RE: Editorial/Press Release - What are some points to consider while writing?

["Neumann, Eileen" <ENeuman -at- franklintempleton -dot- ca>]

Hi Jennifer,

Use an inverted pyramid format. Start with the main point or points right in the first sentence. Then add more info from most important to least important. Keep in mind that a reader may stop reading at any point, so it's important to get the main facts in very early. If you start with marketing fluff for instance, you risk losing your reader with no useful info whatsoever, if they aren't vitally interested in you and your product to start with, and leave after the first sentence or so. 

Another valid approach would be to start with the most interesting or useful aspect of the product. Provide finer details further down in the article. You may want to examine some newspaper articles to see how the pros do this. The inverted pyramid approach is for 'hard news' type stories, and the second is more of a feature article approach.

(Info from my journalism days...)

Good luck!

Cheers,
Eileen

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	bounce-techwr-l-177285 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:bounce-techwr-l-177285 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]  On Behalf Of Jennifer C. Bennett
Sent:	Wednesday, November 02, 2005 11:09 AM
To:	TECHWR-L
Subject:	Editorial/Press Release - What are some points to consider while writing?


Hello,

I will be writing an editorial/press release for a software application.  I 
have not written one before, and I am interested in finding out what points 
need to be considered before and while writing.  I have written the help 
system and user manual for this application, so I am very familiar with the 
application.

What questions should I ask myself and the subject matter expert before 
writing?  From the examples I have seen, the important thing is to outline 
the key features of the software.  Is it more important to give a brief 
overview of the product, then go into the new features, or is it more 
effective to describe the new features first and then go inot an overview?

I think a couple of important questions to ask would be "How familiar are 
the readers with the product or similar products?"  and "What 
method/software do the typical potential customers currently use?"

What are some others I should consider?

Thanks!

Jennifer 



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