Uncovering newsworthy story ideas is what sets your PR efforts on fire. But it’s not always easy to recognize the newsworthy events going on in your world when you live and breathe them every day! Not to worry – that’s why we’ve put together this handy-dandy list of questions for you.

Have you reached any major milestones lately?

Did you manufacture your 500,000th wingnut this morning? Was this the year to the day that you started using biodegradable lunch trays in your cafeteria? Anniversaries and milestones of any kind are a great opportunity to approach the media because they provide a natural newshook for stories.

Is something going on in your industry that is significantly changing your business?

Is that new legislation putting a dent in your bottom line? Is the hurricane down south wrecking havoc with your shipping schedules? Newspapers are always looking for a way to localize national news stories. Providing them with concrete examples will put you one step ahead of everyone else.

Are you making any dramatic changes to the way you do business?

Are you painting all your walls blue in order to promote a more relaxed atmosphere? Are you adding an ingredient to your secret recipe? Changes that you may think are minor could have a broader interest.

Do you have any amazing before & after stories?

The media loves before and after stories or case studies. If you can illustrate your company’s success with a happy customer or third party source, the story becomes a lot more interesting to reporters.

Does one of your employees have a great story to tell?

Is Karen in accounting climbing Mount Everest? Has your receptionist been with you for 30 years and sat in the same chair the whole time? Your employees are your greatest asset. Promoting them can help promote your business as well.

Finally, think creative when life throws you a curveball.

Bad news doesn’t always have to mean that it has to stay under wraps…There are creative ways to get media coverage even when the news isn’t the best.

If you stop and think about it you’ll find story ideas in the strangest places. If these questions spur some ideas, give us a call! We’ll start lighting the flames…

- Inga Rundquist

Inga Rundquist

Inga Rundquist is a Public Relations Arsonist and Co-Owner at MindFire. When she’s not dreaming up ideas that will generate publicity, you can find her knee deep in the social media world, also known as the next PR frontier.