Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts

Conducts Workshop that Leads to Major Recognition for One of

New England’s Top Technology Companies

Editors for news wire services work under very tight deadlines to report fast-breaking news. They can’t possibly cover stories in depth as television news personalities do, so they rely on communications provided by public relations professionals. This communication—often in the form of e-mails—must capture the editor’s attention at a glance, and the message must be clear and concise. Otherwise the story will be lost in the electronic messaging maze.

The Manager of Public Relations and leading spokesperson for one of New England’s leading technology companies was sitting in my workshop when a major competitor made an announcement that would have a major impact on the industry. The news wire service quickly issued a story before contacting the PR Manager’s company for comment. Because this story would likely be carried by major daily newspapers the next day, it was imperative for the PR Manager to get his company’s message to the editor of the wire service very quickly and very clearly in the hope that the editor would issue an update.

The PR Manager rushed back to his computer and implemented the strategy he had just learned at the workshop:

·         He wrote a very compelling subject line that instantly captured the attention of the editor.

·         He started the message with very solid “sound bites” to make sure that the key information would appear in his company’s version of the breaking news story.

·         He followed the key information with a background with supporting comments about the sound bites.

By composing a strategic subject line and message, the PR Manager quickly and accurately controlled his company’s version of the story that would be read by hundreds of thousands of readers. Stories such as this one can make or break a company.

This New England technology-based company got its version of the story printed in the leading newspapers via the wire service. This gave the company instant credibility and educated readers as to how this company is superior to the competitor’s. The relationship with this editor and news wire service has continued to flourish, and the company is now recognized as the industry leader in its technology space. The power of a clear, concise, and well-written subject line and message is immeasurable.