The February issue of Tactics, PRSA's monthly newspaper, delivers several pages of advice on improving one’s writing skills, news release format and pitching “digital-savvy audiences.” Just in case you did not get your dose of “Writing 101” fix yet, here is the scoop.• Be concise and precise. According to Ryan Zuk, “some of the best media pitches and calls to action are composed of merely a simple subject line and a few sentences.” Ann Wylie cites a report from B.L. Ochman’s “Press Releases from Hell and How to Fix Them”, which says that the recommended length of a press release distributed via e-mail or Web should not exceed 250 words.
The body of your pitch isn’t the only thing to be streamlined. In 2010, Schwartz Communications reviewed 16,000 Business Wire press releases only to find that 77 percent of them did not follow Google News recommendation for the headline to be between 65 – 70 characters. (from Ann Wylie).
• Create urgency and excitement. Zuk believes that by tying your information to a current event and at the same time showing a unique perspective, perhaps a point of view contradictory to the popular opinion, you will increase the chances of editors noticing your pitch.
• Be active. Wylie suggests that we abandon passive voice altogether. By doing so, we will shorten text itself and create a sense of a livelier story.
• Link to relevant content. Instead of linking to your homepage or Facebook page, Zuk recommends linking to a specific blog post, video, or Web page, relevant to your pitch. You can also monitor traffic of that specific content.
Zuk, R. (2011). Pitching digital-savvy audiences. Tactics, 18(2), p.7.
Wylie, A. (2011). By the numbers: 7 stats for cutting clutter from your copy. Tactics, 18(2), p.7.
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