How to Come Up with PR Angles for Your Business

One of the first things I do when I'm talking to a new or potential client is start brainstorming all of the angles that the media or influencers might be interested in about them. I often tell clients that kick-off meetings bring out the journalist in me as I essentially interview them about anything and everything that could be of interest and tie back into their brand, mission or ability to differentiate. In a world that's increasingly driven by consumers voting with their dollars, facts or storylines that the client isn't even thinking about can often be the most compelling, both in terms of getting press attention and in terms of connecting potential customers or users with the brand.

I also find that thinking through these pitch angles can help us make recommendations to the client around the copy that should be on their website, in email sequences, and more. Thinking about how you're going to pitch yourself to target media helps you hone in on your audience and messaging, so even if you're not planning to start the media outreach process now, it's a worthwhile exercise.

To start, here are a few prompts to get you brainstorming potential angles:

Your Background

So many people come to entrepreneurship via unexpected paths, and these backgrounds can make for wonderful stories. They can also help you fit into stories that are more generally appealing. For example, CPAs who start creative endeavors, or parents who start businesses with their kids (I have had three such companies come through my doors lately!), can make for compelling narratives. 

Look at the national landscape of news and see if there's anything you fit into. Tie into national conversations when you can, hot topics like immigration, The American Dream, work/life balance and working parenthood, etc. If your story can be part of a larger narrative, you have a better chance of being picked up.

Your Purpose, Your "Why"

Entrepreneurship is no joke, and most business owners have a more compelling reason for starting their companies than they just woke up one day and decided to do it. Whether it was a big hole in the market or a personal thing they were searching for and couldn't find, or the intrinsic motivation to become their own boss, or an even more profound and far reaching rationale, your purpose and reason for getting up in the morning and working so hard are important parts of your story.

How You're Transforming The Market You're In

Most likely as an entrepreneur, you saw a problem and wanted to solve it. Think about the issues in your market and how you're transforming them, whether you're building a better mousetrap, introducing a totally new idea, bringing choice to a landscape where none previously existed, making a solution more affordable, etc. Framing things to the media in a problem/solution context is helpful in garnering coverage. Anytime you're new and different, and especially if you have the potential to change a market, people want to know more.

The Things You Know Better Than Anyone Else

Pitching yourself as an expert can be a great way to get coverage because you're providing reporters with a source and expertise as opposed to asking them to just write about a product (a harder sell). Sit down and think about all the things you know better than anyone else about your industry or market and develop pitches around those. See something starting to trend or happen that you can alert reporters who cover your beat about? Have a commentary or counterpoint to something you've seen? Think that reporters are missing something that you can provide expert advice on? These are great opportunities for pitching.

How You're Different

It's almost essential for a company to have major differentiators from its competition to get media coverage based purely on the product or service. Think hard about how you're different and what that means for your audience. Are you making something affordable or accessible for the first time? Providing a first-of-its-kind service? Going against the grain of what is typical in the industry? Is yours just prettier, higher quality, more effective or solving a common issue that people have with similar products? Whatever it is that differentiates you can help lead to pitches around flaws in the marketplace, consumer needs and your product.