Passing the So What? test
It's a great idea to get a colleague - or better someone with no emotional investment in your business - to look over your story. Because you need to check it passes the So What? test. This is what a journalist will ask when they first look at a story.
Here are a series of questions to ask about your story:
Do you know what you want to achieve with your publicity? Does it fit with your business goal? No point getting publicity for the sake of it, you should be clear what you want to achieve.
Have you told the whole story? Have you remembered who, what, where, when - and most importantly why?
Can your target audience relate to it? If you want to reach 35 year old housewives, a story about classic cars probably won't appeal to the majority of them. Show your story to someone in your target audience, see if they are interested
Is it a good enough story? Examine the media you want to get publicity with. Is your story as good as, or better than the stories they are already carrying? Being ordinary isn't enough, you must stand out from the ordinary
Are you giving the journalist everything they want? Make it easy for them, and you will get more publicity.