Transforming your news hook from idea to newsworthy story can often be a tricky manoeuvre.
What does it take to create the story that the media will pick up on? Does it lie all in the headline or is the body text just as important?
To find out how we can help you transform your stories into news, request a consultation here.
Here at All Good Tales we’ve worked with a number of companies creating great newsworthy stories from initial ideas. To help you along in the process we’ve put together a number of tips for how to find the story behind your news hook.
What makes your idea interesting?
When putting together your new story you need to know what makes it interesting, why will people want to read it?
Look at your idea and ask yourself:
- Is it new?
- When is it happening?
- Is it rare?
- Where is it happening?
- What is the point of the story?
These five simple questions to help you find the story in your idea.
What are the details?
Adding details helps transform a story. It transforms it from a vague idea into a strong message.
Where possible always add numbers, figures and location. This will help develop the story of your idea.
Can you say it all in a few lines?
When you have your headline sorted and beginning to write the body of your story remember to keep your message clear and concise.
Your message should be easily condensable. Can you say it all in a few lines?
One way to master this is to use the inverted pyramid.
The most important information should be at the top. You should be able to fully understand your message in your first paragraph.
The least important information should be at the bottom. This is information that is nice to have but not need to have.
Imagine your story as an article in a newspaper. The copy editor needs to cut 100 words. They should be able to remove the last paragraph of your story without the story losing its meaning.
