28 | FEBRUARY 11 • 2021
“I
was always a grammar
and words fanatic,”
says Jamie Sherman,
a Farmington Hills native now
residing in Huntington Woods.
“When I was trying to figure
out what to major in in under-
grad, I loved communications,
I loved advertising, and I loved
psychology. They all center
around ways to get to know
people, to express yourself and
to understand people.”
Her decision was ultimately
determined by the fact that the
Public Relations curriculum
fell under Communications.
“With PR you still have to
understand what people respond
to and how their minds work,”
she explains. She earned her
bachelor’s degree from Michigan
State University in 2008.
After graduating, Jamie
moved to New York City for
an opportunity at Rubenstein,
a large communication agency,
although she’s always longed to
return to Detroit. “I was work-
ing with clients like Lionsgate
Films, Cirque du Soleil, the
Tribeca Film Festival and the
Museum of Modern Art. With
all these accounts the sky was
the limit, and you could think
as big as you wanted,” she says.
Recognizing that her enter-
tainment background was
making it difficult to translate
her talents to a Detroit market,
she broadened her focus and
switched gears to brand and
corporate PR. Jamie found
herself doing the writing and
crisis communications for such
notable global brands as BMW
,
Netflix, HBO, Walmart and
Refinery29. In 2018, she was
hired as a communications
consultant to help with the
opening of the Shinola Hotel in
Downtown Detroit.
“What I really want to be
able to do is help business
owners tell their story in a way
that feels authentic to them,
and that makes sense to the
audience they’re trying to
reach, freeing them to focus
their energy on running their
business,” Jamie says.
“I want to be the voice that
guides them through the pro-
cess of communicating and
executing their mission in the
most compelling way.” She has
just created WORDS Detroit,
her own business and brand
communication consultancy, in
order to do just that.
“I decided to found WORDS
at the intersection of a couple
realizations: That a lot of peo-
ple absolutely hate writing, and
that writing is the through-line
of all my professional experi-
ence — and my favorite part of
the work I have done,” she said.
“Helping businesses tell
their stories from the inside
out is not only interesting and
rewarding to me, but it is a
real pain-point for many busi-
ness owners. They can easily
talk to you about their busi-
ness and why it is important,
but when it comes to succinct-
ly conveying their passion on
a website, creating supporting
content for their blog or news-
letters, or condensing their
big, complex ideas into digest-
ible soundbites and sales tools,
it becomes an overwhelming
and arduous task.”
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL
WORDS offers services that
include writing press releases,
speeches and talking points,
website copy, biographies,
webinar and blog content, and
more. What advice does she
have for business owners when
it comes to their own branding
and communication?
“Keep it as concise as you
can,” Jamie says. “Less is more
when it comes to your brand
communications. This can be
especially difficult when it’s
your own business because
every step that you had to take
to get where you are feels so
important. That’s why having
an outside perspective from
somebody who can home in
on ‘the point’ can be a good
thing.”
Jamie also recommends
resisting the urge to use
“sales-y” language in brand
materials. “This is where you
want to highlight your fea-
tures and benefits, your brand
mission and your personality
— with the right words, it will
sell itself.”
In her own words, “Words
are not everyone’s forte, but
they are necessary for every
business. The right phrasing
can tell the story of your mis-
sion, set the tone for what your
clients can expect and provide
consistency while setting you
and your unique vision apart
from the crowd. Corporate
communications and public
relations are my trade; words
are my obsession.”
Learn more about WORDS Detroit and
the services offered at www.
wordsdetroit.com.
New PR firm to help businesses
improve communication with
their customers.
REISA SHANAMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Finding the
‘Write’ WORDS
BUSINESS
“WORDS ARE NOT EVERYONE’S FORTE,
BUT THEY ARE NECESSARY FOR EVERY BUSINESS.”
— JAMIE SHERMAN
Jamie Sherman