It's not just AP Style, it's AP logic

Recently, a client suggested they write an article that we send out.

We gently said “no”, citing "AP Style" as the bottom line for credibility from journalists and for getting releases published.

While knowing how to use words accurately is important, “AP Style” also is shorthand for a specific type of logic: One thought per sentence with each sentence adding to the sequence.

We often see phrases in sentences that don’t move the action forward or worse, open up a raft of “wormy” questions that never get answered.  

When on the final draft of a very short PSA, someone wanted to add that the spokesperson had been helped by the organization.  

While this was a good idea, it was completely different PSA.   

For that, you had to say what the spokesperson was doing before as well as what they are doing now to show a change.   

You also needed to show how or why that help made a difference.  

To “write” clearly and succinctly, you need to think like a journalist: follow each thought to its logical conclusion, including all the implications.    

For more information, please visit Dell Richards Publicity at www.dellrichards.com. 

Articles last a long time

On April 30, 2010, we published an article for a client that manufactures hand-washing monitors about the health problems that come up in restaurants without them. 

It was short, to-the-point and had a catchy title.

We told the client they could expect people to read it for a year or so.  

Even we were surprised at the results.

Last month, views finally stopped, topping out at 1,152.

That means people viewed our client’s article not for one year, but five.

Getting an article published is not as easy as advertising, but it has enormous credibility and lasts for a long time.

Your Open Rates
Title	Date Published	Total Opens	Opens - Last 30 Days
Is your restaurant handwashing a lawsuit waiting to happen?	04/30/2010	1152	0
Total Open Counts: 1152

For more information, visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

In business, planting seeds has nice surprises years down the road

Because we were asked to speak on public relations at a dental conference when we first opened in 1993, we had many dental practices as clients for years.

Since one of our clients, Gary Demerjian, D.D.S., who later founded the Center for TMJ and Sleep Therapy, was particularly interested in sleep apnea, we worked with him on that subject.  

In one of the articles we wrote, we quoted Gary Sagiv on Itamar Medical’s WatchPAT—a watch-like monitor that can diagnose sleep apnea at home by measuring blood artery volume while the person sleeps.

As Sagiv tended to work for interesting medical start-ups, I continued to touch base with him.

Fast forward to 2014 and our LinkedIn connection.

Now vice president of global sales for Ornim Medical, Sagiv remembered the article and contacted me about company’s non-invasive blood-flow and oxygenation monitor.    

Not only was it great to hear from a colleague from that long ago, but the technology could have revolutionary implications for hospitals and the healthcare system around the globe.   

As I was writing about the c-FLOW, I thought you never know where or when the seeds you plant in business will come up.

But, sometimes, the longer they take, the more interesting the surprise.

For more information, please call Dell Richards Publicity at (916) 455-4790 or visit us at www.dellrichards.com. 

Being nice, the bedrock of marketing

I recently had a minor fender bender and got a whiplash that the other driver’s insurance was supposed to handle.   

Even though I was seeing a doctor, the well-known insurance company—rated in the Top 5 by Insurance Journal at the end of 2013—rejected the claim because my car had no damage.    

While it was pretty shocking to hear this, the way I was treated put me over the edge.

Both the adjuster and the supervisor were as cold and hard-nose as could be.

Neither said they were sorry or were sympathetic.  

All they did was repeat that there couldn’t be any damage to me. 

Given the pain I was in, my hackles went sky high.  

Maybe it pays to be nasty in the insurance industry--especially to less sophisticated people who don’t have access to lawyers and other professionals.  

But, even in egregious circumstances, patients don’t sue as often if they like their doctor.  

I will take on any bully if I have to, but I certainly wouldn’t have started thinking about bedside manner as marketing if I had been treated decently.  

For more information on marketing and image, contact Dell Richards Publicity at (916) 455-4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com.