5 ChatGPT prompts to secure brand-boosting press coverage
Get famous for your work, get famous for your clients, get famous for your content, your message or your hairstyle. However you do it, becoming more well-known can do wonders for your brand. Getting in front of more eyes, being at the forefront of more minds, and being the name on everyone’s lips can mean you make more money and more impact with a fraction of the effort.
Amy Merrywest teaches business owners how to use PR to grow their brand. As founder of Pitch & Shout PR, Merrywest’s work has seen clients secure coverage in publications including the BBC, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Times, GQ and Cosmopolitan, and have their products sell out overnight from television coverage on major news channels including ITV. Merrywest has experience at boutique agencies and global PR firms and now runs a membership group of entrepreneurs applying PR strategies to create impactful growth in their businesses. To her, PR is more than a mere vanity metric, it’s a potent catalyst for business expansion and lead generation.
Merrywest shared the prompts she uses with ChatGPT, to help entrepreneurs secure coverage, and they have been modified to include the crucial components of an effective prompt. Copy and paste them into ChatGPT and edit the square brackets with your unique information.
Secure your own press coverage with ChatGPT
Create relevant story ideas
“There are two popular styles of content you can pitch to the press,” said Merrywest, “Tips and human interest stories.” First identify media outlets whose readers are your ideal client, then introduce yourself as the perfect contributor to their content. Here’s where you, “take what you already know about your client’s wants, needs and interests, then use AI to turn this knowledge into a great story idea.” Use this prompt to create a selection of story ideas that focus on the personal and relatable perspective of your client’s biggest challenges and position yourself as the person with the answers.
“I am looking to secure press coverage by pitching story ideas that resonate with my target audience. My clients typically are [describe your typical client], facing the main problem of [describe the difficulty or problem they have]. My business [describe your business] offers solutions to these problems. I’m planning to pitch to media outlets like [describe the media outlet and what kind of content they share], which often publish stories such as [include some of the headlines of their current content]. Could you help me craft a selection of story ideas, focusing on tips or human interest angles that highlight the challenges faced by my clients and position my business as a solution provider? The ideas should be engaging, relevant to the outlet’s style, and tailored to appeal to their readership, reflecting an understanding of both the media outlet’s content and my clients’ needs.”
Get seasonal inspiration
“Creating story ideas that are relevant and timely is integral to the success of your pitch,” explained Merrywest, “so using the time of year for inspiration is important.” She advises you to think broadly here, because there are multiple ways to explore the time of year. Think “seasons, nationwide or worldwide events, traditions and religious holidays,” and remember where your ideal clients are based to consider their location’s own trends. Try this prompt to generate more story ideas using the key dates in your diary.
“With the upcoming key date of [enter key date] in mind, and considering the information you already know about my clients and my business, could you generate relevant press pitch story ideas for the publications I’m targeting? These ideas should be specific to the event, season, tradition, or holiday I mentioned and align with the interests of the publication’s readership. The focus is to create timely and engaging content that resonates with both my ideal client’s needs and the publication’s style.”
Be led by trends
So far you have ideas in line with what this publication already writes, you have ideas based on seasonality, now look to the future and pitch topics on up and coming trends. “Keeping your finger on the pulse of your industry will ensure you are pitching content that is relevant and on-trend,” said Merrywest. Your dream press outlet doesn’t want to get left behind, so help them out by doing your research. Use this prompt to inspire press pitch ideas that are trend-focused, and use the response to build your pitch.
“Considering the latest trends in [describe your area of expertise], and taking into account the information you already know about my business and clients, act as a public relations professional and provide press pitch ideas that align with these trends. The pitches should be relevant to my business, resonate with my ideal client, and appeal to the publication I’m targeting. The goal is to suggest forward-thinking and trend-based topics that will position the publication as a leader in its field, while also highlighting my business’s relevance and expertise in these areas.”
Turn ideas into headlines
Now you have identified your story ideas, whether based on tips, human interest, topical themes or future trends, “the next step is to create an attention-grabbing headline for your potential story idea.” Once you have an impactful headline, said Merrywest, “you can flesh out the pitch and make it hard for an editor to ignore.” Choose the best story idea ChatGPT has found so far and ask for your headlines. Give examples, get multiple versions, and ensure they pack a punch. “You confuse, you lose,” added Merrywest. Create clear and enticing headlines to stand the best chance of success.
“From the story ideas generated around tips, human interest, seasonal topics, and trends, I’ve selected this as my favourite: [enter your favourite story idea]. Can you write a selection of 10 attention-grabbing headlines for this story? The headlines should describe the topic literally, yet be powerful and concise to capture the reader’s interest immediately. Aim for clarity and impact, avoiding confusion to maximize the potential for engagement. Multiple variations would be helpful to explore different angles and ensure the headline stands out.”
Write your pitch
“This part is essential to get right!” said Merrywest, but “if writing is not your strength, compiling a press pitch is tricky.” She advised you to avoid making your pitch too long or vague, and make sure you get to the point quickly so it won’t be rejected. Instead, include new and fresh advice you can give, share success stories from your professional journey, and make sure you’re submitting content that will add real value to readers. Use this prompt to create a pitch you’re proud of.
“Using the headline ‘[enter your favourite previously generated headline]’, I need assistance crafting a concise and impactful press pitch. The pitch should quickly get to the point, showcasing the value of the content I offer. Key points to include are: My name is [enter your name] and I am [describe your role]. In this piece, I will explore [enter key points, such as statistics, your key findings in this subject, and your core piece of advice or knowledge]. I would like the call to action to direct the reader to my website [enter your website address] and ask them to consider the interest their readers might have in this topic. The goal is to create a pitch that’s not only informative but also engaging and encourages action.”
Generate brand-building press coverage with these 5 ChatGPT prompts
You don’t have to hire a PR team to secure your brand coverage. Instead, follow these tips and use these prompts to give it a crack yourself. Get story ideas in three ways, using top tips, seasonal angles or being led by trends. Turn ideas into headlines and headlines into a full blown pitch. Put your brand into the spotlight with a winning press plan and send more people its way. This is how to spark the attention of journalists and increase your chance of being featured.
