The Case for Case Studies

When I'm buying some product or service for the first time I like to know as much as I can before turning over my money. I'm eager to find out how others view whatever it is I plan to purchase. Thanks to the Web, there are lots of review sites like Yelp or Amazon where I can evaluate things based on the opinions of others. Ideally, I look for detailed and seemingly knowledgeable reviewers who describe in length their experience with what I'm interested in getting.

In the business world, finding such information is surprisingly hard. I've always thought company and product case studies have been underutilized for PR and marketing (and even sales) purposes. That may be changing. From mega-corps to sole proprietors, businesses of all sizes seem to be expanding their comfort zone and producing as much online content as they can, which, in many cases, includes longer, more informative documents than websites made available previously, like whitepapers and, yes, case studies.

Most businesses use testimonials to lend credibility to what they're selling. And for good reason--testimonials provide third-party assurance while highlighting a product's benefits. But it's often necessary to dig a little deeper. A case study can do that. A can study can do that and more. A thoughtful and well written case study serves multiple purposes: press release, data sheet, testimonial page, and more, all wrapped in a compelling narrative. It can draw in prospective buyers like bees to honeysuckle.

This can be especially important if what you're selling is new and innovative, or complex and esoteric. Its worth and benefits might not otherwise be easily apparent and understood. Or if it's pricey. A buyer might not be willing to take your company's word on its own merit, especially if big dollars are involved. Sure, an outside testimonial helps, but give the buyer a detailed and engaging story to sink his or her teeth into--a real-world tale about what another customer needed and how that customer's needs were met--and you're just a step away from closing a sale.

It's true. Case studies can help you close sales.

So if you're wondering whether or not your organization should get on the ball and produce some, the answer is...yes--case closed!

Keep Your Writing Fit by Staying Active

Years ago, as editorial supervisor at a PR agency, I trained new hires on the basics of communications copy writing. To begin I'd hand out two versions of a nearly identical document and ask them which they preferred. One was better than the other they always unanimously agreed. Why it was better, though, they generally couldn't say.

The document everyone liked featured livelier and more engaging writing and an active voice. In the other, the sentences were constructed with a hindered, passive voice. No matter what you write--whether fiction, marketing collateral, newspaper articles, or blog entries on cooking--it's generally wise to write actively rather than passively, and be direct rather than indirect. Like a healthy body, healthy writing needs to stay active. Get your words and sentences off the couch and don't let them stray!

For example, "The boy flew the kite" reads a lot better than "The kite was flown by the boy" right? And "Your Favorite Company launched the greatest product ever today" is preferable to "Today, the greatest product ever was launched by Your Favorite Company." Well, the second example is pretty good no matter which way you go. But you get where I'm coming from...

To keep things simple just remember to:  1) Make whatever you're trying to stress the subject and not the object of a sentence; 2) Avoid "to be" verb constructions whenever you can.

Remember to stay fit. Keep your prose lively, dancing on hot coals. In turn, your writing will become healthier, and better suited for the long haul.

On Writing Reviews

With the growth of online zines, blogs, and consumer sites like Amazon, Yelp, and Goodreads, everyone with an opinion and the time to share it has an opportunity to become a reviewer.

So knowing how to write a review is important. What's more, a review should be well written and carefully edited to the best of one's ability. It doesn't matter if you're reviewing the latest book in The Twilight series, a new BMW sports sedan, or a hammer you've purchased from Home Depot. The old adage, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well," rings true. Chances are you aren't being highly paid for your review, so the reward should come from a job well done, and the opportunity to sway the opinions and earn the respect of readers who are interested in what you're reviewing.

The one thing to always remember is that you are writing the review not for yourself but for others. It's not enough to say the movie was "bad" or the book was "good," people want to know why. This can be challenging depending upon the subject you're reviewing. When I reviewed rock music albums for OnlineRock (you can read some here and here or here) I discovered how difficult it was to describe the songs and sounds of a new album, particularly by bands theretofore unknown, without comparing them to other bands or shelving them into certain genres. But eventually I gave in, not (necessarily) because it made my job as a music reviewer much easier, but because I knew OnlineRock readers would find the review more helpful if I could relate something they'd never heard to something with which they were familiar. While it makes the actual writing easier it does require a fairly broad knowledge of bands and genres, more so, say, than a thorough understanding of movie history and films for a film reviewer or a thorough grasp of the literary canon for a book reviewer.

Speaking of books, there was a time when I reviewed books for the San Francisco Chronicle (way back in the "Old Days," pre-Obama, when daily newspapers still had book review sections). You can find some here and here and here. It was a good way to showcase my writing chops while also displaying critical thinking ability--a resume or CV padder, if you will. While there are far fewer opportunities to review books for print publications, there are ample opportunities to review books for many reputable online publications. The first thing you'll need to do is query the publication to make sure they'll be willing to publish your review. Once they say yes, be sure to follow any guidelines they provide.

While music, film and book reviews are most common, writers can find great opportunities to review all kinds of things they're interested in. I once worked with someone who loved cars, and got to test drive and review hundreds of fancy and high-performance new cars for years on end. The one common denominator, again, is that the review you write is tailored to those you expect to find interest in your review. You must be honest in your critique and fair in your criticism. When reviewing something, I try never to mislead people. I want to be as clear as possible in why I like or dislike something so someone with a different taste will realize their view may be quite different than mine.

It's also important to stick to the subject at hand, and not go astray. And you'll be doing lots of editing and revising. This is particularly true if you've been assigned to review something as publications have strict word counts. But have fun while you're at it, and if you're diligent enough and have a passion for it, you'll likely become a trusted reviewer.

RIP: The Traditional Press Release

The press release is dead. Long live the press release! 

Well, okay. I suppose that may be overly dramatic, but the press release is arguably on its final breaths, at least as we've come to know it. 

The rigidly formatted document (its headline, lede, quotes and boilerplate worked to death before hopefully catching a journalist's eye) doesn't serve the purpose it once did. Sure, for General Motors, IBM, and Citigroup, companies whose news is guaranteed to move markets and receive front-page attention in the business world, the press release is the same today as it was decades ago. For most companies, though, that's no longer the case.

As pointed out in David Meerman Scott's book "The New Rules of Marketing and PR," companies have a greater opportunity than ever before to reach interested parties through Internet search. Content is king, and new and relevant company information doesn't have to be packaged via press releases and proper channels of wire distribution . What you've written might not even be appropriate for a company's website newsroom. But it could make for an interesting blog piece, or be something Facebook fans or Twitter followers find of interest. Most importantly, creating such newsworthy content will help you and your organization directly connect with people who Google the terms you're writing about.

There's still a need for press release distribution as these experts attest. But, as Steve Waddington of UK-based Speed Communications says, "The press release has become a general purpose document that an organisation publishes on its web site and issues via a wire service, not to inform the media of a news event, but typically to reach broader audiences and more often than not to satisfy an internal audience."

It should be said that no matter the form, the fundamentals of press release writing remain. The release must be clear and informative and let readers know the who what where when and why. But you can tailor your news directly to your target audience without the vetting and editing and rewriting of someone in a newsroom somewhere.No longer are there traditional gatekeepers deciding what does or doesn't get published.

Maybe it's a psychological shift: rewiring our thinking to always switch "news" for "press" in the term. News release is already widely used as the term and press release has started to sound archaic. That's not to say it won't get picked up by the press either. Even without distribution, social media can drive a story, and bring it to mainstream news channels that had overlooked it at first.

The important thing is to keep writing about the latest developments in your organization as long as someone will find it of value and interest. Then let them know every way you can.

NEED SUBJECT LINE

No, the title above is not a placeholder, and, no, I didn't publish this post before it's ready.

But "NEED SUBJECT LINE" was the heading for an email I received a half hour ago from a well known tech business publisher and event producer. Within the body was info on a virtual event they're hosting on social media. I'm guessing the email went out to tens of thousands of people. Perhaps you received it, too.

If you're pitching something via email that requires little personalizing other than the company and contact names  it's certainly a good idea to work from a template you've created. I do it; everyone does. We all have our stories of emails sent into cyberspace with an itchy trigger finger only to realize a split second later some unforgivable mistake. Of course we try to ensure such instances never occur, but we're human, and it happens.

So when it does be prepared. I try to personalize as much as I can but have some generic terms and phrases I use as placeholders. If I forget to modify them and I contact someone with the template it's not a big deal. Also, in some cases it's a good idea to leave blank areas in a template for updating, as they're easy to spot. Some email services will also alert you if you're about to send a message without a subject line, something the company sending today's mass email could have really used.

And, as luck would have it, and since I began writing this post, the publisher/producer sent another email with the correct heading, and no mention of their earlier mistake. Not that someone didn't notice.

Ditch the Jargon: Just Tell It Like It Is

Groundbreaking, state of the art, cutting edge, bleeding edge...

Oh, really?

Next generation, end to end, paradigm shift...

Oh, please...just the facts, ma'am.

Reading a press release sometimes requires a strong stomach and a suspension of disbelief. It involves translating the marketing jargon and hyperbolic BS until what's left is usually just a few half-sentences here, a partial paragraph there, leaving readers wondering if they actually learned something or had simply been run over and shot at by a kind of PR hit-and-run or drive-by.

Whose fault is it? Sometimes it's the PR or marketing wizard writing copy, happy to employ whatever big gun is handy in his or her vocabulary arsenal. Other times the call comes from above, perhaps the quoted senior exec who wants to lend an air of pomp to the circumstances of the news announcement. But come on, now, is what you're doing really revolutionary? Or does it simply give people a quicker way to sharpen their pencil or tie their shoelaces.

If what you're announcing warrants a press release, then the world will be happy to hear it. But let the facts stand on their own merit, and leave the revolutionary stuff to Paul Revere.

Website Copy--Always a Work in Progress

I've come to realize that a piece of writing can almost always be improved. When writing short fiction, I'll often think a story is "finished" and send it off for consideration, only to revisit it, tinker with it, and send off a new version soon thereafter. The proofing, editing and revising never ends. At least until publication.

I think of a website in the same way. Writing website copy shouldn't be a static endeavor. While companies update their sites with new pages and links as necessary, most don't update existing site material unless it's become irrelevant. Why not make it an ongoing practice to review and improve website copy?  If you're like me, you notice glaring typos or grammatical errors in every book you read. Just think about what you find online. When I'm checking out websites with editorial eyes I spot problem areas all the time. Maybe your site doesn't need an overhaul, but proofing it from time to time is a good idea, especially if you're making frequent changes. Think of your website like your car. In need of a tune-up at regular intervals.

If I reread this post often enough I'll find typos or grammatical problems begging to be corrected. And, thanks to Blogger, I'll make the necessary changes swiftly.

In fact, I may have already done so. That's the beauty of publishing online content. Everything's a work in progress.

Salutations & Sign-offs in an Email World

One thing that can be awkward, distracting and eat up valuable time is trying to determine how to address someone you've never contacted before. In the business world 'tis better to err on the formal side, but email seems such a casual communication form, so what to do?

I get a lot of emails personally addressed to me from people I don't know, generally writers who are submitting their stories for editorial consideration at LITnIMAGE. I'll often get "Dear Mr. Goity," but sometimes I'll get a "Hey Roland" from someone who's probably never donned a suit and tie. At the end of their notes the first will add something like "Most Sincerely," while the latter may write "Peace Out."

Me? I've evolved/devolved over the years to something right down the middle. Typically, I'll write Dear First Name, although on rare occasion I'll use the surname instead. It's the way I prefer to be addressed, a "do unto others" philosophy I generally like to follow. That way, whomever I'm corresponding with will address me informally right from the get-go, and there won't be any stiffness to our correspondence longer than there needs to be. And for a sign-off? I've gone from Sincerely to Best Regards to Best to my never favorite: Cheers.

I like Cheers. I plan to use it for the foreseeable future. It feels comfortable, part of my personality. It makes me think I'm clinking glasses with a new contact and celebrating the start of a long friendship.

But each of us has our own comfort level with words, so my final advice is greet and bid adieu in whichever way feels right for you. For a while I used to sign off, Very Truly Yours. Mostly I was doing it for good luck or something, but it always felt wrong, very wrong, and just wasn't me. So to conclude I'll say simply:

Cheers,
Roland

Watch Your Tone of Voice

When it comes to writing, any type of writing, an author's "voice" is a big deal. It tells readers not only about who's speaking, but also how the author views them. Does the writer know his or her audience? Or is it someone speaking into a headwind, writing to read his or her own words?

As an editor, I've read stories by thousands of authors on all kinds of subjects. As a PR and marcom writer I've written thousands of pieces for companies in most every industry imaginable. Nearly every successful story and brilliant piece of communications copy I come across will have a strong and developed sense of voice with which I'll identify and listen to attentively.

If some company is pitching a product to skateboard rats it can look and sound pretty awkward if they don't know what they're doing. Likewise, if I read a political thriller by someone whose voice tells me is a PBR-drinking hipster who probably can't name the current VP or Secretary of State, then the words won't resonate. I need to know that the author knows his subject and readership. I've written for semiconductor firms to sports leagues, have authored copy for music industry insiders to hotel and hospitality financiers. I even once wrote a whitepaper on halitosis (bad breath). Each time, like an actor, I assumed a different role and played to a new audience.

It's the same in all writing. Some of my personal favorite pieces of fiction I've written began simply with a voice and not a word of story to be told. The right voice can carry a story all the way to the end, turning the otherwise mundane into something rather appealing, after all. For business reasons this is especially true, particularly in advertising. Write with a credible, trusting voice that engages the reader, speaks to them, and gets them to buy into your message. This is one area of PR writing I pay special attention to. More so than ever now with the increasing prevalence of social media in coverage opportunities.

Always remember, you're writing not for yourself but for your readers.