Small business owners do not necessarily need to spend thousands of pounds a month on a PR agency to get their company featured in newspapers, magazines and online publications.
Founders who understand what journalists are looking for can start building their own media coverage by identifying stronger stories, approaching the right journalists and making themselves genuinely useful as a source.
Jordan Baker, PR expert and founder of Fair Public Relations, says one of the biggest barriers is assuming that a business is automatically newsworthy simply because a founder has worked hard to build it.
“The first thing you need to understand is that journalists don’t care about you or your business, and they never will.
That might sound harsh, but their job isn’t to help you grow your company. Their job is to produce stories that people will read.”
He added:
“What journalists do need, quite desperately, is good content. That creates an opportunity, but only if you offer value in the right places.
“PR starts working when you stop asking what a journalist can do for your business and start asking what you can do for their story.”
Here are five things small business owners can start doing now to build their own DIY PR system.
1. Stop pitching your business and start pitching a story
The first mistake many small business owners make is approaching a journalist as though they are approaching a potential customer.
Their email explains when the company was founded, what it sells, how passionate the team is and why its product or service is better than the competition.
That might belong on a website or in a sales presentation. It does not automatically give a journalist a story.
Give people a reason to care now
PR needs a reason for the public to care about something today.
A new business launch, for example, is rarely enough on its own. Companies launch every day.
The story becomes more interesting when something bigger is attached to it, such as:
- A founder who has overcome an extraordinary situation
- An unexpected change in customer behaviour
- New jobs being created in a particular area
- Original figures revealing a wider trend
- A product created in response to a problem already making headlines
“Founders are understandably proud of what they’ve built, but pride isn’t a news angle,” Jordan said.
“‘We’ve launched a business and our service is brilliant’ is an advert. A story needs tension, surprise, usefulness, human interest or a clear connection to something people are already talking about.”
Turn your expertise into something useful
Small businesses have several realistic routes into the media without constantly manufacturing company announcements.
A founder can:
- Offer expert advice on a problem affecting readers
- Tell an unusual or compelling personal story
- Analyse a development affecting customers
- Share original information or data
- Identify a strong local angle
One of the simplest places to start is with the questions customers repeatedly ask.
A mortgage broker might explain a mistake first-time buyers are making after a lending change.
A gardener could give timely advice about protecting plants before an approaching cold spell.
A restaurant owner might reveal how dining habits are changing.
An online retailer could explain what abandoned baskets suggest about consumer spending.
The founder is not simply announcing that they are an expert. They are using their expertise to give a journalist material their readers can use.
Look for stories inside your own data
Internal company information can also be valuable when it reveals something beyond the performance of one business.
Search data, purchasing patterns, booking trends, customer enquiries and changes in demand can all point towards a wider story.
However, the figures need to be accurate and meaningful. A handful of customers mentioning the same thing does not automatically constitute a national trend.
Jordan recommends removing the company from the idea as a simple test.
“Ask yourself: if my business name disappeared from this pitch, would an ordinary reader still want to know the answer?
“You should also be able to explain the story in one clear sentence and answer three questions: why does it matter, why does it matter now, and who does it affect?
“If you can’t do that, a journalist won’t find the angle for you.”
Jordan Baker, PR expert and founder of Fair Public Relations, shares his advice on how small businesses can secure media coverage through DIY PR.
2. Find journalists who already write about your subject
Once you have a usable story, the next job is finding journalists who are genuinely likely to cover it.
Sending the same press release to hundreds of unrelated contacts might feel productive, but relevance is far more important than volume.
A property story might suit journalists covering homes, mortgages or consumer affairs.
Restaurant data could be relevant to food, lifestyle or local reporters.
A financial adviser discussing divorce might be better suited to a personal finance or relationships journalist than a general business reporter.
The right journalist depends on the story, not simply the industry your company operates in.
Use recent articles as your media database
Small business owners do not need an expensive media database to begin finding journalists.
Search newspaper and magazine websites for recent articles on similar subjects. Check the bylines and open journalists’ author pages to see what else they cover.
Google News, publication contact pages, LinkedIn and professional accounts on X can also help confirm a journalist’s current role and interests.
The important thing is finding evidence that the person is covering that subject now.
“Recent articles are your best free media database,” Jordan said.
“If somebody has written three stories about the subject you’re pitching within the last month, they’re far more valuable than 100 names copied from a generic press list. Relevance beats volume every time.”
For a focused story, a carefully selected list of around 10 to 20 journalists can be a sensible starting point.
Some specialist or local pitches may have fewer legitimate targets, and that is fine.
Do not add irrelevant journalists simply to make the list appear bigger.
Keep a simple media list
A spreadsheet is enough for most small businesses.
Record:
- Journalist name
- Publication
- Areas they regularly cover
- Work email address
- Links to recent articles or profiles
- Any pitching preferences they have made public
- The date you contacted them
- The story you sent
- Whether you followed up
- Their response
This prevents repeated unsuitable pitches and helps identify the subjects that journalists are actually responding to.
“Don’t treat a journalist’s contact details as proof that they belong on your list,” Jordan added.
“The question isn’t, ‘Can I email this person?’ It’s, ‘Can I explain in one sentence why this particular story is relevant to them?’ If you can’t, leave them out.”
3. Write the email as though the journalist will decide in 10 seconds
Journalists often make an initial decision about a pitch within seconds.
The story therefore needs to be obvious before they have to scroll through a long company history or introduction.
Your subject line and opening sentences should tell them what the potential article is immediately.
Make the subject line look like a story
A useful subject line resembles a potential headline rather than a marketing slogan.
Avoid phrases such as:
- Exciting announcement
- Revolutionary solution
- Game-changing product
- Unique opportunity
- Industry-leading business
These tell the journalist how you want the company to be perceived. They do not tell them what the article is about.
“Write the subject line as though you’re telling an editor what the finished story is,” Jordan advised.
“‘Press release from Smith & Co’ tells them nothing. ‘Five mortgage mistakes costing first-time buyers thousands’ gives them a subject, an audience and a consequence.”
Get to the point immediately
The first sentence should explain the story in plain English.
The second should explain why it matters now and what you can provide, such as:
- An interview
- Expert commentary
- Original data
- Photographs
- A customer case study
Your name, credentials and company can then explain why you are qualified to contribute.
Starting with several paragraphs about your organisation forces the journalist to search for the story themselves.
Keep the pitch concise
An initial email of roughly 150 to 250 words is usually enough to introduce the angle, explain its relevance and summarise what is available.
If you have prepared a full press release, the most important information should still appear in the email.
You can paste the release below the pitch or provide a straightforward link.
Avoid making a journalist download an unsolicited attachment before they can work out whether the story is relevant.
The same applies to photographs. Offer them, but do not overload the initial email with several large files. A clearly labelled folder containing high-resolution images is usually more practical.
Do not obsess over the greeting
Founders often worry about whether starting an email with “Hope you’re well” will annoy a journalist.
Jordan says that is rarely the problem.
“A polite greeting is fine. The problem is spending the next 200 words warming up before you reveal the angle.
“Journalists aren’t rejecting brilliant exclusives because somebody wrote ‘Hope you’re well’. They’re rejecting emails that make them work too hard to understand what is being offered.”
Use short sentences, concrete facts and straightforward language.
Before sending, read the email once from the journalist’s perspective.
Can you immediately see the story?
Can you see why it matters now?
Can you see what is being offered?
If not, tighten it.
4. Give journalists everything they need to use the story
Getting a journalist interested is only the beginning.
Once they reply, missing information or slow responses can cause a perfectly usable opportunity to disappear.
A reporter working to a same-day deadline may simply move to another expert if they have to spend hours chasing a photograph, confirming a job title or waiting for a usable quote.
“A journalist shouldn’t have to become your project manager,” Jordan said.
“If they say they’re interested, you should be able to send the core facts, a clean photograph and a quotable comment without starting a two-day search through old folders.”
Build a basic DIY press pack
At minimum, have the following ready:
- A short, factual description of the company
- A concise founder biography
- Accurate contact details
- High-resolution photographs
- Relevant prices and service information
- Launch dates or other important factual details
For a data-led story, also prepare:
- The complete figures
- The dates covered
- An explanation of how the information was collected
- The number of people, purchases or enquiries represented
If you are offering a customer as a case study, confirm that they have agreed to be identified before pitching them to the media.
Prepare photographs before you need them
Every business should have a clear photograph of its founder or main spokesperson ready to supply.
It does not necessarily need to be an expensive studio portrait, but it should be sharp, well lit and large enough for publication.
Ideally, have both portrait and landscape images available.
Product businesses should also have good photographs of the product, while restaurants, retailers and service businesses may benefit from images of their locations, team or work.
Avoid watermarks.
Give each photograph a descriptive file name and provide a caption identifying everybody pictured from left to right.
Most importantly, make sure you own the image or have permission to supply it to publications.
Give journalists quotes they can actually use
A strong quote should say something that the journalist cannot simply write in their own voice.
Avoid statements about being “delighted to announce” something or being “committed to delivering innovative solutions”.
Instead, give an opinion, explain why something matters or tell readers what they should do next.
“The strongest quotes contain an opinion the journalist couldn’t write in their own voice,” Jordan explained.
“If the comment could be pasted into any company’s press release without anybody noticing, it isn’t distinctive enough.”
Check every fact
Before pitching, verify names, job titles, dates, prices, URLs and numerical claims.
If you are using survey results or internal data, confirm the sample size, timeframe and methodology.
Correcting a factual mistake after an article has been published is far harder than checking it before sending the pitch.
Speed also matters.
When journalists are covering a live story, responding within minutes or an hour can determine whether your comment makes the article.
Preparation makes those fast responses possible.
5. Don’t disappear after one unsuccessful pitch
Most PR pitches do not receive a reply.
That does not necessarily mean the journalist dislikes your business or never wants to hear from you again.
The timing might have been wrong. Another story may have taken priority. The angle might not have been strong enough. The journalist might simply have received more emails than they could realistically answer.
Follow up once, then move on
For most non-urgent pitches, one concise follow-up is reasonable.
Waiting around two or three working days gives the journalist time to consider the original email without allowing the story to become completely stale.
Keep the follow-up in the same email thread and briefly remind them of the angle.
Avoid sending a string of messages saying little more than “just checking”.
“Follow up once because emails genuinely do get missed,” Jordan said.
“If there is still no response, move on. A third or fourth message won’t transform a weak or badly timed idea into a good one.”
The exception is when you genuinely have something new to add, such as fresh data, a new case study or a major development that changes the story.
Give old ideas a new reason to matter
An unsuccessful idea can sometimes work later if circumstances change.
A seasonal event, government announcement, price change, new research or sudden shift in customer behaviour can create the hook that was missing previously.
Do not simply resend the same press release with a different date.
Rewrite the pitch around the new development.
You do not need a press release every week
There is no useful rule saying a small business must issue a new press release every seven days.
For many companies, one or two properly developed proactive stories each month will be far more effective than manufacturing constant announcements.
Additional opportunities can then come from responding to relevant news.
Reactive PR can be particularly effective because the journalist already has a reason to write the article.
A founder who can quickly explain what a new law, government announcement, celebrity trend, weather event or economic change means for ordinary people may provide exactly the expert voice the journalist needs.
The important word is relevant.
Commenting on every trending story regardless of your actual expertise is more likely to damage credibility than build it.
The goal is to become useful to journalists
Over time, genuine media relationships are built by becoming a reliable source rather than continually asking journalists for coverage.
That means:
- Responding when you say you will
- Giving clear, quotable answers
- Providing accurate information
- Being honest when something falls outside your expertise
- Accepting that not every contribution will become an article
Sometimes being useful might even mean providing background information or recommending somebody else who is better qualified to answer a question.
“Don’t try to build a journalist relationship by constantly asking, ‘Can you feature me?’” Jordan said.
“Build it by becoming somebody who makes their work easier. If your information is accurate, your replies are quick and your comments are genuinely useful, they’ll remember that.”
DIY PR ultimately works best when it becomes a repeatable process.
Record what you pitched, who responded, which subject lines generated interest and which ideas eventually became coverage.
Then use what you learn to improve the next approach.
One unanswered email is just one result. It is not a verdict on whether your business belongs in the media.
