DWR Award PR Finalist Robin Schwartz
This week’s Writer Wednesday is DWR Award public relations finalist Robin Schwartz from Metro Detroit!
Robin is a 13-time Emmy award-winning storyteller dedicated to helping businesses, nonprofits and everyday heroes accomplish their goals through storytelling. She founded Robin Schwartz PR after 23 years as a TV news anchor/reporter, including nearly 17 years at Fox 2 News in Detroit.
In 2014, she shifted her focus from reporting the news to working directly with newsmakers themselves as a corporate PR director at the epicenter of Detroit's revitalization. That big career move ignited her entrepreneurial spirit and inspired her to launch her own PR and video production firm in 2016.
Robin took 1st place in the PR category at the 2022 DWR Awards for her blog about Downtown Boxing Gym's De La Salle graduates. Learn more about her below!
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
That there’s no “one” way to tell a story. I love the creative process. I love the freedom to start in the middle and meander back to the beginning or find a unique angle off the top to draw people in. I love the ability to sprinkle in surprises along the way. I love that the words I write can evoke emotions and/or paint vivid pictures in people’s minds.
What does your writing workspace look like?
The dining room table or the back porch on a sunny day or outside on the back patio (weather permitting). Sometimes, it’s the collaborative office space where I work in Ferndale.
What do you find most fulfilling about your career?
That I get to help businesses, nonprofit organizations and everyday heroes tell important untold stories — and in doing so, help them change lives and accomplish their goals.
What is your favorite non-writing hobby?
My favorite non-writing hobby these days is going for long walks with my family and our dogs (two high-energy Whoodles — a mix between a Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier and a Poodle). I love the seasons, and I love how every walk is a new adventure with quiet time to talk and enjoy the scenery.
What is your favorite piece of writing advice?
Start with your strongest “visual” or words that will mentally create your strongest visual. Also, you don’t have to tell stories in chronological order (and it’s often best not to.)
What writing projects are you currently working on?
I am constantly writing — whether it’s a video script, an article, a blog post, a speech, an email campaign for a business, website copy, social media posts, bios, a letter on someone’s behalf, proposals for future projects, and the list goes on.
Currently, I am working on:
A series of videos about local entrepreneurs doing some really cool things
An “about us” video for a national nonprofit that enables students in low-income school districts to take college courses in high school, free of charge
Several other video projects (too many to list!)
Year-end materials for local nonprofits including social media posts, blog posts, emails, brochures, web copy, and more
An article for the Jewish News about BBYO (watch for it in early December)
This Q&A
A keynote speech for an amazing local hero
And a lengthy response to an RFP
Read more about Robin at robinschwartzpr.com and follow her on Instagram at @robinschwartzpr.