I love waking up to good news!

Last week, before I had even eaten my eggs and bake-y, I spotted an email in my inbox that shone brightly.

What award did Forthright Advising win?

It revealed that Forthright was awarded the Founded By Women Social Impact Award!

The news…well, it’s news-ing. And if I had to guess, you need an easy way to keep up with all of it! 

That’s why we’re sharing our recommendations for the best media monitoring tools to use, along with a step-by-step guide for getting started. 

Not all media monitoring programs are created equal — and they certainly aren’t all free. There are lots to choose from. Our team at Forthright has used everything from Cision to Meltwater to all the options in between. There are pros and cons to each program, and depending on your budget, there are a range of bells and whistles. 

No matter where you turn, the election is buzzy. 

The final two weeks before the election are some of the most important – and therefore, some of the most challenging. 

Here are a few reminders as you barrel towards November.

I have a short, cautionary tale brought to you by my early-career mistakes. Here’s what’s in it for you: 

My blunder is your happy guide to modeling a culture where asking great questions empowers everyone and makes your work better.  

Early in my career in the U.S. Senate, I got a call from another Senate office asking my boss to sign onto important legislation. 

There was just one teeny tiny problem… I didn’t know what to do next. 

I am really good at communication. I am TERRIBAD at math. 

Accounting, even for my own business, takes A LOT of focus and explanations for me to understand. My eyes glaze over at spreadsheets. 

I’m telling you this so you believe me when I say that if I’m writing you an entire email about a tax form, it is directly relevant to your communications.

I don’t just dilly dally in tax forms for funsies. No ma’am, no way. But times they are a-changin, and as communicators, we need to tap into the 990 game. 

But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

Have you noticed that people… aren’t reading stuff very closely right now? (Not you, you’re doing a great job reading this blog so far!) 

Do you notice colleagues are more checked out than usual? 

Burnout, compassion fatigue, cognitive overload – you name it, our audiences have it. We’ve got short attention spans, and even shorter fuses. 

So what’s a communicator to do to get attention? Throw a party, of course.

While ghostwriting is absolutely one of my favorite projects, it's taken me years to get it right. (Or should I say write?). Today, I'm sharing some of my favorite best practices. 

I’ve ghostwritten for more superintendents, CEOs and leaders than I can count. Here are the steps I never skip. 

And for you CEOs and leaders who are getting ghostwritten for – these same tips apply!

My first job after college was at a PR agency.

I was working with – and I’m not sure how else to phrase this – men’s men. Think: veterans starting their own government contracting businesses, construction CEOs, cybersecurity leaders and more. There was plenty of little lady-ing. 

But there were also many, many lessons that I’m still using in my career today, 15 years later. I’m including one of my favorites, and some additional best practices, below.

You know those days where you just want someone to tell you where we're going to dinner? 

Sometimes, I get really tired of making decisions – partly because as busy leaders, we make decisions at work all day, every day.

We ask questions such as:

• Should we complete this grant application? 

• Which events should we go to? 

• Is that conference worth it?

And sometimes, your teammates don’t agree on the answer. 

That’s why at Forthright, we use – you guessed it – a data-backed approach to make these decisions.