The Power Of Simplicity
April 21, 2022
If you’re lucky enough to get news coverage from your next company press release take a look at the stories that result. In almost all cases, you will find they are shorter, crisper, and read much faster than what you sent over the wire.
The reason? They kept it simple.
That three-sentence-long executive quote you spent weeks drafting wasn’t used. Instead, the reporter called and got a direct quote. The reporter also took the paragraph-long explanation of your product, distilled it, and did the same job in one sentence. The buzzwords and convoluted phrases are gone.
Reporters traffic in action. As a result, they keep writing simple and direct. PR and its cousin, marketing, have lost much of their ability to keep things simple and it hurts storytelling. Companies get too attached to their product and story and write endless descriptions. They often expect their PR agency to do the same. The end result is the only people who read the copy are the people who wrote it. It isn’t clear, simple communication; it’s clutter and obfuscation.
Keep it simple instead.
Many companies have a seemingly compulsive need to tell readers that something is important and special. But loading sentence after sentence with buzzwords, results in the fact that nothing is special. It looks like what it is: a press release/blog/white paper from a company that wants to be noticed and is screaming at the recipient to pay attention.
Have confidence in your company, story, and voice. Keep it simple.
The Gettysburg Address, one of the greatest speeches in American history, is 275 words. Is your press release or blog post so important that all 600 words (or more) need to be there? Aim to keep it simple and short and see how much better you communicate.
Looking for a PR agency that knows how to tell a story and can also keep it simple so it resonates with reporters? Get in touch at hello@wearemgp.com.
Senior Director Of Content
The Power Of Simplicity
April 21, 2022
If you’re lucky enough to get news coverage from your next company press release take a look at the stories that result. In almost all cases, you will find they are shorter, crisper, and read much faster than what you sent over the wire.
The reason? They kept it simple.
That three-sentence-long executive quote you spent weeks drafting wasn’t used. Instead, the reporter called and got a direct quote. The reporter also took the paragraph-long explanation of your product, distilled it, and did the same job in one sentence. The buzzwords and convoluted phrases are gone.
Reporters traffic in action. As a result, they keep writing simple and direct. PR and its cousin, marketing, have lost much of their ability to keep things simple and it hurts storytelling. Companies get too attached to their product and story and write endless descriptions. They often expect their PR agency to do the same. The end result is the only people who read the copy are the people who wrote it. It isn’t clear, simple communication; it’s clutter and obfuscation.
Keep it simple instead.
Many companies have a seemingly compulsive need to tell readers that something is important and special. But loading sentence after sentence with buzzwords, results in the fact that nothing is special. It looks like what it is: a press release/blog/white paper from a company that wants to be noticed and is screaming at the recipient to pay attention.
Have confidence in your company, story, and voice. Keep it simple.
The Gettysburg Address, one of the greatest speeches in American history, is 275 words. Is your press release or blog post so important that all 600 words (or more) need to be there? Aim to keep it simple and short and see how much better you communicate.
Looking for a PR agency that knows how to tell a story and can also keep it simple so it resonates with reporters? Get in touch at hello@wearemgp.com.
