Everyone knows that in order to be successful in any field you need to have a portfolio of your previous work. So, the question becomes: What if you don’t have any previous work? How do you get started?
We will start by stating the obvious. Write daily. If you are going to be in public relations for a living, you need to become a notably great (and quick) writer. The best way to do it every day. Here are a few types of writing you will need to master. Pick one and start pushing yourself.
Blogs:
Blog writing (like this) is about taking the knowledge you’ve acquired and imparting that knowledge on to someone else. You want your blog to be organized and succinct, contain examples, and have a creative flare to your writing. Don’t be shy to use literary devices like metaphors, similes, etc. to show a bit of yourself in your writing. Most importantly, edit your verbiage when you are done so that your headers and word choice are more likely to be what someone is looking for in their web search. Blogs are a great way to refine your informative writing while connect intellectually with an audience.
Press Releases:
Press releases are about taking information that you wish to impart and displaying the core reasons why that information matters. Press releases are mostly expository writing with some persuasive elements. The best way to write a press release is talk about the most important and ‘pressing’ information first. Feel free to spice this information up and share the excitement. Take on the same excitement as the person who needs to hear your words the most and then get them hyped up. Now remember, maintaining truth is quite important to long term success with press releases so the goal is not to promise something you cannot deliver, but rather to highlight the best attributes of what you are trying to convey so that are most likely to make a difference in the world. Press releases are a great way to connect socially with an audience.
Pitch Emails:
Pitch emails are great for developing your persuasive writing. They do this by teaching you to put your best foot forward and then backing up your statements with impactful examples. You will be using these a lot when sending your press releases pitching your person, place, or thing to different people and different companies. Be sure you are ready and impactful so that whenever you need to be persuasive, that muscle is ready to go.
Biographies:
Biographies are a great way to practice getting to know clients as well as what to say in interviews. They teach expository writing and help you to be more concise and impactful when talking about the history and credentials of a client or yourself. It is also a great way to practice getting to know the major players in your industry. Take the time to do some research on various companies and then writing a mock bio for them. You will quickly get better at highlighting the aspects of a company that matter most as well as doctoring the details according to what audience your audience is interested in.
Story Writing:
Yes, story writing can absolutely help your PR career. By improving your ability to hold a steady and riveting narrative, your ability to hold an audience in any context improves drastically. These stories can be topical or totally made up, but by developing your unique voice and tone as a writer and story teller you will get better at voicing every crucial moment impeccably in your writing. Leave your audience on the edge of their seat.
Poetry:
I stand by my belief that poetry is a crucial element in the PR writing field. The best way to explain something that your audience doesn’t understand is through examples. The best way to provide an example is with vivid and descriptive writing. The best way to become more descriptive and vivid in your writing is through poetry. Poetry is all about finding the unique angle of viewing something and then verbally connecting with that angle. Let me rephrase that… ‘Poetry is a kaleidoscope that reveals a beautiful world tenderly draped in vivid color.’ Which one of those sentences is more engaging? When you are doing PR writing, this skill of being poetically descriptive is crucial to keeping your audience engaged and to ensuring that they truly see what you are trying to explain from the same perspective that you do. Poetry is a great way a great way to connect with your audience visually, to add some vibrant color to your writing, and to help your writing stand out within a sea of black and white journalism.
Summary:
Writing every day is crucial to your success in a Public Relations based career. Every type of writing you master will help you develop a different crucial skillset and style that will help make your writing more relatable for your audience. Most of all, enjoy the process of growing your unique voice into one of your most valuable assets. Take care.
Matthew P. Dunnam
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