FROM OUR BLOG

I recently read the most riveting book in a single day. I’d meant to sneak in a chapter here and there for a bit of R&R. But a few pages in and I couldn’t put it down. Once I’d finished the book I felt a real loss — what was I going to do with myself now? What I did was head right out and buy the second and third instalment in the trilogy! Hurrying off to the bookstore, I just couldn’t believe how emotionally invested I’d become in the characters and plot. So I started thinking about how such skilfully woven storytelling could translate into copywriting.

Writing a media release is a science but getting it into print is an art! A media release can add power to your PR for free — not to mention getting your brand, news and company in front of many eyes fast. The trouble is journalists are time-poor, details hungry and bombarded by media releases by the minute. The cutting room floor of a newsroom is home to countless media releases that are lucky if they’ve had their title read — not the fate you want for your news story. So this post is about how to write a media release that gets noticed.

For a few years I have been hearing about companies that outsource their editing overseas to cut costs. The idea is that an English speaking editor in India or the Philippines can do the same work that an Australian editor can do. Let’s look at the pros and cons of outsourcing editing overseas to countries such as India and the Philippines.

For many people, the work of editors is a mystery. What do editors do and what do people think of them? Here are a few quotations about editors that might answer some of these questions. You probably will recognise some of the well-known writers who have offered their opinions on editors—some positive, some not.

In a previous post on business writing, one of the tips we covered was to reduce sentence length to increase readability. Studies show that long sentences make text difficult to comprehend. In general, it’s best to keep sentences below 35 words and aim for an average sentence length of around 20 words.

What’s the best style of copywriting to use if you want to sell your products through catalogues, brochures or websites? It depends on your products and the type of buyers you're targeting. One helpful guide I have used over the years is How to Write Powerful Catalog Copy by Herschell Gordon Lewis. In the book, Lewis defines the fourteen main catalogue copywriting styles, and when it’s best to use each one. Although the book was published twenty years ago, the ideas presented are just as applicable today.