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When we write public relations material, whether it is a release, a case study or a script for a video, we need to be part journalist, part marketing person. However the former is always more important because the material we write has to tell a story and must be worthy of readership – see my previous blog ‘Is it worthy?’.

So how come, assuming we understand this, do so many press releases, case studies etc written by PR people, seem lack-lustre? I think it all boils down to the mental attitude of ‘brilliant’.

Remember that Fast Show character? The Manchester teenager who thought everything was brilliant! Whilst this character has his faults, not least falling down holes in the ground, you have to admit he was passionate.

And passion is the difference between lacklustre and sparkling, between a job and a calling, between a tenacious desire to hunt the best story out so that people will read.

You need to be passionate about writing. You need to be passionate about your subject. So, for some, this is ‘limited’ to: write what you are passionate about.

As for those ‘brilliant’ others, well they can get passionate about anything, if they need to. And this makes for brilliant PR writing. Keep a Zen Mind-Beginners mind, and develop the mind of a child again, a mind that is open to be filled with wonder about anything! And be Brilliant!

Here’s a reminder of how to do it!

My next blog post will tell you how to do ‘passion’ as a behaviour to change your writing success.

Visit Changeworks Communications for more brilliant PR

Building relationships with email newsletters

Building a relationship takes time. It cannot be achieved by sending the occasional newsletter or advert. Whether you’re focusing on new or existing customers, there needs to be a regular flow of communication that attracts attention and gets them engaged in your brand.

If you think about the relationships you have with your family and friends, they are not built by only one person talking and the other listening. Relationships require interaction. You need to find out things about each other and understand the type of person they are.

E-newsletters help to do just that with customers. They can increase brand awareness as well as the value proposition you provide to them. The following tips explain how you can create effective e-newsletters to help kick-start or develop customer relationships.

1) Adopt a personable approach: When you send an e-newsletter out, use a person’s email address as the sender not an info@ or sales@. Let the writer’s personality come through in the copy – although you want to remain professional, don’t always limit your newsletters to ‘business speak’. Keep it personable, simple and easy to read.

2) Provide information of value: Fill your e-newsletters with details about what your customers are going to enjoy from your product, services etc rather than how great your company is. As I mention in my previous post, you need to keep asking “what’s in it for them?” To help kick-start a relationship ‘special offers’ i.e. 10% off, save £100 etc are good incentives, especially if the customers are unknown.

3) Keep the communication flowing: Relationships cannot not be built by the odd newsletter sent out here and there, keep your communication regular. It usually takes six communications before generating a new lead. One newsletter a month is the least you should send, any fewer and people may forget that they signed up to receive it and will see it as “spam”. On the other hand, sending too many newsletters will risk you losing customers because they can’t keep up with the amount of information.

4) Get your customers to interact with your brand: As much as a customer may want to find out about your goods/services, you need to find out what they need. In order to offer the best product or service, your customers have certain requirements. The way you can find this out is to include links to polls, surveys or discussion forums so that they interact with you and they can tell you what they need.

These are just a few tips to help you build relationships with your customers. In Part 3, I will focus on how you can put a newsletter together and the most effective ways of sending them out.

If you can’t wait for Part 3 and you would like to speak to one of us here at Changeworks, please call us on 01785 247588 or email info@changeworkscom.co.uk

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I was thinking about a conversation I recently enjoyed: a colleague asked me what I enjoyed writing the most, features, case studies, releases, scripts, blogs etc. my first response: everything !

But it is the relish of the release that feeds several of my values in life: creativity, challenge and powerful communication .

There is no reason to write a press release except for having something worthy of news to tell.

The editor doesn’t want to fill space heshe wants to engage, captivate,educate or entertain readers. This is about relevance, and relevance is context specific. Someone reading a trade mag at their desk seeks a different meaning than the reader of the local free rag or the online news site. Whether its microlocal, educational or minute by minute, it’s your responsibilty as a writer to make it newsworthy.

It might take 2 hours to get the skeleton down. And this assumes the right probing questions have been put to the client? What, why, how, who etc … Kipling’s 6 honestserving men. The 250 to 350 words of a release require the most careful and loving crafting of all. Get the ‘mini what’ in the first paragraph, then plan the flow of paragraphs to tell and engage. One idea per para and one big idea.

remembering of course to weave in your client’s key messages, to enhance the story. Use the right quoted people to add the C factor: credibilty. Edit many times. And only then, sense check it for newsworthiness. What is new, appealing, educational, news about this? Will it capture, captivate and keep the readers’ attention?

Here are some tips for creating newsworthiness:

1. is there a monetary value you can use?
2. is there a big brand involved?
3. are there hidden drivers and influencers behind this story that you can research?

think carefully and spend time to make it worth the editor’s AND the readers’ while.

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At Changeworks, we produce many e-shots and e-newsletters for our clients that achieve phenomenal open rates – up to 55%. This significantly exceeds the 10-15% average, but how do we do this?

The first rule of thumb when producing e-shots lies merely in a KISS:

Kiss and Tell

Keep It Simple Stupid!

Research claims that the average person is aware of seeing or hearing over 1,400 promotional messages each day and ignores virtually all of them. There are endless amounts of e-shots that include far too much copy, appear way too clunky and have the reader thinking, “So what!” – at which point the e-shot has a front row seat to their deleted items folder.

So how can you captivate your audience by keeping it simple?

Back to basics:

- Use short sentences (10-15 words)

- Use plain English (no academic terminology)

- Make it easy to scan read (use bullet points where possible)

Your audiences live just as busy lives as you do. They don’t always have time to read lengthy articles. In fact, you only have a matter of seconds to grab their attention and the first thing they see is the subject line.

5 Top Tips for Effective Subject Lines:

1. Spark curiosity in the reader – make them want to find out more

2. Include the main benefit of your product/service – customers do not buy for the product, they buy for the outcome

3. Ideally get points 1 and 2 in your subject line

4. Keep them less than 50 characters to reduce spam

5. Use active verbs i.e. get, see how, claim your

The most important thing to remember is ‘what’s in it for them?’

Subject lines make up the first part of the AIDCA process – a popular marketing tool used during planning stages. A breakdown of this model will help you to create ideas for content and structure your material.

For a captivating e-shot, AIDCA is the solution:

Attention – What outcome, change or improvement can you offer them that will grab their interest and make them want to find out more? (Subject line)

Interest – What aspects or features of your product/service deliver these outcomes or improvements above? (Banner and first section of your e-shot)

Desire – What can you write/use to make the outcomes irresistible to the reader? (Pictures, case studies, recommendations etc)

Conviction – What evidence can you use to make the reader believe it’s all true? (Testimonials, approvals, qualifications etc)

Action – What do you want the reader to do? (Call, email, visit your website, order a catalogue?)

These are just a few tips to help you with the basics of creating a captivating e-shot. In Part 2, I will focus more in depth on communication and how you can build better relationships with prospective customers.

If you can’t wait for Part 2 and you would like to speak to one of us here at Changeworks, please call us on 01785 247588 or email info@changeworkscom.co.uk

Are you listening?

IN TODAY’S allegedly sophisticated information age, the need to communicate clearly has never been greater.  Information is valuable only when shared.  And to be shared, it has to be delivered consistently, in a manner which is readily identifiable and easily understood.

 By and large, all of us can speak.  But it is not necessarily shouters who make the most telling contribution.  Voices should not merely be heard, but listened to as well.  Complex issues must be delivered in simple, clear language.  The overriding challenge is to minimise communication breakdowns.

 The requisite proficiency does not always come naturally, but when executed well it will be a key factor in corporate success.  Skilled public relations specialists have a pivotal part to play in this process.

 Business managers take on wide-ranging responsibilities for communications, starting with internal requirements.  Their actions are also scrutinised by people outside the organisation – customers, suppliers, investors, regulators, competitors, commentators and other opinion formers.

 Tasks include improving understanding, widening acceptance and enhancing reputations.  By speaking clearly and consistently, from a united and uniform base, business aims and objectives will be so much easier to achieve. 

 Notwithstanding that different audiences will need differing styles of presentation and degrees of selectivity in content, corporate messages must never be fragmented nor massaged for the sake of effect.  Say it as it is and the identity will register positively and constructively.

 At the heart of all this is the quality of the public relations effort, keeping the cogs of business lubricated.  The primary purposes of professionally-led PR are to drive behaviour, add value and strengthen results.

Talk to Changeworks Communications about how to add value to your PR efforts, we listen!