PR writing

How to write a quote that sounds human

Add passion, personality to your sound bites

Add personality to your quotes through passion, humanity and colloquialisms.

Make it personal.

When two-thirds of Californians failed every question on a fast food nutrition quiz, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy distributed a release including this sound bite.… Read the full article

Engage readers by writing in the second person

Lead with you in media relations pieces

It’s counterintuitive, but true: The product is never the topic. The program is never the topic. The plan is never the topic.… Read the full article

How to write a press release headline that targets readers

Write about the reader, not ‘us and our stuff’

Front-loading your headlines with your topic word just makes sense if your readers are going to encounter those headlines in online lists — a search engine results page, for instance, or your online newsroom.… Read the full article

Public relations writing by the numbers

Overcome these PR challenges to get the word out

Wire services distribute 3,000 releases each day — that’s one every 29 seconds. Half of these press releases never get covered.… Read the full article

What would Google do?

Steal 4 SEO tips from the search giant’s own releases

Google issues few press releases: 13 in 2013, 17 in 2014 and just 10 in the first eight months of 2015.… Read the full article

Write third-party testimonials for your messages

Get The Peer Principle of Persuasion into your next campaign

“What others say about you and your product, service, or business is at least 1,000 times more convincing than what you say, even if you are 2,000 times more eloquent.”

… Read the full article

List, rhyme and twist for news release quotations

Craft a sassy sound bite

When the Federal Trade Commission needed to explain why the agency has decided not to develop a do-not-spam registry — officials feared that spammers would target people on the list — a spokesperson said:

“You’ll be spammed if we do — and spammed if we don’t.”

… Read the full article

Description works for PR leads

Paint pictures in your readers’ minds

Imagine the first few hours in the recovery room following a hysterectomy or … ligament repair. Consider what post-surgical life has been like for some pets undergoing common surgical procedures; intense hours WITHOUT pain medication.

… Read the full article