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Hello. Thinking and reading are the key words for this edition. First, we'll think about how to develop story ideas. Whether you are a writer or a publicist, this thinking skill is necessary if you plan to "sell" your idea to an editor or a journalist. Reading is a cheap form of training. We'll examine that in our second story. Drop me a note and tell me what you are reading. As always, we have a host of interesting tidbits in our briefs section. Let's get started. Cordially,Harry Hoover harry@hoover-ink.com |
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Tell Me A Story Your organization has an interesting story to tell right now. Your job is to find it and sculpt it into an angle that grabs the media. I know what you are thinking. How do I go about finding these interesting stories? Try talking with the people in your organization about themselves and what they do. Recently, Christian Werner, CEO of client New World Mortgage, told me that when he was 10, he came home to find deputies evicting his family. He and his brother made a pact that they would do whatever they could to help others avoid this fate. That fact helped me sell a profile of Christian and New World to the Business Journal. Seasons come next. The holidays often offer an opportunity to take advantage of special coverage that is being planned. Magazines are planning their Christmas gift specials now. Is there something that happens each year at the same time in your organization? Marie Claire magazine is preparing a holiday feature covering a wide range of "trendy, unique products that would interest women 20 to 40." Elle is planning a holiday gift-giving story on fun and creative gifts. Do any of your products or services fit those niches? Look through last year's Christmas magazines for ideas to pitch your local media. Drop me a note if you want the contact information for Marie Claire and Elle. Current events provide an opportunity. The recent death of former President Ronald Reagan provided anyone with a connection to Alzheimer's to draft off the media interest. Think about how your experts can provide context to current events. New research findings sometimes provide organizations with a chance to tell their side of the story. Set up a Google news alert to track research that may have a tie to your organization. Your competitors can be the answer to your story idea dilemma. Search on the net to see where they have been mentioned, and in what stories. This will prompt some ideas about topics your experts could address. Need ideas? Let me know and we'll ask Think readers to help generate some. |
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Make Yourself At Home
"If you think training is expensive," says Tom Peters, "try ignorance." Reading is the cheapest form of training. Think about it: the average business seminar registration is $800. How many books could you buy for that? So, if you want to be an expert, you can make yourself one at home by reading the right books. Below is my list of books for marketers and communicators. Drop me a note and let me know what you are reading. Marketing Warfare, written by Al Ries & Jack Trout in 1986, is still one of the best books on marketing strategy. Ries and Trout also wrote Positioning - The Battle For Your Mind and The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. In How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michael Gelb identifies seven key elements of Da Vinci's approach to thinking and learning and shows readers how they can develop and adopt these elements through practical examples and exercises. Guerrilla Publicity provides strategies for obtaining free media exposure and garnering positive public relations for one's image, products, and services. Peter Elbow, in Writing With Power, provides the reader (and writer) with various recipes: for getting words down on paper, for revising, for dealing with an audience, for getting feedback on a piece of writing, and still other recipes for approaching the mystery of power in writing. Now, what are you reading? Drop me a note. |
