Websites, books & techniques on public relations writing
All About Public Relations
Find feature articles, toolkits, career guides and other resources on PR strategy, PR measurement, crisis management and more.
Ann Wylie’s PRSA Strategy/Tactics columns
Get the latest proven-in-the-lab best practices for public relations and content marketing writing from Ann Wylie, PRSA’s “national writing coach.” You can also get Ann’s PR-writing tips from her PRSay blog posts.
Businesswire blog
Get insights on public relations, media relations, marketing, measurement and analytics and investor relations from this wire service for business releases.
Bob Baker’s Newsthinking
Crawl inside a journalist’s head. Baker’s writing tips are aimed at newspaper reporters, helpful to all.
Cision/PR Newswire blog
Get quick tips for press releases and thought leadership for media relations from this news release wire service. And here’s another Cision/PR Newswire blog.
CornerBarPR
Proprietor Brenda Clevenger, ABC, and Chief Curmudgeon Rich Barger, ABC, APR, serve up fresh advice, juicy gossip and tasty news munchies — all with a chaser of wit — on doing business in the PR world.
Greentarget blog
Find thought leadership and new research on news, releases, content and more.
How Many Press Releases Are Sent Out Each Day?
Get the data on media relations information overload from Journalistics. No wonder journalists aren’t reading your release!
In lean times, TV reporters must be jacks of all trades
A former TV reporter in one of my PR-writing classes told me she’d been made a “preditor” — a producer/editor — at her previous job. That used to be two positions. TV reporters are now “one-man bands,” reports Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post. They’re expected to report, shoot and edit their own stories — all while taking pay cuts from their employees. Good PR pieces can help these tired, busy professionals do their jobs better and more easily.
Muck Rack Blog
Learn PR writing tips and tricks to help in this collection of posts, articles and interviews with leading PR professionals.
Museum of Public Relations
Just for fun: Pick up fascinating facts about the history of PR.
Newsjacking.com
We used to call this “entering the conversation people are already having.” But David Meerman Scott has updated the lifecycle of a news story approach to the digital age. You know you’ve newsjacked the conversation when the Oxford Dictionaries shortlists your made-up word for its Word of the Year.
NOT Your Father’s News Release workshops & keynotes
Bring Ann Wylie’s latest proven-in-the-lab best practices for PR writing to your team or association members in this in-house, chapter or public writing workshop.
Pew Internet & American Life Project
Some 95% of new information originates with traditional media — not social media — according to this Pew study. Don’t give up on earned media!
Pew Research Center “State of the News Media”
News employment has sunk 30% since 2002, according to this Pew Study. Now journalists look to their left, and there’s nobody there. Fewer hands means more work for the remaining staff — and more opportunity for PR pros. “We found official press releases often appear word for word in first accounts of events, though often not noted as such,” researchers say.
PRSA webinars
The best reason to join the Public Relations Society of America: free webinars by experts like yours truly, on topics ranging from how to increase readability to tech tools to try today.
PRSA Silver Anvil Award Winners
Steal success secrets from PRSA Silver Anvil winners. PR pros earn these awards for campaigns that make a big difference to an organization’s bottom line. It’s no coincidence that campaigns that help organizations make money, save money, pass laws and change behavior are also incredibly well written. See for yourself.
Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques
I know, I know. It’s been years since you sat in a classroom. Still, you might find this guide by Dennis L. Wilcox and Lawrence W. Nolte helpful. It’s the best college textbook I’ve found on PR writing. And: I’m quoted in the latest edition.
The Shift Blog
Shift Communications — the folks who brought you the social media news release template — delivers media relations thought leadership on this blog.
Survey Reveals Majority of Journalists Dissatisfied With Lack of Quality Press Materials for Stories
Seven out of 10 journalists believe their jobs have gotten harder over the past five years, according to a survey by media platform ISEBOX. That’s an opportunity for PR pros to make their lives easier with great stories well told.
They Chew Gum, Don’t They?
My favorite story about a PR pitch gone bad, from Inc. magazine.
NOT Your Father’s News Release
PR professionals have been married to the traditional news release format since Ivy Lee created the release more than 100 years ago. Why, then, do we need a new approach?
With 2,500 releases going out each day — that’s one every 35 seconds — the impact of your traditional news release ain’t what it used to be. In fact, fewer than 50% of all traditional news releases ever get covered, according to PR Newswire’s own research.Bring Ann in to learn to put your PR pieces among the 50% that actually get the word at NOT Your Father’s News Release — a one- to two-day PR-writing course — to your team. There they’ll learn to think like a reporter, write killer bites, and find out what goes into an effective release — from headline to boilerplate.