My editor-in-chief is a wonderful gift. He reads more than 12 articles per day written by our Public Relations writers. He fixes typos, clarifies, and adds words to make our message clearer.
I thank him often because I think his job is thankless.
Recently, he left me a comment that surprised me. He told me he had “enjoyed reading” one of my articles.
I almost forgot that we should give our readers something they can enjoy.
Sam, if you’re reading this, thank you for the reminder.
You are probably a PR writer who is busy writing multiple articles every day about topics like legal recruiting, non-profits, and the gig economy. (All of these topics are on my to-do list at this moment.) Some topics are interesting to a broader audience, but they are the exceptions.
If you accept the assignment, you will be required to write compelling articles about the assigned topic. If clear takes too long, make your articles at least enjoyable.
You can get there by following these tips.
Clients are the most important thing.
There are some clients that I can’t wait to write about. These clients have organizations that push boundaries and change lives.
There are also those I do not get excited about. But I did not choose them; they chose me. So, I take the time to be excited about their work.
I wrote a recent article about preparing for an IPO for a client. I had no idea what an IPO was, but I found out that it was related to stocks. I would rather talk about the dentist than stocks.
After doing some research, I became inspired. She is a woman who is of color and is trying to “propel women and diverse entrepreneurs and investors on the right track.” This is a mission I can support. I am in if getting there requires guiding others on IPOs. Where should I write?
You get excited when you understand your client’s mission. Your writing will be more interesting and exciting when you are enthusiastic.
Prepare yourself.
Abraham Lincoln said, “Given six hours to chop down a tree, I’ll spend the first four sharpening my ax.”
The quote has inspired me to prepare my PR writing. I usually have between 2 and 3 hours to write an article of 600 to 1,001 words. This is a very tight schedule. Yet, I still spend most of my time researching the topic and trying to become a “600 word expert.”
The results are often disastrous when I ignore the research and dive right in, perhaps inspired by an amazing lede that I thought up.
I would advise you to continue researching until you are confident that you understand the topic. It may be stressful to start with if that’s not what you usually do. You will have to research and listen to the ticking clock. My experience is that research helps you write with more authority and efficiency.
Keep your audience in mind at all times.
When I wrote for a money laundering newsletter years ago, I had an audience in mind. It is not as simple as it seems. Your audience will be a variety of people.
Your publicist is the first person you should contact. You have been given a topic and keywords. If you’re lucky, you may also be given some specific instructions. It is important to satisfy the needs of the publicist and build upon those requirements.
The second is the publication and its audience. Publicists are often unable to meet the publication’s requirements. It is also important to keep in mind when writing for a specific industry. You won’t enjoy it, and you’ll lose credibility if you don’t.
There is also the client. Some clients are very particular about the language used, while others are not. Most clients care deeply about their brands and appreciate articles that readers will enjoy. They will have to approve your article before you finish writing.
The algorithm is the last member of the audience that we must please. Only one of the hundreds of PR articles that I’ve written was for a printed publication. Writing for PR today is writing for the digital world. It would be best if you aimed to make your article SEO-friendly.
Three quick tips to improve SEO in your PR writing
- Shoot for shorter sentences. A good rule is to keep sentences under 20 words.
- Use the active Voice.
- Practice “chunking,” which is writing short paragraphs that are separated by a space. I stick to paragraphs of three sentences, which are less than 60 words. Experts say that you should aim for less than 150 words.