Episode 85 - Spring/Summer Story Angles Editors and Publications Will LOVE
Repeat after me: PR is NOT a seasonal opportunity.
Regardless of industry, expertise, or product – your story deserves to be told in every season, every single year.
And if you’re a business owner or entrepreneur with a seasonal product or offer, you’re not going to want to miss this episode. Because it’s time to stop pigeonholing your expertise and start getting all angles of your story out in the world.
In this episode, I’m sharing spring and summer story angles I know editors and publications will love. And this is coming from years of experience working with my clients across various industries.
Look, I understand how seasons might make your business or product feel irrelevant. So here’s an example of why I’m certain your story isn’t limited by the weather. Imagine for a second that you’re a snowboarding coach. You might think that spring and summer aren’t the right seasons for your expertise. However, if you get creative and really tap into what your knowledge encompasses, you’ll find that you can land a feature sharing your tips and tricks for protecting your skin in the sun – since this is an area high-altitude sports experts have lots of experience with.
See how that works?
I share so many more unique story angles that publications and editors will clamor at. I also share tips for how you can always find an irresistible pitch for your product and business – regardless of the time of year.
Because your story deserves to be heard outside of the parameters of seasonality.
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
Why you need to pitch regardless of the season
Taking advantage of holidays and important events for your PR pitch
My tried-and-true framework for finding unique and relevant angles in every season
How trends and expert insights in your industry help your pitch stand out
How you can approach PR like a pro (even if you don’t have any experience)
P.S. If you want your small business to go from invisible to visible, seen, and valued, register for my FREE PR Secrets Masterclass. Soon enough, your credibility and visibility will skyrocket. Register now at www.gloriachou.com/masterclass.
Resources Mentioned:
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community: Small Biz Pros: By Gloria Chou
Additional Resources:
Join the Small Biz PR Pros FB group
Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Platform
Follow & Review on Apple Podcasts
Are you following my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today so you don’t miss any future episodes!
I would also appreciate it if you would leave me a review! Reviews help me make sure I am providing the content that you need! Plus, you will be entered to WIN a 1:1 pitch writing session with me where I will help you find your press-worthy angle! Click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review”.
Here’s a glance at this episode…
[1:15] Holidays are one of my favorite reasons to pitch, whether it’s getting into a gift or product guide, there are holidays and important days all year round. So in terms of spring and summer, we’re looking at Earth Day, APPI, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, July 4th, Parents’ Day, you name it. Those are really specific days that if you pitch in advance, which I usually recommend four to six weeks in advance, that there is a high likelihood that the journalist will be assigned to write something about it.
[7:28] I recently wrote a pitch for someone who is in the PR Starter Pack about the best way to travel with your pet across country. I’ve also written pitches for using various travel bags and how to stay sanitary and hygienic when you’re traveling with kids and using different compartments. We are able to turn her bag into a pitch that had to do with traveling with kids. So there’s always a way to make your product super relevant and newsworthy.
[9:54] I’ve given you many, many different angles to think about when it comes to spring/summer. Feel free to make sure that you can use data, maybe trends, an interesting point of view, and don’t be afraid to take a stand. If you have a contrarian point of view or a point of view that’s very different, or if you have a prediction to make, make sure that you do that. Because remember, experts have point of view, and that’s what we’re positioning you as – an expert.
-
00:00 - Introduction
01:14 Gloria Chou: Everyone you've heard me say this before, but there are always ways to pitch your story, whether it's one that has data or has predictions that talks about trends, maybe taking a stand or sharing your perspective. There is always a season and a reason to pitch your story. And right now at the time of recording, we are in spring summer. And so what better way to help you get off your feet and start pitching than listing out all of the inspiring and very easy to do summer spring angles that anyone can pitch that editors will love.
So grab a pen and paper because this episode will probably get your mind spinning and you're gonna think of ways to tie what you're doing into a newsworthy pitch. That way you're gonna be able to share your message and get the media to share it for you without paying for ads or agencies. Now, how is that for a win-win?
02:09 Background Music
02:15 Gloria Chou:
So the first one that I think you should consider is obviously one around the holidays, right? Holidays are one of my favorite reasons to pitch, whether it's getting into a gift or product guide. There are holidays and important days all year round.
So in terms of spring and summer, we're looking at Earth Day or Cinco de Mayo or AAPI or Mother's Day, Father's Day, July 4th parents' Day, you name it. Those are really specific days that you know that if you pitch in advance, which I usually recommend 4 to 6 weeks in advance, that there is a high likelihood that the journalist will be assigned to write something about it right now. Obviously, I want you to do the research and don't pitch a journalist who has never written anything around those days or gift guides or products.
So make sure that you do your research. Now, if you are in my pr starter pack, you have access to all the journalists and what they wrote about. So that makes it super easy. But if you're not in the pr starter pack, you can also do it quickly. Google search and find out whether it's on Twitter or Rocket reach. What the journalist is writing about.
03:26 Gloria Chou: So number two, in terms of a spring summer story angle you should consider is one about graduation entering into a new job market. If you are a career coach or personal development leader, it could be something about what are the skills in demand. And remember, I'm always about making sure that it's relevant to right now. So how has the jobs and skills market changed this year versus last year? That way to keep it relevant?
The editors will know that this is something that you're pitching right now for this year and not something that was a recycled pitch from five years ago. We have so many PR Starting pack members who are coaches and educators and help people develop the skills to succeed in their career.
And they've all been able to maximize this angle to be able to share their advice on how to ace interviews or how to dress for success or public speaking things or how to optimize your online presence so that recruiters can take note or even how to team build. I mean, there are so many things that could go on and on, but spring and summer is a great season to pitch something around graduate new skills.
Another thing is it could be around entering into a new, a new grade, right? With graduation comes entering into a new grade level. So if you are helping Children or students, this could be a great education angle for you to pitch.
04:48 Gloria Chou: Another one that's really popular with our pr starter pack founders is the one around skincare, cosmetics and wellness. Now, as you know, spring and summer are allergy and skin burn season. So if you make a product or if you have advice that could help them save their skin, save their sinuses, those will always be really good. And there's tons of journalists and outlets covering wellness, cosmetics, and beauty skincare that will be happy to accept those pitches.
Now, these pitches are super easy and straight to the point. And if you know how I write my pitches in the CPR method, which is the proprietary framework that I teach for all of the founders. You can definitely check out the masterclass at Gloria chou pr dot com slash masterclass to get a quick refresher on how to use the CPR method, which is my credibility, point of view, and relevance angle to frame your pitch. You'll know exactly how to write the intro and use bullet points and a strong closing statement to be able to get on the editor's radar.
It could be something like three ways to save your summer skin while you're going back to the beach for the first time or three ingredients that are super great for summer allergy season or things like that. I'm just spitballing. I've written so many pitches for founders who make products serving this industry. So this is really top of mind for me.
06:08 Gloria Chou:
Now, the other one that also is really popular with our community comes with fitness and workout tips. So summer, there's the summer season. People are getting back in shape and coming out of hibernation. We have a lot of Yogis and coaches and people who will talk about movement and also pain alleviation. So think about all of the ways that you can inspire the media and give them actionable tips on how to get your summer fitness and movement back.
I also worked with an acupuncturist who has lots to say about how to prepare the body for the summer season. And so, although it doesn't seem super relevant, there's always a way to tie what you're doing into something that's seasonal and relevant. So that's, the next one is summer fitness.
06:56 Gloria Chou: Now moving on another great pitch for spring, summer is apparel, right? Fashion with fashion. There are always seasonal trends, seasonal guides, seasonal colors, whatever it is, it is a great way.
If you're in e-commerce retail or apparel to pitch that angle for this season, it might be three ways or three colors for summer \ spring or three of the different trends. It could be how to give style advice, whether it's accessorizing or matching or maybe best shoes for going from the gym to a night out on the town. I mean, these are just so many ideas and I'm just filled with them. So I'm sure that after listening to this episode, your mind will be racing with many different angles that you can pitch for the spring and summer season as well.
07:44 Gloria Chou: Now that brings me to my next angle which is wedding and event season, right? We are coming out of a pandemic and people are ready to meet in person to celebrate, to catch up and wedding season is in full swing. So even if you're not in the wedding industry, it might be something about events, activities, gathering conferences, those things are also super seasonal and relevant, which brings me to my next angle, which is travel and outdoors, right?
Spring and summer is the time to get outside, to move our bodies, to get in nature, to visit a new city. It could be something about traveling with kids or families or couples or with pets or elderly parents. I recently wrote a pitch for someone who is in the pr starter pack about the best way to travel with your pet across the country. I've also written pitches for using various travel bags and how to stay sanitary and hygienic.
When you're traveling with kids and using different compartments, we were able to turn her bag into a pitch that had to do with traveling with kids. So there's always a way to make your product super relevant and newsworthy.
08:54 Gloria Chou:
Another one that's coming back is kind of tourism and all of this talk about tourism and travel and international borders opening. So that could be another interesting angle as well. Now that leads me to my next pitch, which is spring and summer food, wine and recipe stories. We have incredible founders in the pr starter pack who make hot sauces, who plan activities who are dieticians.
And there's always something clever and interesting about recipe ideas or new ingredients or how it can affect our health and what people are loving to eat this season. So think about that. If you're in the food and wine space, the last one is spring is the season of new beginnings, right? And as you know, home decoration, remodeling is seriously having its moment.
So if you are in anything to do with organization design, architecture, real estate, think about pitching an angle about that, whether it's spring cleaning or refreshing your decor, whether it's getting your patio ready for summer grill season or refreshing your kids' playroom, these ideas, I swear, I swear, I'm not just, you know, coming up with them by writing them down.
I actually just said it now and all these ideas started coming out. There are so many ways right? There are so many angles.
10:14 Gloria Chou:
Now, I know you might be thinking, well, Gloria, you just wrote all of these down and they recorded it, but I actually did not write any of these examples down. As I was telling you about these angles, all these ideas just came to mind right now. So think about what are the trends, how it's different and follow the CPR method.
If you want to know what my CPR pitching framework is that has helped thousands of founders frame their pitch and get clarity on what to write. You can listen to episode number two of this podcast. So I've given you many, many different angles to think about when it comes to spring summer, feel free to make sure that you can use data, maybe trends, an interesting point of view. And don't be afraid to take a stand.
If you have a contrarian point of view or a point of view that's very different. Or if you have a prediction to make, make sure that you do that because remember experts have point of view and that's what we're positioning you as, as an expert, the more you're trying to sell your product and talk all about what you're offering. The more likely it is that the journalist is gonna say, why don't you buy an ad instead?
11:17 Gloria Chou:
And here at Gloria Chou Pr, we are all about making sure that you get the recognition and visibility without having to pay for ads. So that is why you're here listening and I'm so grateful for you.
Please subscribe and rate and share this podcast. I plan on also doing another installment for the winter season and fall. And if you know of any small businesses who would benefit from learning these strategies.
Please feel free to share this episode with them. Thank you so much for being here, my friends and don't forget to send me a D.M on Instagram. If you have a topic that you want me to talk about, I am at Gloria chou pr that's gloriachoupr.com So shoot me a message and I cannot wait to talk about what angles you're thinking about pitching. All right, my friends, until next time.
12:05 - Outro