This is Red Marlin’s first in a series of blogs over the next few weeks advising how you can maximise your PR opportunities.

Today we look at ‘What is newsworthy?’ (first four pointers in today’s article, the rest to follow on Thursday, so make sure you come back for more!).

In essence, a newsworthy story can have a number of elements to make it interesting. The more elements it has, the more newsworthy it is.

If you have a story that is press release material then consider if these four factors play a part (don’t forget, more to follow on Thursday).

Timeliness

Ask yourself, why now?

Stories that happened today are topical, stories that happened last week are not.

It’s obvious but stories considered old rarely receive any news coverage, after all, who wants to read about what happened yesterday.

To be considered timely your story should offer something new or tie in with a current event.

Make sure your topic is current to give it the best chance of success. The newer the better.

Closeness

This can actually mean a number of things – geographically, socially and culturally

Events that happen close to home are more interesting than ones that happened far away. For example, someone scooping a mega lottery jackpot win is much more interesting to read about if it happened to someone nearby rather than the other side of the world.

However, proximity can also refer to events that relate closely to us as people, whether that be socially or culturally.

Significance

The number of people impacted by a story makes a difference, in essence the more people involved or it influences the more significant it is.

Numbers count.

Human Interest

Adding a human element to a story, when appropriate, makes it more appealing. People love to hear about what’s happened to other people, and that can be from a positive angle.

Inserting quotes also gives it a personal touch, providing a human face for your business.

Appealing to emotions can be very beneficial, however, don’t attempt to shoe-horn a human interest angle in to a press release when it is not appropriate.

Next instalment on ‘What is newsworthy?’ this Thursday.

For more information about a free one-hour PR audit for your business, or more guidance on ‘What is newsworthy?’, please email chris@redmarlin.co.uk