I am a seasoned communications professional with more than a decade

of experience writing and reporting for a variety of print and online

medium. I am best at developing strategic communications (print,

online, new media) which build on combining relationships between

organizations and their stakeholders.

I am a creative thinker with the proven ability to succeed in any

environment, contribute to project growth and consistently meet

stated deadlines. I am an equally strong manager who can effectively

and coherently communicate with other staffers and deliver results.

The following pages should provide an introduction into the type of

work I’ve done and the quality you can expect when we work together.

Brenda Porter-Rockwell

WriteOnPorter Communications

Effective Copywriting

and

Public Relations

Bre

nd

a P

orte

r-R

oc

kw

ell

Po

rtfo

lio

Expert Copywriter

Business-to-Consumer Magazines:

Inc.om

Black Enterprise/BlackEnterprise.com

Business-to-Business Magazines:

Business Travel Executive

Fiberoptic Product News/FPN Euro/FPN China

Food Product Design

Natural Food Network

Natural Products INSIDER

Nutraceuticals World

Nutrition Business Journal

Specialty Coffee Retailer

Southern City

Vitamin Retailer/Nutrition Industry

Executive/Organic Products Retailer

Blog

SupplySideCommunity.com/cosmetics

Green Interests Growing Black attitudes reflect increasing concern for the environment

by Brenda Porter Posted: January 22, 2008 http://www.blackenterprise.com/small-business/green-interests-growing/

Blacks are going “green,” or making more sustainable decisions that benefit not only their lives but the lives of generations to come. In a recent report on sustainability by The Hartman Group, a market research firm in Bellevue, Washington, blacks are more likely than whites to “feel personally affected by global warming/climate change” and to believe that “humans have made the environment worse today than it was 20 years ago.”

Former Vice President Al Gore warned the world in his movie, An Inconvenient Truth, to take better care of our planet or die with it. The Report suggests that, in many ways, blacks have heeded that warning, says Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. senator from Illinois and founder of Ambassador Organics, purveyor of premium organic products. “Blacks have actually been green interested for some time,” says Moseley Braun. “African Americans have contributed to making the world a better place over time and in spite of oppression and racism. What is new is that someone has asked the question.”

According to Brent Baxter, a co-author of the report, “Blacks are also more likely to scrutinize products for many characteristics of sustainability; for example, they are more likely than whites to feel it’s important to buy meat and poultry that has been raised without routine use of antibiotics.”

Blacks are also willing to pay more for sustainable foods and more likely to own water-saving devices (55% vs. 40%), further entrenching themselves in green issues, says Baxter.

How to Find Your First Customer Brenda Porter-Rockwell | Aug 12, 2010

http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/07/how-to-find-your-first-customer.html

Your first paying customer is always the hardest to get but also the most exciting to acquire. Starting your own business can be as exciting as it is nerve-wracking. Your road to future success starts with your first customer. Landing your first customer will require a mix of old school face-to-face networking and plenty of time behind the computer building your brand online. If you're ready to make the leap to entrepreneurship this guide on finding your first customer will prepare you for that first sale and future sales. How to Find Your First Customer: Develop a Business Model

Mapping out a clear plan on how your new product or service will benefit your potential customers, should be the first thing you do before picking up a phone to begin selling your wares, says Michael Song, Ph.D., executive director, of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). Song says it's important to be able to explain on paper what your product can do for your customer. "Make sure you are thinking about what you can do for them. Can you offer a product that gives the client something that others can't deliver, but in a measureable way?" says Song. Without a plan, says Song, you likely will not be able to demonstrate the value your product or service can offer. For example, Song, who also teaches a course at UMKC on creating a company points out this scenario: Take a person who has developed software that for $19.99 will shut down all of the computers in a company at the end of the day and turn them back on at a certain time in the morning. The software developer first approaches the potential client saying this will help save on their electricity costs. This sounds like a good idea, but they fail to make the sale. "That's because they didn't quantify exactly how much electricity the company would save," says Song. He says the easiest thing to do here is to look at where the company is based and determine the cost of electricity per kilowatt hour. Then your plan would look at all the computers owned by the potential client and the average kilowatt each computer uses per hour. Then, Song says, you will see how much the potential company will save if they shut down the computers for seven hours at night. "So let's say we could conclude that the computer software would save the average amount of electricity by 1 ½ years. The electricity costs alone would be more than the price of the software which is $19.99. So you have to demonstrate the economic value of your product," says Song. Song says a detailed plan is also important since as a new company you don't have the reputation, the history, or following to back up your claims so the inherent value of your product or service must be clearly outlined.

Dig Deeper: How to Plan a Product Launch Event How to Find Your First Customer: Think Local Once you are set on how to proceed, it's time to actually go out and do some of the legwork, whether that's calling on friends and family, old bosses or even clients from your last job. Dharmesh Shah, chief technology officer and founder of Hubspot, an internet marketing company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, suggests looking at the circle of friends and family closest to you for help in launching your product. "They can be a great a first customer," says Shah, who is also a founder and blogger for OnStartups.com, an online community for entrepreneurs. However, he adds a word of advice: ensure that they provide pointed, objective feedback. "The big value of early customers is not the revenue generated -- but the insights they provide," says Shah. Another thing about friends and family—they too, should be paying customers. "Don't give the product away for free to these early customers -- even if they're friends and family. The reason is that if they're not paying customers, they [would] be reluctant to voice complaints. For example, with my startup, when we started the company my wife was one of the early customers. She paid full price and is still a customer today," explains Shah. Alternately, other experts on finding your first customer, say there are exceptions to the rule about not giving your product away for free. "David Letterman would have no studio audience," contends certified professional coach Mitchell York. Through his company E2E Coaching Inc. in Sayerville, NY, York has advised executives on the ins and outs of entrepreneurship. "Give stuff away, and if it's good people will buy it. If it was never right to give away your product for free, the folks who make those little ice cream sample spoons would be out of business. As would all the young people in the streets of New York, giving away promotional size candy bars, cosmetics and everything under the sun." According to York, your first customer might be someone you're already doing business with. If you've developed a rapport with your boss, you may be able to secure your current employer as a client. "Just make sure you aren't doing work on your new business while at your current job." York also says migrating clients from your current job may or may not work out for you. Be sure to check the fine print on the contract you signed when you were hired or let go. "If you're going to 'migrate' clients from your employer to your new business, make sure you are not under any restrictions. Lots of companies have non-compete agreements and policies, and even if you never signed one, that doesn't mean your employer can't make your life as an entrepreneur very difficult if it wants to," says York. Dig Deeper: How to Find New Customers and Increase Sales How to Find Your First Customer: Branching Out After you've tapped all of your relatives and Facebook friends, it's time to widen your audience reach. A great way to do that is to find what Song calls "The Innovators," using paid market research panels if you can afford it. "There is always about 2% of the population that are innovators. Meaning those are the people most willing to adopt new products or the opinion leaders. You need to identify who are your innovators," says Song. Once you have identified those innovators, Song advises giving them a free trial with a satisfaction guarantee offer or risk free trial so if they don't find benefit in [the product], you will take it back. Another way to expand your circle is to get out and shake hands. Mitchell says try in-person networking events often hosted by your local Chamber of Commerce. "Any venue that brings people face to face is great. The trick is to use networking events the right way to develop relationships that will last. If you talk more than you listen at a networking event, you're not doing it right," says Mitchell.

When it comes to cold-calling, Shah says, the art form hasn't completely died, but "increasingly less effective" these days. "As a society, we've become better and better at blocking out these unwanted marketing interruptions. As such, it's very difficult to reach potential customers through cold-calling," explains Shah. Dig Deeper: The Happiest Cold Caller You'll Ever Meet How to Find Your First Customer: Social/New Media Perhaps one of the newest methods of finding your first customer is by using social/new media. Experts recommend social /new media tools over traditional advertising. Matt Myers, chief marketing officer of Shooger, a mobile marketing company based in Coral Gables, Florida, suggests forming strategic partnerships with media companies to help spread the word about your product or service. "We're just starting to create greater outreach and awareness of Shooger by working in partnership with traditional media outlets and public relations agencies who very clearly understand how we can help them move forward," says Myers. And, says Myers, "Testing out a mobile marketing option like Shooger and offering special or introductory deals is a great way to entice new customers and develop a loyal following." Social media tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube offer a great return on investment for little to no upfront costs, says Shah and York. "I've seen many businesses (of all kinds) get a great return on their investment in social media -- particularly blogging," says Shah. "Creating useful, remarkable content and sharing it online (via blogs, twitter, Facebook, etc.) is an exceptionally effective way to "pull" potential customers into a business." York agrees, adding YouTube to the list. "It costs nothing except time to create a brand using social media. Facebook is a necessity. A YouTube channel is a good idea too, as is a blog." Whether you've sourced a client from an old job, set up a Facebook account, or asked your parents to buy-in to your service, there are a number of ways to find your first and likely most loyal customer you will ever have. Dig Deeper: Launch a New Product on Twitter

PR/Marketing Pro

Marketing Campaign

Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County

*Bike to Build! fundraising campaign

Bike shop poster

FAQ Sheet

Rack Card

New Media Specialist

Cosmetics Community Manager, SupplySideCommunity.com

Case Study: Using PR Tactics to Increase Volunteerism

May 20, 2008

For More Information or Interviews: Brenda Porter WriteOnPorter Communications brenda@writeonporter.com (302) 290-2286

NUNDA, NY - New Nut Butters, Distribution Channels from Once Again Nut Butter Once Again Nut Butter (Nunda, NY) has extended its organic and natural nut butter line with three new varieties: Organic Peanut Butter with Organic Omega-3, Organic Almond Butter with Organic Omega-3, and Natural Almond Butter with Omega- 3. With these new launches comes expanded distribution. The recently introduced nut butters are now being distributed through the United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) East warehouses along the east coast and the Ohio valley. Beginning July 1, 2008 the products will be available through Nature's Best in Brea, CA. Further expanding its reach, select Once Again Nut Butter varieties will be available for the first time to west coast retailers beginning October 1, 2008 through UNFI West warehouses. According to Nutrition Business Journal, sales of organic jams, jellies and nut butters grew 21 percent last year to reach $88 million in sales. “Once Again Nut Butter is a leader in the organic and natural nut butter market. We are pleased to be able to offer natural product retailers across the country not only more healthy varieties of nut butters, but more distribution channels to purchase these household staples for their customers,” said Lisa Blatz, Once Again Nut Butter’s Director of Sales and Marketing. About the Company: Once Again Nut Butter was founded in 1976, as a worker-owned cooperative with the goal of providing the natural

products industry with a tasty, healthy, and nutritious peanut butter. After more than twenty-five years our focus

remains the same and we have earned the reputation as a manufacturer of one of the best tasting and most

consistent nut butters in the industry.

--END--

CASE STUDY

Play it Again, Sam: Using PR Tactics to Encourage Repeat Volunteerism

A current PR-related problem that non-profit PR professionals face is a lack of knowledge about using PR

tactics to encourage repeat volunteering. We need to demonstrate the need for a change in philosophy

and action by writing a case study about how to evaluate and implement PR tactics to encourage repeat

volunteerism.

Objectives:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Establish PR methods for encourage repeat volunteerism

• Implement previously identified PR tactics to encourage repeat volunteerism

• Identify and target the best/right target audience based on organizational needs

Summary:

Sally works for Community Build, a medium-sized, non-profit homebuilder in a small state as the PR

Director and Volunteer Coordinator. Community Build targets low- to moderate income families in its

county and relies on a source of volunteer labor to do much of the work. (Professionals like plumbers

and roofers handle some specific jobs.) The organization recently decided to double its homebuilding

efforts from eight to 16 homes annually, thereby making a greater impact in the community. The

organization only plans on increasing its budget enough to cover the expenses of the extra tradesmen

needed for the additional eight houses per year.

Sally was tasked with increasing the amount of volunteers on the construction site to help with the

additional homebuilding efforts. Sally drafted a press release detailing Community Build’s new plans as

well as a short bio about a new prospective homeowner. She shared the details with her boss and the

Family Services Coordinator to ensure all of her details were correct. After getting the green light from

her colleagues she distributed the press release to every news outlet on her distribution list.

She then added an abbreviated version to her bi-weekly e-newsletter and her quarterly print newsletter.

In January 2009 she utilized the database to cull 3,000 names to send the newsletter to. Sally appealed

to several corporations whose volunteers had stopped coming out to volunteer. At that time, Sally also

sent a letter to many of the construction companies listed in the yellow pages asking if they would

consider a group build day.

Six months passed and Sally’s boss called her into his office to update her on the information he has

been given from the Construction Manager. Sally’s boss said building on the first eight houses was

completed on time with the help of hundreds of volunteers. However, because volunteer sign up on the

construction schedule has been so light for phase two of the project, the last eight houses will not be

completed before year’s end. Sally then reviewed with her boss all of the efforts she has undertaken to

get the word out about the need for more volunteers on site. He realized Sally forgot one key element in

her plan to help increase repeat volunteers.

Questions:

1. Looking at Sally’s overall plan, what element(s) of her PR outreach efforts, if any, would you have

changed? Why?

2. What other factors may have affected Sally’s outcome?

3. What, if any additional resources, could Sally have utilized?

Success Drawn From Limitation http://community.supplysideshow.com/blog_page.php?BlogIcode=438

Fresh, crisp, light, airy—all attributes driving the market for fragrances and oils. Right now, anyway. What the future will hold is yet to be defined—obviously.

But what we do know, according to industry experts, is that, like the globalization of our food, our perfume scents will not only reflect our immediate environs, but the greater world around us.

The thorn in this rosy picture will be access to ingredients. Again, like our connection to food, allergens play a role and, in a nod to May’s topic of herbal ingredients in cosmetic applications, the issue of sustainability is putting a kink in the supply channel for key ingredients. That’s where IFRA, the Paris-based International Fragrance Association, comes in. Two years ago, the group heavily restricted the use of oak moss, a green lichen that grows on the bark of oak trees, and one of 174 ingredients on the hit list. (Some in the industry call it a ban-a designation the association denies.)

So what’s an industry to do when such popular ingredients become unavailable. Synthetic alternatives are developed and put into play or perfumers try to work around the taboo ingredients. Both instances can lead to shoddy, ill-received scents. What it boils down to is that a little rash or a little overharvesting are simply bad for business.

Or are they?

Frank Schnitzler, a former perfumer and CEO of five different perfume businesses, believes the workarounds will be a boost for the industry.

“The IFRA limits will become an interesting challenge for the perfume industry. Scientists at large perfume groups are required to develop new scent molecules that pose no danger to health, which they have already been doing for years. I do not think that consumers will miss their old scents as tastes in perfume are constantly evolving anyway,” said Schnitlzer.

After all, as Schnitzler recently wrote for our SupplySide Community, “the market needs new stimulus.”

Thank you!

Learn More: Blog: www.writeonporter.blogspot.com

www.SupplySideCommunity.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/writeonporter

Twitter: @writeonporter

Phone: 302-290-2286

Email: Brenda@writeonporter.com