If you intend to get the interest of the press, you have to consider just like the press.
In the 20+ years I've been in public places relations, one of the very difficult elements of the game to teach clients is that the press is not a service organization whose sole purpose is always to cover what PR people pitch them. Their business model is straightforward; they exist to inform and entertain their readers, to allow them to grow their subscriber base and sell advertising against those numbers.
So, if you intend to participate in the "press game" it is critical to identify what wins the press loyal readers and increases their circulation...and then help them to accomplish it! Step one is to get together a power-packed pitch. In line with the Associated Press Stylebook the preferred term for a press release is not press release; it's NEWS release. After all, it's not called a press-paper - it's called a NEWSpaper. Want it or not, public relations people don't get to determine what the headlines is. Only news professionals get to accomplish this once they choose what to publish, print or air.
So, simply because your company opened a brand new store in Cincinnati, doesn't ensure it is NEWS. However, there may perfectly be a nugget of newsworthiness as possible offer around the press to be able to have them interested in the opening of your store.
Where do you discover those nuggets? Here really are a few suggestions to assist you mine the headlines gold in your entire announcements:
Read Your Local Newspapers -You can't locate a news hook until do you know what the headlines of the afternoon actually is. And, because it changes each day, you will need to stay on the top of news (or hire an agency to do that function for you personally, and trust their judgment once they advise you of potential news hooks).
Determine How Your Story is Relevant - Here is the lowest hanging fruit in the headlines hook orchard trend press news. Try to find anything in your business that is relevant to news taking invest your community or nationally. If you're opening a brand new bicycle shop in Los Angeles, then do some news searches to see what reporters have been currently talking about the area.
Say you learn that the area is economically depressed, where case you are able to pitch to the press the idea that a brand new retailer opening there is a boost to the local economy, and that you're ready to have a chance on success for the reason that community. Or you may learn that bicycle ridership has increased nationally by 10 percent over the previous year, with new riders indicating they have started because they are hoping to get fit. Now you can pitch the local press on the angle that the new shop is directed at capitalizing with this national trend.
This strategy is known as "localizing" a national story, which every newspaper and TV producer loves. Because it's a national story, they are likely to report it anyway, but they'd prefer to truly have a local hook to allow them to be much more relevant to the local audience.
Develop Stories That Have a Beginning, Middle and End - Ensure you tell reporters a complete story. Let's utilize the bicycle shop as an example. Opening a bicycle shop may not be much of a tale by itself, but what's the story behind the story? Did the owners overcome any unusual obstacles in fulfilling the dream of opening their store? Was the owner ever a competitive bicyclist? Have the owners used their familiarity with the activity or inventory to help any children's charities or causes? Are they active in their community? Identify the story behind the story, and you'll have a lot of opportunities to discover a news hook that's relevant.
Take Action - There's reasons why so many commercial enterprises and not-for-profit charities and community organizations partner up for special events - it's a win-win situation for everyone. It's essential for every commercial enterprise to become a good citizen and use some of the resources to help others, and in addition it helps to create sometimes un-newsworthy events relevant. Opening a bicycle shop isn't a big deal, but holding a great opening event for a local children's charity makes the opening more relevant. If the owners utilize the event to help raise money and donate excess inventory to needy children, it's both a worthwhile venture and a truly heartwarming feel-good story worthy of news coverage.
Helping people must certanly be its own reward, of course, but that's also why newspapers and charities love these events. It not only gives editors and TV crews something joyful and happy to report, but it also enables the charities to get their messages out to the city at large. Your organization improves its public image, and deservedly so, so long as the help is genuine and comes not from the pocketbook, but from the heart.
At the conclusion of the afternoon, the majority of the time you'll find news hooks in even probably the most mundane of news releases. The key thing to consider is that the focus of the release isn't to sell, sell, sell - it's to convince a reporter that you have news to report and that their readers would be informed or entertained by what you have to inform them.
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