How to Build a Relevant Story Angle

A few years ago, ICF Maryland partnered with a Baltimore nonprofit organization to provide pro bono coaching in support of its Turnaround Tuesday movement, which has helped more than 500 out-of-work individuals (including many with past criminal convictions) find and sustain meaningful employment.

It was a great story—especially in a city plagued by a reputation for high crime and limited economic opportunity—but could it get media coverage?

Certainly—with the right story angle. Professional coaches are quoted on a variety of topics, such as letting go of negativity or getting a promotion, in business and lifestyle publications. Whether you’re a part of a bigger movement demonstrating the impact of coaching or have a powerful coaching case study from your own practice, you have a story to tell. Before you contact the media that you’ve properly identified to get them interested in coaching, you need a plan to entice their attention.

Here are some ways to make your message stand out to reporters:

Personalize Coaching

One way to highlight the value of coaching is to use a client’s story. Perhaps you worked with the CEO of a large organization who, through coaching, is now more confident and able to inspire his team. Maybe you supported a Millennial through the decision-making process that led her to launch a successful startup.

Data helps support a story about why coaching works, but ultimately, reporters and their audiences are drawn to personal examples.

Highlight Something Unusual

In addition to human interest stories, reporters can be receptive to “man bites dog” stories, which describe something unusual and infrequent.

For example, you’ve no doubt read several articles about the perception of Millennials as self-centered, fragile and disruptive. Are you a Millennial coach who helps managers and employees twice your age navigate the complexities of their careers? That’s different—and a great story.

Make It Timely

Another way to entice the reporter is to find a way that coaching relates to a current event or hot topic. Consider pitching a seasonal topic: Before the school year gets underway, share your expertise to discuss strategies for how working parents can get back in the groove during the back-to-school season. As the calendar year winds down, you might seize the opportunity to leverage the energy around setting New Year’s resolutions.

Don’t stop there—look to national storylines for inspiration, too. Last year, ICF Metro DC contributed a byline in a federal trade publication about how the government could benefit from leadership coaching.

Or, maybe you empower female employees to break down barriers and become more self-confident. That is newsworthy considering the international #MeToo movement.

From Pitch to Press

Turnaround Tuesday was an inspirational story, especially in a city that continues to grapple with race relations and a lack of opportunities for a sizeable part of the population. So how did we turn it into an impactful news pitch?

As I mentioned above, compelling stories begin with personal examples. We started our media pitch with testimonials of those who bettered themselves after reaching rock bottom, like the person who served 15 years behind bars for murder and now works for Amazon. Then, we tied those examples and Turnaround Tuesday’s uplifting results into the timely local issue of crime and recidivism.

This resulted in coverage in Baltimore’s top newspaper, along with all five of the area’s local TV and radio stations. The story was also of interest to the NAACP, a U.S. civil rights organization, which interviewed organizers and ICF coaches on the radio and published an article in its quarterly publication.

Wherever you live, you are the eyes and ears of your own community. We all understand the power of coaching and its numerous positive benefits. The key is to make coaching relevant and intriguing to the media, whether it’s using a local success story to highlight a national trend or sharing how you as a coach are doing something remarkable in your own backyard.