Tips for Stellar PR Writing

Tips for Stellar PR Writing

Your association has an excellent story to share. There's an annual meeting or event coming up. One of your volunteers was just given a key to the City. Your new program is getting off the ground. Now it's time to tell the world! But how do you start? What goes into effective public relations writing?

The Network for Good shared these tips offered by participants in its Nonprofit 911 call.

 

  • Write with detail to catch attention. Provide vivid details and bring readers along with you to help them feel connected. Don't feel limited to a one-page release, especially considering the fact that most outreach is done electronically now anyway.

     

  • Think about timeliness. When putting your story into context, do your best to make it timely, relevant to local current events and/or are nationally significant. The media and your potential readers will appreciate it.

     

  • Act like a reporter. When you're compiling the information, facts and quotes to go into your press release or media alert, think of yourself as a real interviewer. Dig deep and get to the heart of the information. Be sure you're objective and a bit skeptical of what you're hearing. (It's easy to fall prey to what your message is; you're bound to feel a bit biased toward it!)

     

  • Try to Tweet it first. Whether you're a Twitter fan or hoping that little bird will migrate south for good, a handy trick to effective headings and subject lines can be found on this ever-expanding social network. Write your heading and keep it to fewer than 140 characters. This will keep you focused and force you to the get only the main idea(s) across.

Also, consider these three tips on formatting:

 

  • Just the facts: Keep your facts at the top. With regard to good newswriting (read: newsworthy) principles, make sure you keep the objective, most important information at the top. No jargon allowed; just make your case.

     

  • Bring in the experts. After your full-of-facts introduction, include the information from your sources: quotes, stats, etc. Make sure these experts and the information you're including are credible.

     

  • Finish up with useful links. The easier you make it on journalists with your writing, the more likely they are to follow through with your story. Compile useful links (articles, photos, videos and so on) to cut down on the legwork a reporter will need to do. Respect the deadline and the reporter will respect you