Whether
you're a seasoned PR professional working for a top agency, a novice just beginning
a career, or a mid-level manager working in-house at a small business, the time
comes when we all could use a refresher course in properly writing suitable copy
for the press.
My lesson occurred recently upon reading an interesting interview with retired
Wall Street Journal assistant managing editor, Paul R. Martin, Sr., in
The Bulldog Reporter,
a public relations trade newsletter. Reporters and public relations professionals
alike greatly admire Mr. Martin's experience, and they should because his advice
for avoiding common writing mistakes is the best primer available for writing
great press releases.
Allow
me to share with you what I learned: ·
Keep
your press release short and simple. Try to use one word instead of two, and
ask yourself if what you've written is redundant. If in doubt, have a colleague
or friend read your release. Reporters want to understand your key points immediately.
They don't want to call you multiple times for clarification. ·
Write
plainly and avoid company-insider phrases, clichés or industry-specific jargon.
Unless you are targeting the trade press, avoid all jargon because it has no meaning
outside of the company or industry. An example phrase would be "state of the art."
·
Do
not capitalize titles to elevate your boss or company. Never capitalize titles
like "President" or "Chairman". Capped titles should only be applied to things
like the names of countries or political heads of State.
Refrain
from creating new words or phrases.
Instead of saying, "grow the economy" verbs like 'expand,' or 'increase,' still
work just as well. ·
Write
in active voice.
Remember that no one likes to read poorly written copy. Brush up on your grammar
and never use the passive voice, which is boring.
Whether
you are a PR professional or a small-business owner writing press releases in-house,
you must know how the media writes. Keep in mind that journalists expect the quality
level and same attention to detail in your copy that their editors demand from
their own stories. If you violate these rules, here is yet another instance where
your release will receive a one-way trip to the reporter's trash can.
Notable
PR Resources:
Carolyn
Davenport-Moncel is president and founder of Mondave
Communications, a global marketing and communications firm based in Chicago
and Paris, and a subsidiary of MotionTemps,
LLC. Contact her at carolyn@motiontemps.com
or by phone in the United States at 877.815.0167 or 011.331.4997.9059 in France.
