Timely Tips To Help You Focus Your Writing

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Since the purpose of this newsletter is to help you write successful press releases, we try to make it a point to share some of the techniques that we and other communication experts have learned through experience. In this edition of the PRW newsletter, we will re-visit an interview with expert Richard Westlund of Westlund Communications Group in Miami, FL. In a personal question and answer session with Mr. Westlund, we gleaned some valuable tools.

His timely tips are as follows:

Question: In your opinion, what is the one thing that really separates the good press releases from the mediocre ones?
Answer: The focus on a single message. Everything should be built around one idea so the message is not going in six different directions.

Question: How long do you feel a press release should be?
Answer: Long enough to convey the essence of the message. Some can be done effectively in two paragraphs while others may take three pages.

Question: The current wisdom seems to be that if it can’t be said in one page, it’s not a good press release. Do you concur with that?
Answer: No, I do not. I don’t necessarily think that one page is the magic number. In general, two pages is better than three. But with the new technology of internet commerce, more intricate explanations are sometimes necessary.

Question: As most editors are extremely busy, how far into the press release do you actually read before you feel it’s something that may be of interest?
Answer: I read the headline and the first paragraph. If it grabs me, I read the rest.

Question: If you like what you read, how do you prefer to get in touch with the contact person?
Answer: Definitely by telephone. It’s easier and most convenient.

Question: If there is one thing that should be avoided in press release writing, what would that be?
Answer: Writing that is too fancy or “featureish.” Too many adjectives.

Question: If you had to sum it up, what do you think is the most overall important emphasis in press release writing?”
Answer: Impact and news value. A press release should have news to report, not just a lot of fluffy words to describe a product.