Most businesses go about getting press coverage completely backwards. They write a press release about something that is not actually newsworthy, blast it to a list of journalists they have never interacted with, and then wonder why nobody covers them. The truth is that getting real press coverage is not about shouting louder. It is about understanding what journalists need and making yourself useful to them.
We have placed clients in publications ranging from local newspapers to national outlets. Here is everything we have learned about what works, starting with the single most effective strategy we have found.
The Journalist Newsletter Strategy
This is the approach we recommend to every client, and it is the one that consistently produces the best results over time. Build an email newsletter list of journalists who cover your industry.
Here is how it works. Identify 20 to 50 journalists who regularly write about your industry, your market, or topics related to your business. Read their work. Understand what they cover and what angles interest them. Subscribe to their newsletters if they have them. Follow them on social media. Get to know their beat.
Then start a simple email newsletter. Not a company newsletter full of product updates and self-congratulation. A newsletter where you share genuinely useful insights about your industry. Original data. Contrarian takes. Expert analysis of trends they are likely covering. Things a journalist would find valuable when they are researching their next story.
When your business or industry is in the news, drop a note to your journalist list with a quote and a take. Not a pitch. Not an ask for coverage. Just value. Something like "I saw the news about [industry development]. Here is our take on what it means for [relevant stakeholders]. If you are interested in more, hit reply." That is it.
Lead with value. Always lead with value. The journalists who find your insights useful will start to see you as a source. They will reply. They will ask for quotes on future stories. They will reach out when they are working on something in your space. This is how real media relationships are built, and real media relationships are what produce real press coverage.
We have seen this strategy turn business owners who had zero media presence into go-to sources for reporters in their industry within six to twelve months. It is not instant, but the coverage it produces is genuine, editorial, and far more valuable than anything you could buy.
What Actually Makes News
Before you pitch anyone, you need to understand what journalists consider newsworthy. This is where most businesses fail. Your new product launch is not news. Your company anniversary is not news. Your hire of a new VP is not news. At least, not by themselves.
What makes news is relevance to a broader story. If your new product solves a problem that is currently in the public conversation, that is an angle. If your company data reveals a trend that affects an industry or consumer group, that is a story. If your expertise can explain something complicated that is happening in the news right now, that is valuable.
Journalists are looking for stories that their readers care about. Your job is not to convince them to care about your company. It is to show them how your company, your data, or your expertise connects to something their readers already care about.
How to Pitch Effectively
When you do pitch a journalist, keep it short. Three to four sentences maximum for the initial email. The subject line should communicate the story angle, not your company name. The body should explain why this story matters to their audience, what is new or different about it, and what you can offer them (data, an interview, access to something they cannot get elsewhere).
Personalize every pitch. Reference something the journalist has recently written. Show that you read their work and that your pitch is relevant to what they cover. A generic pitch sent to 200 journalists will be ignored by 200 journalists. A personalized pitch sent to 10 journalists who actually cover your space will get responses.
Time your pitches around news cycles. If something relevant is happening in your industry right now, that is the time to reach out. Journalists working on a breaking story are actively looking for sources and angles. If you can be useful to them in that moment, you are far more likely to get coverage than if you pitch on a random Tuesday about something that has no news hook.
Why Pay-to-Play Is Usually a Waste
There is an entire industry built around selling "press coverage" that is really just paid placement. Sponsored posts, contributed articles on sites that will publish anyone who pays, and press release distribution services that put your announcement on hundreds of websites that no one actually reads.
We are not going to tell you this stuff is always worthless. There are situations where a strategically placed contributed article can provide value. But you should understand what you are buying. Paid placements do not carry the same weight as earned media. They do not help with Wikipedia notability (because they are not independent sources). They do not build real relationships with journalists. And increasingly, search engines and AI systems are getting better at distinguishing earned coverage from paid content.
If you are going to spend money on press coverage, spend it on building the relationships and creating the stories that lead to real editorial coverage. That is what provides lasting value. Real editorial coverage also feeds your AI search visibility and helps you rank in Google — multiple benefits from a single investment.
The Long Game
Getting meaningful press coverage is not a one-time activity. It is a sustained effort that compounds over time. Each piece of genuine coverage makes the next one easier. Journalists who have quoted you once are more likely to come back. Publications that have covered you develop familiarity with your story. And the backlog of real coverage you build becomes an asset that supports everything else you do, from SEO to investor relations to Wikipedia page creation.
We have clients who started with zero press coverage and now get inbound requests from journalists multiple times a month. That did not happen because of a single brilliant pitch. It happened because they committed to being useful to the media over time and built real relationships with the people who cover their industry.
Getting Started
If you are starting from zero, here is what to do this week. Make a list of 20 journalists who cover your industry. Read their last five articles each. Set up a simple spreadsheet with their names, outlets, beats, and contact information. Then start thinking about what you know that they would find useful.
If you want professional help building a press coverage strategy, our press placement service covers everything from journalist identification and relationship building to pitch development and ongoing media outreach. You may also find our guides on writing a press release, press release distribution, and getting featured in Forbes useful as you develop your approach.
Related Resources
- How to write a press release — Create compelling press materials journalists will cover
- Startup PR strategy — DIY press approach for early-stage companies
- Press release distribution — Get your announcements to the right outlets
- Getting featured in Forbes — Strategies for major publication coverage
- Wikipedia notability — Press coverage builds your credibility foundation