A must-read post for PR people
Matthew Stibbe at Bad Language has compiled an impressive list of 62 (!) ways to improve your press releases. There are some serious gems here. Among my favourites:
Remember your audience, forget your client. A press release that your client loves is not as useful as a press release a journalist (and her editor) loves. Make sure your press release will help sell the story and get you coverage.
Relax. Relax! For heaven’s sake won’t you people RELAX! Press releases don’t have to sound like a lawyer’s letter or the small print of an insurance contract. Write like you speak. Imagine explaining the subject to an intelligent friend.
Stand up to clients and managers. Don’t let them turn your press release back into porridge. Explain that a well-written press release will get them more coverage. One tip: show them a ‘typical’ press release side-by-side with an article in a magazine. Explain the differences and ask them which one they would want to read themselves.
Its usefulness may be waning in some ways, but the press release is still a staple of media relations, so you might as well do it well. Matthew’s tips are all spot on… and he gets bonus points for quoting me. Vanity, thy name is blog.
Read the whole post here.
