Think like a reporter

Make your release relevant to the reader

Editors don’t care that “Amalgamated Technologies Has Released the New XYZ-2000 Coated Cable Bushing,” writes Stinson Liles, principal and co-founder at Red Deluxe.

News you can use Want to reach this guy? Focus your release on benefits to the reader. Image by Alexandre Roschewitz

“They are much more likely to be interested in ‘Phone Companies Use New Coated Cable Bushing for Difficult Underground Connections.’ … A product release must — very early on — sell the editor on the products’ usefulness and applicability to … readers.”

After all, journalists are evaluated based on how well they engage their readers, according to a Business Wire Media Survey of 300 North American reporters, editors and bloggers.

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NOT Your Father’s News Release

Get the word out

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?

Good news Get your story across with best practices in PR writing. Image by Tony Webster

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, more than half of all traditional press releases never get covered, according to PR Newswire’s research.

At Not Your Father’s News Release — a two-day PR-writing Master Class on July 27-28 in Portland, Oregon — you’ll learn current best practices from the Public Relations Society of America’s “national writing coach.” You’ll find out how to go beyond PR 101 approaches to write media relations pieces that get posted and published and reach stakeholders directly.

Specifically, you’ll learn to how to:

Think Like a Reporter. Place your PR piece among the 3% to 45% (Wilcox & Nolte) that actually get used.
Avoid PR 101 Approaches. Learn current best practices — proven in the lab! — for organizing a contemporary, compelling PR piece.
Cut Through the Clutter for PR Smackdown. Make your PR piece up to 300% more readable.
Turn Lame-ass Quotes Into Killer Sound Bites. Learn techniques for making your subject matter experts sound as fascinating as Winston Churchill or Ronald Reagan.
Transform Your Story From ‘Meh’ to Masterpiece. Bring your laptop and a story to work on, write and rewrite, get and give feedback, and leave with a totally rewritten piece.

This is the only PR-writing Master Class we’ve scheduled for this year. Don’t miss out on your chance to learn to write PR pieces that reach readers in 2016. Register now.