I’m not talking about just a press release and some media training. What these people need — from writers — are also scripted internal communications for meetings with staff who remain and who are let go; message points for the community and all the organization’s audiences; letters or phone scripts to anyone affected (customers, clients, employees, board members, local politicians, donors, partner agencies and businesses, even scripts for the people who answer the phone and will be the first to get media and complaint calls); a written strategy plan with a timetable of important logistics; fact sheet, backgrounder on the business/agency and Q&A, all for distribution and posting on the Web site; perhaps a series of emails to staff or a newsletter format to let the community know of ongoing changes; and writing help with other Web posting materials.

Estimate how much time all that might take and multiply by your hourly rate. Unfortunately for the organizations, these are the results of the times we live in. But our job is to help them communicate that bad news, as well as help them build a plan for recovery.

Ron Kirksey

I need to get this post out far and wide. I think we’ve created an amazing mini-knowledgebase on the subject. Thanks to all of you who’ve contributed. That’s what I love about this blog. It’s not about my posts. It’s about what follows. I’m just the catalyst – the pump-primer. Let’s keep it going…;)

PB

He recently started a ‘Your Recession’ series with reader comments about personal financial changes, and today posts one from a former software technical writer who became a FLCW specializing in resumes and cover letters. A relevant part of her or his tale:

“Business was creeping along without much excitement until September. That’s when the phone started ringing and the e-mails started coming in faster than I could manage, even without a physical office or any advertising except a Web site. People just Googled for the city and resume writer, trying to find somebody local to work with. Suddenly I found my part-time, home-based business turned upside down. I quickly hired a freelance copywriter and found avenues for subcontracting my overflow work. I no longer had much time to write; instead, I found myself managing projects, editing, and proofreading. And meeting with lots of job seekers.

“I’ve interviewed dozens of job seekers in the past couple of months, from the recently laid off Starbucks store manager to vice presidents of Fortune 1000 companies. Some are seeking their first resume in a decade. Some want to replace two part-time jobs with one full-time job with benefits. I can usually tell when a company is about to announce layoffs because their managers start calling a couple weeks ahead of time. . . . I know I’m helping these people, and they’re immensely more confident in their job search knowing that their resume is professionally copywritten.”

Full post: http://www.tiny.cc/HCmIp

One business handles maintenance, facility and janitorial services for companies. The quote from one of the company folks was: “Buildings still need to be cleaned and landscapes attended to despite the economy. From the roof to the parking lot we take care of it all and fill a niche. We consolidate services and therefore actually save companies money.”

So that’s another target niche… companies that handle those types of business services for other companies. I would imagine that because of the economy, businesses who need that type of thing won’t cancel the services, but might be more inclined to shop around. Because of that, you can’t afford to drop your marketing efforts for fear another service company will swoop in and grab your contract.

The last time we talked, he said, “What recession? I’m rentin’ these things for ten grand a day. and payin’ the four man crew less than two thousan’. Until we all drivin’ electric cars and the oil companies goes belly-up for lack of demand, it’ll just get better.”

And I’ll keep writing his brochures and technical manuals, too.