How to Write a Good Press Release? [2024] – TeamAsia
By Madge Resurreccion
To whom do you write? Even before I became a part of TeamAsia’s public relations writer, I’ve always had to ask myself this question — To whom do you write?
It was first posed to me in my Creative Writing class during my third year of Literature at the University of Santo Tomas. Not many knew what the course was even about, but to put it simply, we live to read and write. At that time, I was asked during a lecture and when I paused to think of an honest and appropriate response, I realized I didn’t have one. I simply wanted to write, but the nagging question that was left hanging without an answer drove me to reflect on my reasons for writing.
I used to only write for myself. Writing, for me, is like breathing unspoken words into a laptop screen or paper. It helps articulate my jumbled thoughts. But the question continued to haunt me even years after my graduation. I’ve always written for a living and passion, and the target audience varies. Joining TeamAsia was a big change for me as I had no previous or extensive experience in Press Release writing. But now, months into agency life, the answer to that question naturally occurred to me.
Writing for the people
Being part of TeamAsia taught me to cater to different kinds of audiences. The target audience could be mothers from less privileged communities who are working hard to give their children a better future. They could be fresh graduates who are still finding their footing in the adulting world, or even start-up business owners who encounter issues in their business and need help to resolve it. But whoever the audience is, I write to reach out, speak to them, and share with them our stories.
Every client has their own messaging and target audience, but no matter how different they may be, they all have a purpose. My job as a writer, then, is to put that purpose into words and transform them into stories that would not only achieve the brand objective but offer readers insights and even give them something to root for.
Adapting and using different voices
The voice refers to the tone, point of view, and even the way the speaker talks in writing. While we also use different voices in creative writing, we have the freedom to choose the voices for our own characters. But a public relations writer is different.
A voice in this field caters to a specific audience that varies depending on the client or the brand. PR writing pushed me into uncharted territory as someone who only stuck to creative writing before this. It taught me how to be flexible in adapting to different voices because each one is important to embody the brand and also appeal to your audience.
Focusing on facts while telling a story
Facts and figures matter a lot in writing press releases. But it is equally important to make your content more appealing to human emotion to catch and sustain your readers’ attention.
In 2017, BBC News reported that the average attention span of a person has gone down to eight seconds. In those eight seconds, the target audience could have just scanned the content to look at the figures or facts. But, telling the facts with a story also tells the audience the implications and importance of those facts and how they could possibly affect them.
So, to whom do I write?
I write for the people. Being a public relations writer taught me that telling stories is not limited to creative writing; I can tell those stories to different audiences through different voices. PR writing, indeed, gave me another purpose as a writer.
TeamAsia PR is filled with talented, empowered, and skillful not just writers, but storytellers who can transform your content and highlight your purpose. Looking to bring your brand to the next level? Let TeamAsia, who specializes as a PR Agency Philippines, take you there! Talk to us at info@teamasia.com.
