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Guest post by: Kirsty Shaw Become an Author

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Sourcing, interviewing and writing a great case study can be seen as a lengthy process and may often involve a lot of ground work to find clients who are willing to go on record and praise your work. However, they are a fantastic way of demonstrating the success of a project or explaining how a business has made an impact through a relevant example. Case studies are an essential tool for PRs when pitching to the media, especially when a subject needs further explanation or proof to reinforce the story you are trying to tell. However, a poorly written case study, that comes across too salesy, with no demonstration of results or return on investment would be a waste of time. Creating a case study with impact is key. Making sure all relevant information and statistics are included will make the story more appealing to a journalist meaning there will be a higher chance of getting picked up in the press. Remember the case study is a PR tool, and should be written differently from sales case studies.

But how do you create a great PR case study that clearly demonstrates the story you are trying to tell and will have a big impact, with both media and target audiences? Here are a few pointers:

• Background research - There is no point writing a case study if the results don't have an impact or if they won't substantiate your points. Speak to colleagues or perhaps the potential case study themselves to research what the top line messages are.

• Arrange an interview with the right people - Speak to the people that were directly involved both client side and from the company you are writing a case study for. Prepare beforehand by doing as much research as possible and draft suitable questions.

• Delve deep into the story - Explore both what did and didn't work for the case study as this will help you get the most out of your story. Make sure you know what did work, what didn't go so well and what was done to make it better.

• Simple structures work:

State the problem - what were the issues?

Find the solution - what was done to solve the problem?

Conclusion - what happened as a result? What were the outcomes?

• Quotes reinforce the story being told - Using quotes or statistics to reinforce the story you are trying to tell is an ideal way to prove what is written in the case study.

• Don't make it too salesey - Although case studies are a great sales tool, remember this is not an advertisement.

Although PRs have been using case studies for decades, they won't go out of fashion any time soon. Keep a bank of clients and customers that will be willing to be a case study, and this will cut out the time for sourcing one when the time arrives.

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Referred by: http://www.punchcomms.com

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