Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about,” and that’s been a key quote for much of my public relations career, which has focused on both writing and doing.
We write a lot as public relations professionals, and it can be easy for the many words we crank out to feel disconnected from day-to-day life and reality.
Much of our writing now is subject to rules. Our press releases must fit a specific format and word count length. Our website copy must contain key words and optimized to be found online by search algorithms. Clients have requirements about words they will or won’t use in their copy.
Where is the “worthiness” in what we write? Where is the art? How do we keep it? These are valid questions in an age of writing fueled by AI and that seems to be more prescriptive and less inspired. Here are a few ideas:
- Know who you are writing for. So often when writing struggles, it’s because the audience is not well-defined. Think about the audience’s interests, problems, aspirations and tone.
- Be a storyteller. At the end of the day, public relations professionals are still storytellers. Use narrative techniques like news hooks, interesting facts, and unique details. We offer compelling characters, exciting ideas, and give people a glimpse of where a story can go when we craft compelling copy.
- Be concise and “murder the darlings.” Committing homicide is allowed in writing, in fact it’s welcomed when one needs to eliminate jargon, kill buzzwords that have been overused, and axe trite expressions that add cheese but no substance. Focus on being easily understood by your audience. Eliminate passive voice and use action verbs. Know your own tendencies as a writer and edit accordingly (I have a bad habit of writing the word “actually” way too often).
- Engage with readers. Offer examples that ordinary people can relate to. Use techniques like alliteration to pique their interest. Talk about how something can impact readers’ lives and make them better. Issue calls to action. Add visual elements like photos, charts or social media posts to your writing and encourage sharing. After all, great ideas should be shared!
If you write something worth caring about, hopefully people will take memorable action and “actually” do something too.