By Lauren Bovard
Spring is just around the corner, and so is the annual tradition of cleaning. For many, the phrase ‘spring cleaning’ brings up images of chucking out mountains of clutter and gleefully razing strongholds of dirt and grime with Clorox, Lysol, Windex and all their generic cousins. But for us here at Rountree Group, spring cleaning also means taking a good long look at our PR writing skills and deciding how and where they can be spruced up! After all, there is always room for making PR writing cleaner, clearer and crisper.
Our team members have shared their plan for tidying their writing this spring:
- Brush up on AP writing style: It’s always changing, and you should make a habit of keeping yourself updated.
- Lead with the lead: Whether it’s writing a pitch or an email to a client or coworker, the most important point goes at the top. Forget the “Hope you’re doing well” intro. An eye-catching first sentence that tells the reader WHY you are writing will make a greater impact and grab their attention.
- Less is more: There is a time and place for excess words (as demonstrated not least successfully by J. R. R. Tolkien). However, in PR writing, excess words take up space and give you less time to grab the reader’s attention.
- Don’t jump the gun: Don’t start revision and editing before you are done drafting. Fixing grammatical errors or switching sentences around before you have finished a draft can disrupt workflow and make you forget your train of thought.
- Step Away: Often the most difficult thing to do when you are wrestling with a tricky passage is to simply step away. But stepping away, whether it is for several hours or several days, can you give a fresh perspective and help you spot a solution that you had not seen before.
We’d love to hear how you plan to spruce up your writing skills! Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. You can comment or direct message us if you’re in a rut on how to spruce up your writing skills!