Nobody Really Cares How You Feel
That’s a pretty blunt headline, we’ll admit. But it’s not meant to depress you.
We’re just talking about a very specific area where your feelings don’t matter, and that’s in the text of your news release. It happens most in customer announcement news releases, where the company that made the sale offers its comment.
Companies have a bad habit of falling back on very weak, and frankly lazy, statements. Such as “We are thrilled that Company B has chosen our new widget to incorporate into their product line” or “We are excited/honored/delighted/pleased/elated …” You get the picture.
As a former editor whose job it was to pick valuable information out of news releases for inclusion in articles, I can tell you that quotes such as those above were immediately eliminated from consideration. The truth is, your feelings in this case are of no real consequence and even less interest. Happy with the sale? Well, every company is happy when it makes a sale. Tell us something that matters.
Okay, now that we’ve torn down, we’ll build up. What you should be saying is something like this:
- “Company B chose our widget because of its ease of use, which is going to make their customers’ lives better in countless ways.” (Making a point about an important product feature.)
- Or “We developed the widget specifically for Company B’s needs for an easy to use product.” (Making a point about your ability to customize products for customers.)
- Or “Company B is the latest industry leader to select our widget for their product portfolio.” (Making a point about your product’s broader industry appeal.)
Such observations provide more value and more perspective and – most importantly – allow you to work a key company message into yet another part of the news release. It also conveys the impression that whoever is being quoted in the release has put a bit of thought into what they are saying.
So in the end, it’s not really that no one cares how you feel. Lots of people do, from Mom and Dad to loved ones to friends to business associates. We just don’t need to see your feelings in your news release.