Attendees Share Best Tips from Conference Day 3

To recap the third and final day of the ASJA 2025 conference, I’m turning things over to attendees to share what they learned:

Breaking into case studies. ASJA member Rita Colorito said the biggest takeaway from speakers on the case studies session: writing case studies are like writing brand or solution features, but in a different format. On your resume or LinkedIn profile, you don’t have to say that you’ve written a case study, just state that you’re “available for case studies.” If you’re starting out and haven’t written a case study yet, you could point to a feature-style article with a similar problem-solution structure. Companies use case studies as part of their marketing funnel to attract and retain clients; if you’re not familiar with the term or concept, ASJA member Cathie Allen Ericson shared this link to a diagram of what a marketing funnel looks like.

Exploring copywriting. For ASJA member Karon Clark Warren, panelists on a session on copywriting offered great clarity on content writing vs. copywriting: “Content writing tells; copywriting sells,” panelist Neil Brownlee said.

Doing research. ASJA member Teresa Zumwald appreciated the session on perfecting your Google research techniques. Her biggest takeaway: When researching, don’t rely on regular Google search, always check Google Scholar, which searches for scholarly literature, including articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.

Writing for alumni magazines. Multiple attendees shared advice from Elizabeth Randolph, editor of Vassar Alumni Magazine, who spoke on a panel on writing for alumni magazines. “Just because an alumni is alive, doesn’t mean we write about them,” Randolph said. If you’re pitching writing about someone, the piece has to tell a story.

Writing about history. ASJA member Kimberly Venturi Yavorski’s biggest takeaway from a session on covering history was from Missy Sullivan, special projects editor at History.com: When you write about history, don’t tell people why it matters, just let them connect the dots.

Haiku Slam Farewell

During the last session, members wrote haikus to share their experiences with the conference. One example of those from ASJA member Sharon Waters:

Connect with clients/Wojo clangs bell, shouts, threatens/I rise, exit fast

Thank You Conference Organizers and Volunteers

Thanks to everyone who made the conference possible, including: Emily Paulsen, conference chair; Emily Dalamangas, conference assistant chair; Darcy Lewis, ASJA President; Randy Dotinga, books track chair; Karon Warren, content marketing track co-chair; Kimberly Yavorski, content marketing track co-chair; Jennifer Billock, journalism track co-chair; Kristine Hansen, journalism track co-chair; Michelle Rafter, publications chair; Client Connections cochairs Cari Shane, KJ Bannan, and Richard Eisenberg; Rita Colorito, social and networking; Olga Torres, conference scholarships.

Finally, a major shout out to ASJA’s professional management company, Cetera Services – Dirk and Angela Lammers, Susie Wiswall, and Jennifer S. Hyk – for enormous assistance in helping plan and execute the conference, including collaborating with FIT faculty and staff for the convention space, and catering.