I finally stopped writing press releases like a novelist

My old boss told me to cut the fluff and just say what happened. I ignored her for a year because I thought my writing was "creative." Then I ran a test on two product launches, one with my flowery style and one with her direct approach. The boring one got 40% more media pickups in the first week alone (we tracked it in Cision). I felt like an idiot, but she was totally right. Anyone else had to unlearn a bad writing habit because a manager called them out?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo_harris5d agoTop Commenter

Got called out by my old editor for using the word "utilize" in every other sentence. Thought I was adding value. Turns out I was just making people reach for a dictionary. My bad.

rivera.jake5d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, is "utilize" really that bad though? I feel like half the people who say it are just trying to sound smarter than they are.