About write Like a journalist
Why would anybody other than a front line news reporter want to write like a journalist?
The answer is both simple and compelling for today’s most successful news contributors, publicists, corporate communicators, executives and advertising copy writers.
When they write, they want their material to be read - and most importantly they want it to be read, understood and accepted ahead of all of their competitors’ messages.
Over generations, journalists have learnt to adapt their writing styles to get and hold the attention of their readers like few other communicators.
Today, in an era where every brand, community group, fan base and even takeaway food chain has its own website and social media channels, it can often seem impossible for most of us to “shout” loud enough to be heard above the rest.
In this environment it’s easy to be tempted to buy a lot of internet advertising space – which has its place – but if you’re not selling your message correctly then all the advertising money in the world still won’t help you.
Journalists are taught from the outset to communicate remarkably effectively with relatively simple techniques. And they have learnt to constantly move with the times and use every potential aid available to enhance their product and increase the reach and penetration of their messages.
This is not meant to suggest everybody with a message to communicate should hire a journalist to do the job. With a little help you can learn to do it yourself.
In this guide we will show you how to write like a journalist to achieve the outcomes you want. We will share with you the essential skills trained journalists need every day to communicate with their myriad audiences.
You will be shown how to write to grab the attention of your specific audience for long enough to successfully and succinctly communicate your most important messages.
Irrespective of whether you need to produce a gripping news statement, an annual report, a training manual, or member email; we will equip you with the necessary tools to help you deliver your messages with the impact of a professional news journalist.
Fortunately, there has never been a time of greater opportunity for those who understand the basics of journalism practice to make their mark on ever expanding global platforms.
The information we want to share with you applies to all news and information platforms and is adaptable to all business and social communications.
We have kept what we have to say as short as possible, in a bid to give you as much information in the least number of words we can.
Remember, we are not trying to train you as journalists. Our aim with this book is simply to arm you with some of the key writing and presentation skills leading professionals now use to get their message read and accepted by holding reader attention for as long as possible.
Let us now show you, as simply as we can, how it’s done – how to write like a journalist.