PR Tips | Writing Quality Letters to the Editor
November 27, 2013
Letters to the editor are a great way to make an appearance in your favorite daily newspaper. The letters-to-the-editor page is among every newspaper's most-read sections.
Further, several letters on various topics are published each day. A newspaper's editorial page, by contrast, may feature just one guest op-ed -- or even none, if it opts for popular syndicated content instead.
Letters follow some simple rules. Letters should respond to the news -- usually to an article or opinion piece previously published by the newspaper. However, letters must also stand on their own. A reader should be able to understand a letter without having read the article to which it refers.
They should always be less than 150 words -- and in the neighborhood of 100 is even better. Some of the most effective letters are short and pithy -- just one or two sentences. And they should always feature a strong thesis, usually in the first or second sentence.
