Episode 25: 10 Story Angles You Should Pitch Now to Land Media Features for Free
Do you know the best story angles to pitch and get featured?
This episode is not one to miss because I’m breaking down the top 10 story angles anyone can pitch all year round to get their business featured in the media for free.
Whether or not you have a website, following, or viable product, these story angles will work for you. Sound too good to be true? I promise it’s not, you just need to know where to start.
The 10 ideas in this episode could generate hundreds of story ideas, so if you’ve been staring at a blank page and you just don’t know what to write about, I’ve got you covered.
Are you ready to land media this year? This episode will tell you how.
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
The difference between a story topic and a story angle
Following seasonal trends
Commenting on what’s happening in the news
How to take a data-driven approach by conducting surveys
Elevating voices from marginalized communities
Why you should go against the grain
Predicting the future
Pitching heartwarming local stories
Focusing on policy or law
Creating a gift or product guide
The value of writing something from your own point of view
Which of the story angles in this episode will you try? Let’s make this the year that you are seen, heard, and valued. It’s time to start pitching.
If you’re ready for this year to be the year that you land press and stop hiding behind the scenes, I want you to join our Facebook group. It’s the number one place for small businesses looking to go from unknown to being seen, heard, and valued. It’s the perfect place for you to make connections, find support, and get accountability. Go to www.getfeaturednow.com to join.
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Additional Resources:
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Transcript
SBPR Episode 25 Final.mp3
[00:00:00] Do you know the 10 best story angles anyone can pitch and get featured? This episode is going to be one you're going to want to come back to because I break down the top 10 different story angles anyone can pitch all year round so that you can get your business featured in the media for free. Hey, friends, I'm Gloria Chou. Small business PR expert, award winning pitch writer and your unofficial hype woman. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people get the recognition they deserve. And that starts with feeling more confident to go bigger with your message, because let's be honest, we simply cannot make the impact we're here to make by hiding behind the scenes. So on this podcast, I will share with you the untraditional yet proven strategies for PR marketing and creating more opportunity in your business. If you are ready to take control of your narrative and be your most unapologetic and confident self, you're in the right place. This is the Small Business PR podcast.
All right, all right, I'm so excited for this episode of the Small Business PR podcast, this is going to be a really juicy one and one you're going to want to allocate some time to because I am going over 10 fabulous story angles anyone can pitch. That's right, anyone, regardless of whether or not they have a website, a following if they have a viable product or if they've even sold anything. These are the stories that you should consider pitching to an editor and it works, and I'll tell you why.
[00:01:26] But first things first, know that a story topic is different than a story angle. Right, a story topic is always there. It's like a theme, whether it's business or parenting or food recipes. But your angle is your take or your point of view on this bigger story topic because remember, experts have point of view, and that's what we're trying to do when we pitch is establishing you as an expert. And that means you have insight, you have data, you have something to say about something. It doesn't mean that you are reinventing the wheel and talking about something no one's talking about. No. What we want to do is talk about something people are already talking about, but adding your little new piece of insight or your fresh take. So that is something I talk about all the time in my PR masterclass. If you haven't watched it yet, make sure you go there. After this episode at gloriachoupr.com/masterclass, I'll break down exactly what I mean by this. Ok, so let's get into the top 10 story angles anyone and everyone should consider pitching if they want to land media this year. So let's get started. Number one is a seasonal story angle. Now what I mean is an angle, maybe about spring summer beauty trends, about what to cook or eat in the wintertime. Maybe it's something about back to school, right? If you are doing something related with children, education learning, that is always a seasonal trend, right? Maybe it's something about graduation.
[00:02:47] So something about May and April or June and people looking for jobs, that's always a great thing to pitch. Another thing is around the holidays, right? We have Mother's Day, Christmas, Valentine's Day, so many holidays for you to be able to ride on the coattails on. So a big one for a lot of my audiences. They make physical products or they are e-commerce. And so around the holidays, around Christmas time is a great seasonal story angle to pitch.Things like, you know, what our three gifting trends saying about us. I once wrote a pitch for someone who makes tie-dye sweatshirts and oversize baggy loungewear, and the whole thing was about the way that we're gifting this year what it says about us because we were going through a really difficult time in the pandemic and we wanted comfort, right? And so that was kind of nostalgia for our childhood tie-dyed. So that was kind of what I mean by pitching something around the holidays or the gifting trends, how are people relating to each other? That is what I mean by season, right? Another really big topic is Earth Day and sustainability, because we have so many founders in the PR starter pack who are clean beauty founders who make something sustainable. And I know that a lot of people are looking to pitch this angle.
[00:03:53]So think about how you can do it around a seasonal or like a holiday or something that has to do with a certain time in the year. So that's number one is seasonal. Number two is riding on the coattails of a bigger story or company news of a Fortune 500 company. Now, the good thing about this is that if you comment positively or negatively on, let's say, what Amazon or Google is doing, they're not going to come after you, right? I actually had somebody in the PR starter pack, she makes jewelry on Etsy, she's twenty two years old and she was just starting out, and she actually was commenting about how Etsy had really predatory policies for small business owners, right? The sellers on Etsy. Whereas Etsy was kind of making themselves to be the go to small business supporter that they're supporting small business artisans. She actually found that it was quite the opposite, so she ended up sending a tweet to a reporter and getting on the phone with them right away because of this angle, which is that she was saying like, “Hey, this is what Etsy is doing in the marketing campaign. They're saying that they are starting this campaign support for small business. But as a small business, I'm finding that their shipping policy and refund policy, and forcing me to pay for my own shipping”. All of that was really against small business.
[00:05:03] So that's what I mean by riding on the coattails of a bigger company. And if you say anything bad about them, chances are they're not going to come after you. Another thing is commenting on what's happening in the news, right? So right now, what is breaking news? For example, as I'm recording this, we're all about the world of NFTs and crypto and blockchain, right? Nobody really understands what's going to happen with NFTs. We just know that it's all the rage. So maybe it's something with NFTs. So think about how you can write on the coattails of a bigger company or maybe comment on what a Fortune 500 company is not doing so well. So maybe it's something about privacy or what Facebook's not doing well, or maybe it's Google or something like that because again, they're not going to come after you. So that's number two is riding on the coattails of a bigger breaking story or commenting on a Fortune 500 company. Number three is a data-driven -survey-driven approach. So if you have access to your community, which you do, you're already one step ahead of the journalists because the journalist is not going to go and survey your audience, they don't have time for that. So here's what I mean. For example, if you are a career coach like the PR starter pack, Vincent, who many of you might have met in my PR masterclass, Vincent is a career coach and he built a career coaching platform, and he knew he needed PR because it was such a saturated marketplace.
[00:06:22] And what we did is we came up with an idea for him to do a simple survey, where he surveyed 2008 recession grads and cross-compared their attitudes with 2020 pandemic grads. And so that was really interesting proprietary data that compared to different communities, both looking for jobs, but maybe they had different experiences or maybe not. And so being able to just say on LinkedIn, “Hey, I'm doing a simple survey on Google forms if you graduated in either two thousand eight or twenty twenty, fill out this five questions survey”, that already allowed him to bring this data up and start conversations with people at Forbes, New York time, TechCrunch Inc,Entrepreneur, and so many more. And he actually was able to get on not only Forbes but Inc Entrepreneur and was named Nashville's 40 under 40 one of the business entrepreneurial leaders. So how many of you would love to have the same results? That's why I think using a survey or something with data is so, so awesome. And look, you don't have to be a data scientist. I'm awful at math. I don't know how to use an Excel spreadsheet. It could it be as easy as going into a Facebook group or whatever it is that where you have community and say, hey, for example, if you are a mom per newer, be like, “Hey moms! I'm doing a simple survey about moms who do X and moms who do Y, and I want to cross compare because it's always interesting.”
[00:07:43]It's always interesting to have that data, so it doesn't have to be this crazy, complicated thing. It could be as simple as giving a shout out on LinkedIn or on Facebook and surveying your community. Because remember, you're like a conduit of information in a way that the journalist is not going to be able to get the data. So definitely use that to your advantage. The fourth one is a story about families, youth, women or marginalized demographics. Now we are in a space and time where it's so important to be inclusive of all people from all backgrounds, right? DEI. It's really a hot topic. So if you can help elevate the voices of those who usually don't get to have their voice be loud and heard, maybe that's something you should consider. For example, in episode five of this podcast, I interviewed Dr. Greta Anderson, and she is one of the few black female pro golfers who was trying to make golf super inclusive by making it easier for beginners to join the game of golf and using the CPR method, which is the method that I teach. She was able to get on Women's Golf, Golf and Golf Magazine podcast and secure so many brand partnerships, and so this has transformed the way she thinks about the impact that she makes.
[00:08:52] Beyond just being a golf coach, but being someone who actually is representing the new generation of what it means to be a golfer. So that's on episode five of the Small Business PR podcast. So think about how you can elevate new groups of people, marginalized voices, whatever that is, and just be a conduit for elevating that. Be a conduit of information to help people who historically haven't been seen, heard and valued, so that's another great angle to pitch. So, for example, it could be about women in NFTs, right? I think I read somewhere that only like two percent of women are involved in blockchain. So if you have a story about that, then that's amazing. Or it's women in STEM or whatever it is, that's number four is elevating the voices of marginalized or people who historically haven't been seen, heard and valued. Number five is a story about going against the grain now. Maybe an unpopular opinion, maybe something that you know to be true or think is true, that most people would be a little bit shocked or confused to hear. Right? now, I'm not saying that you should ruffle up feathers just to, you know, make things controversial, but you probably have insight and experience and a perspective that might be different from other people. Don't be afraid to stand out because a lot of times it's the people who take a stand are the ones that get hurt. So, for example, if you are a beauty founder, right, or if you're in wellness and you know that there are some hot trends or ingredients that are being labeled as clean beauty that are aren't really that way or really not sustainable, then use that right.
[00:10:21]If you're a fitness pro and everyone's saying this is the hot new fitness trend and you were saying, Well, that's actually not so good for you for X, Y and Z. Don't be afraid to pitch that right. I'll give you an example, Spiffy Darko, who is in episode 14 of this podcast. He is a multi-passionate entrepreneur and content creator. The pitch we wrote for him once he was in the PR starter pack was about three ways the other online gurus are misleading you about going viral. So what we did was we talked about all the different tips and tricks that you hear from all the other online gurus that he found to not be true, that he found to not actually work for him. And then he offered tips on what? To do instead. So, for example, instead of posting every day, he found out that you should post less than that or people say you should have a pretty feed. He found out that that doesn't actually matter. So what are some of the other industry experts saying in your industry that you may or may not agree with from personal experience? Don't be afraid to pitch that that is power, right? So that's number five is going against the grain and going against the status quo to share something that's different than what other people are sharing.
[00:11:25] Number six is predicting the future. Now this is kind of a secret weapon, and I talk about this on my PR secrets masterclass is that none of us have a crystal ball. None of us are psychic. So being able to just give a very simple casual prediction, it's really a great way to strike up a conversation with the journalist, right? Because legally, there's no right or wrong. It's just your point of view. A lot of times I see this talk these talking heads on TV giving predictions about where the stock market's going to go or what's going to happen. And a lot of times are wrong. But because they actually went ahead and pitched it, they got on right. So why have it not be you? Again, it's all about being fearless, about taking a stand. And yeah, you can be wrong. But at least at that point in time, you had a new perspective that may be allowed people to enter the discussion. So, for example, if you are a psychologist right and you are working on mental health, it might be predicting like what's going to happen in your industry in the next two years or if you're a chef, it might be. This is what I predict as the hottest ingredient for the end of the year or what is an interesting pairing with wine.
[00:12:32] Whatever it is, I'm sure you have some predictions, insights and people love to see into the future. That's human nature. We always love to read those stories. So that's number six is predicting the future. Number seven are heartwarming local stories, stories that are specific to a certain city or geographic region. For example, if you have a business that is very locally centered, if you give back to the local community, if you have a charitable partnership or it's something that is really specific to your city, then definitely pitch that right. So for example, if you are two tech founders and you both met in college and then you decided to build a startup and invest in local talent in your city instead of hiring remote workers, that would be an incredible story, right? It might be something about charity. So if you have a business that might not be brick and mortar, but if you are partnering up with a local local organization, that would be another great way to pitch that local story. So that is, number seven is pitching a local story. Number eight is a regulatory angle. What I mean by this is anything that's related to what's going on in policy and law that's always going to make it super relevant. And remember, relevance is literally the most important part of my CPR method because relevance tells the journalist why they should open the email and respond to it right now, right? Nobody wants to see a pitch that could be used five years ago or recycled four five years later.
[00:13:55] So we want to know why the story matters right now and what better way to do that than to comment on something that's happening in the law. So, for example, if you are in finance, it might be something around the tax season or new policies with SBA loan forgiveness. I recently wrote a pitch for a PR Starter Pack member, and she is a healthcare consultant. She's a retired doctor, and the whole thing was about the new No Surprises Medical Act. So maybe google what's changing in your industry and the new laws and policies and the things, because that's always going to make it more relevant to audiences, for example, like a therapist, maybe it's something to do with mental health policies. If you're in wellness, maybe there's something to do with like policy spending and grants for women and women's health care. Right? There's always something that could be related to the regulatory landscape. So do your research and this might be where you're in. Number nine is one of my favorites, and it's one of my favorites in the starter pack community as well, because so many people have gotten so much success pitching this angle and that is the gift guide angle or a product guide angle. So what I mean is, you know, like if you have ever read an article about the 10 best products for vegan moms or the five best things to gift your kids this year, what I mean is something that's specifically focused on a product.
[00:15:12] And so there are so many seasons and holidays for that, and I encourage you to think beyond just Christmas and kind of the end of year, right? Because there are ways to make your product relevant every holiday in every season. So get creative here. And if you want to listen to exactly what a journalist who actually writes these gift and product guides wants to see in a pitch, then go to the very first episode of this podcast, the Small Business Podcast, where I interview a journalist who writes for Forbes, for Refinery Britton Co. and she talks about exactly her timeline when she likes to receive pitches and what she likes to see in the subject line. And what better way to get your product in front of millions of new people than pitch it for a product or gift guide? It's literally the best way to advertise for free. So, definitely relisten to episode one and make sure you join us in the PR starter pack, where I have lists of hundreds of writers who write these gift and product guides. Now the last one is very interesting because it's for people who have a deeply personal experience and someone who is not afraid to write. So this is pitching your story as an op ed, an opinion piece or something that is authored from your own point of view and Ada, who is a part of our Facebook community.
[00:16:25] She is a bootstrapping founder, creating clean beauty lip products, and when she was DM’ing me, she was like, Gloria, I really need your help with coming up with an interesting pitch and instead of suggesting to her to pitch something around clean beauty, which is the most obvious one because she makes clean beauty products, I said, you know, you're an Asian American makeup artist, and there's a lot going on right now in the media with Asian hate crimes and kind of like the relationship of Asian-Americans in society. So maybe it's something about that. Maybe you've seen some interesting things as an Asian-American makeup artist in Hollywood and the way that we're represented in media. And so when she did pitch that, she actually was able to write an op-ed for Cosmopolitan.com and she worked with their writers, and then they put the finished article that she wrote on the front page of Cosmo.com. Not only that, they also shared it on their Instagram with over 3.4 million followers. And at that point, she had around one hundred followers herself. So this is all possible because of all the ways that you can think about pitching your story, and I've given you 10 really great ideas to start. And obviously, if you're in our Facebook group and you can join us at get featured and you can see all of the other trainings and ways that other people are pitching, whether it's for podcast, whether it's for something related to their kids, whether it's something that's data-driven or any of the 10 that I've mentioned here.
[00:17:44] So I really hope that this episode has given you so much to think about, and I cannot wait for you to leave a comment or DM me and tell me which of the ten you are going to go with. Now! Cheers to you, and let's make this year the year you are seen, heard and valued. Let's start pitching. Hey, my friends, thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of the Small Business PR podcast. Now if you are ready for this year to be the year that you land press and stop hiding behind the scenes, I want you to join our Facebook group, the number one place for small businesses looking to go from unknown to being seen, heard and valued. This is a special one of a kind space for small but mighty business owners at every stage of their PR journey, and you can come join us at www.getfeaturednow.com you might meet a podcast host, you might be able to get on to a podcast, meet a business bestie and you'll be able to see me where I go live in it every single Friday. I cannot wait to
[00:18:42] meet you in the group and I look forward to you joining us.