5 Ways to Land Press Coverage for Your Small Business
If you’re looking to build brand awareness, establish trust & credibility, and reach more customers in 2023, landing a press placement can be hugely impactful for your small business.
The good news is you don’t always need a PR agency or consultant to land coverage in your dream publication. There is a lot you can do on your own to get your small business on the radar with editors and media outlets.
We’ve outlined 5 expert tips below to help you stand out from the competition and get your brand covered this year.
By using these 5 best practices, you can make strides towards securing coverage in your favorite publication.
Good PR starts with your brand
If you’ve ever wondered how to catch the attention of an editor, it starts with your brand. And by “brand,” we don’t only mean your branding (logo, colors, fonts, etc.) – although that is part of it!
Good PR starts with a good story, one that is unique and differentiated. Editors are looking for more than just a product or service – they are looking for something special and new that their readers will benefit from.
Taking the time to build your brand is one of the best investments you can make as a small business owner. Not only will it help with your PR & Marketing efforts, but it will also support your overall long-term success. Building a brand includes your company positioning, your values, articulating what makes you different, crafting your founding story, and so much more. Building your brand is about the personality and the substance that goes beyond selling products or services.
Being able to communicate what makes you different, what you stand for, what you have to offer, and what you want to be known for – and developing a brand aesthetic that reflects this unique point of view – will allow you to stand out from the competition and capture the attention of the media. It’s important to start with your brand before you begin emailing editors to ensure that you are setting yourself up for success.
We teach you the fundamentals of how to build a brand foundation in our online course.
2. Research is key
We often get asked how to know who to reach out to. Every publication is different, which is why research is very important. Taking the time to properly research will save you a lot of time in the long-run and allow you to pinpoint which outlets and contacts are the best fit for your business. As you research, be sure to organize contact information and notes into a media list so you can keep track of who to reach out to and any feedback you receive.
We have a free media list template that you can download here.
Here are 4 tips to help you get started on research:
Be targeted – Focus on publications whose audience matches your own and who feel like a fit with your brand aesthetic and values
Scope out the competition - Where have your competitors, or brands you admire, been featured?
Read recent articles - Whether you pick up magazines or do a Google search, look and see who has been writing about brands or other experts in your industry lately. When you use Google Search, use the Tools option to narrow down your search to articles in the past 6 months or year.
Look at the masthead - A magazine’s masthead is a list of its editorial staff and can give you helpful insight into who covers which category. You can usually find a masthead online, or in the front pages of a print publication. Pro tip: If you can’t figure out who the right contact is, take note of the editorial assistant, who is often happy to help point you in the right direction.
3. Photography & organized materials will get you far
Drafting and organizing materials is one of the first tasks to tackle when preparing to reach out to media. Editors are inundated with emails (thousands and thousands a day) and receiving easy-to-review dropbox links and files makes their job much easier. A lengthy email without photography attached is a sure way to end up in someone’s Trash folder.
We cannot express enough how important photography is for securing press. Many publications rely on a brand’s photography. Without images it is oftentimes impossible for an editor to cover a brand.
There are a wide range of materials you may need based on your industry, but here are the essentials:
About page: a 1 page document outlining the who, what, when, where & why of your company
Bio: an overview of your background and why you started your company, with a few personal details
Line Sheet: images, pricing and key details for product collections
Product photography: Lay flats of your product on a white seamless backgroundLifestyle photography: Images that bring your product or service to life by showing them in use
In our online course we provide in depth photography guidelines, organizational best practices and plug-and-play templates for an About page and Bio.
*Pro tip: Professional photography is preferable, but you can get away with nicely edited iPhone imagery in some instances
4. Think like an editor
Editors are looking for interesting stories, new items, and pieces that will pop on a page. Editors work off of editorial calendars and many magazines have set themes for each month. You can Google a magazine’s editorial calendar to find out their upcoming themes and think about where there might be a fit for your product or service, or for you as the founder of your business.
To think like an editor, keep these things in mind:
Timing - online editors are often working 1-2 months in advance, while print editors work anywhere from 4-6 months in advance. Think about what collections or initiatives you have coming up that could be a fit for what they are working on now (which means looking a bit down the road).
Items that pop - Editors are often looking for items that would pop on the page. This means that your best selling product - like a neutral top or simple decorative piece - might not be the most “editorial.” Think about what would stand out.
Seasonality - Editors are often working on seasonal stories that are relevant to their readers, such as a Valentine’s Day gift guide or tips for summer travel. Get creative (but not unrealistic) with how your business can fit into seasonal categories.
5. Embrace relationship building
Building relationships is incredibly impactful when it comes to landing press placements. Reaching out in a personal way, gifting your product or service, and keeping in touch with editors and writers over time will make them much more likely to cover your brand when they have the right fit.
When reaching out to editors, you should think about how you can be a resource for them, rather than how they can benefit you, and you should always have a long-term relationship in mind.
Personalization and authenticity are key. Your first email to an editor should not be a “pitch” or a press release, it should be an introduction of yourself and your business. Be sure to research each person in advance and follow them on social media so you can personalize each email – mention a recent article of theirs that you enjoyed reading, or a recent Instagram post on their feed that you found interesting.
If you are able to set up a call, Zoom, or in person meeting, that is ideal for relationship building. We also recommend offering to gift your product or service to contacts at outlets that are on the top of your dream press list. This goes a long way and will allow them to be able to speak about your product or service from firsthand experience.
Lastly, be sure to follow up! If you don’t hear back, there is a good chance they missed your first email. Wait a couple of weeks and send a nice follow up. Remember, this is a long game and it takes time!
*Pro tip: Have your materials organized before you reach out, and keep the body of your introductory email short and to the point. Link to your website and attach materials for detailed information.
