While writing the “perfect” PR blog may seem overwhelming, it can be a lot of fun. Rather than your usual structured service page or on-page optimization copy, you can let your creativity run the show. The biggest problem is keeping yourself from getting carried away, but how? Let’s dive into everything copywriters need to know to write effective PR blogs.

What Are PR Blogs?

PR blogs, or public relations blogs, are digital marketing tools companies use to earn backlinks, drive website traffic, and expand their reach beyond their traditional target audience. Think of them as a bridge between the brand and the general public, offering a way to communicate and build relationships. 

They take data from various sources (house-made surveys, Google Trends, etc.) to highlight interesting topics and trends using engaging copy. Although it differs by brand, PR blogs are typically written using informal tones to catch the attention of readers and journalists and make the data easily digestible. They also usually include visual graphics to make the data more accessible and appealing. 

PR blog topics can range from branded (obviously related to your products or services) to tangential (seemingly not relevant at first but can still be tied to the company in the end). While branded content can be beneficial, tangential content is the more eye-catching, curiosity-inducing content people can’t help but click on. To give you a better idea of the type of content found in tangential PR blogs, I compiled a list of some of my favorite examples that I’ll reference throughout the article.

• The Scoop on Every State’s Favorite Ice Cream

• The More Popular Half of Iconic Celebrity Couples

• The Most Expensive Airbnb in Every U.S. State

• The Best and Worst States at Family Feud

Tips for Writing Effective PR Blog Copy

Now that you have a better understanding of PR blogs, you’re almost ready to get writing! Before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, more likely), take a look at these 8 tips for writing effective PR blog copy.

1. Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience is key when writing PR blogs because it shapes everything from your tone to the topics you cover. Think about it: if you’re writing for industry experts, you can dive into the nitty-gritty details and use technical jargon. But if your readers are everyday consumers, you’ll want to keep things simple and relatable. Understanding who you’re talking to helps you craft messages that resonate, engage, and drive the right action. Plus, when you know your audience well, you can anticipate their questions, address their concerns, and ultimately build stronger connections. It’s all about making your content feel like it was written just for them.

2. Know Your Brand Voice

Knowing your brand voice is crucial when writing PR blogs because it ensures consistency and authenticity. Your brand voice is like the personality of your company—it’s how you “sound” to your audience. Whether your brand is playful and casual or professional and authoritative, sticking to a consistent voice helps build trust and recognition. It’s the difference between feeling like your content comes from a real, relatable person versus a faceless corporation.

3. Keep intent in mind

Keeping your intent in mind when writing PR blogs is vital because it helps you stay focused and ensures your message hits the mark. It’s easy to get sidetracked by interesting data or tangents, but straying off-topic can dilute your main point and confuse your readers. When you have a clear intent, every sentence serves a purpose and supports your overall goal. This focus not only keeps your writing sharp and effective but also helps your audience quickly grasp the key takeaways.

4. Balance Creativity and Data

Creativity grabs your audience’s attention and makes your blog enjoyable to read, while data provides solid evidence that backs up your claims. Think of it like the “based on a true story” disclaimer in the opening credits of a movie. Just like dealing with data, it’s easy to give your creative flair a bit too much free reign. You have to weave these elements together to create a narrative that’s not only engaging but also trustworthy. This balance ensures that your blogs are simultaneously entertaining, persuasive, and informative.

5. Focus on the Facts

While a spreadsheet full of data provides endless opportunities for interpretation, it’s important not to go overboard. The overarching goal of digital PR blogs is to generate backlinks. To do this, journalists and other media outlets have to want to share the information showcased in the content. They aren’t going to be interested in blogs that have already explored the data in depth because there isn’t a new perspective for them to take. While some interpretation might be necessary to craft a compelling narrative, it’s best to stick to the data itself as much as possible to give journalists room to put their own spin on it.

6. Don’t Oversell

This tip might seem counterintuitive, but hear me out: don’t put too much emphasis on your brand or services when writing tangential content because it can deter readers. You want to use PR blogs to get your brand out there, but you can (and should) do it without plugging them every chance you get. In my experience, the best way to prevent overselling is not to mention your brand or services in the body copy. It’s like an ad interrupting the most dramatic scene in your favorite show. So, try to discuss your company only in the introduction and conclusion sections of PR blogs. Even then, find an engaging way to tie them in, like the following example: “Just as MRO Electric services are essential to keeping your business running smoothly throughout the year, ice cream is the sweet fuel that helps us all power through the hot summer months.”

7. Craft Compelling Headings

This may be common sense to experienced copywriters, but it’s an important aspect of writing effective PR blogs to check off the list. Headings organize content and tell readers what to expect. In PR blogs, they have the added responsibility of encouraging them to keep reading. To achieve this, keep your headings clear, relevant, and pithy. Incorporate SEO keywords where possible and put yourself in the audience’s shoes—would that heading make you want to keep reading? In The More Iconic Half of Celebrity Couples, for example, we could have used a heading like “Which Ex has the Highest Search Volume,” but chose to go with “Battle of the Former Flames” instead to keep readers interested.

8. Make Your Methodology Clear

Although copywriters aren’t typically the ones gathering data or conducting surveys, we are responsible for making sure readers understand where the information we use comes from. This builds trust and gives the data a strong leg to stand on. Depending on your guidelines, you can include the methodology in the copy or have a separate section for it. Either way, keep your explanation concise and avoid using jargon that the average reader may not understand.

Conclusion

Writing PR blogs is an art form that any copywriter can master. It just takes patience, practice, and a lot of focus. Remember, it’s all about telling informative, engaging stories that boost your brand visibility. So, keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be well on your way to writing PR blogs that truly shine. Happy writing!

A Copywriter’s Guide to Writing Effective PR Blogs is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

Copywriters, in particular, have been hesitant to harness ChatGPT’s capabilities for fear of creating unoriginal content that falls down the SERPs. However, with the right training and strategies in place, ChatGPT can help any copywriter take their craft to the next level. 

Flipping the Script on AI-Powered Content

As a copywriter, you’ve probably heard discussions in meetings, social media, and online forums about whether AI-powered content is a good thing. Some content creators view it as taboo; they think using AI tools is lazy and takes away from the essence of the craft. Others are worried that platforms like ChatGPT may be used to replace copywriters entirely.

Using AI platforms isn’t taking the easy way out of copy creation; it requires time and skill to turn an AI-generated piece into something valuable for readers. AI tools are just that—tools that can be used alongside your typical writing processes to make you more efficient and your content more effective. 

Think about how many pieces of content you put together for your clients on a daily basis. How long does it take to write a 1,000-word blog with compelling, branded, SEO-friendly content from scratch? What about technical, authoritative content? Two or more hours? Using ChatGPT, you can whittle down your deliverable time so you can write more content and expand your clientele. 

Google’s Stance on AI Copy

The overarching goal of copywriting is to get your client noticed by establishing credibility. To do this, your copy has to rank relatively high in Google’s SERPs. Is it possible to score a top 10 ranking with AI-generated content, or does Google cast it aside?

While it’s true that Google may penalize poorly crafted AI copy, it promotes any high-quality content that meets its E-E-A-T standards regardless of how it was produced. This means that AI-generated copy demonstrating expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness has just as much opportunity to rank high in the SERPs as manually created content. 

ChatGPT for Copywriters: 6 Essential Tips

Now that we’ve established that AI-generated content can be valuable, let’s explore 5 essential ways to use ChatGPT as a copywriting tool.

1. Start With Detailed Prompts

Prompts are what tell ChatGPT what to write and how to write it. The more detailed you are, the more tailored its response will be. Let’s use a prompt for a blog about Raleigh, NC as an example:

Because this is a very open-ended prompt, ChatGPT gave a very broad response that may not align with the content’s intended purpose. With a more specific prompt, I’ll get an answer more aligned with my needs:

We’ll go into more detail later about editing ChatGPT responses to fit your needs, but they are a great starting point.

2. Brainstorm

ChatGPT can help with more than final copy—it can generate content ideas, titles, and outlines to give you a good starting point. All you have to do is input a prompt along the lines of, “Generate x ideas for…”

If you’ve already done keyword research and know what you’re targeting, include that in your prompt as well to make the responses SEO-friendly.

3. Get Brand-Specific

The wonderful thing about AI tools is that you can teach them. To make your content brand-specific, update ChatGPT’s memory with information related to your client, their products, and services. ChatGPT can later reference this information to build personalized content. It may already have information about your client stored that it sourced from the web, but adding more information ensures it’s up-to-date and accurate. To do this, start your prompt with something like, “Memorize this information about…”

You can also have ChatGPT memorize brand style, tone, and voice for later use to keep content consistent across blogs, social media, and more. Give the platform the prompt, “Memorize this tone of voice,” followed by an example from your client’s previous copy.

4. Platform Optimization

In many digital marketing agencies, copywriters are jacks of all trades. They write web copy, blogs, social media posts, email newsletters, product descriptions, and more. Each type of copy and the platform for which they are intended require different approaches.

Written content for social media platform X, for example, has a limit of 280 characters. You have to be able to get your point across in a compelling way within that limit. To do this effectively, enter a ChatGPT prompt like, “Write a post for social media platform X in no more than 280 characters about…”

The way this content is presented on X is different from what it would be for a blog post. You can use ChatGPT to adjust the content accordingly using a prompt like, “Write an x-word blog about _____.”

5. Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are extremely important aspects of copywriting and SEO because they help readers and search engines understand what your content is about, thus contributing to rank and engagement. Because of their limited character count (usually below 150 characters), it can be tricky to accurately capture the essence of your content and include at least one keyword. 

Thankfully, ChatGPT can help. Use a prompt like, “In no more than 150 characters, write a meta description for ____.” Remember, the more specific your prompt, the better your response will be. Be sure to include any keywords you want to use.

6. Translation and Localization

One of the often overlooked uses of ChatGPT is translation. Although you likely won’t be writing entire pieces in languages other than your native one, you can use ChatGPT to translate content as needed. This is particularly helpful for writing short-form content like social media posts for global audiences. Simply enter the prompt, “Translate this to [language],” accompanied by the text you want translated.

Keep in mind, however, that not everything can be directly translated. You should always have a native or fluent speaker check ChatGPT translations for accuracy.

The Importance of Humanizing Content

Raw, unedited AI content is easy to spot. It’s full of repetitive words, awkward phrases, grammatical errors, and unnatural sentence structures that can make it difficult to read and enjoy. Let’s use a previous example for reference:

This draft has some potential, but it needs a lot of work to effectively catch a reader’s attention and feel authentic. I mean, how many blogs have you read that start with, “Welcome to our blog!” without wanting to roll your eyes?

This is where adding a human touch to AI-generated content becomes crucial. You have to adjust the tone and voice of the content to match your client’s brand, establish them as a credible source, and provide readers with the answers to their queries. I’ve rewritten the ChatGPT-generated content below as an example:

Nestled in the heart of North Carolina, Raleigh is a unique blend of Southern charm and modern innovation. Known as the City of Oaks, Raleigh offers everything from a bustling downtown scene to serene nature trails and celebrated cuisine. Whether you’re a foodie, history buff, outdoor enthusiast, or art aficionado, the capital city has something for everyone. Let’s dive into all the reasons Raleigh is not just a great place to visit, but a wonderful place to live.

See the difference? These simple adjustments in word choice, phrasing, and information took only a few minutes to do, but they made all the difference in the overall feeling of the content. It has been shifted to provide readers with an overview of what’s to come and a sense that the blog’s writer has knowledge of the area. The content is still lighthearted and playful but not overly gimmicky.

This example shows that AI is a powerful tool, but you can’t rely on it to do all the work for you.

Best Practices for Creating Copy with ChatGPT

To use ChatGPT effectively in your copywriting processes, follow these best practices:

• Fact Check: Although AI is smart, you can’t take the information it provides at face value. ChatGPT has stored information from sources all across the web, meaning some less credible sources, like informal discussion forums, may be referenced. Its memory also doesn’t update in real time, so some of the information it has may no longer be accurate. Because of this, you should always fact-check any information the platform provides.
• Regenerate, Refine, and Revise: ChatGPT doesn’t always respond in the most helpful way the first time you prompt it. To counteract this, take advantage of the platform’s ‘regenerate’ button. Clicking this will give you multiple variations of the same answer to choose from. You can take bits and pieces from each response to help create content that best fits your needs. If regenerating doesn’t yield the results you’re hoping for, try refining and revising your prompt by adding more parameters.
• Edit or Regret it: As previously mentioned, ChatGPT pulls its information from the web. This can lead to accidental plagiarism or near-plagiarism. Avoid this by making the content it gives you unique. Instead of copying and pasting, edit words, phrases, sentence structures, and more to create truly original content your audience will resonate with.

Conclusion

The realm of copywriting and digital marketing is constantly evolving—so, too, should our strategies. Mastering ChatGPT can significantly elevate the quality and efficiency of your copywriting efforts. By employing the strategies discussed, you can leverage this powerful AI tool to enhance your creative process without taking away from the essence of the craft. Whether you’re generating captivating headlines, tailoring content to specific audiences, or scaling up your content production, ChatGPT is a flexible solution for copywriters around the globe. Remember, the key to success with AI in copywriting lies in the synergy between human creativity and machine efficiency.

AI Meets Art: ChatGPT Tips for Copywriters is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.