Selling Your Story Idea
Selling Your Story Idea
Everyone knows the best salesman is a person who believes soundly in his product, which is why you must be absolutely convinced that your story is newsworthy before you pitch any journalist. If you can’t sell that story idea to yourself, no reporter or producer is going to buy it. Likewise, if you don’t understand why your story is newsworthy it is going to be difficult to persuade any reporter that your story merits coverage.
In Journalism 101, students are taught the five W’s that help them identify the value of a story. They are the: Who, What, Where, When and Why, along with the How. You can use these rudimentary bullet points to help you identify why your story is newsworthy and what is important to stress in your pitch. Let’s do a quick lesson in the five W’s so you will understand how to apply them to your pitch.
WHO: Who is this story about? Who is the character in the center of the story? If you are pitching an organization, business or nonprofit you must identify a person to revolve the story around because the best stories involve people.
WHAT: What is this story about? Here is where you need to bring focus to the idea. Many people pitch stories on their businesses, but when you ask them what the story is they say, “a story on my business.” By identifying the “What” you will have an edge in pitching the story because your idea will be more focused.
WHERE: This should be one of the easier W’s to identify. Where is this story taking place? Does the location have any value or importance in the community? A diner in Iowa has little national news value, unless it is a Presidential election year when all of the candidates are pressing the flesh with patrons over ham and eggs. That pushes the diner to newsworthy importance, but if you include a character (the WHO)– perhaps a single, young, working waitress who has no health insurance— suddenly the story starts taking shape.
WHEN: Does your story have any timely components? Will your story take place on a single night or day? Is your story relevant at a certain time of the month? All of these questions could make your story timely, which will increase the value of your story.
WHY: Why should anyone care about your story? Why is this story happening? Why are people coming to your event or why are people buying your product or service? The “Why” question is the last W to ask yourself because it could be the deciding factor that determines whether your story is pursued or killed. No producer or reporter will dare pitch a story that no one cares about, which is why you must identify in advance why people will care about your idea and why they will have an emotional attachment.
HOW: Not every story has a “how” factor, but it is still important to ask yourself this question. How is your story, business, service or product changing lives? How are you helping people? How will your business or product save people money or better their lives? If you can’t answer this question off the top of your head, ask yourself “how” then look around your business and start focusing on the main components that sets your business a part from the competition.
By learning the five W’s and the one H you are essentially focusing the story down to its root. The more you narrow down the story, the easier it will be for you to identify the right targeted news outlet for your story. And by asking these questions in advance you will not only learn more about your story, but you might also uncover a better story that will help reinforce the message you want to project.
Selling Your Story Idea - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Macias's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Selling Your Story Idea
Everyone knows the best salesman is a person who believes soundly in his product, which is why you must be absolutely convinced that your story is newsworthy before you pitch any journalist. If you can’t sell that story idea to yourself, no reporter or producer is going to buy it. Likewise, if you don’t understand why your story is newsworthy it is going to be difficult to persuade any reporter that your story merits coverage.
In Journalism 101, students are taught the five W’s that help them identify the value of a story. They are the: Who, What, Where, When and Why, along with the How. You can use these rudimentary bullet points to help you identify why your story is newsworthy and what is important to stress in your pitch. Let’s do a quick lesson in the five W’s so you will understand how to apply them to your pitch.
WHO: Who is this story about? Who is the character in the center of the story? If you are pitching an organization, business or nonprofit you must identify a person to revolve the story around because the best stories involve people.
WHAT: What is this story about? Here is where you need to bring focus to the idea. Many people pitch stories on their businesses, but when you ask them what the story is they say, “a story on my business.” By identifying the “What” you will have an edge in pitching the story because your idea will be more focused.
WHERE: This should be one of the easier W’s to identify. Where is this story taking place? Does the location have any value or importance in the community? A diner in Iowa has little national news value, unless it is a Presidential election year when all of the candidates are pressing the flesh with patrons over ham and eggs. That pushes the diner to newsworthy importance, but if you include a character (the WHO)– perhaps a single, young, working waitress who has no health insurance— suddenly the story starts taking shape.
WHEN: Does your story have any timely components? Will your story take place on a single night or day? Is your story relevant at a certain time of the month? All of these questions could make your story timely, which will increase the value of your story.
WHY: Why should anyone care about your story? Why is this story happening? Why are people coming to your event or why are people buying your product or service? The “Why” question is the last W to ask yourself because it could be the deciding factor that determines whether your story is pursued or killed. No producer or reporter will dare pitch a story that no one cares about, which is why you must identify in advance why people will care about your idea and why they will have an emotional attachment.
HOW: Not every story has a “how” factor, but it is still important to ask yourself this question. How is your story, business, service or product changing lives? How are you helping people? How will your business or product save people money or better their lives? If you can’t answer this question off the top of your head, ask yourself “how” then look around your business and start focusing on the main components that sets your business a part from the competition.
By learning the five W’s and the one H you are essentially focusing the story down to its root. The more you narrow down the story, the easier it will be for you to identify the right targeted news outlet for your story. And by asking these questions in advance you will not only learn more about your story, but you might also uncover a better story that will help reinforce the message you want to project.
Selling Your Story Idea - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Macias's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
|||
Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
|||
Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Mark's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Easy Product Ideas QuickBooks Self Quiz Organized in 10 mins Increasing Coaching Effectiveness The Art Of Networking |
|
 | ||
 |
The Top 10 Guy Kawasaki Posts
Best Posts for Entrepreneurs | |
 |
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
