Over the past few weeks I have taken you through a step by step process of how to start doing your own PR. My goal is to give you a starting point and practical tips, making sure you avoid overwhelm (because overwhelm sucks!)
Week 1: How to identify your ideal client
Week 2: How to uncover your story
Week 3: How to find journalists and start your own media list
Week 4: How to use #journorequest on Twitter to get PR coverage
Week 5: How to get consistent with a PR plan
Today we are going to talk about – what story to pitch where!
We are going to take your story and expertise and try and match it to the media opportunities out there and bring it all together (woo hoo I hear you cry!)
The starting point is thinking about where you ‘fit’ within the subject areas the media covers – the different sections within a weekend newspaper are a great example of this. Sections include real life, business, health, women’s interest, property, and so on. And the writers of each section are looking for stories that are relevant to their readers in that area.
Thinking about which sections are relevant to you and your business will give you a great foundation for pitching things in the right place (and to the right person). This gives us the best opportunity to secure media coverage.
By going through each of the steps above, you have should now have your story/expertise, who you want to reach & where and what kinds of content/stories you can share. Now we need to go a bit deeper…..
Here are my top 3 easy wins when it comes to matching your story and expertise to the opportunities out there. These will help you to structure you PR plan and start matching with those opportunities!
1. What Sector Are You In?
Media like to put articles into different categories, so you may have noticed that they have different sections throughout their publications or shows that contains stories within that topic. E.g. business, health, property, money, travel, fashion etc.
Do you know which section you are relevant to in terms of your business or your story?
The format of sections is pretty consistent across all media types so being really clear on your sector is really important.
All business owners will have an area that they fit in – you may even have two or three!
2. Where are you based?
All regional media whether they are online, broadcast or print, are looking for stories of local people that are relevant, because this is what their readers want! So if you are in a particular region then you are interesting to the local media – but you still need to do the work and pitch relevant and timely material. You won’t be picked up just because you are local.
3. What is your business?
As a business owner you are naturally a ‘person of interest’ to the media. Business in the media covers a wide range of areas, ranging from the solopreneur, working from home at start-up phase – right up to massive billion dollar corporations.
But for those of you reading this, you may more likely fall into the individual who has turned their passion into a business – and there are definitely opportunities for you in the media such as:
- Regional business journalists will be looking for stories such as contract wins, anniversaries, award wins, recruitment drives, thriving through lockdown etc.
- Even though you may be a small business, there are also opportunities in national publications, especially if they are looking for case studies of pivots/success stories for example or even comment contribution.
- As well as printed media there are also online opportunities. There are many websites where you can upload your own news stories to get published. You could even share ‘tips’ and add comment/guidance in other articles on websites that are within your niche.
So there you have it! Follow these tips to get started with some easy wins when it comes to matching your story and expertise with the media opportunities out there. Have a go at using these ideas as a starting point for your PR plan.
Let me know if you have any questions.
You can catch the replay here.
I’m offering some spots for 2 hour 1:1 Strategy Calls to help you to get clear on where you focus your PR efforts going forwards. To book your Strategy Call click here.
