Tag: writing skills

On the Record: Proofreading

Sarah HattmanBlog, On the Record, Professional Development, , , , , , ,

Whether you are talking about public relations, human resources or small businesses, they all have one thing in common: proofreading. No matter the industry, it’s something all professionals should do. After all, there’s a lot at stake. If you are prone to sending out emails and preparing documents that are riddled with typos and grammatical errors, you are damaging your credibility.

Glenn Gillen, APR, is a senior account manager at S&A Communications and a master proofreader. He recently spoke at the Raleigh Public Relations Society’s monthly professional development lunch, and today he’s going On the Record to share some quick tips to improve your proofreading skills and your credibility.

 

 

What tactics do you use when proofreading? Send us a tweet!

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How to Write Convincing Calls-to-Action Copy

Josephine ButlerBlog, Marketing, Public Relations, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Like we’ve mentioned before, one of the ways that Clairemont team members work on professional development is by reading. We’re constantly seeking the latest and greatest when it comes to social media and public relations. Without further ado, here’s a review of our most recent find: an e-book from Hubspot entitled, “Mastering the Design and Copy of Calls-to-Action.”

When it comes to click-through rates, lead conversions and sales, good writing practices are important. Public relations professionals must master the art of calls-to-action (CTAs), a website’s request for a visitor to take action (think of the copy that precedes a “Like us”).

While we’d really love to write the copy for you (seriously, contact us!), we’d also like to share a few tips on how to write your own compelling CTAs. They are:

  • Start with subjects and verbs. It helps readers to quickly understand the meaning of the sentence and what you’re asking them to do. Never forget to include a verb – if you do, you aren’t prompting any action!
  • Include numbers. This way, you can be specific about what you’re offering. Research proves that CTAs with numerical data have high view rates.
  • Use adverbs sparingly. They have no fixed position in a sentence and are the part of speech that gets the fewest number of shares on Twitter.
  • Keep your CTA between 90-150 characters. In true Twitter fashion, your CTAs should also stay within the 140-character limit. It’s always better to be short, concise and to the point!
  • Stay away from technical lingo. If you had to look it up, your reader probably will have to do the same. Instead, use words like “insights,” “analysis,” “answers,” etc. These words suggest that your content can help improve your reader in some way.
  • Be specific. Instead of the vague “click here” or “submit” button, try being more upfront about what it is that you want your reader to do (i.e. “browse,” “compare,” or “grab”).

We hope you found these tips helpful. Stay tuned as we continue to share more best practices in the weeks to come. In the meantime, be sure to share your questions and comments. We’d love to help!

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My First 30 Days at a Raleigh PR Agency: Day 12

Margot HorganBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, Professional Development, , , , , , ,

Working in public relations is a lot more than planning events or helping a celebrity or corporation recover from a public blunder. Yes, event planning and crisis communications are very important skills for public relations professionals, but the most fundamental, absolutely necessary, hire-or-fire skill is something a little less glamorous – great writing. Whether it’s a tweet, blog, press release or annual report, clear and concise writing is one of the most important weapons a PR practitioner can have in his or her arsenal.

2012 AP Stylebook — the #1 resource for all things style and grammar!

The difference between good writing and bad writing is a press release that gets primetime media coverage verses a release that gets ignored because of its weak lead; it’s the difference between an attention-grabbing tweet that is shared and retweeted, boosting a company’s ROI and SEO, compared to a tweet that is too long or boring to get noticed; it’s the difference between a strong, convincing, informative brochure or fact sheet that can inspire publics to act and change their behaviors, compared to a ready-to-use piece that inspires nothing and no one. But, most importantly, it’s the difference between the ability to generate results for the client or to not.

At Clairemont, the importance of writing is stressed on a continual basis, and nearly all of my daily tasks are centered on writing in one way or another. A number of my assignments are creative writing projects, and this past week, I’ve been working on writing copy for a furniture client’s new collections. While the style of writing is certainly different than that of a press release, it still comes down to the same concept of aiming to create results. For furniture copy, this means exuding the feeling and style of the collection or piece. It is about making a customer feel the sophistication of the product. Furniture copy is not just a description – it’s a feeling.

Writing furniture copy isn’t always the easiest, though. It takes time to perfect and to know how to write in the client’s style. For me, the biggest help is to sit down with Josie and walk through the editing process with her. Instead of just passing my copy on to her to edit, she will sit down with me and show me exactly what she is looking for and how to make those edits. This way, I can see the mistakes or style issues in my writing and address them in future assignments.

Does anyone else have any other writing or editing tips? We are always looking for ways to improve because it is such an important skill!

 

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