Reporters are always looking for compelling stories. You
can help them and, at the same time, win press coverage for
your products, services, organization or cause. Every
organization, including yours, has newsworthy information.
Sometimes you just have to dig a bit to get to it. As a
public relations professional, I suggest these seven ways
to find the stories within your organization that you can
pitch to get positive press attention and boost your public
relations:
1) Identify trends in your industry - use your
organization/product/issue as an example of a trend -- and
pitch them as story ideas to the magazines, newsletters and
Web sites your customers and prospects read.
2) A milestone: does your organization have an
accomplishment or anniversary to brag about that is of
public interest - a new product, service, partnership,
event, contract win or hire? Find a news hook for it.
Here, for example, are some commemorations that might be
good news hooks for your products or services: National
School Success Month, National Preparedness Month, Self
Improvement Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month.
3) Take note of a "First in a Series" article. If you and
your company would fit into the series as good sources,
contact the reporter with reasons you might be included in
the next article in the series.
4) Commission a study or survey, the results of which need
to appeal to news outlets you most want to reach.
Co-sponsor the survey with a well-known industry
organization to boost visibility. Online companies let you
create, send, and analyze surveys via the Web at very small
cost. For inexpensive online polling, try
www.surveymonkey.com, www.questionpro.com,
www.constantcontact.com, www. freeonlinesurveys.com,
http://info.zoomerang.com, or www.vovici.com.
5) Spotlight newsworthy people in your organization. For
example, if a staffer is a gifted writer, musician or
athlete, pitch the story to the appropriate editors of the
newspaper. That way you'll also have a chance of getting
your organization mentioned in the Arts, Sports and Local
sections as well as Business.
6) Write a column yourself. Somewhere in your organization
is a white paper or speech that you can cut to 800 words
and submit as an Op-Ed or "expert" column to a trade
publication or local business journal. Buy reprints and add
them to your sales and marketing materials.
7) Send news releases. They do work if concise, newsworthy,
and timely. Keep out the fluff and spin. Put the real
news in the headline and first paragraph. Before you send a
release, put yourself in a reporter's place. "Could I write
a story using this information?" A regular "drumbeat" of
releases (one or two a month) keeps your visibility high
and helps keep you current when reporters do Internet
searches to look for information. About 400-500 words is
the optimum length.
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Robert Deigh is president of RDC Communication/PR and the
author of the ultimate public relations guide "How Come No
One Knows About Us?" (WBusinessBooks, coming May 2008). To
receive a free preview chapter, titled "16 Ways to Come Up
With Story Ideas That Will Attract Press" go to
http://www.rdccommunication.com and sign up for his free
newsletter or contact rdeigh1@aol.com
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