I've been watering the blogroll over here and watching it grow. I realize one thing after starting anew to build a blogroll for this weblog: There is no shortage of PR blogs. And I mean n-o s-h-o-r-t-a-g-e. In fact, it may be fair to say that the Flacksters have surpassed the Blawgers for category leadership in career weblogs. Which can only mean one thing--PR people can out-talk lawyers.

It's a day to remember.

For the most comprehensive rundown I've seen on PR blogs, check out Constantin Basturea's blogroll.

Okay, I'll see you next week!

The traditional upside-down pyramid style press release still works. It has always worked. It will always work. For the writer, this means taking the most important information and putting it up front--in the title, subtitle and lead.

Once you nail the news--or point--of the release, work your way down to the next important item, then the next important, then the background information, and end with the details.

Although this approach goes against the grain of making things interesting by saving the best for last, it doesn't work that way in the news business, or in the "business" of business, where time really is money.

People are busier now than ever, so getting the news up front is even more important today. That doesn't mean releases have to be boring. Far from it. With good writing and an eye for news, you can have sizzle, you can even have pop. BUT, no hype.

Don't overdo it and remember to get the news up front--the who, what, when, where, why, and how.

I don't know about you, but for me it's nice to know that in such rapidly changing times, our old friend the upside-down pyramid release still stands.

Other rules for press release writing include:

• Just the facts, m'am. Present the facts - edit out superfluous words.
• Keep it short, sweet, and understandable.
• Get quotes from senior company people outside of marketing, and from customers. Quotes make it real and let the reporter know they may actually have enough fodder for a story.
• Proofread and remove any unnecessary words.

And you're not done yet… don't forget to FOLLOW THROUGH! Once you've written the release, what do you do?

• Put it through the APPROVAL process.
• Release it on the Wire.
• For a Press Release, post it on the organization's Web site.
• For real news, have a qualified PR person pitch, pitch, pitch
  

I recently sat face to face at an oblong meeting table across from the best designer I’ve ever worked with. We were discussing the project at hand and I was glad to be working with her again. She's a top-notch designer, fast, smart, good. Together we probably have 40 years of experience doing what we do.

So what were we doing as we sat together? Making dummy out of plain white copier paper, folding carefully, counting out pages: "Okay, it's an 8 pager, so here are two pieces of paper." "I'll fold ‘em." "I'll number ‘em."

Anyone not in-the-know would have thought we were making crafts for our kids' kindergarten classes. But what we were doing was developing a brochure for one of the best known brands in the world.

Both of us like minded from the "let's get going and accomplish something" school of production, we naturally grabbed some copier paper and started folding.

It was that important that we agree together on what each page was going to “say,” what flow would best represent the objective of the brochure, where graphics would work, how facing pages would match up from a copy perspective, where the call to action should be.

As I sat there folding paper and using different color markers to map out headlines and sidebars, I realized that even with advances in technology, some things don't change. Smart people start with dummies today just as I did on my first project twenty years ago.

So what exactly is a dummy? A dummy is quick mockup of the deliverable you’re creating. A dummy is a way to sketch out what content will go where, what pages will appear as spreads, which pages need graphics, which not, and so on.

Or, as you might learn on about.com:

A dummy may be for internal use, ideas for layouts use placeholder text and graphics. Or, you may give your printer a dummy of your design showing how it is to be assembled. This would probably be a laser-printout of your document, trimmed to the final dimensions and folded.

When you're writing a brochure, start with a dummy. Even if you think you don’t need to.

Your dummy might contain the following for a typical eight-page (self-cover) brochure:

• Page 1 - (Front cover) - nice design treatment, company logo, catchy one liner or tagline.
• Page 2 - (Inside front) Business problem description/explanation.
• Page 3 - Company intro: Enter "company," the first with this unique perspective on solving X (Business problem).
• Page 4-5 - (Center spread)-Product/service intro, graphics, etc.
• Page 6 - That special something that makes the company unique OR partners/customer successes if available.
• Page 7- (Inside back cover) call to action (Why are you doing the brochure-to drive traffic to the website? To get people to call?) For more information on how you can (Realize the XYZ benefits of solving this business problem…)
• Page 8 - (Back cover) company contact info, website address, continuation of design treatment from front cover.

The next time you're thinking about what your brochure, white paper, employee newsletter or magazine should contain, start with a smart colleague and a dummy.

Read this and think about it for a second. Is this the way the pros use adjectives?

Every noun should have adjectives clumped to it like barnacles on a ship’s hull. Make everything "one of a kind," "never-before seen," "exciting," "robust," dynamic. You get the picture. The absolutely crystal-clear, unmistakable picture.

Not.

See Digital Women's "How to Write Ad Copy" for more humorous business writing DON'Ts.

From: Horne, Chuck [mailto:CHorne@nmrx.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 9:40 AM
To: 'Jeneane Sessum'
Subject: RE: Key Items for Shareholders letter from Stratton
in case i never said it, you're good. thanks

In my many (many) years of business writing, I've found that one type of deliverable causes more confusion in terms of exactly "what it is" than any other: The White Paper.

It's tempting when you're spending the time to develop an 8, 12, 16 (or more) page publication to include everything about the organization, its products, and more. But the most effective white paper is one that is concise, educational, and keenly focused on a single topic, concept, or technology.

What a white paper is not:

• A brochure
• An overview of your solution
• A newsletter
• A 20-page document that says everything you want to say

What a white paper is:

• An educational tool for the reader first
• A marketing tool for your organization second
• An explanation or discussion of something--a trend, a technology, an architecture--not your product though.

The name "white paper" aside, a white paper does not have to be boring. In fact, it should be as interesting and easy to read as your best brochure, but requires a different treatment. For example, your white paper should contain the following elements:

• An introduction that summarizes the paper's purpose.
• Four to five sections, with section headings, that cover the topic you're writing about.
• Representative charts, graphs, and analysts comments where possible.

If possible, try to keep your white paper 12 pages or less. You can explain almost anything in 12 pages. You can offer your readers additional information on your website, or section of a website, that demonstrates your organization's specific capabilities in the topic area.

Sometimes, you can use the last couple of pages of the white paper to introduce your organization's take on the topic--How you're addressing it and how you see the future taking shape.

Brand your paper--put your logo and contact info on the front or back cover.

Copyright your paper and ask that readers get your permission before copying/distributing.

Proofread carefully. Go jargon hunting and kill all the buzzwords you find.

Use a format that is friendly to the reader's eye.