San Diego, CA – August 25, 2021 – PR and marketing writers who need to better support their organization’s strategic objectives through their persuasive prose have a new guide to improve their writing’s focus.

In Writing for Public Relations and Strategic Communication, by San Diego-based publisher Cognella Academic Publishing, authors William Thompson and Nicholas Browning walk writers through an audience-centered writing process that employs analysis and research to help generate the writer’s conception, then construction, of persuasive prose.

By first explaining how people are persuaded, then applying straightforward audience research processes to define audience motivations, the audience-centered process provides a logical, easily remembered series of steps that produce quality prose. Additionally, it offers insights into the organization’s persuasive strategy and help practitioners explain and defend their PR decisions.

The book, by Thompson, a 40-year veteran of PR practice and teaching, and Browning, a professor at Indiana University’s Media School, offers case studies, paragraph-by-paragraph deconstructions of a writer’s thought process and demonstrates how research can improve a writer’s storytelling skills. The authors’ personal stories and frequent examples enliven vital lessons every professional persuasive writer needs to know.

Writing for Public Relations and Strategic Communication is already receiving positive reviews. Virginia Tech Professor Stephanie Smith highlighted how Thompson and Browning’s think-first, write-second approach creates better strategic outcomes. “[T]his is a very comprehensive book that moves beyond just writing. It helps create an integrated picture about the role of writing in the larger practice of PR.”

A Syracuse University professor thought the book was among the field’s top works. “This is one of the best strategic communication texts I have read,” wrote Kelly C. Gaggin from Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. “The theoretical backing is superb and the authors excel at demonstrating the relationship between theory and practice without confusion and in a tone that is interesting and easy to read.”

Lamar University’s Paul T.M. Hemenway suggested the book may become a vital professional resource. “Thompson and Browning leave no gaps—they begin with an application of the theoretical underpinnings of behavioral response, and offer a number of novel approaches for strategic communication.”

You can learn more about Writing for Public Relations and Strategic Communication and request a digital review copy at: https://titles.cognella.com/writing-for-public-relations-and-strategic-communication-9781793511881