You’re an expert at what you do — but does your ideal client know that? When it comes to marketing, most small businesses leverage owned media platforms like company websites, social media profiles, and email lists. Promoting your business through these channels is a great way to build rapport with your audience, but reaching new markets can prove difficult when relying on branded platforms.

If you want to grow brand awareness and attract new customers, publicity will help you achieve your goal. Press features shine a spotlight on your business while bolstering your reputation with social proof of your authority within the industry. 

In other words, people trust what they see in the media before they trust branded content. But how do you gain the media’s attention in the first place? Here are four steps to a successful pitch (and the start of your growing press portfolio!).

‍Step 1: Set meaningful PR goals

You can’t succeed without defining success. What do you hope to achieve from your public relations outreach? For example, you might aim to see a 10% increase in sales each quarter. Perhaps your ultimate victory is to feature a highly-coveted media logo on your website, whether it’s Forbes or Rolling Stone. Setting PR goals allows you to develop an actionable plan with benchmarks to keep you on track.

What makes a goal meaningful? Ideally, your PR goals should tie into your big-picture business goals. Consider your offerings and audience to determine what makes sense for your company’s PR efforts. For instance, if you want to generate more local clientele for a brick-and-mortar shop, you’ll likely find more value from a well-crafted placement in a regional magazine than a feature in Vogue (yes, even though it’s Vogue!).

If you’re a new player in the PR game, keep your goals reasonable. You might want 100 press features by the end of the year, but perhaps 15 is probably more realistic. Set yourself up for success, not disappointment!

‍Step 2: Ensure your website is media-friendly

When you start pitching, you can expect your website will be the first place editors and journalists go to learn more about your brand. Give them what they want! Keep your website up-to-date with fresh, timely content that aligns with your brand’s aesthetic and voice. Demonstrate your authority with clear and concise messaging, relevant imagery, and educational blog posts highlighting your style and personality.

You’ll also want to ensure your contact information is easy to find. While a contact form is useful for new leads, editors and journalists want to reach you in the easiest way possible. Don’t make them go on a scavenger hunt for your email address!

Depending on where you are in your publicity journey, you may also want to create a media page to showcase your press portfolio. Editors will see you as a trustworthy source when you’ve earned features in other publications.

If your website feels outdated or difficult to navigate, consider investing in a redesign before launching your PR strategy in earnest.

‍Step 3: Research and build your dream press list

It’s time to start dreaming! Spend time researching media outlets in your industry that speak to your audience. To get your gears turning, picture your ideal client: Where do they get their news? What are their go-to podcasts? Who do they follow on social media? What magazines do they flip through at the grocery store?

If you can’t answer these questions, it’s a sign you need to pause your PR efforts until you’ve done some market research and gained clarity on who exactly you want to reach.

Using your customer personas, create a “wish list” of media outlets that will put your brand front and center of your ideal clients. Keep your PR goals in mind, as they’ll help you determine what will have the most impact. Feel free to include those pie-in-the-sky publications as stretch goals, but make sure most of the outlets on your list are attainable and relevant to your target market.

For each media outlet, look for writers that cover topics that align with your brand’s expertise. Be it holistic wellbeing, event planning, or food trends — landing in the right inbox makes all the difference.

‍Step 4: Prepare your pitches

Get excited — this is when all your research and planning come to fruition! You’ve set realistic goals, your website looks great, and you’re happy with your wish list. It’s time to start pitching! Review your media list and develop compelling topics to submit, giving careful consideration to the content each publication has recently covered.

Aim for your pitches to complement existing topics while offering a fresh take based on your expertise. For example, if you’re a bookkeeper for creatives, you might see plenty of content about budgeting for small businesses — but perhaps you can provide a unique angle on how entrepreneurs can protect sensitive financial information. Get creative!

Don’t expect every pitch to land. You’ll hear “no” plenty of times, but getting to the “yes” is always worth it. At the end of each pitch, offer yourself as a future resource should the need arise. That way, even if a pitch falls flat, you’ve left the door open for a mutually beneficial media relationship.

‍Pro tip: Don’t shy away from using templates! While infusing a personal touch into your pitches is essential, you can save a lot of time by having email templates and a press kit with logos, links, headshots, bios, etc. at the ready. Which you can build your's in Enji!

‍A note about exclusivity

When pitching to the media, it’s important to understand a publication’s editorial goals. They want to produce content that interests their readers and can’t be found elsewhere. Given that knowledge, it’s best to abide by exclusivity rules to avoid conflict, even if it’s not explicitly stated on the website. Pitch your idea(s) to one publication at a time, offering the first right of refusal. If they aren’t interested, you can resubmit elsewhere.

A few more tips for good PR etiquette:

• Keep your pitches brief: Editors, journalists, and podcast hosts are busy, so respect their time and get right to the point. Share your topic idea, tell them why you’re an expert, and thank them for your time. Short, sweet, and straightforward.
• Use a spellchecker: If you want to come across as a reliable source, proofread your pitches for spelling and grammar errors before sending them. Make it easy for them to copy and paste your ready-to-go statement without additional editing.
• Stick to emails: Unless explicitly requested, avoid pitching through cold calls, social media DMs, smoke signals, etc. You get the point — keep it in the inbox.
• Don’t pass AI off as your own: Artificial intelligence is a helpful brainstorming tool, but avoid passing off AI content as your own work. Not only is this not a good practice, but AI responses can be inaccurate. Media professionals can tell the difference, so keep it kosher and only send your authentic content.
• Follow up (within reason): A busy media pro can easily miss an email in an overflowing inbox, so set a reminder to follow up if you don’t hear back within a week. If you still don’t get a response, assume the writer or podcast host isn’t interested and move on to another outlet.

As with anything, practice makes perfect! If the pitching process feels uncomfortable at first, trust that you’ll find your flow with repetition. Plus, as you develop media relationships, you’ll build a network of warm connections begging for your expertise. Be patient as you work through the four steps above, then rinse and repeat!

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Meghan Ely is the owner of wedding PR and wedding marketing firm OFD Consulting. Ely is a sought-after speaker and a self-professed royal wedding enthusiast. (Hero image credit: Anastasiia Photography)