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The Media Relations Maven on good writing
February 6, 2009
Copyright © 2008 PRSA. All rights reserved.
By Margo Mateas
President
Public Relations Training Company
A shorter version of this article appeared in the February issue of Tactics.
In addition to my motto that all writing should be clear, concise and compelling, here are five keys to cut through the clutter and get your point across quickly:
Think before you write — You have to know your audience — and what you want your audience to do before you start writing. You have to establish a goal for the written piece and make sure that everything you write supports that goal. This means being clear from the start what you want your writing to accomplish, and then limiting the focus to that goal.
Create a strong summary statement — A strong summary statement is the most important thing you can do to improve your writing. The summary statement clearly defines the theme of your article, press release or e-mail pitch so that the reporter quickly knows what you’re talking about and decide if he or she wants to keep reading. A great e-mail summary statement for a pitch to a local paper could start like this: Habitat for Humanity is building a new home for a Redding family this Saturday with the help of local high school athletes. This simple sentence pitch includes all the major information a reporter would need to know to decide if this item is newsworthy.
Put key points up front — Put the most important information in the headline, lead sentence and first paragraph. Readers don’t have time to sort through your poetic musings or storytelling to get to the point. They just want the news. Likewise, readers of bylined articles, press kits and white papers don’t want you to write a novel. They want you to deliver relevant information in a clear, concise and compelling manner.
Edit and then edit again — Editing is a part of good writing. Having to confine my thoughts to 500 words for this column each month forces me to keep my thoughts and sentences tight. Do the same thing. Edit as much as you can to make sure that the meaning, context and goal of the piece are as upfront and as clear as possible.
Scan your writing like a reporter or reader —When you’ve written your piece and have edited it, go back over it again with the skeptical eye of a reporter or harried reader — and make sure that your writing style is appropriate for the audience and that your message is easily understood.
These tips will help you write pieces that will garner attention and will result in more press coverage because reporters will know exactly what you’re talking about in those critical first seconds.
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