PR without a Story is like a Pilot without a Plane

Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

How to find topics and stories

Doing PR means being a professional storyteller. Not having any angles or topics is like being a cook without any ingredients or a pilot without a plane. Our job is to be creative, but that doesn't mean we can be our most creative 24/7. Hard to believe, but even PR-people are mere humans, and we too face problems like writer’s block or lack of inspiration. However, our job is to overcome these hurdles, so we came up with a list of some of the best practices for overcoming them. 

Why you need good stories

Every company has a story to tell. Just reporting on product updates or hirings doesn't necessarily increase coverage and bring attention to your organization (and if it did, what a boring world it would be!). You should aim to tell stories that show your position, build your reputation, raise awareness and are interesting. Journalists are flooded with pitches and story suggestions every day. The State of Media report for 2021 revealed that over 75 % of German journalists say that only 0-25 % of all pitches have been relevant to them. This means more than three out of four stories immediately land in the (digital) trash bin. Therefore, the mission is clear: You not only need to find some topics, you need to find angles that are relevant and interesting, and stand out in the mass of pitches. Only in this way can you create a win-win situation in which you get coverage and the journalists find a good story. 

The (bumpy) road to a good story

However, on the road to this win-win situation, you might encounter some obstacles. It is not always that easy to find a topic that is relevant and not already burned-out. You have to get a feeling for when a topic is still hot and when it is already annoying everyone and there is nothing left to tell. Basically, you need to make use of analytics and a good gut feeling towards the media news (hype) cycle. Even if you find such a topic, turning it into a story is not always so straightforward as some might think. You have to find the right balance between bringing across your key messages and other important information. Otherwise, your story could turn into an advertisement and no one wants to feature that (at least not for free). 

But walking this road is worth it. Try to challenge yourself to think outside the box. As Contagious said in their “Contagious Commandments - 10 steps to Brand Bravery”, being creative also means being brave. Doing or writing something new can be scary but you don’t want to come up with the same stories everybody else has already told, but rather, your own. Also, when you pick up on hot topics, you have to know what you can really say about it, rather than just saying something. When you do news hijacking correctly, however, it offers great opportunities to dive deep into your ideas and maybe even position yourself to be a thought leader in a given area. We wrote a whole blog article about how to successfully hijack news. 

Five tips to get there

But how to come up with topics and stories that are relevant, still interesting, suitable for you and creative? To help you answer this question, we’ve compiled some useful tips for you:

1. Brainstorm

This one might seem obvious, but it is so effective that it can’t be missing from this list. If you need to come up with new story ideas, just grab a pen and some paper and write down everything that comes to mind. Even if your thought seems unsuitable at first, just write it down. For one, you don’t have to worry about forgetting your idea; it can also sometimes help to see an idea on paper and for another,  you never know if, combined with other ideas, you can come up with a great creative story angle based off of these ideas. 

You also shouldn’t always brainstorm on your own. Doing a quick meeting with your team from time to time can be very helpful, as you can ping pong some ideas, combine them and create whole new angles. 

2. Stay up to date and curious

Staying up-to-date with the latest news and hot topics is an indispensable tool for finding out what journalists are currently interested in. To do so, you can, for instance, subscribe to newsletters. Some newsletters for general news that are popular at Laika are Horizont vor 9, Startup Insider and W&V Morgenpost. You can find a whole list of useful newsletters on our blog. In addition to the more general newsletters, there are ones for every specific sector and topic. The same goes, of course, for podcasts, magazines, YouTube channels and other forms of media Another go-to tool for monitoring is Google Alerts. They can help you stay up-to-date on topics that you’re interested in, making use of keywords you specify.

3. Look for inspirations and quick wins

Of course, your story should be a perfect fit for your need. That does, however, not mean that you have to reinvent the wheel every time. Look at what has worked for others before, or google topics that peak your interest and could serve as good sources of inspiration. If you find something that sounds intriguing, you can share it with colleagues. Maybe, based on this, you will find a story angle together or provide your team with input for future topics. 

Some magazines also have regularly returning categories. If you can’t come up with a new story, but want to generate clippings, check if you can find a fitting “quick win”. Perhaps your CEO had a funny job as a teenager and can share their story in “Mein erster Job” in Business Punk or perhaps they can share what their must-haves are in their office bag for t3n.

4. Listen to journalists instead of just talking to them

Ultimately, the ones who decide if your story gets published or not are the journalists. They are the gatekeepers to convince. So why not listen to them right from the get-go? Sometimes journalists rejecting a story give feedback as to why they won’t publish it. Take this feedback into your next topic brainstorm. If you have already established a good relationship with that journalist, you can also ask him or her what kind of topics they are looking for at the moment. This way, you have a great starting point for a story with a high chance of getting covered.

5. Don’t pressure yourself too much

Sure: There are deadlines and finding good stories is your job. Still, creativity can’t be forced. If you feel really blocked, stop thinking about it for the moment. Do something else or just take a break. We all know that the best ideas come either in bed or in the shower anyway.

So yes, finding a good topic or story isn’t always easy, but it is also not impossible. Give yourself the time to brainstorm, research and get inspired, be brave enough to share your creative ideas and ask for the opinions of others. But most importantly, don’t lose the fun while writing!