Inside PR tackles questions to ask before accepting a controversial client

In this week’s episode of Inside PR, Martin Waxman, Gini Dietrich and I discuss how each of our companies deals with the question of whether we should take on a controversial client. And we don’t all agree.

Listen to the episode to hear us discuss this issue from several perspectives.

And tell us what approach you take at your company? Do you believe that all clients deserve public relations representation? How do you decide whether to accept a client or decline the business?

Content Rules in Calgary: The Taxi Interview

If this is Thursday morning, it must be Calgary. And we must be on our way to Vancouver.

C.C. Chapman has how done three of his four Third Tuesday Content Rules events – in Montreal, Toronto and Calgary. One more to come tonight in Vancouver.

In the taxi on our way to the Calgary Airport for our flight to Vancouver, C.C. talked with me about his impressions of Canada and the people he’s been meeting.

Nice words about Canada by one heck of a nice guy.

Help make sure Content Rules in Canada this week

If you create content – a blog, video, a podcast, a Facebook page, a Twitter feed – any kind of online content, the new book Content Rules will give you insight and practical advice you can use to make your content even better, even more engaging for your audience.

C.C. Chapman, co-author with Ann Handley of Content Rules, is arriving in Canada this morning to speak at Third Tuesday social media meetups across the country. He’ll be talking in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver about how to make great content that builds and serves your community.

As C.C. works his way across the country in the middle of a Canadian winter, I think it would be a great welcoming gesture if we could …

make Content Rules the number one book on the Canadian business bestseller lists this week.

You can help make this happen. Here’s what you can do:

Get the Book

Between now and Friday, get a copy of Content Rules. If enough of us buy the book this week, I think we can push Content Rules to the top of the business best seller list.

I bought my copy as an eBook from Kobo. Instant satisfaction! If you are a fan of traditional hard copy books, you can get Content Rules from Chapters.

Spread the word

Link to this post in a Tweet or a Facebook status update

Leave a comment on this post telling us when and where you bought your copy of the book. Tweet that too.

Tweet or post a Facebook status update quoting your favourite passage from the book

Use the Hashtag

The hashtag for the book is #ContentRules.

I’ll set up a feed for the hashtag #ContentRules and capture your tweets for C.C. and Ann to read (I’m sure they’ll want to thank you) and for a wrap up post following the week.

With your help, we can make sure that Content Rules in Canada this week.

C.C. Chapman Sells Out

One week from today C.C. Chapman arrives in Canada for his cross-country Third Tuesday Content Rules tour. And already the Third Tuesday Toronto, Third Tuesday Calgary and  Third Tuesday Vancouver events are sold out. Clearly, C.C. is a hot ticket. People are interested in hearing what he has to say and meeting him in person.

If you’re lucky enough to live in Montreal, there are still some open places to hear and meet C.C. at Third Tuesday Montreal. So, you still have a chance to register to attend.

Meeting C.C. Chapman is better by the book

If you are planning to attend Third Tuesday with C.C., I encourage you to get Content Rules and start reading it before the event. You can find it at a bookstore near you or online in hard copy at Chapters or as an eBook at Kobo. C.C. will be signing copies at the event. So be sure to bring your copy with you.

Our sponsors make the third Tuesday community possible

C.C.’s Third Tuesday cross-Canada tour is shaping up to be one of our most successful events yet.

We live in a big country and the cost of staging something like this is considerable. Third Tuesday is organized by volunteers and we could not afford  to bring great speakers like C.C. across Canada without the support of our sponsors: CNW groupRogers Communications, Radian6, and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. Thank you to our sponsors. You make third Tuesday possible.

Content Rules with C.C. Chapman at Third Tuesday

Here’s some news that I hope you’ll like: C.C. Chapman, co-author with Ann Handley, of Content Rules, is making a cross country tour of Third Tuesdays in January. C.C. will be at Third Tuesday Montreal on January 17, Third Tuesday Toronto on January 18, Third Tuesday Calgary on January 19 and Third Tuesday Vancouver on January 20.

What’s Content Rules all about? In C.C.’s words:

Content Rules: How to Create the Right Kind of Stuff That Engages (Not Bores) Your Customers

Your brand is a publisher now. That’s a frightening notion, perhaps, but it’s also a tremendous opportunity. Blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other online platforms are giving organizations like yours an unprecedented opportunity to engage directly with your customers. So instead of creating awareness about your company or your brand solely the old-school way (through annoying people with advertising, or bugging them with direct mail, or interrupting them with whatever), you now have a rich and awesome alternative.

Now, thanks to the advent of the Internet and the rise of Web-based tools and technologies, you can create the kind

of web content, blog posts, videos, webinars, and web sites that will attract customers to you, rather than you chasing after them. What’s more, you can entice your customers to share those stories with each other, all across the web.

Produce good stuff, and your customers will come to you. Produce great stuff, and your customers will share your story for you: Content is king! Content rules!

Read the book. Meet the author

And here’s some more good news. When I told the folks at Kobo that we’d be having C.C. as our first speaker of the New Year, they made a point of ensuring that we can buy Content Rules as an ebook from Kobo. I love Kobo because, unlike Amazon, the books are available in the open ePub format and I can read them in the reader of my choice. So, if you’re planning to attend, hop over to Kobo and buy Content Rules as an eBook. Or, if you still love the feel of bound paper, you can order a physical of Content Rules from Chapters. Either way, reading the book before you meet C.C. will add to your experience.

Thank you to our Sponsors

Finally, as always, I want to thank the Third Tuesday sponsors – CNW Group, Rogers Communications, Radian6 and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. Their sponsorship for Third Tuesday makes it possible for us to bring great speakers like C.C. not only to Toronto, but to Third Tuesdays across the country. Thank you CNW, Rogers, Radian6 and Fairmont for helping us to build a vibrant community of social media practitioners.