How to Get Press Coverage for Free (the Right Way)

Ever wondered how to get on the news? For the right reasons, of course. Landing press coverage would mean not just tons of new exposure, but also more credibility for your business. Yes, even in the age of all things digital — in fact, even more so. In the era of digital content overload, people are increasingly placing their trust in traditional media.

So, how do you get your business on the news? Honestly, the most straightforward way is by sending a press release for a newsworthy story. Emphasis on the newsworthy story, because reporters only publish stories that are relevant to their audience. That’s why the first step in getting a story on the news is developing it well: finding its angle and writing up a draft to pitch to reporters.

So open up a Word document, polish off those high school journalism notes, and learn how to get a news story published about your business.

1. Find a newsworthy angle to your story

As mentioned, a newsworthy story is the most essential part of getting published in the local press. You’ll need a story that’s actually relevant to reporters’ audiences in order to catch their attention.

That means you can’t just publish any story. It should directly affect their readers or be in line with their interests. Of course, like all news stories, it should also be timely and specific to the community.

For example, say you opened a new pet-friendly cafe in your neighborhood and want your grand opening covered in your local paper’s lifestyle section. Your newsworthy angle might be that there’s been a growing number of pet owners in your local area looking for a place they can hang out with their pets, which is what spurred you to open your cafe. Or maybe part of your proceeds will be donated to local animal rescue centers. These are the kind of details that make a story interesting and relevant and worth reading about.

But not all new businesses need coverage in the news. For example, opening a new gym or salon in an area where there are many of them won’t exactly be newsworthy, even if you find an interesting angle.

Instead, only send press releases for stories that genuinely deserve media attention. For example, coming out on the other side of a conflict or recovering from a crisis, or if you had a particularly successful event.

Think of how your business or event affects your local community, or why readers would be interested in it. What makes it unique or compelling? Does it address a specific community problem or fill a market gap? These will help you find your newsworthy angle, which is the basis of your press release story.

2. Outline the main points of your story and write your press release

Now that you have your main angle, the rest of your story should follow. One thing I’ve found helpful when writing press releases (and new stories) is outlining its most important points.

Typically, these should answer the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the story. Your most important points should follow your main angle.

For example, from the sample story above, you might start with why your pet-friendly cafe will be a good addition to the neighborhood and how it’ll help pet owners. Then, include quotes from pet owners and other details about your cafe to support your angle.

If your business took part in a major local event, like a small business expo, start with the details of the event, like when and where it took place, and what your business was able to accomplish. Then, continue with why those details are important and how they’ll affect your community.

If you have a new product launch, start with the details of your new products, then add why you’re launching them, what market gap they’ll fill, and who they’re targeted for.

Once you have the main points of your story, fill in the details to strengthen it. Start with the most important information in the first paragraph, then add secondary information in supporting paragraphs.

Keep it straightforward and remember, it’s a news story, not a novel, so keep it concise and easy to understand. A good rule of thumb is to stay between 300 and 500 words.

After writing your story, add a short and catchy headline that summarizes its key points and conveys its angle.

A good press release starts with the most important information, followed by supporting paragraphs, topped with a concise title. (Source: Fit Small Business via EIN Presswire)

3. Format your press release correctly

Writing your news story isn’t the end of your press release — it should also follow the correct press release formatting to be seen as credible. Journalists have certain standards that your press release will also need to follow in order to be taken seriously.

A press release format starts with your logo, release date, and contact details, followed by your headline and story, followed by a boilerplate, aka a short “about” section about your business.

Arrange these into a Word document in that order, then save it as a Word document or PDF — or download our free press release template that already has these laid out.

Proper press release formatting: a logo, release date, contact details, body, boilerplate, and final note (optional).

4. Find the right local media outlets and journalists

After writing and formatting your press release, identify which local media outlets and journalists are most likely to cover your story. Reaching out to individual reporters is often your best shot at contacting local news about a story, as media outlets may not be monitoring general tip lines regularly.

If you don’t already have a list of specific journalists in mind, start by compiling a list of local media outlets (e.g., newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, and websites) that you can use to kick-start your search.

Next, look for journalists at each outlet who cover similar stories to yours. Read their most recent reporting to understand what angles appeal to each and who might be interested in your pitch.

List their names and contact details in a spreadsheet, and add any extra details you might need when crafting your pitch; for example, if a certain publication requires images in a certain size or a certain journalist publishes stories only for a very specific demographic.

Looking for journalists’ contact details might require a bit of legwork, but you can usually find them on their social media profiles, websites, or by contacting the publication they write for.

• Browse their social media: Most journalists have public-facing accounts that you can use to contact them directly, including social media sites like X (formerly Twitter) or LinkedIn.
• Discover email addresses: Email finder tools like Hunter.io let you input the company website where your target journalist works, and it finds the journalist’s email address for you.
• Look for their websites: Many journalists, especially freelancers who write for multiple outlets, have personal websites with contact forms or details that you can use to reach out. News stations will also likely have an online form, especially for submitting press releases.
• Check their Substack or Medium profiles. If they don’t have a personal website, they might have a profile with their contact details on Substack or Medium, which are third-party publishing platforms.
• Check Prowly: Prowly is a paid platform where you can access a database of over one million media professionals to help you build your contact list.
• Call the local media outlet: When online research doesn’t work, try calling each local press outlet and asking for the information directly.

5. Craft a friendly but professional email pitch

If you’ve ever wondered how to contact the news about a story, the answer is through email. Write a good email pitch that summarizes the main points of your story and why it matters to your journalists’ audience, attach your press release, then send it and wait for a reply.

Here’s something important: Don’t send the exact same email pitch to every journalist. Instead, write a general pitch draft, then tweak it to the journalist you’re pitching to, depending on their audience or the type of stories they write about.

As a former journalist myself, pitches that seem personal and tailored to the publication I write for got a lot more opens than pitches that sounded generic and impersonal, where I could tell the sender simply did a mass send.

A good email pitch should be less than 200 words and immediately convey what the press release is about and why it deserves to be published, i.e., why it matters to journalists’ audiences.

Start with a greeting, introduce yourself and your business, then go right into the details of your press release. Use the press release pitch template below as a guide, then customize it to fit your business.

6. Pitch your press release and follow up

After writing a good pitch, attach your press release, then send it and wait for a reply. If you have a deadline or event in mind, pitch your release early enough to ensure journalists have time to process it, write a story, and publish it in time.

• For television and radio: Send your email seven days before your release date.
• Newspapers: Pitch your story one to two weeks beforehand.
• Magazines: Pitch your release three to six months before the release date.

After sending your press release, wait between three and five business days, and if you haven’t received a response, send a courtesy follow-up email. If your press release is time-sensitive, send a follow-up before the release time to move it to the top of your recipient’s inbox so they can cover the story in time.

Following up helps journalists stay on top of that deadline, which can be helpful to them. You can also use this follow-up to check if journalists have all they need to run the story by answering any questions they may have.

To help keep your pitch top of mind, consider connecting with journalists on social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. A follow request or quick message is fine; just don’t badger them with lots of messages across multiple platforms.

7. Prepare for your interview

Ideally, you will get replies from journalists after sending them the pitch and press release for your local news story. When you do, respond promptly, identify what they want to discuss, and practice for an interview if necessary.

Journalists often have a specific angle they want to approach and will seek answers to a series of questions. Try to get this information upfront so you’ll be ready when they call or email. Ask what they want to discuss and if they can provide a list of questions or talking points so you can prepare for them.

Remember that journalists often have limited time to collect the information they need. Ensure your pitch and interview answers are insightful yet concise to present yourself (or your media contact) as an expert.

8. Keep building relationships with journalists

Once you’ve established a connection with journalists, for instance, if they replied to your email or contacted you for an interview, try to keep those connections going. If they published your story, send a thank you note and ask if there are ways to help them in the future by being a source for similar stories.

• Say thank you: Once you get the news to cover your story, reach out to each journalist who gave you press coverage and thank them personally, whether via email or DM. Answer any questions afterward and offer to be a resource for future stories.
• Connect on social media: Most journalists list social media handles in their author bios. If you haven’t already, follow or send them a connection request on their preferred platforms so you can stay on top of their future stories. Be sure to follow the official media outlet accounts as well.
• Engage with their content: Once you’ve followed key journalists and outlets on their preferred social media channels, help them by sharing, liking, and commenting on their social media posts and local news stories when appropriate or if you have something valuable to share (don’t spam their feeds).
• Offer to make introductions or be a source: If you see your key journalist is covering a story series, and you know contacts who can speak to their next piece on the topic, offer to connect the journalist to your contact (after getting your contact’s permission, of course).

How do you know if your press release is published?

If you sent your press release via email, journalists will usually send a link to your published story. You can also ask for it during the process if they reply to your initial pitch and confirm that they’re publishing it.

Another way to check is by searching for your press release title or some variation of it on Google. Journalists usually publish press release titles as is or do minimal edits at most, so you should still find your published press release.

If you used a press release service like EIN Presswire, the process is a lot easier. These services have analytics that show how many times your press release was picked up and in what publications.

Of course, the more pick-ups your press release gets, the better, but where they appear matters equally. Ideally, you want your press release to appear in publications where your target audience is also their readers.

One final note: Press releases are a PR material for building brand awareness and credibility beyond anything else. They’re not instantly revenue-generating, but are a way of putting your business out and getting in front of new audiences. All this to say, there’s no real way to measure the ROI of a press release.

One thing you can do to track your press release’s effectiveness is to place a unique contact number or link for customers in your story, so when you get incoming leads from those sources, you’ll know they came directly from your press release.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How do you invite the media to cover your event?

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How to get a story on the news for free?

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How to submit a story to the news?

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Bottom line

Learning how to get on the news (the right way) is a lot less complicated than you might think and is absolutely doable for your small business. The good news is that local journalists and news outlets are always looking for new local stories to cover and small businesses to highlight, so you likely already have things working your way.

As long as you follow the correct process, whether by emailing it yourself or using a press release service, and target the right journalists, you should be able to get a few story pickups and get your story published.