Books and Manuals by Shel Holtz

How to Do Everything with Podcasting | Blogging for Business | Corporate Conversations | Public Relations on the Net | Writing for the Wired World | Intranets: The Communicator's Guide | The Intranet Advantage

How to Do Everything with Podcasting
co-authored with Neville Hobson

Everything with Podcasting cover

Reach a targeted and influential audience using the medium that's gone from underground scene to mainstream. How to Do Everything with Podcasting walks you, step by step, through the process of creating, broadcasting, and promoting your own podcast. You'll get tips for targeting your audience, refining your content, integrating various technologies, and profiting from your podcast. You'll also discover how businesses can use podcasting as a fresh, inexpensive way to communicate with customers, investors, and employees.

Highlights

Hobson and Holtz, co-hosts of the twice-weekly Hobson & Holtz Report, walk you through the world of podcasting from the fundamentals to the complex:

  • Subscribe to, download, and listen to podcasts
  • Get the right hardware and software
  • Plan, record, edit, and release your own podcast
  • Incorporate music, sweeps, interviews, and other elements
  • Connect with listeners using blogs, live chats, and user-created content
  • Profit from your podcast through advertising, networking, and merchandising
  • Tap into support services for help with production, hosting, bandwidth, and more
  • Create customer-focused or business-to-business podcasts

Shel Holtz is principal of Holtz Communication + Technology, whose clients have included global leaders such as Pepsi, Barclays Global Investors, the World Bank, and Intel. Holtz speaks regularly at the International Association of Business Communicators Conference (IABC) and the Ragan Communications Conference. He is an Accredited Business Communicator (a designation of the IABC), an IABC fellow, and he holds a BA in journalism from California State University in Northridge.

Neville Hobson is a UK-based communicator, blogger, podcaster, and leading early adopter in new-media communication for business. Since January 2005, the authors have produced and presented the twice-weekly "For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report" podcast on public relations, business, and technology.

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Blogging for Business
co-authored with Ted Demopoulos

Blogging for Business cover

A new digital phenomenon has altered the face of online communication, media, commentary, and business. Weblogs, or blogs, now number between 20 and 40 million and serve as an outlet for an estimated 32 million readers worldwide—and these figures continue to skyrocket.

"Savvy companies that leverage the power of blogging will have a competitive advantage; those that don’t understand the potential of this valuable tool will lag behind," say authors and online communication experts Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulos. In their breakthrough guide, Blogging for Business, Holtz and Demopoulos combine a discussion of blogging strategies and benefits with step-by-step instructions for business professionals to follow. The authors explore the myriad business applications of blogs: customer affinity programs, internal communications, brand building, public relations, product marketing, and cause marketing.

Highlights

Holtz and Demopoulos unlock the secrets of blogging for executives, managers, and professionals in marketing, advertising, public relations, and sales:

  • How to tap into the power of blogs
  • Why blogs are different from ezines, Web sites, and message boards
  • Why businesses need to monitor blogs that discuss their products and services
  • New forms of blogging such as podcasts and vlogs
  • Legal considerations associated with blogging

Shel Holtz is principal of Holtz Communication + Technology, whose clients have included global leaders such as Pepsi, Barclays Global Investors, the World Bank, and Intel. Holtz speaks regularly at the International Association of Business Communicators Conference (IABC) and the Ragan Communications Conference. He is an Accredited Business Communicator (a designation of the IABC), an IABC fellow, and he holds a BA in journalism from California State University in Northridge.

Ted Demopoulos has more than 25 years of experience in high technology, including 15 years as an independent consultant and with several startups. He recognized blogging’s potential very early on and has closely followed the development of the blogosphere for years. Through his keynotes, seminars, and consulting services, he helps organizations make informed decisions about technology and business. Among his blue-chip clients are Cisco Systems, the Department of Defense, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Hong Kong Telecom, and the UK Post Office.

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Corporate Conversations

Everything a company says sends a message to its employees. Organizations that communicate well with their employees boast higher profitability, better customer acquisition and retention, and enhanced reputation. Without a strategically managed employee communications strategy, results suffer.

Corporate Conversations is a comprehensive guide to crafting and delivering vital internal messages. The book covers a broad range of issues, including:

  • the four types of corporate and business communications (human resources, business-related, legal, and informal)
  • how to communicate bad news
  • managing employee-to-employee communication
  • how to measure the impact of internal communications

Read a review from IABC's Communication World magazine.

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Public Relations on the Net

The Internet has revolutionized both the delivery and the dynamics of public relations messages. This technique-based book reveals how anyone, from business owners to PR practitioners, can use online media to dramatically improve the performance of PR initiatives, with hundreds of guidelines for delivering memorable messages taking advantage of the unique, interactive strengths of the Internet.

Updating its seminal first edition, Public Relations on the Net features strategies and tactics that show how to use the latest technologies and techniques to tap into and use the power of the Internet's networked communities. The book provides:

  • PR applications of e-mail, the Web, and online communities
  • Techniques for integrating the Internet with traditional communications tools
  • Case studies to use as benchmarks for online PR efforts
  • And much more.

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Writing for the Wired World
The Communicator's Guide to Effective Online Content

Writing well for print isn't enough - you need to attract and engage readers online, too. Based on the popular IABC workshop series of the same name, "Writing for the Wired World" is the ultimate guide to effective online communication. This 200+ page manual shows how to:

  • Create material that grabs and holds the readers attention
  • Use graphics, hyperlinks and multimedia to enhance your writing - and not distract from it
  • Accommodate scanning and word searches
  • Counteract computer fatigue
  • Incorporate feedback and interactivity into a written document
  • Use hyperlinks to enhance your writing

Whether you are building Web sites, organizing an e-mail campaign, representing your organization in discussion groups, or developing online newsletters or e-zines, "Writing for the Wired World" will provide you with the insights you need to understand how the online world can be used for effective communication. You'll also learn about:

  • Site design as an element of the writing process
  • Essential elements for every web document
  • The physiological effects of reading light
  • Integrating your web site with other media
  • Techniques for improving site navigation

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Intranets: The Communicator's Guide to Content, Design and Management, 2nd Edition

When “Intranets: The Communicator’s Guide to Content, Design and Management” was written in 1996, intranets were still in their infancy. How things have changed in the last seven years!

The second edition represents more than just an update. It introduces an entirely new range of subjects that all communicators must learn in order to create the next generation of intranets, including:

  • How communicators can play a key role in building a portal site
  • How to turn control of the intranet over to your employees -- the right way
  • How your intranet can become a true knowledge management tool
  • How to make executive chat a powerful two-way communication tool
  • Weaving instant messaging into your intranet

Plus, this remarkable guide, written in an easy-to-follow style, gives you the tools you can use ASAP! You’ll discover:

  • How to use e-mail and online publicatios to get the word out to employees
  • How to organize your site's pages and links so employees can find the information they need
  • How to use your intranet for training and new-hire orientation programs
  • The current methods for measuring your site's effectiveness as a business tool

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The Intranet Advantage: Your Guide to Understanding the Total Intranet and the Communicator's Role

Build an online community within your organization with the definitive guide to intranets for communicators. Includes the latest strategies for creating an intranet that improves productivity and morale, reduces turnover, heightens your company’s competitiveness, and adds real value to the bottom line.

Learn how to:

  • Effectively incorporate newsgroups, chat rooms and videoconferencing
  • Prepare the intranet blueprint
  • Establish your intranet policies
  • Prepare to launch (or relaunch) your intranet
  • Define staff functions

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