Don’t Be So Obvious!

As a proud member of the Content Team here at JCPR, writing press releases is a key responsibility. The best PR professionals make writing look easy. However, rarely is it a breeze. A great deal of time and dedication go into communicating a company’s brand value to its key audiences and constituencies through press releases.

One of the biggest challenges young writers face when writing press releases is creating a sound-bite-ready statement conveying a client’s message, bookended by quotation marks. This is especially true for former journalists, since one of the cardinal rules of journalism is to never make up the content of a story.

The single most important element in a press release is almost always the quote. As this helpful post from UnderstandingMarketing.com points out, “… if a reporter or media company is going to run any element of your release – verbatim – most often it’s going to be the quote.”

Quotes have to perfectly encapsulate the messages the company is trying to disseminate, and must do so in such a way as to convey the expertise of the spokesperson and their company.

The UnderstandingMarketing.com post is an excellent primer on how to write effective press release quotes. One of the tips included in the post ties into the title of this blog entry: do not include obvious expressions of excitement about the news in the release.

“We already know you’re excited about some or all of the elements of your announcement. Why do we already know this? Because no company or person ever issued a press release (sans the bad earnings or sex scandal) that wasn’t excited about the announcement.”

Regarding phrases such as “We are thrilled” and “We are excited,” post author John Sternal has three words: “Throw it away.”

He adds, “And don’t give me that blank stare because you know who you are.” When I started in PR I too was guilty of committing this sin, so I hope he wasn’t referring to me.

“You don’t have to take up precious real estate in the press release quote telling me something I already know. Plus, people are more transparent than ever today. We can see right through the attempt.”

Words to remember when writing your next press release.