Writing Challenges for PR Professionals

Most PR professionals-who must constantly churn out press releases and other documents-write more clearly and concisely than the average working professional. Still many don't convey the news value soon enough when writing releases and pitch letters. And as a result, they aren't able to break on through to the other side-where the media will buy into their ideas.
Some tips to get the attention of editors and producers:

Put yourself in the place of journalists evaluating hundreds other releases and pitches. If yours doesn't stand out right away, it may never get read.
Visualize the headline of the story idea you're pitching. Ask yourself if it's newsworthy to that publication. If not, fine-tune the story angle.
Express the most important news value in the subject line. Which of these subject lines would editors click on first?
Even if the editor opens your email, you need to keep him or her intrigued with a captivating lead. Again, key in on not just what happened, but on the impact. See the two examples below.
To help uncover news, you may to role play with a colleague acting as a cynical editor, who keep asking: "What's the news and why should my readers care?"

Learn more. Click here: Writing instruction helps PR pros break through to the media., Jack's award-winning article

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