Public relations (PR) marketing is the practice of building relationships with journalists, editors, and media outlets to earn coverage for your brand. Unlike advertising (where you pay for placement), PR earns coverage through genuinely newsworthy stories, expert perspectives, and relationships with media professionals.
When Forbes, TechCrunch, or a major industry publication features your company, the impact is significant: credibility borrowing from a trusted publication, backlinks that boost SEO, exposure to new audiences, and social proof that no advertisement can replicate.
In 2026, PR has expanded beyond traditional media to include podcasts, newsletters, industry analysts, and influential social media accounts — all of which can create earned media coverage with meaningful impact.
The Value of Earned Media
Credibility: A journalist choosing to feature you is an implicit endorsement. Readers trust editorial content more than advertising because it’s independently vetted.
SEO value: Links from major publications (Forbes, HubSpot Blog, industry trade publications) are among the most valuable backlinks available. A single Wired mention can provide more SEO value than hundreds of lower-quality links.
New audience reach: Media coverage reaches readers who’ve never heard of you. Unlike owned media (your blog, social) which reaches existing followers, earned media reaches new audiences.
Social proof: “As seen in Forbes” on your website converts visitors. “We were featured in TechCrunch” in your sales pitch adds credibility that no testimonial can fully replicate.
Compounding authority: Brands that earn regular press coverage develop category authority. The more you appear in credible publications, the more journalists want to cover you.
What Journalists Actually Want
The number one PR mistake: pitching stories that are good for your company, not interesting to the journalist’s audience.
What journalists care about:
- Their readers/viewers/listeners — not your company
- New, specific, surprising information
- A clear story angle, not a product announcement
- Data, expert perspective, or access to someone interesting
- Relevance to something their audience is currently thinking about
What journalists don’t want:
- Generic press releases announcing features no one outside your company cares about
- Mass-blast pitches that aren’t personalized to their specific beat
- Long, context-heavy emails with attachments on first contact
- Requests to cover something you’ve already covered extensively (no new angle)
The key question to ask before pitching: “Would this story be interesting to this journalist’s audience if it wasn’t about our company?” If the answer is no, you don’t have a story worth pitching yet.
What Makes Something Newsworthy
Original data: Survey results, proprietary platform data, or original research. Journalists cite data — if you’re the source, they feature you.
Significant milestone: Funding round, major customer win, reaching a major scale metric (1 million users, $10M ARR). Must be genuinely significant in context.
Trend commentary: You can offer expert perspective on a broader trend that a journalist is covering. This is “newsjacking” — adding your voice to an existing story.
Contrarian perspective: A well-reasoned opinion that challenges conventional wisdom in your industry. “Everyone says X, but the data shows Y” is a media-friendly angle.
Human interest: A personal story behind the company — why you built it, a customer whose life changed because of your product.
Partnerships or integrations: Especially relevant when partnering with a major brand (a Salesforce integration is more newsworthy than a generic tool integration).
Building Media Relationships
The most effective PR isn’t transactional — it’s relational. Journalists who know and trust you will think of you when they need an expert source, even when you’re not actively pitching.
Finding the right journalists:
- Search publications you want to be in for articles covering your category
- Find the byline — that’s the journalist to contact
- Check their Twitter/X profile (many journalists are active there and share what they’re covering)
- LinkedIn for industry journalists
- Muck Rack and Cision for professional journalist databases
Following journalists before pitching:
- Follow them on Twitter/X and LinkedIn
- Read their recent articles; note their specific angle and audience
- Comment on their articles genuinely (no pitching, no promotion)
- Share their work occasionally when genuinely relevant
First contact: Reach out with a small ask or offer of value before making a larger pitch:
- Share a data point they might find interesting for a story they’re working on
- Offer to connect them with an expert relevant to a story they’re writing
- Send a brief note saying you appreciated a specific article and why
This “give before ask” approach builds rapport that makes subsequent pitches more likely to succeed.
Writing Media Pitches That Get Responses
Pitch structure:
- Hook: Why this story, now, for their specific audience
- The story: What you have and what makes it different
- Why you: Your credibility and why you’re the right source
- Ask: A specific, easy request
Pitch writing principles:
Short: Under 150 words in the body of the email. If it needs more explanation, summarize in the pitch and offer more detail on request.
Specific to them: Reference their recent work, their stated areas of coverage, or their specific audience. Mass-blast pitches are immediately obvious and promptly deleted.
Story first: Lead with the story angle, not your company description. “New research shows B2B buyers are taking 30% longer to make purchase decisions — and the reason may surprise you” > “I’m the CMO of [Company], a leading provider of…”
Data-forward: If you have original data, lead with it. A specific number opens doors: “We surveyed 2,400 marketers and found that 78% have cut their agency budgets in the last 6 months.”
Subject line: Treat it like an email subject line to a busy person. Be specific and intriguing. “New data on B2B buying cycles” works better than “Press release attached” which no one opens.
Sample pitch structure:
Subject: New data: B2B buyers taking 30% longer to decide — here’s why
"Hi [Name],
I noticed you’ve been covering changes in B2B buying cycles recently.
We just completed a survey of 2,400 B2B buyers across North America. The headline finding: the average purchase decision cycle is now 8.4 months — up 30% from 2024. The surprising cause: it’s not budget constraints, it’s committee size.
I’d be happy to share the full data set or set up a 15-minute call to walk through the findings. I can also connect you with two of our respondents — a CMO and a VP of Sales — who have different perspectives on why this is happening.
If this is timing you well, let me know and I’ll send the data."
Types of Media Coverage
Authored articles: You write the article; the publication publishes under your name. Many publications accept expert-written content. The benefit: your full voice, no editorial filter. The limitation: limited to publications that accept contributed content.
Interviews/features: A journalist interviews you for an article about a topic in your domain. Your most common target. You provide insight and data; they write the story.
Quotes in roundup articles: A journalist writing “5 experts weigh in on [topic]” includes a brief quote from you. Lower impact than a feature, but builds relationship and provides a mention.
Product reviews: Technology and SaaS publications review products in your category. Getting reviewed (positive or neutral) creates lasting SEO value.
Press releases: Formatted news announcements distributed through news wires (PRWeb, PR Newswire, Business Wire) and directly to journalists. Effective for significant announcements (funding, major partnerships, executive hires) at larger companies; rarely effective for early-stage companies.
HARO and Expert Quote Platforms
HARO (Help A Reporter Out), Qwoted, and SourceBottle connect journalists with experts they need for stories.
How it works: Journalists post queries describing what expert or information they need. You respond with a relevant, expert perspective. If selected, you’re quoted and typically receive a backlink.
How to use HARO effectively:
- Subscribe to queries in your relevant categories
- Check 2-3 times daily — journalists have short deadlines
- Respond immediately to queries where you genuinely have expertise
- Be specific: 2-3 sentences of expert insight, not a pitch
- Include your title and company in your response
- Quality > quantity: Only respond when you have genuine expertise to add
What makes a HARO response get selected:
- Directly and specifically answers what the journalist asked
- Provides a unique perspective or specific data
- Is quotable: Short, punchy, expert
- Responder has relevant credentials or title
PR Tools and Platforms
| Tool | Purpose | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| HARO (Help a Reporter Out) | Connect with journalists needing expert sources | Free |
| Qwoted | Similar to HARO, strong for B2B | Free + paid |
| Muck Rack | Journalist database and PR monitoring | $500+/month |
| Cision | PR monitoring and media database | Enterprise pricing |
| PR Newswire / Business Wire | Press release distribution | $300-1,000+ per release |
| Prowly | PR management platform | ~$258/month |
| Brand24 / Mention | Media monitoring for brand mentions | $49-149/month |
| BuzzSumo | Find journalists and their coverage | $199/month |
Measuring PR Success
Coverage metrics:
- Number of media placements (per month/quarter)
- Publication tier (Tier 1: national/major trade; Tier 2: regional/niche; Tier 3: blogs)
- Potential reach (estimated audience size of covering publications)
- Share of voice: Your press coverage vs. competitors’
SEO impact:
- Backlinks acquired from press coverage
- Domain authority of linking publications
- Organic traffic lift following major placements
Business impact:
- Direct referral traffic from press coverage
- New leads attributed to press mention (“How did you hear about us?”)
- Conversion rate lift from “as seen in” social proof on website
Relationship metrics:
- Active journalist relationships (journalists who have covered you or actively engage with you)
- Response rate to pitches (improving response rate indicates stronger relationships and better pitching)
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Last updated: April 27, 2026
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