Powerful Writing & Storytelling
Improve copy, content and creativity to capture audiences
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 • Virtual – attend from anywhere!
12 - 4:30 p.m. ET
Impactful copy • Inventive campaigns • Inspiring content
Superior storytelling • Better brand journalism • Rising results and ROI
Problem: Writing could be your blind spot. It’s easy to notice the poor writing of others while overlooking our own. Worse, bad writing can kill campaigns — and careers. That’s why it’s the #1 most important skill/competency, according to the latest Ragan and HarrisX survey.
Solution: You’ll discover powerful principles and exciting new techniques to improve your writing chops, storytelling prowess and content strategies at Ragan’s virtual Writing Conference on Dec. 6 with experts from DePaul University, Edelman, GoDaddy, Life Fitness, Orlando Health, PNC Bank, Prodigy Works, Stax Payments, University of Michigan and more.
If you’re looking for creative ways to capture more eyeballs and grow your career in comms, then this is one day of inspiring, informative writing instruction you can’t afford to miss. This virtual conference is designed for both internal comms and PR practitioners, along with anyone who’s communicating with stakeholders.
Top 10 things you’ll learn:
- Writing Like a Journalist: Powerful principles to supercharge any assignment
- Headlines that POP: How to craft irresistible headlines for everything you touch,
from articles and blog posts to press releases and even emails - Bold, Blooper-Free Writing: Secrets of clear, concise, correct and colorful copy
- Power of Precision: How to avoid confusion, improve engagement and drive action
- Inclusive Writing for DEI: Principles, processes and phrases to add to your lexicon
- Modular Content Strategy: How to master content mapping for any user’s journey
— and tailor your content for the right audience, right message and right channels - SEO for Creatives: Tips to optimize copy and content for greater reach
- Social-First Writing Hacks: Quirky copy, hashtags and scripts to increase awareness
and follower counts across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and beyond - Storytelling Structure: Templates of the most effective marcom story types and
how to use them in your job daily — whether you’re writing a speech or job post - Creativity for Communicators: How to reawaken your inner poet and bring greater creativity, flair and authenticity to every phrase, paragraph and page you pen
Register today. Once registered, you'll be able to join the private LinkedIn group right away!
YOU’LL ALSO RECEIVE THESE EXCLUSIVE BONUS MATERIALS:
- The Clear and Concise Technical Writing Guide
- Strunk & White’s Timeless Secrets for Rocket-Powered Writing
- Why and How to Create an In-House Style Guide
- Bias-Free Writing: What’s Preferred and What’s Problematic
- The Art of Storytelling (A Practical Guide)
- How to Find and Tell Great Stories within Your Organization
- Inclusive Language: A Progressive Writing Guide
All attendees receive:
- Access to a private LinkedIn group for attendees only
- All slides and presentations from speakers
- Connections to our esteemed speakers
Get Recognized!
Each registration comes with a personalized "Powerful Writing & Storytelling" Certificate of Completion for attending
AGENDA
Compelling writing is the No. 1 skill execs seek in communicators — yet it’s also the hardest to find. In this session, discover how to boost your writing chops with proven journalistic tenets and tricks to elevate everything you pen — from press releases and social media posts to newsletters, speeches and more. You’ll learn:
- How to apply news value principles to engage readers
- Getting the hook right: Ideas for winning headlines, teasers and leads
- The value of style and why it matters — both in text and presentation
- How to use precise, plain language to improve clarity and retention
- Now you see it: Ways to use visual verbs to give your writing punch
- 5 easy pieces of editorial storytelling (and shortcuts for extracting them)
- Bonus tips for balancing traditional writing with writing for SEO
Social media copy must be clear, colorful, concise and cool — but it also must scream “Click Me!” if you want to drive real results and move followers to action. Join this informative and fun session to think outside the box when it comes to crafting punchy posts and CTAs on social — without sacrificing personality. You’ll learn:
- Elements to include in your social media style guide (and why it matters)
- How to attract and keep eyeballs: Secrets of snappy headlines, listicles and fun posts
- Examples of social media posts that broke the mold — and captured conversions
- Ideas for writing for social media visuals and videos — from social cards to funny captions
- How to find your unique “voice” and deploy it across all your social media channels
External communicators like PR pros often get all the glory for writing winning headlines. Let's flip the "script" and end that here. This session will help you improve your internal comms engagement with people-first messaging — whether you're scripting an email, video or podcast — so you can win over staff and leadership no matter the initiative or update. You’ll learn:
- Educate, empower and engage: Harnessing the 7 learning styles in your copy and stories
- Making what’s important more interesting: How to reframe hum-drum announcements and other updates as “must-know news” based on user personas and WIFM principle
- Video storytelling showcase: How to pen and produce can’t miss videos for employees (lessons from sample “Quickcast” clips)
- UGC ideas: How to encourage employees to become content collectors, videographers and writers
- DEI style guides: Why it’s critical to draft one now — and how to give yours life
(we’ll dive deeper into inclusive writing together in a session later today!)
Storytelling isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about B2B tech or financial institutions. But two companies in these sectors actually have very robust storytelling cultures to make “technical” topics come alive and move the hearts and minds of the real people they serve. Join to hear how they put storytelling to work. You’ll learn:
- Let’s have some fun! We’ll start with a quick interactive exercise to find — and tell — your personal story in 250 characters or less
- The most common business storytelling structures and how to use them
- Pixar’s published 22 storytelling rules and what they mean to speechwriters, spokespeople, media sources, employee ambassadors and social media pros
- The magic of “make it human” and “make it matter” — how to transform your copywriting mindset from writing words to capturing emotions
Now that you have unique insight into storytelling structure (thank you Pixar), you’ll learn how to find employee stories that capture your organizational culture—and share them across top internal and external channels to retain and attract talent. This session will help you transform your #1 asset into a powerful competitive advantage. You’ll learn:
- Where to find powerful stories (think Slack, Teams, Social Media, SharePoint and your intranet)
- The role ERGs and local groups play in encouraging, collecting and curating employee stories
- What it takes to create a popular employer brand blog that houses everything from
“Meet the Employee” and “Side Hustle” stories to “Women in Tech” posts and more - How to amplify these stories on social and traditional media—from LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok to Yahoo
- How to supplement employer brand storytelling with a thought leadership strategy
Pressure makes diamonds. But it can also make for half-baked content and filler stories — unless you have a process in place that you can turn to when you are time crunched. This session is a selection of best practices gathered from brand newsrooms across the country — curated to help your team write better, quicker. You’ll learn how to:
- Become a faster writer by being the best reporter in your organization
- Develop go-to sources that can give you what you need in a pinch
- Employ the CRAP Method: Craft Really Awful Prose – and then fix it
- News-jack great content and insert your experts
- Punt: When all else fails, turn to the Inverted Pyramid
Creating an inclusive culture starts with including internal stakeholders in crafting messaging that reflects their experiences — and empowering them to share it, both internally and externally. Join to see how others have transformed their comms copy, campaigns and channels to be more inclusive so their messaging resonates with every employee and external audience equally. You’ll learn:
- How to write about the shared perspectives and concerns of your diverse workforce
- How to evaluate and improve the accessibility of your communications, PR and media outreach
- Best ways for leadership and sources to write and communicate from a perspective that cascades DEI
- Insights and resources to help you create an inclusive language style guide (hint: creating an ERG is a critical step)
Writing is a bittersweet process. With many of us racing against the clock, it can be the most daunting "to-do" on your list. While the "eleventh hour" approach has become commonplace, it's an infamously known recipe for disaster, leading only to panic writing and loss of brevity. Thinking like an editor will not only save you time, but it is non-negotiable if you want to get the attention of one. Join to start leveraging new-age habits and get rid of old ones that are no longer serving you. In this session, you’ll learn:
- Why you must create an outline that should be thrown out the window
- The power of multi-device editing (and sometimes, multi-font!)
- When in times of need, how to use panic writing to your advantage
- Why complete is better than perfect
- Common errors and peeves to avoid — what newsroom editors hate
Creativity is a competitive edge for communicators who want to move their audiences. In this session, discover how to tap into your imagination and harness outside thinking to fuel big ideas leading to content that informs, inspires and is impossible to ignore. Ignite your inner creator by stepping way outside of the box. You’ll learn:
- The importance of innovation in business — and how meaningful innovation leads to smarter content creation
- How to push outside of the box: Principles, tools and exercises to overcome barriersto creativity and innovation at your organization
- How to find new inspiration for greater creativity to fuel your storytelling
- Practical ways to brainstorm bold, brilliant and beautiful ideas faster
- How to find joy in your work through igniting imagination
We’ll share the top tactics and strategies from the virtual conference as you prepare to implement these ideas for your organization.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
You should register if you spend at least a quarter of your time in any of these areas:
Writing • Editing • Content Strategy • Storytelling • Brand Journalism • Internal Communications • Executive Communications • Employee Engagement• Social Media • Public Relations • Digital Marketing • Content Marketing • Community Management • Crisis Communications • Corporate Communications • Strategic Communications • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Communications
| Early Bird Rates | Regular Rates | |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | $749 | $849 |
| Ragan Insider Registration | $649 | $749 |
| Nonprofit Registration | $599 | $699 |
Phone registrations and group pricing: For group orders, please contact our customer service team at 800-878-5331 or cservice@ragan.com
Top reasons to attend this virtual conference
- You’ll learn from and interact with the top writing, editing, content strategy, brand storytelling and DEI communications professionals.
- You'll get essential takeaways you can apply right away.
- You'll be able to watch from anywhere.
- You'll receive all presentation slides and handouts.
- You'll get access to the on-demand recording for 12 months.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Want to become a sponsor? Reach out to Hannah Lavelle, Director of Business Development
at sponsorship@ragan.com .
PRESENTED BY
 |
CONTACT
REGISTRATION
SPONSORSHIP
312-960-4628
PROGRAM
