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How to Focus Your
Writing for Successful Press Releases
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This article was
originally published in the November 4, 1999
edition of the PRW Newsletter. Join our Mailing
List to receive press release writing tips and
other marketing tips in your email box. Click
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Lord Byron, the famed
English poet of the Romantic period extolled verbal
expression as "The power of Thought - the magic of
the Mind!" (The Corsair) How true his words are
today, particularly for writing press releases. The
thought we want to convey must be powerful and we have to
weave a bit of magic to get it across in a clear, concise
manner. Since the purpose of this newsletter is to help
you write successful press releases, we will share some of
the techniques that we and other communication experts
have learned through experience. In this edition of the
PRW newsletter, our expert is Richard Westlund of Westlund
Communications Group in Miami, FL. In a personal question
and answer interview 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?
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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.
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