Home
>
Public Relations
>
Public Relations Primer, Part I: Packaging Your Story for the Media

Public Relations Primer, Part I: Packaging Your Story for the Media

Imagine you're in the breakfast cereal business. You make the best corn flakes. So do you just back a truck-load of them up to every supermarket, then wait for the customers to buy?

Of course not. Because you understand that packaging smartly ? the right size boxes, the right look ? is integral to selling your product. It's the same with the key technique to publicity success we've been discussing in this column: marketing your knowledge and expertise to the news media for free exposure.

Your knowledge and expertise are just like those corn flakes. Your "box"-what you sell to the media-is your story. Learn how to package, present and deliver your story and you'll become a publicity success. This month and next, we'll lay out the ten basic steps to turning your knowledge and expertise into stories that the media can use-giving you free publicity in the bargain.

Remember, everything you know about your profession is what's going to make the media give you free publicity. If you're a financial planner, you know how to plan for retirement. You know how to fund a college education?.how to buy a house. You know about starting a business. These are things the media, and their audiences, want to know! You just have to slice, dice, and package all this knowledge into boxes of the right size and look, and the media will buy. Here's how we start:

1) Dissect your knowledge (your corn flakes) into many different stories (your boxes). You figure out how it helps single moms, young couples, retired veterans, the recently laid-off-and you develop a different "box" for each one and sell them to the media separately. In this case, less is more-you maximize your visibility by selling a smaller box to more reporters, more often.

2) Connect the world-and the media's-to your story. The media-and the reading public-love trends. If you can fit an otherwise dull story into a hot trend-you've manufactured publicity gold. That's why Wheaties puts those flash-in-the-pan Olympic medalists on their cereal boxes-it's been the same darn Wheaties for 80 years, but they keep it seeming new by making the face on the front of the box the Olympian that everyone's talking about. Think about how the everyday things you are doing for clients fit into the great story of the day. As I write, the big trend is the sinking stock market. Anything you do that you can conceivably package as story and slap "sinking stock market" on the front is something the media will be interested in.

3) Establish the trend. You don't have to go along with the media trends-every once in a while, you'll spot a trend of your own. If you see or hear something you never have before-say, paid leave for people with sick pets-investigate it. Find out what companies are doing it, who's advocating it, what professional association has accepted it. Find some people who are taking off work to care for Fido. You are like a secret agent for reporters-who are too wrapped up in their next deadline to discover things like this.

4) Assemble the pieces. Bring it all to the reporter-the less work she has to do, the more likely it is that she will use your story. Here's what you need:

You-your basic bio and your credentials

Your story

The trend, whether new or old, that the story illuminates Another expert (academic, not a competitor, obviously) or a study

A real life example

Human beings-they will be the conduit for telling the story

5) Reach the media. This is really two steps. First: What publications do you want to be in? A better question is, what audience do you want to be in front of? Would you rather be telling your story to the readers of the local business publication or to the readers of Highlights For Children? The local business publication, of course, and whatever else your potential customers read. Once you target a few publications, read them religiously. Pay special attention to the "bylines"-the names of the reporters writing each story. Soon you will have an idea of what reporter writes about what industry or sector. And when you are ready with your story, you will know who to go to. You'll be working with a small number of reporters, so you'll be able to form relationships. And if you prove yourself as a great interview and resource, that reporter will use you as a source her whole career.

ned steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele's MediaImpact, he is the author of ned steele To learn more visit ned steele or call 212-243-8383.

licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Chrome extension spyware disguised as a free VPN service highlights security risks after it captured private browsing data from trusted sites.

New research shows how fatty acids in cooking oil can safely dissolve and recover silver from circuit boards without harmful chemicals or environmental damage.

The Fox News AI newsletter gives you information on the latest AI technology advancements, and about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Anthropic investigates alarming AI abuse case where hacker automated entire cybercrime campaign using Claude, stealing sensitive data from defense and healthcare firms.

TikTok, Meta and YouTube restrict Charlie Kirk shooting videos with age gates and warnings while X faces criticism for allowing continued circulation.

Cybercriminals use fake troubleshooting websites to trick Mac users into running terminal commands that install Shamos malware through ClickFix tactics.

San Francisco startup Fable launches Showrunner, an AI platform dubbed the 'Netflix of AI' that generates animated episodes from text descriptions with Amazon support.

Apple raised iPhone prices for some models despite receiving tariff relief from President Donald Trump, with the new lineup starting at $799 for the base model.

A two-story 3D concrete printed home in Western Australia demonstrates faster construction methods that could reshape American housing amid rising costs.

Credit scores remain important during retirement for insurance rates and housing applications, while seniors become prime targets for identity theft and financial scams.

Scammers now send unexpected packages with QR codes that redirect victims to fraudulent websites or download malicious software to steal sensitive information.

Meeting AI tools record private conversations alongside work discussions, creating privacy risks that can be managed with proper settings and awareness.

Hotel privacy concerns are valid but rare, with methods to detect hidden tech using smartphone flashlights, mirror tests and scanning apps.

Improve your Wi-Fi speed and reliability with 10 simple router optimization tips that don't require special apps or expensive subscriptions.

A Columbia University breach exposed names, Social Security numbers and academic records of nearly 869,000 people, with notifications beginning in August.

Rental car drivers use AI-powered apps like Proofr to protect themselves from unfair damage fees as major companies deploy automated inspection tools.

Fox News' AI newsletter brings you the latest on technology advancements around artificial intelligence.

OnTrac data breach between April 13-15, 2025, exposed personal information of over 40,000 people including Social Security numbers and medical records.

A woman named Wika announces her engagement to an AI chatbot sparking worldwide debate about virtual relationships and technology.

The notorious people search site National Public Data relaunches despite a previous breach affecting 3 billion individuals, raising fresh privacy concerns.

Revolutionary TRAUMAGEL gel controls life-threatening bleeding from gunshot wounds and traumatic injuries, helping first responders prevent prehospital deaths.

Protect your home network by enabling proper encryption, creating strong passwords, checking connected devices and using VPN and antivirus software.

The Navy's solar-powered Skydweller drone flew nonstop for 73 hours in Mississippi, proving renewable energy can power long-endurance military missions.

Moving and downsizing expose seniors to identity theft and scams as data brokers collect real estate records and personal information to sell to criminals.

ShengShu's Vidar technology revolutionizes humanoid robot training by using AI-generated synthetic video, reducing required training data from hours to just 20 minutes.