Welcome to the Bookemon Experience

bookemon logoIt has been the pleasure of the Unreel Media team to write for many fabulous companies over the years since this business was founded. Among those that work hard to improve the world for the next generation is Bookemon. One of the goals of this company is to appeal to the younger generations, encouraging lifelong communication and literacy skills, imagination, and self-confidence.

Kids today are enthralled with technology. This comes as no shock to parents, educators, and even the general public as children can be seen with video games, tablets, cell phones, and mp3 players permanently stuck to their palms. However, technology isn’t all bad. That is the message being issued by this motivated company.

Technology can be used to encourage the skills that we want to instill most in our children – reading and writing. Children can peruse a catalog of available e-books and paperbacks, written and published by kids their own age, on this website. Better yet, they can put their own sense of creativity to the test by producing their very own works of literature. On this topic, Bookemon says:

Young Author Press lets young authors, students in a class, individually or collaboratively publish their stories and writings in full color books with ISBN-13 registration and be recognized as published authors worldwide.

These books can be printed once and kept as private works of genius, or they can be sold on Bookemon’s website, as well as on the sites of many of the largest online retailers. If you don’t believe that kids can create sale-worthy books, think again. Bookemon has confidence in K-12 students. The outcomes, some of which can be viewed in the Bookemon store, are inspiring.

As this company works to grow its online presence and to continue the promotion of reading and writing for young children, Unreel Media is proud to have such an affiliation. In a world that is fast-paced and riddled with distractions, it is good to know that there are still organizations encouraging our kids to curl up with a good book.

Job Hunting? Let Us Help!

meeting-room-934454-mMuch of our day to day work focuses on the texts companies need to move forward, but we also offer services to individuals as well, so we’d like to take a moment to highlight what we can do to help you with your next job hunt.

  • Resume/CV Creation: There are few documents quite as daunting as the resume, so let us take the pressure off and create one for you. Obviously this is an intense process because we need quite a bit of information from you to get started, but the final product will be exactly what you want to hand across that conference table. It’s cheaper than you think, too. A quick online search will show you that most resume services are going to charge you at least $60 for a professional resume. Ours generally run less than $40, even for advanced professionals.
  • Resume/CV Editing: Have a resume, but need to update it? We can help there too. Again, we’ll need your input, but we’ll customize the ideal document for posting, distribution, or whatever you plan to do with it. Often at a cost of less than $20, you could have it ready tomorrow depending on our schedule!
  • LinkedIn Bio Editing: LinkedIn is the place to be for many professionals, but if you’re not actually doing anything with your bio, the company considering you may not think you’re worth the time. Let us help with a fresh look, great text, and an overhaul that puts you in the best possible light.
  • LinkedIn Posting: Need to make sure they know you’re an expert in your field? Post something! We can either handle all of the postings for you or simply send you the text so you can insert it. We can even work with your desired keywords to help add to your SEO exposure.
  • Portfolio Additions: Many industries require an extensive portfolio to demonstrate your competence, and we’ll be happy to add to the documentation necessary to show off your skills. From brochures to whitepapers to academic-level texts, we can create whatever you need.

The simple reality is that we’re in it to write, and whether that means your company needs advertising texts or you need help landing that big new job, if there are words involved we can create for you, we’re here to help. Give us a call or drop us a line to learn more.

 

Your Editing Checklist (No Matter What You’re Writing)

my-next-trip-1320575-mThe right editing job can distinguish good writing from bad. You could easily have the best text in the world, but poorly edited, it’s just going to reflect badly on you or your company. From your blog posts to your LinkedIn posts to even your press releases, it has to be perfect. Make certain you look for at least these things:

  • Content Readability: Think carefully about your audience for the piece. If you’ve used quite a bit of technical terminology, but your audience may not understand those terms, you may need to do some rewriting. Similarly, you have to consider attention span. Those visiting your Facebook page won’t care to read an entire blog post. Those visiting your blog likely won’t care to read an entire whitepaper. Attention span not only dictates the length of your post, but also whether you need short, staccato sentences, sub headings throughout, and bullet points.
  • Spelling: This is less of an issue than it once was thanks to technology, but it can still be a problem. You’ve probably seen lots of wacky auto correct errors, and in some cases, a spell checker may highlight a word that’s correctly spelled already or fail to recognize an incorrectly spelled choice.
  • Punctuation: Misplaced apostrophes, poorly used commas, and the downright murder of the semicolon spell one thing for well-written pieces: doom. In some cases, a period may be for dramatic effect. In others, though, it may show you weren’t paying attention to the grammar book in 7th grade.

If you’re concerned about your own editing abilities, have someone else take a look. Even if you grab the first person who walks by your desk, an extra eye on the content is never a bad thing, You can also email it to us. With fast turnaround times and incredibly cheap rates on editing, we’re the place to turn when you want to produce quality.

 

Self-Publishing? Why You Need A Professional Editor Now

see-the-world-1-928425-mAuthors who intend to self-publish their own work absolutely need to hire a professional editor; it just makes good sense.  Why?  What you DON’T want to do is be responsible for publishing your masterpiece full of spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors, etc.  It will not reflect well to your audience, regardless if you have the best idea ever presented to mankind or not.  Mistakes and errors stick in the minds of avid readers, much more so than your message will if not delivered in a professional manner.

ANOTHER SET OF EYES (OR MORE!)

It never, ever hurts to have your work reviewed by colleagues, friends, or otherwise interested professionals before publication.  Doing so, you get other views and perspectives.  Who knows what might come from another interested party’s questions or comments?  It can only serve to make your manuscript better.  Likewise, before you submit your final material for the publication process, a professional editor should be consulted to ensure you don’t have any glaring errors that will come back to haunt you. Professionals are trained to spot these common mistakes and correct them before the finished work is complete.

A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR SAVES TIME AND FRUSTRATION

Hiring a professional editor can also save you time and endless frustration.  A writer writes; an editor edits.  After your initial ideas and thoughts have been formed and saved to a file, and after you’ve read and re-read your work countless times to adjust the words and phrasing, you are not the best person to then edit your manuscript as well.  You need a fresh set of eyes.  Writers are interested primarily in the content, in telling the story. However, spelling, grammar, and punctuation rules must be followed as well or story will get lost.  A professional editor can help ensure these rules are interpreted correctly and adhered to.

LANGUAGE USE HELPS PERFECT THE WRITTEN WORD

Many times, a professional editor is also able to improve language use, style, and even tone; therefore, it might be possible to communicate your ideas and thoughts even more effectively than your initial efforts.  There can be many concerns related to language use, as well as style usage.  Professional editors can help prevent common mistakes and also, at times, improve word choices.

An experienced author realizes he/she can use all the help available.  You want the best publication possible, right? You want it to be not only rich in content, but professional in language use, style, and tone as well.  A professional editor is a must; even if you consider yourself to be a good editor, one typically should not edit one’s own work.

 

A Content Overseer Can Help!

the-leader-515337-mWhat is a content overseer?  What role can that person play within your organization?  A content overseer reviews all marketing content for acceptability and applicability to each different marketing platform.  Studies show that organizations utilizing a “content marketing strategy” are the ones who are most successful.  It’s always a good idea to have a second set of eyes, a second opinion, another person’s frame of reference to review work efforts to ensure the final content meets the firm’s goals.

Content Marketing with a Content Overseer

The world of content marketing is changing; it’s progressing and growing. The more experienced marketers become about quality content and how to use it to engage clients, often with the help of a content overseer, the more it becomes apparent that a “content marketing strategy” results in the highest dividends with respect to building a solid client foundation.

You Have to Have a Strategy

In fact, a “documented content strategy” says Social Media Examiner is the key ingredient to content marketing success.  As the content marketing industry grows, so too do the expectations placed on content writers and managers; therefore, the greater need for a content overseer.  The players gain more expertise with every passing day and demands for higher quality content grow, as well, to achieve the ultimate goal: a successful business.

Social Media

Can social media help?  Is it effective?  Yes and yes.  LinkedIn has the reputation of currently being the top social media site for businesses.  Three other sites with the biggest recent increases in popularity include SlideShare, Google+, and Instagram.  Social media is a very cost-efficient method for promoting your content and it can be hugely beneficial to your marketing strategy.  Why?  It is concise and it has the ability to reach around the globe instantly.  It is typical for content marketers to use an average of six social media platforms to promote business messages and reach target audiences. With such a wide range of platforms, a content overseer can be the glue that holds all the marketing tools together.

Content Creation is Increasing

Upping your game with quality content and a documented strategy that has set guidelines in place to ensure all parts of the process are successfully interacting helps bring the most value for your money and your time.  You need quality content.  Why?  Because the number one purpose of quality content is to offer information that will attract new customers to your products and services.  Quality content is designed to highlight the message of your business with rich wording that will grab the attention of potential clients. You need a content overseer to ensure all pieces of the marketing puzzle fit well together.

With the wide variety of marketing platforms available today, is it any wonder your business needs a content overseer to coordinate your diverse marketing efforts?  It’s the only way to ensure you are utilizing all the tools at your disposal to get the best results possible.

Depressed About Your Facebook Stats? Don’t Be!

question-2-1339414-mAre you finding it difficult to get FB likes? Does your FB strategy seem not to be working? It can be depressing when you get those FB emails with Facebook stats regarding the people you have (and haven’t!) reached during the preceding week. Why aren’t your FB posts making impacts and reaching people and increasing those FB stats?

PHOTOS AND IMAGES

Your cover photo is the first thing people will see when visiting your FB page. If you only use a bland representation of your company’s website address, that’s not going to garner the kind of attention that a cutting edge photo or image will muster. Remember, you only have a few seconds to GRAB and KEEP prospective FB likers’ attention! Make it worth their while, and yours. Increase those Facebook stats!

  • Show benefits of products or services to increase Facebook stats.  When someone gets to your FB page, let them see what you do. Utilize pictures and/or images that will represent what you can offer that will be of value to them. When you do, your Facebook stats should improve.
  • Offer something free.  Nothing gets someone’s attention like FREE stuff.  Do you have a free report, e-book, e-guide, e-newsletter that you can offer to give away for free? In return, you’ll also get their email address that you might possibly utilize for future mailings, with their consent of course.

USE FACEBOOK APPS

Select your use of FB apps wisely. Make sure they are interesting and, again, have something of value to offer your FB viewers. Use your creativity, your genius, your imagination – you’re going to need something “different” from everyone else to stand out and increase your Facebook stats.

USE VIDEOS WISELY

Plug in a video with an interesting title. Keep it honest and, again, use your creative powers to GRAB their attention.  Then have the video link back to that interesting something that is located on your web site.  You will take them out of the FB realm and deposit them in your realm. But you had better be sure where you’re dropping them off is interesting and has a high potential for proving useful to them if you want your Facebook stats to increase.

STRONG CALL-TO-ACTION

It’s what everyone wants: a strong call-to-action that will convert web travelers to clients. Start out with a call-to-action that a majority of people can identify with, whether it be a sporting event that’s in the news, a business topic that has recently been in the news, an environmental topic, a favorite charity, etc.  By asking your FB viewers to “LIKE” an agreeable issue that most people could find themselves getting behind, you are creating a base of interest to your FB page and you are more likely to get more “LIKES” yourself.

It can be discouraging to see those Facebook stats that get emailed to you if you haven’t had a successful week, but, keep your chin up! There are still plenty of things you can do to increase your FB likes and get those positive, motivating FB statistic emails rolling in.