Creating a Holistic Content Strategy
I have a confession. I truly believe in the underlying meaning of cliches: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. All that glitters isn't gold. Read between the lines. But my favorite is that content is king. To me, the content and the strategy for leveraging it...
Client Planning Should Resemble Meticulous Preparations for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
In Stephen Ambrose's book "Undaunted Courage," readers learn about the courageous Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the advanced planning and preparation that went into such a grand, historic adventure. It got me thinking just how important a fraction of such planning...
The 4 Essential Components of a Strong Case Study
While every tool in the PR arsenal from press releases to bylines offer value in generating attention, a strong case study has the potential to stand above the rest as a real-world example of how a vendors' product helped a customer solve a vexing business problem. A...
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...
5 Unexpected and Cool Revelations About My Career in PR
I'm at that point in my career in PR as an agency account director that I can take a clear-eyed stock of what my job is really like and entails. I'm fascinated by some of the main characteristics I don't think they'd necessarily be noted in a class on PR, yet they are...
What Kind of PR Client Are You?
Many young organizations seeking to amplify their marketing and communications initiatives look to a public relations agency to help augment existing sales and marketing initiatives. But PR is not a one-size-fits-all discipline and it isn't limited to media relations,...
6 Common Interview Mistakes to Avoid
While it is often a satisfying and rewarding career, sometimes public relations can be like river dancing through a mine field. Unlike marketing, where you have the ability to manage every aspect of the process, in PR there are a lot of variables over which you have...
Content Calendar: A Key Component to any Strategic PR Plan
Oftentimes public relations professionals think of content calendars as a tool for marketing communications programs. Having an internal editorial calendar is absolutely important for any content program. Since an integrated public relations campaign has evolved from...
CAREMINDr Engages Amendola Communications for Public Relations, Marketing and Content Development
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., October 30, 2018 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing agency, is pleased to announce that it has been selected as the PR and marketing agency of record for CAREMINDr,...
Thought leadership or not?
One of the trickiest jobs of a PR professional consists of guiding corporate executives to the proper mix of marketing and thought leadership in various types of writing. The easy part, relatively speaking, is persuading them that if they insist on promoting their...
Jodi Amendola, a PR News “Top Women in PR” Honoree, Appointed to Board of Help In Healing Home Foundation
Award-winning Amendola Communications CEO will take a lead role in driving not-for-profit foundation's marketing, public relations, and social media efforts SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., October 23, 2018 Amendola Communications further cemented its reputation as one of the...
3 PR and Marketing Must-Haves for 2019
The signs of autumn are all around us shorter days, pumpkin spice in abundance and 2019 budgets looming over our heads. Take this opportunity to revitalize your efforts. There are some evergreen items that are important to any successful marketing and public relations...
PeriGen Taps Amendola Communications for Fully Integrated Marketing Plan
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., October 9, 2018 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing agency, is pleased to announce that PeriGen, an innovator of perinatal early warning systems, has engaged...
6 Reasons Why You (and Your Company) Should Participate in National Healthcare IT Week
On this blog we often talk about how to use PR and marketing to help build the brand and drive sales for healthcare and healthcare IT (HIT) products. Most of the time the activities we discuss require some significant effort. But there's an online event coming up next...
That Ol’ “PR Magic:” Real Examples from Amendola Clients
Social media is often misunderstood as an unnecessary evil, especially in healthcare, but it is an amazing tool that allows you to reach your audience in a way that was never possible before. While developing and maintaining an online community does take time and...
PatientPing Taps Amendola to Support Strategic Growth Initiatives
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 25, 2018 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing agency, is pleased to announce that PatientPing has selected Amendola as its agency of record to lead its PR and...
5 Confessions of a Former Healthcare Trade Publication Editor
Prior to joining Amendola Communications, I was a senior editor at Medical Economics, the largest monthly business management journal for primary care practices. Before that, I was a senior editor at a couple monthly city business publications as well as a daily...
Embrace the Paywall Future Because it’s Coming
For several years now we all have lived in luxury, enjoying free content on the Internet that's paid for through ads and data mining, with no paywall to contend with. But, as many prominent media outlets have noted, things are beginning to change. Back in the early...
The Anatomy of a Successful Pitch
Nothing fills me with existential dread like sitting down to write a media pitch. Give me the sweet relief of an 800-word byline ghostwritten under a soul-crushing deadline. Bury me under the gigabyte of bone-dry peer-reviewed research I need to complete an immensely...
6 Ways Trade Outlets Trump National Media for B2B Marketing and PR
Whenever we ask clients about their "dream placement," national media (especially the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal) always top the list. These multi-platform outlets, after all, attract millions of eyeballs on a daily basis. Although there is no denying...
CTG Chooses Amendola Communications as North American Public Relations Partner
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., August 28, 2018 Although they say you can't go home again, don't tell that to CTG, a provider of reliable information technology (IT) solutions and services to organizations in North America and Western Europe. Amendola Communications, a nationally...
Amendola Communications Adds Award-Winning Healthcare Journalist and Experienced Public Relations Professional as Senior Writer
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., August 23, 2018 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and healthcare information technology public relations and marketing agency, announced today that Morgan Lewis Jr. has joined the agency as Senior Writer. An...
What to expect from your PR agency’s account leader
As a communications executive working with a PR agency, you might assume that your account team members, and especially your main point of contact, practice what they preach. After all, you hired them to communicate your value to target markets. Yet, it doesn't hurt...
What An Older, More Mature Lebron James Can Teach Us About Crisis Communications
In most cities, a sports star leaving to join another team wouldn't quite reach the level of crisis. No doubt, the world has countless far more serious and urgent problems. But Cleveland's a little different than most cities. Egos are a bit more fragile here after...
Kaufman Hall Taps Amendola Communications as PR Agency of Record to Support Strategic Growth Initiatives
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. August 7, 2018 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing agency, announced today its selection as the agency of record for Kaufman Hall, a leading provider of management...
Webinar Wisdom: 3 best practices for webinars that wow and get results
I have a confession. I'm not ashamed. It's my truth. I love a webinar. I love everything about it. I love writing the title and description. I love promoting it and watching the registration count rise each day. I love when the day finally arrives and the presentation...
The Science Behind Using Analogies to Convey Complex HIT Concepts
For many writers, including (especially?) this one, analogies are one of the most important and commonly used tools in our toolbox. Relating a new or complex topic, such as just about anything in health IT (HIT), to a familiar example readers already know and...
What Are You Really Saying? Mastering Unspoken Messages
Have you ever heard the phrase, "it's not what you say but how you say it?" This "how," or nonverbal communication, accounts for more than 90 percent of what we convey. In fact, former UCLA Professor Albert Mehrabian found that the use of one's voice makes up 38...
Only You Can Prevent Hashtag Misuse
Do your research. Or end up with #EGG on your face. hash·tag: A word or phrase preceded by a hash mark (#), used within a message to identify a keyword or topic of interest and facilitate a search for it. Communication has and will continue to evolve. It is a powerful...
6 Common Pitching Errors to Avoid
Pitching stories is one of the essential skills of a PR professional. Yet it is surprising how many PR people neglect the basics of how to pitch what to whom. In most cases, a little thought and preparation can help PR pros avoid these kinds of mistakes. Yet they...
Should People in Pancake Houses Throw Burgers?
If you spend any time on the Internet not exclusively dedicated to work, shopping or seeing what new shame Cousin Frank is bringing to your family on Facebook, you understand that the Internet's true purpose is to facilitate a relentless parade of jokes, memes and...
Integrity in Public Relations For our Clients, the Media and the Profession
Recently, I heard someone speak about Integrity and the importance of having it in all aspects of your life. It might sound like a simple concept, but when someone, especially someone in a leadership or advisory role, doesn't apply integrity in their life, there seems...
Analyst Briefings Best Practices
Earned media bylines and interviews get the most attention in healthcare public relations programs, but in many ways analyst briefings are even more critical to companies navigating a noisy and fiercely competitive marketplace. Admittedly, analyst reports don't have...