Dear PR Matters,
I work in the marketing team of a medium-sized company, and often hear my colleagues sigh about how the possibility of the media materials they send to online and publication editors being published.
This really intrigues me, although I work more on the research side of the group, and from what I observe, it is the content and writing style that matters. Can you share with me some tips on writing effective media materials?
Sincerely,
Rita G.
Dear Rita,
Thank you for your letter. As PR practitioners, we can understand the anxiety your colleagues feel about their media materials being published. We have all felt that way one time or the other, especially when the expectations about the news coming out are high.
I recently came across an article by Neil Hayes in PR News about Journalists’ Advice on How to Write Press Releases, and found it very insightful. Hayes, who recently joined an inbound marketing agency, worked for about 25 years at the Chicago Sun Times and the Contra Costa Times and he said, that for decades, “I started my mornings weeding through the press releases in my inbox, one finger hovering over the ‘delete’ key and ready to strike.”
In the same article, retired Las Vegas newspaper, magazine and online editor Phil Hagen said he deleted 90 percent of the press releases he received without even opening them.
That doesn’t sound very encouraging, but Hayes reached out to his journalist friends to get their inputs on how to write media materials they will actually read. These are some of their suggestions:
- The journalist’s point of view is the only one that matters. “The key to writing a better press release is to put yourself in the scuffed, down at the heel shoes of a reporter or editor,” Hayes said. More often than not, with deadlines looming, they’re swamped, personally and professionally.
Hayes suggested it’s important to “give journalists what they’re looking for: an easily executed story idea their editors will love.”
- The subject line is critical. That is because the first few lines will be the ones to catch the journalist’s eye. And it has often been said that if you cannot say what you have to say in the first two paragraphs, you won’t be able to say it at all.
“The six to 10 words can be the difference between your release being read…or being deleted,” Hayes warned. “Avoid emojis and all caps. Don’t try to be funny. Use a stat key if possible. And above all, clearly communicate the essence of what you’re promoting.”
- Make sure your press release is noteworthy. For Hayes, “less is more in press releases. If you don’t have anything newsworthy to announce, wait until you do.” Former longtime MSNBC Deputy Editor Danny DeFreitas, who is now a senior digital consultant, cautioned companies that are fond of crowding inboxes with nonevent events. “If I’m getting a bunch of meaningless stuff from one organization, and all of a sudden something comes along that’s significant, I might miss it because I threw it away thinking it was meaningless, too,” he said.
- Make sure your press release is engaging. This is all about the write stuff, and your writing style will certainly have an impact on whether your release will be interesting enough to read.
“I would read the first paragraph, and if it was boring, I wouldn’t go on,” DeFreitas said. “The ones that kept me engaged always displayed some writing flair. The first paragraph has to have creativity to it. It needs to tease or grab me.”
Mary Pols, a longtime Portland Press Herald/Sunday Telegram reporter who has also worked at the Los Angeles Times, admits that “my eyes glaze over when I read most of them. It’s a stylistic thing. I would start by writing a sexier lead than they do.”
- Don’t make assumptions. “Take the time to ensure you’re sending your release to the right person, and use the proper title to address her,” Hayes says. For example, “Don’t send a release to the news coordinator if that person refers to herself as managing editor. And don’t assume the recipient will forward your release to the right person.”
Pols, on the other hand, says that one-third of the releases she receives assumes she’s based in Portland, Oregon, not Portland, Maine. And while the press release may be interesting, she is “disgusted that I wasted my time, because they couldn’t differentiate between two cities on opposite sides of the continent.”
- Speak their language. Hayes believes that it’s important to know the basics. “Write your release using the same journalistic rules as your recipients,” he said. “That means accuracy, brevity, proper punctuation, the five Ws and the inverted pyramid. Avoid buzzwords, branded terms, clichés and jargons.”
DeFrietas said nothing torpedoes credibility, like spelling and grammar mistakes. “That’s journalism 101,” he said. “It’s a huge turnoff, especially for an editor or manager. That’s the last person you would like to turn off.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the UK-based International Public Relations Association (IPRA), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for marketing and Communications of SM, is the local chairman.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.