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Want More Feature Stories?
Ask Yourself "So What?"
by Katherine Khalife
It is insight into human nature that is the key
to the communicator's skill. For whereas the
writer is concerned with what he puts into his
writing, the communicator is concerned with
what the reader gets out of it.
- William Bernbach
If you were to write up a marketing wish list for your organization, I bet one of the top three entries would be "more money for advertising." I've never seen a museum yet that didn't wish for that, and usually for very good reason. But I've also seen many institutions get so stuck in a poverty mentality that they fail to recognize and capitalize on all the no-cost marketing opportunities that they do have.Among the very best of those opportunities are feature stories in magazines and newspapers. When it comes to getting your organization noticed, few things are more effective than a good feature. Editorial content is not only read more thoroughly than advertisements are, but features don't cost you anything but a little extra thinking time before you write your press releases.
Newspaper and magazine editors are in constant need of ideas for feature stories. But don't just hope that they'll read your standard release and take time to figure out an angle on their own. Instead, help them out by showing them exactly how your news can fill their need. You'll considerably up a release's chances of resulting in a feature if you take the time to include a hook that makes your announcement newsworthy. The best way to find that hook? By asking yourself "So what?"
To find a good angle, put yourself in the shoes of newspaper and magazine readers not affiliated with your organization. Why should they care about your news? How will they benefit from what you're publicizing? What problem can it help them solve? How does it relate to their own lives and personal interests? In other words, so what?
Let's say your museum is offering a lecture on how to preserve old photographs. Instead of just sending out a release with the date, time, topic, cost, and the lecturer's stunning credentials, provide a story angle by tying your announcement in to the immense popularity of genealogy or scrapbooking.
Write a compelling headline and a great lead sentence. Use some statistics about genealogy being the third most popular hobby in the U.S. Provide a couple of reasons why it's so important to store photographs correctly. Stress the benefits to be gained by attending the lecture. And explain everything in layman's terms. As always, keep the release to one page if at all possible.
Finally, include a separate notation at the end offering to supply both poorly preserved and well-preserved images to illustrate the article -- and perhaps even include photocopied examples to further make your point. Providing a backgrounder sheet is also a good idea. Do it as a bulleted list, with some interesting facts about the history of photography and a few details about the size and content of your museum's collection.
Suddenly, you've transformed a standard, ho-hum release into excellent fodder for a great feature. By taking a bit of up-front time to look at every one of your news announcements from the "So what?" perspective, you'll soon see the number of feature stories you receive rising dramatically.
For links to related articles and online resources, visit the Public Relations, Writing and Editing, or Media Directories sections of the Museum Marketing Tips Links Library.
Copyright © 2000 Katherine Khalife All rights reserved.
For reprint permission, please e-mail info@museummarketingtips.com
Katherine Khalife is a writer and consultant specializing in museum marketing, customer service and heritage cultural tourism. See the Services section for information about her workshops and other services.
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