S07 Episode 24: How to come up with story angles

by | Jun 13, 2017 | Marketing Podcast Episodes | 0 comments

How to come up with captivating story angles for small business marketing.

In this How to come up with story angles episode you will discover…

  • How to come up with story angles to get free publicity
  • The different types of hooks to get the media interested
  • Some nifty tools you can use to find ideas for your business

Here is to creating ripple effects of brilliance for business owners around the globe!

Happy listening!

The Hook Paradigm: Boring Business Pitch vs. Irresistible Story Angle

Most business owners pitch their company’s existence as the news story. The harsh reality is that a journalist does not care that you opened a new office or launched a standard service. To get free publicity, you must translate what you do into a narrative that aligns with current trends, human-interest elements, or localized data.

Pitch Element The Boring Business Pitch (Ignored) The Irresistible Story Angle (Featured)
Primary Angle “Our business is great and we just launched a new product.” “How our unique industry data reveals a massive shift in local consumer habits.”
Timing Sent whenever the business needs sales. Tied directly to current news cycles, seasonal trends, or holidays.
The Hook Promotional and self-serving. Educational, controversial, contrarian, or emotionally gripping.
The Value Reads like an advertisement. Reads like a ready-to-publish feature article.

The PR Axiom: You don’t pitch your business; you pitch a story through the lens of your business. When you master how to come up with story angles that offer genuine value to a reporter’s readership, your conversion rate from pitch to publication skyrockets.

The 3-Step Story Angle Generation Process

To systematically discover and craft angles that the media will love to run, follow this ideation framework:

1.1. Select Your Media Hook:Find your hook type.

Decide which angle best serves the media. Will it be a localized trend story, a contrarian opinion that challenges common industry beliefs, a human-interest piece about overcoming adversity, or a tie-in to a seasonal event?

2.2. Leverage Smart Ideation Tools:Brainstorm with technology.

Don’t guess what the public wants. Use tools like Google Trends, AnswerThePublic, or online forums to see what questions your target audience is actively asking right now. Use these insights to anchor your story in real-time demand.

3.3. Refine and Format the Pitch:Package the hook.

Distill your story angle down to a single, compelling sentence. Ensure it has a clear hook, a relatable main theme, and a direct tie-in to your expertise, making it incredibly easy for a journalist to immediately understand the vision.

Ready to Grow Your Business?
To discover more innovative marketing strategies, make sure you join us at the next Marketing Ecosystem™ workshop to map out your one-page marketing plan. Here’s the link to register (at no cost!):
https://www.basicbananas.com/virtualsummit

Here’s to creating ripple effects of brilliance everywhere we go!
The Basic Bananas Team

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