yaverbaum & Bob Bly
Hungry Minds Inc., 2001, 346 pp. (including CD-ROM), ISBN 0-7645-5277-5
Bold descriptive headings, concise copy, and pertinent graphics that highlight "tips", what to "remember" and the occasional "zinger" all add to this book's readability and value as a reference for both beginners and experienced pros. Don't pass this one by just because you've been in the business a while - it's a fun read and a powerful reminder of how great campaigns get implemented and evaluated.

The Canadian Guide to Managing the Media, Revised Edition
By Ed Shiller
Prentice-Hall Canada, 1994, 189 pp., ISBN 0-13-324724-4
Media consultant and Sources HotLink contributor, Ed Shiller, wrote and revised this book some time ago and contrary to what your local book retailer may say, it's still in print and available from the author. Every aspect of media relations is covered including crisis management, handling an interview, planting a story and mastering the tools of the trade (media kits, releases, videos, conferences).

Guerrilla PR Wired: Waging a Successful Publicity Campaign Online, Offline and Everywhere In Between
By Michael Levine
McGraw-Hill, 2002, 281 pp., ISBN 0-07-138231-3
Hollywood PR guru Michael Levine applies his Guerrilla PR strategies to the Internet with stunning results. Don't build a Web site or online campaign without reading this book. And pay attention, there may be a test on this material! (there really is a test - at the end of the book!)

The Public Relations Writer's Handbook
By Merry Aronson & Don Spetner
Lexington Books, 1993, 210 pp., ISBN 0-02-901052-7
Anyone writing material for media consumption should have a copy of this book. Buy it. Read it. Use it. It's as indispensable as a dictionary or thesaurus.

Publicity & Media Relations Checklists
By David R. Yale
NTC Business Books, 1995, 190 pp., ISBN 0-8442-3218-1
For task-oriented, list making publicists (count me in!), here is the ultimate collection of checklists. Absolutely every PR activity is covered, from the initial approval process right through to hiring a clipping service to track your campaign.

Media Names & Numbers
Published by Sources.
Determine who to contact and where to find them, quickly, with this comprehensive directory of media outlets that includes radio, television, daily newspapers, campus media, Web sites, consumer magazines community and ethnic papers, trade magazines, scholarly journals and associations. Media Names & Numbers also includes geographical, language, owner and subject indexes.

Publicity, Newsletters and Press Releases
By Alison Baverstock
Oxford University Press, 2002, 96 pp., $12.95 Cdn
ISBN 0-19-860384-3
Written by an accomplished marketer and teacher, this book focuses on how to effectively use words to generate publicity. Starting with the basic strategies for crafting messages (what to say, how to say it, who to say it to), the author provides valuable lessons in how to be persuasive and compelling in print. The focus is on newsletters and press releases as PR fundamentals. Included are a number of invaluable writing and production checklists, as well as troubleshooting techniques for handling customer complaints, errors in reporting and setting up focus groups for valuable feedback.

Writing for the Internet
By Jane Dorner
Oxford University Press, 2002, 128 pp., $12.95 Cdn
ISBN 0-19-866285-8
Here's ample testimony that Internet communications don't read the same as print communications. The urgency of the Internet requires emphasis on brevity and clarity. Also consideration must be given to positioning (letting the reader know where they are and where they can go next) and the reader's purpose - are they visiting your site for factual information or for recreation? On paper there are a number of ways to keep your reader engaged, online the choices are limited, particularly when most online readers are in a hurry to "get to the point." Don't try to build and maintain a Web site without reading this book. All the tricks and techniques are here for grabbing and holding your online audience.

Media Relations
By Allan Bonner
Briston House, 2003, 176 pp., $24.95
ISBN 1894921003

Guide to Media Relations
By Irv Schenkler & Tony Herrling
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2003, 144 pp., $27.95
ISBN 0131405675

Toward the Common Good: Perspectives in International Public Relations
By Donn James Tilson, APR & Emmanuel C. Alozie
Pearson, 2004, 464 pp.
ISBN 0205361382

The Practice of Public Relations
By Fraser Seitel
Prentice Hall, 2003
ISBN 0131020250

How to Make the Most out of Every Media Appearance:
Getting Your Message Across on the Air, in Print, and Online
By George Merlis
McGraw-Hill, 2003, $25.95
ISBN 0071416714

Public Relations: Theory and Practice
Edited by Jane Johnston & Clara Zawawi
Allen & Unwin Academic, April 2004, 480 pp., $52.95
ISBN 1865089222

Professional Communication:
How to Deliver Effective Written and Spoken Messages
By N. van der Merwe & Evelyn Howard
Juta Academic, April 2004, 384 pp., $37.95
ISBN 0702156590

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