Recently a few team members took the opportunity to cozy up in the office conference room for Michael Smart’s PR Power Writing webinar. Safe from the flurrying snowfall outside the full-length windows, Smart’s advice made eyebrows rise, heads nod, and pens scribble. Often, as PR practitioners, we are told to “create impactful quotes” or “make attention-grabbing headlines”. Smart described a strategic route to achieving these industry guidelines. How do I catch the reader’s eye? Most PR pros know how to take advantage of unusual words and direct headlines, but Smart suggested one specific technique that has been scientifically proven to catch more eyes: odd numbers. I can’t resist making a bad joke here, but – that’s odd. While reviewing a release that read, “We have more than 10 new additions!” Smart suggested that the more intriguing statement would be; “We have 11 new additions!” Odd or slanted numbers are proven to receive more clicks on a website and turn more eyes at the supermarket. So our team’s new goal: 5’s and 7’s and 107’s. What is my goal for this press release? Getting media attention is most often the overarching goal of PR practices, as it should be. But Smart [...]
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