Relax
This is generally a random collection of topics--sometimes it's a question someone's asked me. Sometimes it's just interesting. Got a question? email me at info@reallifecomm.com
Most People Just Hate to Write
It started in high school and college when we were all forced to write 700 words about cave paintings or the French Revolution. Ay carumba.
That's why I'm here. And as long as I'm here, I thought I'd impart some tips for painlessly improving your writing skills. So, relax. You're going to like what you read.
Why Your Press Release Wasn't Printed in the Paper
Many business people think that almost anything their company does is newsworthy. It almost never is. What's newsworthy? Sometimes it depends on what media outlet you're giving the information to.
The fact is, nobody cares
While it might be really important to you, your big open house and holiday sale are not newsworthy in the eyes of the media. They will see it for what it is: a thinly disguised pitch for free advertising space.
Now, that doesn't mean you can't write a press release about something else and include the information about your sale. Here's what I mean. Take a look at a couple of topics I was asked to write about, and how I got the business owners some press (a/k/a free advertising).
What I was asked to write Rob asked me to write a press release about the opening of his new store in the Eastgate area. No paper will publish that unless you're Ivana Trump or somebody. But, they will publish an announcement of your business opening. Call your local paper and ask where you would send an announcement. Make it short and sweet--don't forget to include your address, hours of operation, business name...the essentials. |
How I made it truly newsworthy After learning about how Rob had decided to open the store, I had an angle that I knew was newsworthy. Rob was a long-time resident and had been laid off from a major, national company on the East Side. The press release title was Batavia Resident Turns a Negative into a Positive. We described how devastated Rob was when he lost his job. Then, I wrote about where Rob found support, who mentored him, how he decided to open his own business, and how he made the decision about the kind of business he started. |
What I was asked to write Dawn was having a trunk show of beautiful jewelry at her high-end boutique. She wanted a press release so people would come. There was no way the Enquirer was going to care about that. |
How I made it truly newsworthy After asking Dawn a few questions, I learned that one of the jewelry designers featured was from Bogota, Colombia. She had received special permission from the world-famous Gold Museum in Bogota to cast pre-Colombian artifacts in gold to incorporate in her jewelry designs. Wow! Now that was newsworthy! |
So the next time you think you have a newsworthy story
Ask yourself if it really is newsworthy. Or is it just important to you? And then ask yourself, "How can I make this newsworthy and get it printed?" When you've thought so much that your brain hurts, take a couple Tylenol and email me and I'll do it.
Misused Words, Tricky Words and Common Errors Never End a Sentence with a Preposition:True or False? I recently heard on NPR that this is hooey. There is no rule saying you can't do it. It was probably made up by a crotchety old school teacher and repeated often enough that it became "law." But you and I know that it doesn't always sound natural. Sometimes it just sounds clumsy and presumptious. Try to write the way you talk. If a common phrase causes your sentence to end with a preposition, so what. Sometimes you sound foolish when you try to tuck the preposition in where that crotchety old school teacher said it should go. -------------------------- Easy to Forget a lot is two words. Always. into is one word. Always. ----------------------- What's Up with Quotation Marks? Never use quote marks to set a word apart. Either use italics or bold to give a word more impact. Use quote marks only for words that someone said. Punctation and Quotation Marks A period at the end of a quote goes inside the quotation mark. Commas do, too. A question mark stays outside when the person writing the words did not ask the question. Example: Did she just say, "Will you love me forever"? (Question mark outside) But, if the writer is the actual person asking the question, the question mark goes inside the quotation marks. Example: David asked, "Are those real diamonds?" (Question mark inside) Semi-colons always stay outside the quotation mark. Just because. ---------------------- |