Overview
With the advent of digital communications, public relations professionals must be able to write for a range of purposes and media types especially press releases. However, the ability to write easily, logically, and succinctly is essential for all these aspects of public relations.
The object of most PR writing (Press Release) is to grab the reader’s attention, convey information quickly, and invite sharing of your story. It is more than just sending a press release off to the media – the scope has rapidly increased along with digital communications.
This Press Release hands-on course gives delegates an opportunity to hone their writing skills, whether writing news releases, feature articles, corporate communications or blog posts. Importantly, it also guides you on how to make the most of digital communications, such as social media and search engine optimization to make sure your message is read and shared by the right people.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the key principles of plain English, including brevity as the prime driver of clarity
- Write an effective news release, by crafting a strong headline and finding a strong news hook
- Apply good writing principles to emails, feature articles, blog posts and speeches
- Create compelling pitch emails
- Understand the role of different PR communication tools such as press releases, newsletters, feature articles, blog posts, briefing documents, online communication.
- Learn how to Search Engine Optimise your communications
- Find new and relevant media for their target publics
- communicate with the media and keep your organisation ‘top of mind’
- Learn how to tailor releases and other content to the web
- Learn how to use social media, search engine optimization and web marketing to drive buzz and reinforce PR efforts
- Design newsletters and other regular corporate communications with your publics and other ‘owned’ media
- Understand Content marketing – what is it, and does in fit into your public relations efforts?
- Get dozens of practical insider’s tips
Who Must Attend
Course Details
- Why are you writing what you’re writing? What are you trying to achieve with the work? What behavior change do you want to see? Set your objective before starting the work.
- We don’t operate in a vacuum- Why it’s important to understand our environment/ competition/ consumer trends
- Define the ‘problem’ that needs to be solved.
- Is the objective ‘S.M.A.R.T.’?
- Exercise: Select a brand for your Press Release. Write down your objective
- What motivates your target audience? What drives them to do what they do? We look at two types of target audience: The end consumer, and the media. We’ll also talk a bit about internal audiences.
- The relationship between advertisers and customers
- Marketing yesterday vs Marketing today
- Why it’s important to visualize who you’re writing to
- Understanding the difference between fact, observation, insight
- Creating a profile of your target audience- name, age, home address, occupation, income, how he perceives your brand
- Exercise: Call your target audience (End consumer)- find out one thing you didn’t know about him
- How the media works- What happens after you submit your PR
- Internal approval process- What are the stumbling blocks, How can we hasten the process
- Readers and editors have little patience. What is the one, most compelling thing you want to communicate with your target audience? Build your story around it.
- Examples of single-minded thoughts – when your product is a leader/ parity/ follower
- Narrowing it down to the most interesting thing to say about your product
- Exercise: Write down the single-minded thought
- How to tackle a long story. The dos and don’ts.
- Why writing a story is like planting a garden
- The structure of writing a story
- Exercise: Structuring your story/ Writing your PR
- Whatever you have written is probably 30% over-written. Cut it down. Pad it with insights and facts.
- Thoughts on editing
- List of superfluous words
- Exercise: Editing your story
- How to make the same old story sound new. Either find a new insight/ angle, or new information.
- Rewriting the infamous story ‘Proton just as good as BMW’ from a different angle/ List the facts/ Show examples
- Exercise: Present a different angle of your story
- The necessary info that needs to go into a typical press release. Think like an editor.
- Checklist of items that need to go in
- Exercise: Refining the work that you have written. Rewriting the work if necessary Creating a ‘photograph’ as an attachment.
- Get into the mind of users. Unlearn the ‘facts’. Re-learn what it means to be human.
- Facts vs reality
- Talk about different digital/ social media platforms – Youtube, Facebook, Gmail, LinkedIn, Says, Cilisos, etc
- Exercise: Choose a publication, and write a headline/post for that publication
- Advertising is everywhere. How not to annoy people, and create content that people want to read and engage with.
- Case studies of current campaigns- Zoolander 2, Deadpool, Malaysian tourism?
- Catching up with recent April Fool’s campaigns- Google Mic Drop, Heavy Bubbles, Youtube Snoopa Vision, Aerie Men
- Understanding how social media works- The Maxis story
- Exercise: How else would you promote your campaign if budgets and bosses were out of the way?
- Write like a human, not a robot. Write like the person is in front of you. Write as if you’re talking to your mother, neighbour, boss or bff.
- Why writing is no longer B2C, or B2B- but H2H
- More Writing tips for Copywriter's Toolbox
- Building relationships that matter
Methodology
Interactive Presentation and input, lots of good and poorly written PR literatures, practical exercises, peer and trainer evaluation.
Course Leader
ZAULIN K.B.
Zaulin has been in advertising for 28 years. During that time, she has worked in almost all (with a few exceptions) top 10 international agencies in Kuala Lumpur, cutting her teeth into a wide variety of accounts ranging from corporate to FMCG to Retail to Banking to Telco. She has served in Malaysia’s top advertising agencies including Leo Burnett, dnaComm (as a Executive Creative Director), BBDO, BATES 141 Malaysia, M&C SAATCHI, DRAFTFCB, BOZELL WORLDWIDE, D’ARCY, BATEY ADS. Her last client was PETRONAS and she was a part of the team responsible for much-loved Malaysian-at-heart Festive webfilms.
In the past, she has won countless industry awards in the category of craft (copywriting). She believes a brilliant and effective idea transcends all forms of media. She does own a twitter account but has yet to figure out her forgotten password. Although she is currently enjoying a slower pace of life, she still writes like crazy every day.
With a keen passion for writing and the need to share her substantial experience with others, she founded TOKOBUKU ZAULIN, a homegrown publishing house that aims to strike a balance between mass and indie publications. She and her team are writing a book CERITA2 CHINCHIN that chronicles common people with uncommon stories.
AWARDS (A BONUS, NOT A NECESSITY)
Kancil Special Merit Award in Copywriting
Kancil Special Merit Award winner 2000/2001 for Olympus Camera.
Best scriptwriting winner in MVA for TIMEDOTCom Corporate TVC
Best Short Film in the Finas Film Festival 2014 for PETRONAS Hari Raya webfilm titled “Jahit”
Best Engagement for a Targeted Community for Project #tanahairku in the PR ASIA awards 2015
Silver for Best Use of Content for Project #tanahairku in the PR Asia Awards 2016
Silver runner up for Mumbrella Asia 2017 for PETRONAS webfilm “I am Muniandy”
5 bronze medals in Kancils 2017 for PETRONAS webfilm “I am Muniandy”
Key Clientele: PETRONAS Group, Hyundai, TNB, KFC, 100Plus, F&N, HSBC Retail, Levi’s, Tourism Malaysia, BOH Tea, Suria KLCC PULSE Magazine, UNZA FMCG, Public Bank, Public Mutual, ASTRO, Star Cruises, Love Diamond, MILO, Maybank, Telekom, Maxis Hotlink, HP, Mega TV, Olympus Cameras, TMTOUCH, Sony, Astro, Fujitsu, Nikko Hotel, Jaya Jusco, Perodua and Toshiba.
To contact Zaulin, please feel free to email us at info@itrainingexpert.com or call +603 8074 9056 | +6012 6869 628
OR
EDWARD ONG
Former Y&R Head of Copy for Asia
Neil French’s protege
Probably one of the best copywriters around
Edward Ong was born in the last millennium. Back when Pluto was still a planet, vampireswere the bad guys, comic books (single issue, newsstand edition) cost RM1.80 and people wrote and read long copy ads.
Ed brings to you his 20 years worth of sharing. Ed is a former regional copy chief, having worked with some of the most interesting minds on the planet. Secretly though, he's still hoping some of their ‘smartness' will rub off on him.
Over the years, Ed has done countless campaigns for big brand names such as Sony, Tiger Beer, Caltex, Singapore Navy, SMU (Singapore Management University), Soroptimists and Penguin Books. In addition, he also helped develop and build brands and creativitity for The Star media group, Media Prima, Primeworks and Digi Group.
Awards-wise, he's won a couple, maybe more. In any case, he prefers to do a bit of reading, writing and coming up with project ideas for which he'll never find the time; rather than keeping track of the medal count. When digital took over, Ed re-learned everything. He is constantly on the lookout for smart, silly, funny, witty and wicked copy ideas.
Edward is father to two lovely children, husband to a lovelier wife and owner of too many comic books.
To contact Edward, please feel free to email us at info@itrainingexpert.com or call +603 8074 9056
Testimonies
““Before attending the course, I felt that the course would be complicated subject to me. After the course, I feel that the course is easy to follow. It is about to simplify things, make our writing clearer to the readers.” – Senior System Analyst, Heitech Padu Berhad.
"I didn't have clear directions on writing for publications. After the course, I feel more equipped for my job. This is an excellent course and I highly recommend to all PR related personnel." HR & Communication, Petronas ICT Sdn Bhd.
"I didn't have too much knowledge on communication and PR writing. From this course, I have gained great insights and relevant knowledge." Roshen Dev, Senior Executive, Gas Malaysia Berhad.
“Prior to attending the workshop, I was confused and had vague ideas of what entailed good PR writing skills. During the course, I see great improvements my writing skills. Writing is more impactful and I'm clearer and informed on what to do. The trainer is excellent and well prepared.” –, Senior Corporate Communication, KBU International College
“Before attending the course, I feel that my PR writing skills are limited. After attending the course, I feel confident to write speech, writing on website by using the PR Communication tools that I have learnt” – Executive PR, RP Chemicals (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Investment
In house arrangement only.
Click here to Request for In house Quotation
Please contact us at +6012 6869 628 | +603 8074 9056
Email: info@itrainingexpert.com
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