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Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Since email went mainstream in the ‘90s, PR professionals everywhere have all labored toward the same goal: to write the perfect email. The good news is it appears we’re not the only ones on this communications odyssey. My LinkedIn newsfeed is often flooded with articles declaring with authoritative certainty that the secret to email nirvana is just a click away. To save you the trouble of reading those articles, I’m throwing my hat in the ring as an expert on email advice from experts to summarize some of the most helpful tips I’ve found so far.
Subject Line
As we’ve mentioned in previous blogs, the subject of your email should be informative and direct. Now thanks to Boomerang, a productivity app, we even know how many words your subject line should contain. According to survey results, three-to-four words elicited the most responses (48 percent). Before you add another word, decide if it’s absolutely critical for clarity or if the recipient will still be able to grasp the main objective without it.
Body
If there’s one thing I can state with absolute conviction after my research, it’s this: No one is a fan of long emails. Much like subject lines, brevity is encouraged throughout an email. Harvard Business Review advocates for channeling your inner drill sergeant when writing emails and delivering the bottom line up front (BLUF). By immediately stating the key facts (who, what, when, where and why), readers will quickly glean the purpose and intent of the email.
As for the ideal length, Fast Company prescribes five sentences to strike the right balance between courtesy and concision. If five sentences seems like a miserly length to you, The Atlantic went so far as to whittle that down to a scant three sentences. However, if a situation requires a more detailed email, remember to use numbered lists and leave spaces between paragraphs since your recipients will likely be reading your message on their mobiles.
Sign-off
And last but not least is the email sign-off. Once you’ve nailed the subject line and content of your email, your final hurdle to clear is the closing. Fortunately, the Boomerang team also reviewed closings in more than 350,000 email threads to determine which phrases correlated with the highest response rate. Here are the top eight closings and their response rates:
- Thanks in advance (65.7 percent)
- Thanks (63.0 percent)
- Thank you (57.9 percent)
- Cheers (54.4 percent)
- Kind regards (53.9 percent)
- Regards (53.5 percent)
- Best regards (52.9 percent)
- Best (51.2 percent)
It turns out that a little thanks goes a long way, at least when it comes to email sign-offs. When emails with thankful closings were compared to those without, the study concluded, “Closing with an expression of gratitude thus correlated with a whopping 36 percent relative increase in average response rate compared to signing off another way.”
With that, I will thank you in advance for reading my blog post and leave you to your inbox.
We’ve all heard the saying, “To assume is to make an ass out of U and me.” The reality is that our assumptions can be powerful. That power can be positive or negative, and can drive you toward your objectives and goals or hold you back.
It is easy to fall in the trap of thinking about what someone else could have done, should have done, how poorly they handled something, how disrespectful they acted, and more, by focusing on negative criticism of their action or lack thereof. I can hear my mom’s words telling me, “Don’t give them so much power.” She was right. Focusing my energy on being critical and assuming a negative intent had the power to put me in a bad mood, distract me from my objectives, and frame my attention on things that were not productive.
A more productive approach (professionally and personally) is to assume positive intent. Kit Copper articulates in the post “Assuming Positive Intent: The Ultimate Productivity Driver” that “once we evolve to understanding the folly of this mindset, we feel freer and we become more productive professionally due to the minimization of unhelpful, distracting thoughts.
Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of Pepsico, articulated the power of assuming positive intent in a 2008 Fortune article “The Best Advice I Ever Got.”
She wrote, “When you assume negative intent, you’re angry. If you take away that anger and assume positive intent, you will be amazed. … You don’t get defensive. You don’t scream. You are trying to understand and listen because at your basic core you are saying, ‘Maybe they are saying something to me that I’m not hearing.’”
Ultimately, where we focus our attention will drive our behavior and energy, as well as dictate results. If someone chooses to focus on the negative, we pay more attention to the problems and spend less focus on the solutions. Our attention frames our responses.
A Harvard Business Review article by Caroline Webb, “Change Your Intention to Focus Your Attention,” offers four steps how on to be more deliberate in your attention and to decide on positive intention.
Below is an excerpt from Webb’s article:
- Check in with yourself. Ask yourself what’s top of mind for you right now? What are your expectations about the situation and the people you’re working with? What needs or concerns do you have? What’s your mood?
- Recognize your filters. Given what is top of mind for you, make two quick lists. What information or behavior will you be paying most attention to, because it fits with what is top of mind for you? What information and behavior could you potentially miss, because it goes against your current state of mind.
- Decide on Positive Intention. Identify what matters most to you. If you’re coming up with anything a little snarky or self-righteous, try to reframe generously. For example, perhaps it’s really more important to improve your connection with a colleague rather than making sure the colleague understands they did something wrong.
- Direct Your Attention. Given your positive intention and your lists, what do you now pay more attention to – in others, in yourself, or in the task at hand?
It can be challenging in the moment to not react in a snarky manner in response to another person’s behavior or upon receiving feedback or a suggestion. However, how you decide to react, what you assume in their intent and where you place focus can make a significant difference in your relationships, how you are perceived, in what you learn and ultimately in your success.
TV interviews are a terrifying prospect for many people. For a multitude of reasons, putting a camera in front of someone’s face has a unique ability to inspire stress and lapses in judgment that can curtail an interview from its intended focus. But have no to fear! There are a lot of things spokespeople can do to prepare for TV interviews and ensure they are at their best when speaking to broadcast journalists.
The topic of preparing for a TV interview came up recently when CPR worked with a spokesperson from A Place for Mom – the nation’s largest senior living referral service – to prep for a local TV appearance. (Technically it was a Skype interview, but similar in the sense that visuals should be taken into account when planning for the appearance). The spokesperson did an amazing job during the interview, which can be seen here if interested, and below are a few things we discussed in the training sessions leading up to the appearance:
Practice, practice, practice. Although it is a very cliché thing to say, it’s imperative that a spokesperson rehearses prior to an interview. Running through Q&As and practicing answers before the interview will ensure the spokesperson is comfortable with the subject matter and help identify answers that may need work. Try scheduling mock interviews with a co-worker or friend to prepare, or at the very least, recite talking points in front of a mirror before conducting the interview.
Select the appropriate clothing. TV is a visual format and wearing an inappropriate outfit can potentially distract the audience from the speakers’ actual message. In general, people should wear solid colors, avoiding checkered or striped shirts. Accessories should be kept to a minimum and appear subtle. And finally, dress to impress. In more cases than not, wearing formal clothes that empower the spokesperson and project leadership is recommended for TV appearances.
Demonstrate engagement. Viewers are most interested in watching and listening to people who are passionate about what they do, even if the topic can be considered “bland.” Show enthusiasm when speaking about a topic, making eye contact with the interviewer and using hand and body language to emphasize key points and bring messages to life. A spokesperson’s enthusiasm can persuade viewers that the subject matter is worth learning about.
Offer soundbites. TV interviews are often cut into short segments, so speaking in sound bites is a good way to ensure key messaging isn’t cut on the editing floor. Before the interview, think about the top three to four things that need to be conveyed and practice giving short and succinct sound bites around the point.
Think about body language. Professor Mehrabian came up with the 7 percent rule, explaining that “communication is only 7 percent verbal and 93 percent non-verbal.” This holds particularly true during broadcast interviews, where a spokesperson should think about what their body language is saying to the audience. Crossed arms? That’s a sign of defensiveness. Slouched over in a chair? That shows unprofessionalism. Before participating in a TV interview, record yourself practicing and look for body language that may be distracting to viewers to help avoid doing such things during the actual interview.
Relax. Beyond anything else, people need to relax before participating in an interview. Take deep, calming breaths before the appearance to unwind. Bring a friend for support if it’s helpful, or do whatever is necessary to calm nerves before the interview. Nervousness can interrupt speech patterns and be very visible to a TV audience, but being calm and collected can help ensure people are actually digesting what is being said.
Interested in learning about more PR tips and best practices? If so, be sure to check these other helpful posts on the CPR blog: Seven Ways to Ace that Public Relations Agency Interview, Conducting the Successful Satellite Media Tour and The Perfect Press List.
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An interesting article recently shared on Times Insider, The New York Times’ behind-the-scenes insight page, revealed that the paper has been running a test on which headlines are attracting more readers. Mark Bulik, a senior editor, unveiled the test is part of an effort to increase the paper’s readership.
The experiment is a relatively simple one, yet reveals the importance of a strong headline. It involves using a tool that allows them to simultaneously present two headlines for one story on the home page. Fifty percent of visitors see one headline and the other 50 percent see another. From there the paper measures click-through rates and, if there are significant differences between the two options, they select the winner to appear on the home page for all readers.
Below are several examples of test headlines The Times has run. Can you guess which ones received the most clicks?
Test One:
- $2 Billion Worth of Free Media for Trump
- Measuring Trump’s Media Dominance
Test Two:
- Soul-Searching in Baltimore, a Year After Freddie Gray’s Death
- Baltimore After Freddie Gray: The ‘Mind-Set Has Changed’
Test Three:
- Is Everything Wrestling?
- It’s Not Just Wresting That’s Fake. It’s The World.
The Results
In test one, headline No. 1 garnered 297 percent more readers. In test two, the second headline showed a 1,677 percent increase in readership. Lastly, with the third test, headline two increased readership in tenfold.
The Takeaways
It’s important to realize that while the article is the story, the headline is how a reader determines whether or not they will invest their time in reading the article. Based on the findings from this experiment, Bulik says the headlines with the most success are clear, powerful, and written in a conversational tone. As seen in the third test, incorporating something slightly controversial and that’s top-of-mind with readers, like the word “fake,” has proven effective.
While Bulik doesn’t state this in his article, based on our experience in the industry, people like numbers, which is why I would venture to guess headline one in test one saw more success. It helps people quantify the gravity of the topic. Anyone would look at $2 billion and think, that is a lot of money. That value will likely pique their curiosity and create a desire to understand how the journalist arrived at that number. However, when referring to measuring media dominance, it unclear what that will look like. Is it measuring the number of news article about Trump? Does it measure the time people spend reading article about him? Are the measurements at all significant? It leaves the reader with a lot of unanswered questions about the significance of the topic, rather than the topic itself.
This is an interesting approach, enabled by the age of digital media, to refining a critical element of the writing process. Bulik’s parting piece of advice, when developing a headline, two heads are better than one.
For more tips for creating a stellar headline, check out these articles:
Every morning before leaving the house, Betty Cockrum makes sure she is camera-ready. For the average CEO this is an unnecessary precaution, but as the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, last-minute media appearances are a frequent occurrence. Cockrum has been interviewed for HBO, Vice, Rolling Stone, the Daily Show, and countless other news outlets to defend Planned Parenthood’s mission as the organization finds itself at the center of a divisive political issue that is threatening its federal funding.
Cockrum recently took time out of her busy schedule to discuss her approach to PR with the Puget Sound chapter of PRSA. She shared what it’s like to constantly play defense as Congress members and grassroots groups alike publicly oppose Planned Parenthood and how she leverages the constant stream of incoming media requests to clarify misconceptions and shift the conversation back to the organization’s core mission.
A Defensive Approach
Cockrum and her team do not have much time to think about offensive PR strategies. Instead, they leverage the steady stream of incoming media requests to ensure Planned Parenthood’s messaging is part of the media conversation around women’s reproductive health.
This also allows Cockrum to educate the public on Planned Parenthood’s core mission: providing reproductive healthcare to women. Planned Parenthood has become associated with the pro-choice/pro-life debate, and as a result many people have lost sight of the fact that its services extend far beyond providing abortions. In reality, abortions only comprise about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services and no federal funding is spent on abortion services. Continuing to educate the public about the broad range of healthcare services Planned Parenthood provides to 2.5 million women – from cancer screenings, to contraception, to general healthcare services like flu vaccines – is now more critical than ever as Planned Parenthood faces losing its federal funding.
With Planned Parenthood’s government funding at risk, private donations are incredibly important. Positive media interviews can lead to a bump in donations. When Cockrum appeared on the The Rachel Maddow Show, she says Planned Parenthood received close to $30,000 in donations the day after the show aired. Planned Parenthood has also seen an uptick in donations since the election: the organization has received more than 400,000 donations from across the country.
Fighting Political Jargon with Logical Facts
In today’s age of alternative facts, an unprecedented amount of misleading information is being spread by politicians, grassroots organizations and media. The “war of words,” as Cockrum calls it, is especially fierce around women’s reproductive health. Cockrum’s strategy is to fight political jargon with logical facts. For example, when politicians and reporters use the term “chemical abortion,” Cockrum corrects them, explaining that the medically correct term is “medical abortion.”
However, once something is in print Cockrum rarely asks for a correction because she feels this draws more attention to the mistake. Instead, she works to educate reporters so they understand why political jargon is misleading and the importance of using neutral, medically accurate language.
Dealing with Crisis
As the spokesperson for an organization that is at the center of a deeply divisive political issue, Cockrum has extensive experience with crisis communications. In fact, she says for the past six months she has been living in damage-control mode. Her advice for others dealing with crisis communications is to address the issue as early as possible, and if your organization has made a mistake, always give the appropriate audience a sincere apology. Once the crisis starts to calm down, take a critical look at what went wrong and how you’ll do things differently moving forward to prevent it from happening again.
Cockrum has been leading Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky for 15 years, and she plans to retire in June. During her tenure, she has grown a thick skin against criticism. In an interview with the Indy Star she said, “With every passing encounter that’s unpleasant, you get a little more stoic about it, you grow a little more skin. But when it’s all said and done, you come back to truth. And truth is, we do good stuff, and we make a real difference in real people’s lives every single day.”
If you’d like to support Planned Parenthood, you can make a donation here.
Last spring Communique PR kicked off its engagement with St. Thomas School (STS), a private, non-sectarian school for preschool through 8th-grade students. Tucked away on the eastside of Seattle in Medina, Wash., STS is ahead of the curve as one of five schools in the U.S. selected to be a Microsoft Showcase School, a global community of schools that work closely with Microsoft to lead digital innovation in education to improve learning outcomes.
Tasked with aiding in the content development for the STS Blog, we’ve had a lot of fun learning about the school’s extensive curriculum and sharing how the school supports the academic, professional and personal growth of its students. As well, we’ve had the opportunity to get to know a few of the school’s great faculty members while conducting interviews in order to write posts and brainstorm new topics.
Learning about STS through the lens of its faculty members has been an exciting experience. We’ve been given a behind-the-scenes look at school life and have been blown away by the teachers’ and the administration’s passion for its students, their development and success. It’s been educational and enjoyable to share STS’ joy of learning with the community through topics such as the importance of STEM subjects in early education, how parents can support personalized learning at home, the role of Edgework in schooling, the importance of providing teachers with new educational programs and more.
In addition to writing for the blog, we have also secured contributed article placements in a couple of Seattle’s local parenting blogs, a national ed-tech publication, as well as secured editorial coverage in a local newspaper. Below is a growing list of the content we have developed on behalf of STS and its faculty:
STS Blog Posts:
- A Sensible Approach to Managing Your Kids’ Online Activity
- The Role of Edgework in Expanding Our Children’s Horizons
- Why School Structure & Culture Matter for Middle Schoolers
- How Differentiated Instruction Helps Emerging Readers Grow
- Why Closing the Gender Gap in STEM Starts in Elementary School
- Extending Personalized Learning Beyond the Classroom
- Why Tomorrow’s Leaders Need Character Education
- The Power of Bringing Educators Together – My Takeaways from Attending the 2017 Office 365 Summit
Editorial Coverage & Contributed Articles:
- Bellevue Reporter: Small Medina school leading the pack in 1:1 computer programs
- Ed Tech Digest: Worth the Investment
- Parent Map: Local Educator Talks Screen Time: 3 Habits for a Healthier Family
- Points Living: Starting Healthy Habits Young – St. Thomas School’s New Dining Program Teachers Students About Healthy Lifestyles
As we come upon the one-year anniversary of our relationship with STS, we look forward to continuing to share its passion for learning with the community.