Assignment 1. How to Develop Your Story. Developing Your Story Worksheet

Transcription

1 Assignment 1 How to Develop Your Story

2 Develop Your Story - Think Like a Journalist You ve got an amazing startup story Now it s time to share it with the world. So grab your keyboard and start typing here are some questions that will help you to draft out your incredible story one that will help you to dazzle journalists, and secure the media coverage that you need. 1. Stop Boring the Journalists Use Your Company Story to Secure Media Coverage for Your Startup What do you stand for? What drives your team forward?

3 What is your vision? Why is your product/service a game changer? What makes your company awesome? 2. Tell Them a Story, Don t Read Them a Press Release You ve seen how important it is to tell a story that will grab journalists attention, let s look at how you can go about practically crafting an amazing story that you can seamlessly integrate into your pitches. Remember To: Keep it Real: Harness the things that make you real; your failures, successes, and everything in between, and include them in your story.

4 Give Journalists Something of Value: Journalists want news that sells. They want a good human interest story. What real problem is your company or products solving? What motivates your team to wake up and come to work in the mornings? 3. Write it Down Get Started Writing Your Story Ok, now it s time to represent the humanness of your brand. This will help journalists and their readers to connect with you a little bit better, and make your company more approachable. Make it real, and own it Share inspiration, difficulties, and triumphs. The more compelling you are, the more journalists will care and the more likely they will be to feature your company What inspired you to found your company?

5 When did things really start taking off? How has your company grown? Which successes and triumphs have you overcome? Which things are you most proud of? Put it all in there Your story is your key to media coverage, and is your channel through which you will connect with the world, so sure make it s a good one

6 Got it all down? Now all you have to do is draft it together and you should have the makings of a good story. Keep these questions they will come in handy when it s time to write different versions of your startup story 4. Shorten it Now Turn That Story Into a Pitch A Journalist-Friendly One Now your story is done Go you It s time to condense it a bit. Your condensed version will be perfect for putting in your pitches that you send to journalists. Summarize your story into three main points to use in your pitches. Focus on telling your story in three key points. These should be the main points of your story. These points are usually organized chronologically: the beginning, middle, and end, but make sure you include key milestones, events, accomplishments, and breakthroughs in there too

7 These are your power three Memorize them, and keep them handy You never know when the press will come knocking for more information, and having these points on hand can help you to keep your story straight. 5. Securing Press Coverage Relevancy, Timing, and Newsjacking Ok, now it s time to go about creating a pitch that will get you the press coverage that you need There s a good chance that your product launch alone won t be enough to entice journalists, so you ll want to present your product launch, or big news story, in an angle that journalists will find interesting. It s important to remember that journalists want timely and relevant news stories. When drafting your pitch, consider: Relevancy Timing Opportunities to newsjack Draft your pitch, and ask yourself if it does any of the following: Shock Surprise Spark feelings of interest Prove or disprove a well-known theory Create heart-warming moments Grab emotions This is the litmus test for a good pitch. If yours does any of the above, it s a good one

8 Put Your Journalist Hat On: Which trending events tie in with your brand? Make a list of current events, stories, news stories, trends that can tie in with your brand or product. 6. Develop Several Versions of Your Startup Story for Different Audiences Developing a compelling story, doesn t mean that you should take a one-size-fits-all approach. It s a good idea to develop several versions of your startup story that could cater to different audiences. (Don t worry, we ll look more at developing different story angles in the coming weeks this is just a warm-up that will help you discover some different channels for your pitches, and to give you an idea on potential angles to take with different publications.) Which publications could your company be featured in?

9 Make a list of potential magazines, news sites, and blogs that you would like to see your company featured in. Now, go back through your list, and highlight various relevant angles that you could use to pitch to journalists at these publications. Congratulations You ve made it this far, and your company story is complete In the next few weeks we will explore how you can fine tune your story for maximum impact when pitching to different publications, perfect the heck out of your pitches, and build your own winning pitch toolkit. Stay tuned

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