Busy day again, amen. I finished a large project (just a section – more on the way), and got some smaller stuff accomplished. I worked on a personal project, then it was off to the pool to relax. Finally. I feel like I’ve been running through my week. It’s going to get worse before it gets better – I’m off at 3 today, heading to the U2 concert downtown. History suggests I need to leave hours before just to get there on time. Plus parking. Oy.
I had a question from our own Ashley Festa about working with PR folks per yesterday’s post. Her question was this: how does one reach out to PR people and what do you do with them once you’ve gotten their attention?
Here’s how I do it:
Ask during follow-up. When I’m thanking them or asking for additional info, I’ll usually slip in a “By the way” comment asking who else they work with or what industries their clients are in.
Invite the news. While I have their attention, I ask PR folks to put me on their mailing lists. Releases are great sources of information and story ideas.
But if you get ideas from releases, won’t those ideas be the same as other writers’ ideas if we’re all getting the same releases? In a word, no.
Look deeper. The press release may not be newsworthy. Most of them aren’t, actually. But the gems are there. What about that company’s industry, products, or services could create a new story? Here’s an example: Say you get a release about a company offering the technology behind online music streaming. You could make that a story on the rapid increase of the streaming music industry. You could also make it a story on what devices work best for streaming music. Or you could take it one step further and go into how many devices per household and the effects (positive or negative) of instant music, movies, etc. on today’s families.
See if it’s a trend. If one company’s announcing it as revolutionary, don’t take their word for it. See if others are doing the same – or not. Is there an angle there? That could be your story.
Look for the unanswered question. What does all this mean to this reader, that industry, or the general public? How can they benefit from it, be affected by it, or be harmed by it? Do they need to know about it? Is there something unsaid but implied? Is there an underlying message? What is that?
Not all press releases are going to be idea generators, but the good ones can hold valuable story ideas. If you’re lucky, you might come across a PR person or firm that sends out little new blasts that are actually story prompts. I don’t use these verbatim (okay, once I did), but they can be great ways to generate your queries.
Have you used press releases as sources of story ideas? What other unlikely sources do you use?
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