Originally posted to www.carnsight.com
Social media has revolutionised the way we conduct business, and a strong social media presence is now a must-have for entrepreneurs. Whether you run an Etsy store, a vegan restaurant, a construction company or an accountancy firm, knowing how to present yourself confidently on social media is crucial to your success. However, as a small business owner, it’s common to feel a little apprehensive around social media. Maybe you find it challenging to navigate. Today, we want to provide you with some valuable tips for boosting your confidence and upping your social media game.
Authenticity is one of the most powerful assets you have as a small business owner. In contrast to the days of slick and polished ads, today’s consumers crave content that feels genuine. Share your journey, your challenges, and your triumphs. Allow your personality to shine through in your posts. Authenticity fosters a connection, and connection builds trust.
Remember that you are not competing with large corporations with massive marketing budgets. You don’t have to be like them. Think about what sets you apart from the competition? Perhaps it’s your handcrafted jewellery, your quirky sense of humour, or your passion for sustainability. Heck, maybe it’s even your love of your adorable office dog. Highlight what makes your business special and flaunt it without fear.
Knowing your audience inside and out will help you create content that resonates with them. That being said, I want to give a bit of controversial advice. If you’re totally new to social media, try not to get too bogged down in this. It’s still important, of course. And if you want to see results, you’ll need to make content with your target market in mind, however, I’ve seen business owners time and time again that get so wrapped up in what they think people want to see that their content loses that genuine sense, that spark. Don’t try and copy what someone else is doing to gain success with your target market, instead use what they’re doing as inspiration and see what you can do to put your own stamp on it.
Don’t give up. You’re not going to see results overnight. Like anything, a large and engaged following and community on social media is something that takes a lot of work and time to build. The best thing you can do to move towards that is focus on consistency. Consistency is the key to building familiarity and trust with your audience.
Social media is all about, well, being social. It’s about networking and building relationships. Don’t be afraid to reach out to fellow small business owners or influencers in your niche. Collaboration can be a game-changer for growing your audience.
Social media is ever evolving, and what works today may not work tomorrow. Experiment with different types of content, hashtags, and strategies. Don’t be afraid to pivot if something isn’t working as expected.
Every like, comment and share is a little victory. Celebrate these wins! Small steps forward can lead to significant leaps in the long run. Don’t get so caught up chasing the thousands that you forget the hundred that truly matter. Share your successes with your audience, and let them join in your joy.
Running a business can be overwhelming, especially when it involves maintaining a strong social media presence. After all, it’s another thing to do, and we get that. Don’t forget to take care of yourself. Schedule regular breaks, practice mindfulness, and seek support when needed.
You could even hire a lovely PR and social media agency like Carnsight to help lighten the social media load! ;p
Above all, remember to have fun with your social media journey. It’s a platform to express your passion, creativity, and expertise. Enjoy the process, and let your enthusiasm shine through. Your audience will pick up on your positive vibes.
Check us out on social media to see how we put these tips into practice ourselves.
Originally posted to www.carnsight.com
This post was written by our guest author, Jill Misson. Jill Misson is a freelance writer and broadcaster with over 20 years of experience working on radio stations in the UK and around the world. As a presenter and producer, she has hosted programmes, podcasts and documentaries for the BBC and BFBS.
“We have all the time in the world,” sang Louis Armstrong in his gorgeous gravelly voice. The famous crooner savours those lyrics, pausing to let the words sink in. He actually only has 3 minutes and 14 seconds to make a lasting impact before the track ends and time’s up.
As a radio presenter sitting in a studio, I can watch a song count down on the screen in front of me, poised to start talking as the music fades. Timings are absolutely crucial as every hour of a show has a running order that has been planned in advance by producers who piece together the content of the programme like a jigsaw. Certain features have to happen at specific times, like traffic reports or news bulletins, so it is important to always keep an eye on the clock.
It helps to understand that time pressure when you are taking part in a radio interview as a guest. The allotted time slot for your conversation may only be fairly brief but you can still achieve a great deal and make the experience worthwhile.
When someone gets in touch out of the blue to arrange a meeting, it is usual practice to both consult your diaries and come to a mutual agreement based on your availability. However, if you get the opportunity to appear on a radio show, it may not be quite as flexible. Sometimes a producer will be forward planning for the following week or month but more often they are working to a tight deadline towards the next day’s programme. For breaking news and current affairs you can even be asked to appear within hours to give a more immediate reaction or comment.
Although it can be daunting to suddenly be expected to speak at short notice, on the plus side there is less time for anxiety to build in anticipation. Talk to the producer to find out the focus of the interview and ask how long it is likely to be for. Prepare yourself by deciding on the key messages you are keen to get across and jot them down as bullet points to glance at to jog your memory. It is always a good idea to have a trial run and even if you haven’t got someone to play the part of the interviewer, you should practise saying your answers out loud. Try challenging yourself to get to the point quickly. You could set a timer to get a better idea of how long your answer is then come up with a more concise explanation.
After working up to your big moment it may feel disappointing when the whole thing is finished after five minutes. The length of time will depend on the format of the programme but don’t feel you have been cut off because you were boring, it is simply time to move on to the next item on the agenda. If your discussion was about an issue in the news it may also be clipped so that a short soundbite can be included later in the newsreader’s bulletins.
Your radio debut is now out of the way so next time you are asked to appear on air you will feel more confident and able to accept knowing what to expect. By maintaining a positive rapport with the producers and presenter they are more likely to invite you back for a repeat
performance. By sharing expert knowledge on a particular subject or industry, your name or organisation should be added to their contacts database and come up in future to call again.
Harness social media to extend the reach beyond those who would usually listen to that radio station at that time. Ahead of your interview spread the word by telling your followers to tune in and share a link to listen live. Afterwards, you can post again sharing a link to listen back online. Your on-air experience is likely to be a topic of conversation when you see clients or meet people in the local community who want to chat about your five minutes of fame.
When the offer comes through to take part in a radio interview or a podcast, say yes. By making the most of the time available you can maximise the potential of the opportunity.
You can read Jill’s previous blog on preparing to be on air here
Originally posted to www.carnsight.com
Consistency is key.
We know this and apply it to so many aspects of our lives. Consistency is how we improve and develop. It’s how we achieve success and demonstrate our skills. And yet so often people forget that this also applies to PR. A one off PR project is incredibly valuable to launch a business, a new product or service, or share some big news, but imagine the impact PR could have if you kept at it beyond that initial launch.
PR is about building momentum. It’s getting your name out there and hitting those touch points. It’s working towards reaching a point where journalists recognise your business name and identify you as an expert in the field. Then the PR opportunities can begin to come to you! And new doors can be opened.
Consistency in PR allows you to:
PR is not something you can really just turn off and on again like a tap. If you disappear in the media for an extended period of time, when you next pick up again, you will have to restart the work of building your presence pretty much from scratch. The news cycle doesn’t sit around waiting for you. Journalists certainly won’t. Neither will your customers and clients, and neither will your competitors. The other issue is, once you’ve launched, it’s done. You can’t launch again. Not unless you change your name. And so you will have lost the ‘big bang’ you hopefully kicked off with.
We’ve proven time and time again that consistent retained relationships with our clients provide the best PR results. The clients we’ve worked with for years are the clients that are most often approached for comment, invited to events and have great search results. That’s not to say we can’t ever achieve those things without a retained relationship, just that working on PR consistently over time greatly increases those chances.
Like anything, building a strong PR profile takes time. Those who are the most consistent in their PR approach will reap the greatest rewards.
If you like this post, you might like our post on why you need to repeat yourself in PR.
Originally posted to www.carnsight.com
In an ideal world, your carefully crafted message would reach your desired audience under perfect conditions: a quiet room, undivided attention, and a receptive mindset. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the reality at all. As PRs, we’re all too familiar with this. There’s a lot of discourse around cutting through the clutter and reaching your audience, whether it be from the perspective of marketers or film makers or PRs like us. But instead of getting into all of the mechanics of that in one go, we’re starting with a simpler approach today.
We’re sharing one small change that can might make a big difference, and it all comes down to the perils of using too many big words.
One school of thought suggests that using big or unusual words is a surefire way to come across as knowing what you’re talking about. That an impressive vocabulary lends credibility. And sure, to an extent it does. But one key piece of the puzzle here is that oftentimes your audience doesn’t operate with the same sphere of reference, especially if you’re a business. They’re probably looking towards you and your content for a reason, perhaps that they aren’t as well versed in the area and are looking to learn or outsource.
So again, don’t get me wrong; there’s always value in a carefully honed vocabulary. But there is equal value in knowing when and how to use it. Context plays a big role here, and so does knowing your audience. Top tip here – if you are using more unusual or ‘big’ words, make sure you’re using them correctly, and if they’re technical, do a reality check to make sure your audience knows them too or give enough context clues so its straightforward. Otherwise this could have the opposite of the desired effect.
Another reality here is that your post/content is unlikely to actually get your point across if it’s too convoluted or time-intensive to understand quickly. In communication theory and practice, there are basic models of communication, many of which look at how linear message transmission and reception occurs between humans.
The thing is though, communication isn’t often linear these days. It can be messy or out of order, interrupted or misrepresented. There are so many factors that mediate how we receive, decode, and interpret information. Unfortunately, a lot of these aren’t easily something you as the sender can control. You don’t know where the audience will be receiving your message, if they’ll be interrupted by children or coworkers or are watching TV in the background, they might have ads pop up disrupt the flow. Or they might simply scroll away.
The point is, you should write with the assumption that your audience is distracted. That the message could easily be interrupted, and that it has a lot working against simple smooth reception on the other end.
Word choice, sentence length, and paragraph structure all impact things like cohesion, flow, and comprehension. The technical nitty-gritty of this may come easier to some. But for others, here’s one easy to understand and even easier to implement tip that if you want to skip the mechanical deep dive.
That is: keep it simple stupid. Or KISS.
Ideally, your post should to be easy to read and easier to skim. Because the reality is, our attention span is not what it used to be. We have less time and maybe even less mental space to process confusing or complex information at the rate we’re exposed to it. We need the important things served up right under our nose, with big signs and underlined phrases. Make your message clear and obvious, and yes, essentially do the work for them.
Like I said, we’ll save you the over-complicated explanation of communication mechanics for another post. Today’s focus was a bit broader and focused on a trend we’ve noticed popping up in recent years, but we couldn’t leave you completely in the dark after having so much to say about what not to do. So here’s a little bit more on what you can do to optimise message reception:
While you can’t control everything when it comes your message and what your audience takes away from it, but by trying out some of these tips there’s progress to be seen. That’s it from us for now, but stay tuned for a deeper exploration to come. In the meantime, why not take a look at this post from our Social Media Manager Yasmin, who shares her insight into the differences between LinkedIn for business and personal profiles.
Originally posted to www.carnsight.com
Writing takes up a huge portion of my time as a PR and so getting writing feedback is incredibly important. From news releases to thought leadership pieces, emails to social media copy, every single day I write thousands of words at work. This blog being a case and point.
I’ve done lots to improve my writing over the years (and still have a long way to go) but the one thing that’s made the biggest difference and the piece of advice I will give over and over again is to get workshopping.
There is simply no better way to improve your writing than asking people what they think of it. And its got to be in the right context too, which is why I so highly recommend being part of a writing workshop. Whether it be colleagues, friends or just fellow writers, being part of a workshop group will 100% take your writing to the next level. It’s all about getting that writing feedback.
A writing workshop is a group of people who exchange pieces of writing and give each other constructive feedback. This means positive feedback, as well as constructive criticism, and it means giving feedback as well as receiving it. A writing workshop can be set up with just about anyone from colleagues to friends and family to other people who write, but the important thing is establishing clear rules and boundaries up front. Workshop has to be a safe space; a space where there are no bad ideas and nothing is considered a failure except being mean or not showing up.
ie.
Workshopping is a skill and a practice. Both giving and receiving feedback is something you learn over time as you do more of it. Offering feedback will become more natural and knowing what criticism to take on board and when gets easier too.
It is literally impossible to view your own writing objectively. You’ll always be far too close to the work to be able to spot every little angle and every missed opportunity. Having other people review your work will give you new perspectives and open your eyes to things about your writing you couldn’t see before.
I’ve been part of many writing workshops throughout the years, some formal and some informal. In work, my colleagues and I regularly swap press releases, blogs and opinion pieces, giving each other feedback on what we’ve written. We also always proof each other’s work. Another pair of eyes is always appreciated!
In a more formal context, I was first introduced to the idea of structured workshopping in university. I did a creative writing degree and masters programme and workshopping was a huge part of both courses. They were so effective in making me a better writer that I still workshop parts of my novels (the writing I do outside of PR) with friends from uni to this day (four years later) and I still find it invaluable.
Nothing will improve your writing more quickly or effectively than workshopping. If you’re looking to maximise the effectiveness and impact of every piece of writing you do, regularly giving and receiving feedback is a sure fire way to see big improvement, fast.
For more writing tips check out our seven quick tips to improve your writing.
A non-profit, dedicated to connecting, educating and strengthening the tech ecosystems in Bristol & Bath, techSPARK supports freelancers, start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs and global corporations by connecting the best people, companies and investors with opportunities for growth.
AMBITIOUS PR will focus on increasing awareness of techSPARK and its thought leadership. It will support key initiatives, including those that address outcomes of techSPARK’s recently published, inaugural, ‘State of the Community’ board report which highlights the opportunities, challenges and barriers to success in the South West tech space.
techSPARK connects around 35,000 people monthly, through programmes and events. Grassroots community groups such as Bath’s Third Thursdays and Cyber Tuesdays, run alongside investment programmes that have supported over 350+ startups and the curation of a database of over 80 diverse founders and leaders who can speak at events to show how our industry can prosper when inclusive.
techSPARK also runs the annual SPARKies, the largest tech awards outside of London, Bath Digital Festival and Bristol Technology Festival which are growing in national recognition.
Ben Shorrock, managing director at techSPARK, comments: “Ambitious is well known locally for its ability to help organisations get cut through for their messages and enable strategic conversations. We’re delighted that they’re helping us tell the story of a community full of people doing globally cutting-edge research, building impactful businesses, and powering our region’s future economy.
B2B and corporate PR and communications specialists, AMBITIOUS PR recently reported a second year of 50% year-on-year growth, increasing its team by 22% in the process. With 40% of revenue coming from the tech sector, AMBITIOUS PR is the only agency in the South West to be ranked in PR Week’s Top 150 tech PR consultancies.
Sarah Woodhouse, co-owner and director, AMBITIOUS PR, adds: “We give back to the ecosystems in which we are working. Bristol and Bath have a huge opportunity to further develop their tech cluster and the techSPARK team deserves further recognition for the work they are doing to nurture, cultivate and grow the sector.”
AMBITIOUS PR currently works for Bristol-based, Neighbourly and Xledger and Bath’s, Truespeed. Outside of the region, they work for prop-tech businesses, COADJUTE and Redirect; and sport tech business, Play More Golf. AMBITIOUS PR also works for companies engaged in providing consultancy, investment and professional services support to the tech sector including Deloitte, BGF and Albert Goodman.
AMBITIOUS PR is a member of the IPRN (International Public Relations Network) – the international network for independent agencies providing clients with access to a global network of PR agencies.
Originally posted to www.carnsight.com
At Carnsight we always work hard to ensure that every client has a positive experience while working with us. A big part of this means creating an excellent first and last impression. It’s vital to start and end on a positive note to provide an overall satisfying experience to our clients. To ensure that we start and end a project with a client in the most positive way possible, we always keep three things in mind: clarity, connection, and openness.
At the beginning of a project we work hard to lay the foundation for a positive working relationship with the client and set a good tone for the entire project.
To achieve clarity, we make sure we’ve clearly defined the project goals and objectives. This means discussing and documenting the client’s expectations, ensuring we’re all on the same page when it comes to deliverables, timelines, and any potential challenges. It’s all about establishing a clear roadmap from the outset and aligning our efforts.
Connection is also vital. We take the time to establish a personal connection and show genuine interest in ever client’s needs and aspirations. We’re proud to be expert active listeners and take the time to really get under the skin of every client’s business. We often start projects with something called a messaging session. You can find out more via our messaging session blog, but in essence a messaging session is a meeting we hold to bounce ideas, really draw out key themes and nail messaging.
Openness is essential to create a transparent and collaborative environment. We always maintain open lines of communication, encouraging the client to share their thoughts, suggestions, and feedback throughout the project (not just the end – but more on that later). We’re always willing to adapt our strategies or make necessary adjustments based on their needs.
We’ve also prepared a set of communication templates that can be used at the start of every new project or during client onboarding. These templates ensure that we get all the information we need from the client and provide a clear overview of what they can expect from us. By consistently using these templates, we can be sure that important details aren’t overlooked, and both we and the client have a shared understanding of the project’s scope and objectives.
This communication is always maintained throughout a project and we’re on it when it comes to addressing any concerns or questions promptly. Repeating important messages, sending summary emails after meetings or key milestones, and providing actionable steps help reinforce our shared vision and minimise the chances of miscommunication or missed nuances. By actively involving the client in the decision-making process, we encourage a collaborative atmosphere that improves the overall client experience.
We understand that the final impressions you leave with the client will greatly influence their perception of the entire project and their likelihood of working with you again in the future. And so we always approach the ending phase with the same dedication to clarity, connection, and openness that we maintained throughout the project.
Communication plays a pivotal role in the project’s closure. We clearly communicate the project outcomes, summarising the key achievements, and demonstrating how the project has met or exceeded the initial goals and expectations. We present the results in a clear way using visual aids like CoverageBook to highlight the value we’ve delivered. We want to make sure we’re re-enforcing the client’s confidence in our abilities and the overall experience they had working with us.
Active communication is always maintained until the very end. Instead of letting communication drop off during the final stages, we send multiple cool-down emails that update the client on the progress of the remaining tasks and outline the steps being taken to wrap up the project. This proactive approach ensures that the client feels informed and involved until the last moment.
As mentioned before, we would never wait until the end to seek feedback from the client. Throughout the project, we regularly ask for their input, allowing them to express their thoughts, suggestions, and concerns. By the time we ask the client for a review at the end of a project, we’re confident that they’ve had an excellent experience working with us. And we’ve got the the twenty-one 5 star reviews to prove it!
By consistently focusing on clarity, connection, and openness from the beginning to the end of a project, you we make sure we’re creating a positive overall experience for every single one of our clients. This approach improves client satisfaction, strengthens relationships and increases the likelihood of future work together. And it’s the right way to behave.
For more PR and communications tips, check out ‘The Best PR Tips for Small Businesses’
First published at Carnsight.com
In case it’s not obvious, reputation matters. A business’ internal and external image can have an impressive sway on its success. Yet, when we think of brand reputation, we usually go to the consumer aspect. We concern ourselves with how reputation can affect purchase intent, or our brand compares to competitors.
This outward, customer focus is very important – but reputation also matters quite significantly when it comes to recruitment. Attracting top talent is less of slam-drunk/proven formula and more of a proactive effort in today’s competitive job market – it takes more than a competitive salary or impressive benefits to sway high performers. So, for today’s blog, we’re taking a statistical approach to guide the way, highlighting compelling research and trends that indicate the importance of nurturing a positive image in the digital landscape.
Recruitment trends have started to take a decisive shift, with 86% of employees and job seekers now evaluating companies based on their reputation and brand as an employer pre-application. Recent research and studies support this conclusively; like this research paper published in 2022, which makes clear that corporate reputation and employer branding heavily mediate jobseekers’ intention to apply for a job. Like much literature on this topic, the article further validates the connection between attracting and retaining top talent with achieving better market/brand positioning.
It seems that Glassdoor and Indeed users include roughly half of the active job seeker pool, with top candidates typically only applying to companies with great reviews; 75% of prospective employees would not take a job if they found that the company had a bad reputation. This is all to say again that reputation matters – it can boost or damage a business’ ability to acquire valuable talent, which in turn can boost or damage its performance and success.
Leverage good, effective reputation management and keep a thumb on the pulse of your online reputation as an employer. Cultivate a positive online presence and take control where you can – take ownership of business profiles on public review sites like Glassdoor, as well as job boards like Indeed. Be proactive and manage the public, employee, and jobseeker facing communication channels/platforms you have the opportunity to. Monitor and assess the activity that goes on and you will give your business a better footing to be strategic about its reputation management. Importantly, this gives insight into the opinions that prospective employees may be exposed to. In turn, this awareness allows the business to realign and readjust where necessary to better attract top talent.
The best of the best will take this idea a step further and build up a company culture that truly walks the walk. It will nurture a low-maintenance, high-asset reputation that flows more naturally and genuinely inspires positive reviews and discourse online.
Removing or taking down a genuine review is not something we recommend. If you try to censor a genuine review or fall into an aggressive defence, you run the risk of escalating the situation. It can also go against good faith management and can send the wrong message to past, present, and even future employees who could view removal as confirmation or censorship.
So, what can you do instead? One route is to acknowledge and respond – but be consistent about it. If you’re going to take ownership of a review and extend communication, it’s important not to be selective about which ones you respond too. Hence, we recommend an all or nothing approach; choose to make comments on all feedback or take a reserved path and leave every review without a formal response. When making this decision, it is worth nothing here that one study recently revealed that 80% of users agree that their perception of a business improves when employers respond to a review.
Sometimes it can be difficult to face critique, whether unfounded or not. But it’s important to take onboard reviews with an impartial lens where possible and consider if what is said rings true. If it does – maybe it’s time for some reflection. If you genuinely think the review is unfaithful, then try to analyse what lead to the reviewer writing that comment – what underlying issues or miscommunications could be at play, might it be an internal or external influence? Considering context and motivation can be quite insightful. Gut instinct is also a useful tool when it comes to differentiating between meaningful critiques and
Either way, it’s important to keep in mind that these are public forums, and key points of interest for prospective and even current employers to evaluate your reputation as an employer. So be strategic, considered, and mindful in how you approach any public reviews or commentary. Think about who may read what you write, and the kind of image it may create – because again, reputation matters.
It’s clear – a business’ reputation and brand as an employer are vital for attracting and retaining top talent. Company reviews and ratings are increasingly sought out by job seekers, with Glassdoor and job boards playing a significant role in their decision-making processes. By investing in reputation management, actively responding to reviews, and cultivating a positive online presence, businesses are more likely to enhance their employer brand, reduce turnover, and attract high-quality applicants. Hence, in today’s competitive recruitment landscape, a strong employer brand and positive reputation are essential for long-term success.
Originally posted to www.carnsight.com and written by work experience placement, Ruby.
Today we’re handing over the blog to Ruby who’s been doing work experience with us this week at Carnsight. It’s been fantastic having Ruby in the office and she’s handled every task we’ve thrown at her incredibly well. Here’s Ruby to report back on a week at Carnsight Communications…
Hello, I’m Ruby and I have spent the last week at Carnsight Communications partaking in work experience. In the last week my eyes have been opened to the world of PR and I have learnt so much more than I even could have imagined.
Walking to the Carnsight office on Monday morning I found myself wracked with nerves that I don’t usually experience. I consider myself to be confident when it comes to meeting new people and trying new activities however, my commute to the office was full of worries and ‘what-if’s’. However, within two minutes of being at the Carnsight office I found myself instantly relaxing as I looked around the office at four young, smiling women. The whole team was so friendly and made me feel welcomed instantly.
Senior Account Manager, Leigh-Ann, walked me through exactly what is done here at Carnsight Communications and I learned about all the different positions in a PR business. Being made aware of all roles such as leading client accounts, ghost writing, media releases and social media content creation exposed me to the variety that the day in the Carnsight office brings.
My first task was writing a press-release for Carnsight themselves and whilst I felt slightly overwhelmed the women here at Carnsight were quick to increase my confidence by ensuring me I was doing a good job as a complete newbie. Since then, I have created social media content for Yasmin and Alex, and written the fortnightly newsletter, which I did find challenging! However it definitely gave me an interesting insight to the type of clients that Carnsight works with.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my week here and found myself loving the different tasks that each day brings. I admire the work that the women at Carnsight do day in and day out and marvel at the way Jess has created and grown this business over the last eight years. I will always take pride in my weeks work here at this successful women-owned business.
The last week here at Carnsight communication has inspired me to work hard in my second year of A Levels to ensure good results in my exams next year. I would love to go University to study Psychology and one day enjoy working in a profession I love, like the women here at Carnsight do.
If you’re interested in reading more about work experience at Carnsight check out Martha’s blog, our work experience student from last year.
Originally posted to www.carnsight.com
Any PR worth their salt will be looking at any and every way they can secure good coverage in the right publication for their clients. They’ll know a number of different routes in, and they’ll always be looking for new and creative approaches to securing coverage.
PRs also understand that the way into these right publications will be different depending on several factors from the type of publication itself, and the relationship built between publication and client, to the strength of the story and the existing profile of the client.
One way to secure coverage in big and wide-reaching publications which is often overlooked is through response articlesand letters to the editor. We’ll come back to response articles in a later blog, but today let’s talk about why letters to the editor are a great way to secure some excellent coverage, and how you can write an editor letter that stands out.
There are a number of reasons editor letters are a fantastic form of coverage and can be considered a great way to get into a publication.
First of all, editor letters serve to amplify your expertise. Submitting a letter to the editor allows you to showcase your knowledge and expertise in a specific field. When responding to an article, you can provide additional information, offer alternative perspectives, or even try to provide solutions to the issues raised. By sharing your insights, you demonstrate to both the publication’s editorial team and its readers that you possess a deep understanding of the subject matter.
Letters to the editor provide a unique opportunity to engage in thoughtful discussions with other industry professionals. When your letter is published, it opens the door to a wider conversation. Readers and other experts may respond to your letter, offering alternative perspectives or expanding upon the ideas you presented. Engaging in these discussions not only expands your own understanding but also enables you to forge connections with like-minded individuals who share your passions and experiences.
To expand on that, the letters to the editor section is a networking goldmine. When your letter is published, you gain visibility among readers who may be interested in your point of view and offering. This exposure can lead to new opportunities. By actively participating in the discussion that follows your letter, you have the chance to connect with other professionals.
By expressing your views on important issues using an existing publication platform, you can contribute to the public discourse and potentially sway opinions. Your insights may reach decision-makers, journalists, or influential individuals who have the ability to effect change.
If you want to get your letter featured, you’ll need to stand out from the crowd. Here are some simple but crucial tips for writing a great letter to the editor.
This might sound ridiculously obvious, but you’d be surprised. Make sure you’ve read the publication – including letters to the editor – and ensure this shows in your letter. Highlight elements of other articles that you read and use that to form the basis of your letter. Respond to an argument or question already posed.
Keep your letter short and sweet. Editors receive numerous submissions, so it’s important to make yours clear and focused. Stick to one main idea or argument and support it with relevant facts or examples.
Consider starting with a compelling anecdote, a thought-provoking question, or a nice stat. The opening should be concise but engaging.
Back up your claims with evidence or examples to strengthen your argument. This could include citing sources, referring to relevant studies or research, or sharing personal experiences. Providing evidence helps to establish your credibility and makes your letter more persuasive.
A given (you’d hope).
Before submitting your letter, carefully proofread it to ensure accuracy and clarity. Check for spelling and grammar errors, and make sure your sentences are clear and coherent. You can find our top tips for spotting typos here.
Submitting a letter to the editor is a powerful tool for engagement, expertise recognition, and networking. So, next time you find yourself moved by an article, seize the opportunity to share your thoughts with the wider world through a letter to the editor. And use these tips to maximise its effectiveness. You never know where it may lead you.
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