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In PR, there is no “undo” button. One phrase said in the wrong tone, one unverified figure, one nuance that “wasn’t clarified in time,” and you’re already getting a call from the CEO, a journalist, or a lawyer. Or, worse, from all three at once.
This is the reality that every novice PR specialist faces. Not because they are bad at their job, but simply because mistakes are costly in this line of work, and speed sometimes trumps common sense.
That’s why professionals always have their “pre-publication ritual”: a short but strict checklist that takes three minutes but saves weeks of stress. In editorial offices, it’s called “insurance.” In PR departments, they call it “armor.”
For beginners, it can be the most cost-effective way to avoid damaging their reputation from the outset.
In PR, the first sentence is your entry point, the door through which the reader either enters the text or turns away. And the most common mistake beginners make is a vague, elusive introduction that doesn’t say anything specific.
Ask yourself a simple question: “What exactly do I want to convey?” Not “tell about the product” or “share the news,” but what one main idea should the reader get.
The second question: “Could the reader misunderstand the meaning?” If the first sentence can be read in two ways, assume that it will not be understood at all.
A mini-test that saves dozens of texts: Show the first paragraph to a colleague who is not familiar with the topic. Ask, “What is this text about?”
If the answer matches what you had in mind, great, move on. If your colleague answers something else, the problem is not with them, but with the wording.
In PR, there is no room for “well, basically it’s clear.” Either be clear or take a risk.
In PR, the math is very simple: one incorrect figure = minus trust.
And the worst thing is that the audience almost always catches what you “messed up” in a hurry: a date you didn’t specify, a position you forgot to update, or statistics you “saw somewhere.”
A mistake in the facts is not even about embarrassment, it’s about a blow to your reputation. Because if you messed up the basics, what about everything else?
That’s why fact-checking is hygiene. Just like washing your hands: it’s trivial, but it saves you from problems.
What you must check:
A little rule that never fails: if in doubt, check. If you don’t have a source, don’t write it.
In PR, the most accurate wins.
In PR, text is the official voice of the company, even if it’s just a blog post or a short comment for the media. So the first thing to check is whether it contradicts what the company has said before.
Newbies often think, “It’s no big deal, it’s just a slightly different message.”
It is precisely this “slightly different” that kills the brand, because it sends the signal: “Oh, they contradict themselves. That means they can’t be trusted.”
What is important to check before publication:
If your brand is about consistency and caution, but the text says “let’s take risks, let’s move forward,” that’s a problem.
This is a painful topic: one post can easily destroy what has been built over years. If your style is restrained and expert, but the text suddenly “shouts” or sounds like a TikTok blogger, the dissonance is immediately felt.
Any new publication is a continuation of the old one. If today the company says the opposite of what it said six months ago, it’s already a communication failure.
The bottom line is simple: public texts should be part of a single story.
The headline is your first and often only chance to grab attention. The truth is that most people decide whether to read on or not in 2-3 seconds. And if the headline is “nothing special,” the material has almost no chance.
Before publishing, ask yourself three simple questions:
The first paragraph is the moment of truth. This is where the reader decides whether they will stay for 10 seconds or 3 minutes. Unfortunately, most texts fail at this stage: the introduction is boring, drawn out, or “about nothing.”
Therefore, before publishing, be sure to check:
In PR, sometimes it’s not so much what you say as how you say it. One unfortunate phrase can ruin the whole text, even if the topic itself is neutral. Even worse, it can cause hate, which will take a long time to explain and quell.
The truth is simple: the audience is very sensitive to wording, especially in 2025.
What can cause hate?
And yes, sometimes a phrase that seems like a “joke” to you will be a trigger for someone else.
In these areas, the rule is: if you can unintentionally offend someone, you will.
Create your own “blacklist” of phrases and words that you never use in public texts. These can be obvious toxic expressions, as well as those that have repeatedly caused misunderstanding or negativity. For example:
The main rule: don’t leave room for double meanings. In PR, it’s better to sound cautious and correct than to apologize later for “misunderstandings.”
This is the point that everyone knows about, but it’s the one that people most often slip up on. And it hurts when they do, because a legal mistake is not like a mistake in a comic or headline. You can’t “fix” it. It’s already out there.
Therefore, before publishing, it is worth pausing for a moment and checking the basics.
If there is something in the text that you learned within the company, think twice about whether it is officially okay to disclose it.
PR people often have access to everything: figures, processes, internal presentations. But access ≠ permission to use. Especially when it comes to personal data, company performance indicators, or internal statistics.
It might seem like a small thing: just insert a partner’s logo into an article and you’re done. But not always. Someone may have a clear policy on brand use, and you’ll end up with the question: “Who gave you permission?”
It’s better to have a single document with approvals or a quick “is it okay?” in a chat.
This is where beginners most often make mistakes. The fact that a person was at an event does not mean that they want to see their photo in a public article or advertising material. Even one unapproved photo can create unnecessary problems.
Even if you work in PR and not SEO, there are still a few basic things to consider. Because blog text is not just text. It is something that has the chance to live on Google for years or sink to page 12.
Therefore, before publishing, it is worth going through a minimum technical checklist.
There is no need to “stuff” the text with a list of keywords, as was done in 2010. It is enough to have:
The main thing is that it reads like a human being wrote it. If the keyword gets in the way, change the wording.
These are two small lines that people see on Google. They either explain what the material is about or ruin your CTR. It’s good when:
This is the point that everyone ignores until they start working on SEO. ALT is a short description of the image that helps Google understand what is in it. And even if the image is in the background or decorative, it is better to add a normal ALT.
This is not only about SEO, but also about reader convenience. If you mention a topic in the text that you have already covered earlier, add a link. This will keep the reader on the site longer, and Google will understand that the content is related.
Many PR specialists focus on wording but forget about the most important thing — the logic of the text. And it is this logic that most often determines whether a person will finish reading the material or simply close it after the third paragraph.
Therefore, before publishing, do a small audit of the structure.
Each text should have its own path, its own trajectory. It doesn’t have to be super complicated — just a clear sequence: from problem → to explanation → to example → to conclusion.
If there is a sudden “turnaround” in the middle of the material, the reader gets lost. And a confused reader immediately loses interest.
A typical mistake made by beginners: today we are talking about the launch of a product, then a paragraph about the company’s values, then suddenly statistics, and then back to the product again.
Such jumps disrupt the rhythm and make the text difficult to read. A simple rule: one idea — one block. Once you have finished a topic, move smoothly on to the next one.
Transitions are the “glue” between paragraphs. Even the best structure looks disjointed if the ideas are not connected.
These are small details, but they are what make the text lively and understandable.
Remember: a clear structure is not strictness, but comfort for the reader. Even the strongest headline won’t save a text that reads like a set of random thoughts.
This is the stage that everyone knows about, but half of PR professionals still skip it because they are in a hurry. And that’s a shame, because this is where you catch the little things that will later catch the eye of the reader, journalist, or CEO.
Yes, it sounds strange. But it works better than Grammarly. When you read aloud, you can immediately hear:
It’s quick and really saves your texts.
You don’t have to be a linguistic perfectionist, but basic mistakes show disrespect for the reader. Commas, dashes, quotation marks — just scan the text for obvious mistakes. And yes, there’s always a chance you’ll miss something, but it’s better to try than to leave everything “as is.”
This is something that beginners often overlook: we start off seriously, then a little more friendly, then suddenly switch to formal address, then back to informal, and then formal again. The style should be consistent from beginning to end. Don’t be afraid to rewrite a section if it stands out — that’s normal.
A useful question for the final round:
“Does this text sound like it was written by one person, on one day, for one audience?”
If the answer is “yes,” then you can publish it.
Final editing is not about “being perfect.” It’s about respect for your work and for those who will read it. And it is this respect that comes across very well in the final text.