Get people excited about your ideas & products; investors to fund, engineers to build, customers to use.
Building products at Amazon always starts with a PR FAQ, no exceptions. Imagine you’re about to launch a new product, and you want to get the word out with a press release in a major publication. Think about how this product will make customers’ lives better and how it will shake up the industry. Now, put that vision into words – that’s your PR FAQ. It is a strategic tool to envision and define a new product or feature before it’s developed.
While renowned for its customer obsession and innovation, Amazon’s unique approach to writing documents is often overlooked, yet it plays a pivotal role in our success. It’s a two-part document that combines a hypothetical press release with a set of frequently asked questions.
The Press Release: Think of this as a time machine, transporting you to the day your product is launched. It’s a concise, customer-focused announcement that highlights the key benefits and value proposition of your product. It’s your chance to paint a vivid picture of how this product will revolutionize the market and delight your customers.
The FAQs: This section anticipates and addresses the burning questions that might come from both internal stakeholders (like your engineering team or marketing department) and external customers. It’s about delving deeper into the product’s features, functionality, and potential impact.
Before I go to decompose and explain the specific structure of the document, I want to explain the way of thinking via a metaphor from physics. This will illustrate a philosophy behind writing.
Your THOUGHTS = gas
Your SPOKEN words = liquid
Your WRITTEN words = solid
Fail scenario: thoughts and talks. Have you ever experienced a situation where you spent all day thinking about your idea and how cool and useful it is? Confident and excited to share it, you attend a meeting with your peers, managers, and leaders to present your thoughts. Now, the stage is yours, but your story just doesn’t flow. You feel a little nervous, and you’ve forgotten half of the facts. Your listeners have a hard time following your thought process and understanding your points. As a result, they leave the meeting room with the impression that your ideas for making the world a better place are still raw or simply not well-developed.”
Create a solid matter that speaks for itself, even if you are not in the room. A written document can be that solid matter.
Template: Press Release
- Title: “Company” introduces “Product or Technology or Tool or Service” to empower “Target Customer” to “Realize Value”.
- Subtitle: Highlight a few more important details.
- Introduction: “City, State”–”Launch Date” – “Provide a concise 3-4 sentence summary that elaborates on the title, giving additional insight into the target customers and the product or service being introduced.”
- Customer Challenges: “Outline the top 3-4 (maximum) challenges that the customers your product or service is designed to address face.”
- Our Solution: “Explain how your product/service effectively addresses these challenges. Provide a brief explanation of how it functions, followed by a discussion on how it resolves each of the challenges mentioned above.”
- Executive Quote: “Select a company leader and craft a quote that explains why the company chose to tackle this issue and (in broad terms) how the solution addresses it.”
- Getting Started: “Describe the steps a customer needs to take to begin using the product/service and how it operates. Offer enough detail to assure them that it effectively resolves the problem.”
- Customer Testimonial: “Create a believable quote from a fictional customer, where they describe their challenge or goal, and explain how the product you’ve launched helped them achieve it.”
Tips:
- The press release should be a concise, one-page narrative that describes a new product, service, or feature at a high level. The six page narratives are used once a one-page convinces stakeholders that the idea is worth exploring further.
- It should clearly articulate the vision and purpose behind the offering.
- The language used should be customer-centric, focusing on how the solution benefits the target audience.
- The content should be written in a way that any reader can easily understand the idea. Spell out any acronyms the first time they are used.
Template: Frequently Asked Questions
to learn more “read below or visit link”. These are detailed questions and answers that customers might ask after reviewing the content.
- Internal Customers (e.g. Stakeholder)
- What is the price?
- Where can I buy this product?
- How do I cancel if I decide to opt out?
- External Customers (e.g. Consumer)
- Who is your customer?
- How will this significantly improve your customer’s life or address their pain points?
- Why is this an issue that requires immediate resolution?
- What potential aspects might lead to customer disappointment?
- How will customers discover or find our product?
- How will you evaluate the success of this product?
- How does this product integrate with existing features?
- What is your expansion strategy beyond the initial market?
- What is the most controversial element of your product?
- What are the key milestones on your product roadmap?
- What technology underpins this solution?
- How does this align with our objectives?
- What steps can we take to accelerate the launch?
Tips:
- Tailor the questions to the specific product and target audience.
- Keep the language simple, clear, and easy to understand.
- Anticipate common customer concerns and address them proactively.
- Update the FAQ document as needed based on customer feedback and new information.
Example:
ACME CORPORATION ANNOUNCES SMART INVOICING TOOL TO ENABLE SMALL BUSINESSES TO STREAMLINE BILLING AND GET PAID FASTER
New Automated Invoicing Solution Helps Entrepreneurs Spend Less Time on Administrative Tasks and More Time Growing Their Business
ANYTOWN, USA – May 1, 2023 – Acme Corporation, a leading provider of business software solutions, today announced the launch of its new Smart Invoicing tool, designed to help small business owners streamline their billing processes and get paid faster.
Small business owners often struggle with the time-consuming administrative tasks associated with invoicing clients. From creating professional-looking invoices to chasing down late payments, these mundane but necessary activities can distract from the core work of growing a successful company. Acme’s Smart Invoicing tool addresses these pain points head-on, empowering entrepreneurs to take control of their cash flow and focus on what they do best.
“Our new Smart Invoicing solution automates the entire invoicing lifecycle, from customizable templates to automated payment reminders,” said John Smith, CEO of Acme Corporation. “By leveraging the power of intelligent automation, we’re enabling small business owners to get paid faster while reclaiming valuable time to invest in their passion and purpose.”
The Smart Invoicing tool seamlessly integrates with Acme’s suite of business management software, allowing users to generate professional-looking invoices with just a few clicks. The solution also features automated late payment alerts, online payment processing, and detailed reporting to help small business owners gain visibility into their accounts receivable.
“As a busy entrepreneur, I was spending far too much time chasing down invoices and creating new ones from scratch,” said Jane Doe, owner of Doe’s Delights, a local bakery. “Acme’s Smart Invoicing tool has been a game-changer, allowing me to streamline my billing process and get paid faster. Now I can spend more time doing what I love – baking delicious treats for my community.”
To get started with Acme’s Smart Invoicing tool, small business owners can visit acme.com/smart-invoicing and sign up for a free trial. The solution is available as a standalone product or as part of Acme’s comprehensive business management suite.