4 keys to effective PR writing

Eloquence is nice; clean, concise copy that sparks action is better. Here’s how to achieve the latter.

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PR pros must address and satisfy the priorities of three audiences at the same time:

If you miss the mark on any one of these three, you run this risk of ending up with beautiful writing that’s utterly useless. Effective PR writing requires a strategic use of words and ideas to motivate and change behavior. It’s about creating action.

How do you start? Here are four steps to effective PR writing:

1. Prioritize clean copy.

Just one grammatical error or spelling “fo paw” gives your audience an excuse (and a valid reason) to discount everything else in your piece.

You’re probably thinking, “I know that already.” No one plans on being the person who has to call the client CEO and apologize for spelling her name wrong in a news release.

Take your time to thoroughly edit every piece you produce. It’s not just your reputation on the line.

Keep in mind that the spell-checker didn’t catch these errors:

2. Focus on informing—without the clutter.

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