7 ways to polish your traditional heads
Here’s a quick tip for making more of your news headlines: Make sure you’re telling the story and not just telling about the story.… Read the full article
Ann Wylie’s blog of writing tips
What’s the best press release headline length?
Don’t let your head get cut off
How short should your press release headline be?
1. Don’t let your head get cut off by Google.
Best practice: Keep release headlines to 55 characters or fewer.… Read the full article
People skim and scan text in online news
Only 19% read word-by-word
This just in: “Readers” actually don’t do much reading.
Indeed, just 19% of participants in a Harris Interactive poll read articles word-by-word.… Read the full article
Best press release headlines focus on readers
Put audience members first
Front-loading your headlines with your topic word just makes sense if your readers are going to encounter those headlines in online lists — a search engine results page, for instance, or your online newsroom.… Read the full article
Compress details in your news release lead
Squeeze together juicy facts to start your story
Embeddable tooth implants. Batman’s tax bill. Zombie slayers.
Like squeezing together a lump of coal to make a diamond, compression of details condenses fascinating facts into a passage that’s more than the sum of its parts.… Read the full article
Use concrete details in your press release lead
Specifics sell products, services & ideas
The internet coffee pot. Word of the year. The Dust Bowl.
Details like these grab attention and help readers see your big idea.… Read the full article
Add statistics to your press release lead
Prove your point with a data point
Research shows … that nearly half of commuters text and drive … that one in three patients enters the hospital malnourished … and that 66% of women won’t kiss men with moustaches.… Read the full article
Set the scene in press release leads
Use the power of description
Imagine the first few hours in the recovery room following a hysterectomy or … ligament repair. Consider what post-surgical life has been like for some pets undergoing common surgical procedures; intense hours WITHOUT pain medication.
Tell a story in your press release lead
Anecdotes are easier to believe, understand and remember
One way to pitch a story that reporters want to catch: Start with an anecdotal lead.
Anecdotes make your PR pieces easier to believe, understand and remember.… Read the full article
Get your story across in 120 seconds or less
5 steps to telling your story fast
Journalists spend, on average, less than a minute reading news releases, according to a study by Greentarget. You can reverse-engineer that to less than 200 words.… Read the full article