How to make your news story stand out to busy journalists

Did you know, journalists receive about 100 business-related emails a day? According to research, the people we’re pitching news stories to could already have had their fill by mid-morning, so how do we cut through the noise and ensure our story gets seen?

It should go without saying that any news story that stands a chance of getting published needs to be high quality, well thought out and suitable for the target media, but what else can we do to make journalists and editors sit up and listen?

Use an attention grabbing headline

Headlines are often found in the email subject box, so using one that creates focus and intrigue is a great way to stop the scroll immediately. We love the results we see when we use thought provoking headlines, a strong statistic or just something really unexpected. After all, news is only newsworthy if it’s original or interesting.

Once the email is opened up and the journalist can see more of your content, follow your headline with a few short bullet points to bring the key findings into focus.

A unique angle

Sometimes, a news story could be a piece that follows up something already in the news. Plenty of stories offer the chance to add perspectives or fresh, additional information. Doing this can give an article the urgency or relevancy it needs to be just what the journalist is looking for to strengthen an existing topic.

Create an emotional connection with your audience

When we insert emotion into a story, we’re strengthening it in more ways than one. First, it becomes immediately more memorable. On a psychological level, if we make someone feel a certain way, they have a clear pathway to remembering the relevance of it when we want them to. We can do this by including personal experiences, commentary or anecdotes that support the story and add a human side to the key points we are making.

Secondly - and this is where a lot of wins happen - doing this adds authority. A strong news story is great, but add a relevant voice and you not only get emotional connection but a strengthened piece of news because it comes with content other stories don’t. This voice should be that of the client, inserting them into the story when and where it’s relevant, and not just for a simple mention.

Don’t forget supporting assets

OK, so you have the journalist’s attention, but are you making their job easy for them? The last thing they want (or have time for) is to chase you for extra items that make your story a hero piece. And you definitely don’t want to miss out because of something as simple as providing an image to a story you’ve worked hard on. Adding photos, videos, graphics or illustrations offer an immediate ‘publishable now’ element, letting them run with it as soon as you want them to.

Got all these things in check but need the right PRs to get your word out? Come and chat to us about all things coverage and what an increased media profile could do for your business, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch here.