We always respected the work of veteran public relations pro John Budd Jr., so we’ve kept his top 10 list of criteria for excellence in public relations writing.

1. Writing—is it professional or pedestrian?
2. Grammatical accuracy—self-explanatory.
3. Relevance—of legitimate interest to whomever it is directed?
4. Substance—does it say anything?
5. Creativity—dull or interesting?
6. Proactive or reactive—defensive writing is almost always suspect and of peripheral interest.
7. Presentation—crisp, neat, clean, good margins, release unadorned with logos and proclamations of news.
8. Credibility—of source and facts.
9. Timeliness—hard news or soft, know the difference.
10. Factual accuracy—a maxim often violated.