what questions and comments do i write?

Question

Someone from the local papers is coming over to write an article about my company which is fairly new . The boss has asked me to prepare some questions and comments that might be useful, any suggestions. thanks

Answer 1

What is the mission of this company?

How long has the company been in business?

How many employees does it have? How many did it have last year?

How big is the company's office and warehouse (in square feet)?

What is this year's sales volume? Last year's? Where does the company have most of its sales? How fast are sales growing?

Is the company privately held or has stock been issued? Do any employees own stock or are any of them part-owners?

Are the annual financial statements audited by a CPA?

How much business experience does the CEO have?

Does the business sponsor any local civic activities or sports?

What does the company do that makes it different from competitors in the metropolitan area?

What is the vision of the company over the next 5 years? The next 10 years?

-- it might be useful to plan a tour for the reporter that the CEO approves of beforehand and perhaps to have some sharp black and white photographs of the company, the building, and some of the company products to give to the reporter.

Answer 2

If you've got any interesting 'human interest' storylines, that helps - local papers like to get in as many names as possible. Anyone been struggling over adversity (and won!!!! - don't write sob stories). Human interest stories about customer service are great - has anybody done anything heroic to make sure that the customer gets the product/service? especially if it's in an area where people tend to grumble about the service they get from the big suppliers.

Be very careful about making statements about the company's values, mission statement, etc. By themselves they're Oh So Boring and everybody's heard them before ... but if you have a story to tell that illustrates one of the company's values in action, tell it and then say how this shows some of your values at work.

Is there anything where you're a 'first' - in technology, meeting a local need, etc.? If so, say so. Are you proud of the way you work as a team? If so, say so. But be careful about making statements about the company that will p'off the other employees because they know that it isn't true.

Hope that helps, and good luck with the new business.

Answer 3

Try the links in http://www.hot8sites.com for writing tips