PR writing training

Learn to get the word out with media relations pieces in this online workshop, July 12-16

Some 55% to 97% of all press releases sent to media outlets are never used, according to Dennis L. Wilcox and Lawrence W. Nolte’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques.

PR Writing training — **From headline to boilerplate** You’re not still using PR-writing styles you learned when you were 19, right? If it’s time to up your writing skills, join us for this PR-writing workshop.

So what are PR pros to do?

Learn to put your PR pieces among the 3% to 45% that actually get the word out at NOT Your Father’s PR Writing, our online media relations-writing Master Class, July 12-16.

“The release I worked on in Ann’s Master Class got 68.5% more page views and 19% more coverage vs. our top competitors than average. It got picked up by two targeted industry publications and resulted in a follow-up interview with our metro daily.”

— Loren LeVasseur, public relations supervisor, Coverys
Read more rave reviews

What you’ll learn

In this PR-writing course, you’ll join other corporate communications and PR professionals to learn how to:

Think Like a Reporter

Learn to write news releases that your readers will love, and no editor will be able to pass up.

Go beyond “new and improved” to information readers really want to know about your product or service.
Develop the story angle real-world readers want to read — not the story angle you wish they wanted to read.
Practice writing like a journalist in our fast-paced story-development sessions.
Get fill-in-the-blanks models for crafting reader-centric stories.
Learn how to start your release to increase reader engagement.

Master the Anatomy of a PR Piece

Develop your PR-writing mastery in this session for crafting the perfect pitch, news release or other PR piece.

Avoid PR 101 leads. Still stuffing all those W’s and the H into the first paragraph? Still writing “XYZ Company today announces that …”? It’s time to move on to a more effective approach.
Write PR leads reporters will want to steal — and even management will love.
Beat the boilerplate blues. What’s really supposed to go into these things?
End with a bang with our techniques for writing great kickers.

writing coach — **Polish your skills and gain new inspiration for your work** with Ann Wylie’s proven-in-the-lab best practices.

Write Killer Sound Bites

Turn lame-ass quotes into killer bites.

Stop using the most overused PR quote approaches in your news release and email pitch. Journalists and bloggers — not to mention readers — will love you for it.
Write quotes that sound human — not like a computer spit them out.
Steal techniques from Silver Anvil winners for making your sound bites sound better.
Write quotes like The New York Times. Previous attendees highly recommend this approach.
Learn what percentage of your PR piece should be quotes.

Cut Through the Clutter in PR

Find out how long your paragraphs, sentences and words should be. (Hint: They should all be shorter for crisis communications.)
Learn how long your news release should be — the No. 1 way to improve your writing for media relations.
Cut your lead down to size. Find out how long journalists think your first paragraph should be.
Stop doing one thing that gets in the way of reporters and editors doing their jobs.
The question to ask to get the right tone in your release.

Lift Ideas Off the Release or PR Piece

Pass the Goldilocks test. Write a headline that’s not too long or too short, but just right. (Google News ignores one in five releases because the headline is too long.)
Reach the 67% of “readers” who skim the news, according to a Harris Interactive Poll. (Just 19% read news word-by-word.)
Make the most of the hot spot in your headline. Otherwise, potential readers might skip instead of click.
Nail search engine optimization with Ann’s simple SEO tricks.
Use the palm of your hand to make your message more skimmable.

Get personal feedback from Ann Wylie

In our live coaching sessions, you’ll get feedback from your colleagues and from PR writing coach Ann Wylie. Ann is the Public Relations Society of America’s “national writing coach” and author of PRSA’s Strategies/Tactics “Writing With Wylie” column. Come learn the techniques Ann’s used to earn more than 60 communication awards, including two IABC Gold Quills.