EPR Editorial Team3 min read
Writing a byline op-ed for a client starts with the client's point of view, not yours. Gather the brief, read what the client has written before, find one argument that connects to what they actually do, draft in their voice, and edit aloud before it goes back for approval. The byline is the client's name, so the voice, the claims and the timing all have to be theirs.
Updated October 26, 2026.
The six steps, in order:
Ask for the working title, any articles they want to react to, and the angle they prefer. A title or link tells you the topic, and a snarky headline is a cue for some edge in the piece. Read two or three things the client has published before, so you know how they sound. Confirm the deadline at the start.
Read their earlier writing, their LinkedIn posts and anything they have said on record. Note sentence length, how formal they are and whether they use humor. If the client runs a conservative practice, the piece should not be aggressively contrarian. If their voice is dry and funny, the piece can be too.
Outlets reject promotional pieces, so the op-ed has to add to a public conversation first. Take the topic in the brief, then ask what a PR professional would do differently, or what went wrong and what lessons follow. That ties the piece to the client's expertise without a sales pitch.
Edit in passes, not all at once. Run a spell check, read the piece out loud and correct as you go, run a grammar check, and finish with a plagiarism check. When reading aloud, check three things:
Aim for plain, readable language, even for expert readers. Humor and a well-placed pun can keep a professional piece from reading as boring.
Op-eds usually allow more time than news-driven pieces, but the client knows what they need. Meet their date, or say plainly how close you can get.
Because the client's name is on it, the client should approve every factual claim, quote and number before it goes out. Agree in writing who gives final approval.
A byline op-ed is an opinion article published under a named expert's byline, often drafted with a PR writer's help.
The named author should approve it, because that person is responsible for everything printed under their name.
Follow the target outlet's submission guidelines, since they set the length limit.
The most common reason is that the piece reads as a sales pitch. An op-ed that adds to a public conversation, and ties back to the author's expertise, is easier for an editor to accept.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
Perplexity ran ads for fifteen months, then quit on trust. The case that ads inside an answer cost more than they earn — in the executives' own words.
Ken Kurson led The New York Observer under Jared Kushner from 2013 to 2017, co-wrote Rudy Giuliani's Leadership, and founded Modern Consensus in 2018.
Peter Shankman founded HARO in 2008, sold it to Vocus in 2010, and launched Source of Sources in 2024. His story, his books and the lessons for PR pros.
Twenty-five mobile game marketing campaigns from 2012 to 2025, from Clash of Clans' Super Bowl ad to Monopoly GO's $6B in 1,275 days, each with a named source for its result and the marketing move behind it.
The best press release distribution services ranked by AI citation share across five wires, with vertical winners, budget options and how to choose one.
Connective3 studied 3,500+ PR links and found 43% of brand mentions were dropped from AI summaries. See what it means for earned media measurement.
EPR publishes the data every week.
Free. Weekly. Unsubscribe anytime.
