Editing a press release (or anything else) by committee is generally not a good idea. The "too many cooks problem" crops up and by the time your press release is ready, the news is old.
One time, I remember at least eight people on the team edited the press release. The CEO made comments, including some questionable statements relating to technical specs that seemed to be the domain of the CTO. The CFO made comments, along with some requests for changes that would have added obvious spelling mistakes and grammar no-no's. The accountant contradicted the CFO… but who won that argument? It wasn’t clear from the thread.
Three people printed out the release and edited it with a pen, crossing out stuff and circling other stuff in red ink, then scanned the document. Was version 11 actually newer than version 7?
What about this other version that magically appeared in his inbox, where the CEO had inserted even more last-minute bombastic talking points. Or… were they new? It was past midnight and the number of iterations had spiralled out of control.
There had to be a better way. And really, there is.
So, what is the Super Easy Press Release Editing Process?
First, gather all the information you need before you write it. That means getting the client to answer the five W’s and ‘how’ of the news release. Once you have all that information, write the press release. (Obviously. Okay, next...)
Now, here comes the ‘editorial’ part of the process. When the clients have the copy, tag only the relevant members of the team. Ideally, this is limited to one or two people. Avoid the ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ scenario.
Encourage them to only make comments only about the things they are experts in. So, for instance, if the CEO is taking a look at the press release, is their statement about the growth of the company, including some specific metrics, actually correct?
Does the release includes information about the technical aspects of a new product? Okay, maybe the CTO or a head of product could check these claims ring true?
Sometimes, the legal or regulatory compliance person will want to get involved, to make sure the announcement isn't getting the company in trouble.
Fair enough... but what if the lawyer goes in and starts making suggestions about grammar or style that seem outside of their wheelhouse? Or inserts a bunch of legalistic gibberish that they think puts the company in the clear, while making the release unintelligible to your average journalist? That kind of thing is what you want to avoid.
You want to make sure the client's people aren't writing over the old copy or rewriting willy-nilly. We ask clients to simply highlight the text and ‘add comment’. Easy-peasy!
Once the press release is back in your hands, make edits, and re-tag the same person (or people) to look it over one final time. Make a note about when you're planning on releasing the press release as well, so everyone's on the same page about the deadline (which is usually urgent).
The main point is to keep it simple. Gather info. Write it. Send it to the client for comments. Edit the release based on comments. Have the client give it just one more read-through, and the press release is ready for pitching.
Does your business have press-release worthy news to share? We'll write, edit and get your release out to the right reporters. Contact Mind Meld PR