How to get press for your product | Jason Feifer (editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine)

1. Serve the Media’s Audience

Approach media by understanding and serving their audience, not by treating them as a service provider; this is how you can get what you want from them.

2. Define Clear Press Goals

Know exactly what you need press for (e.g., awareness, investor interest, positioning) before seeking it, similar to how you’d define goals for raising money.

3. Target Relevant Publications

Focus on publications whose audience aligns with your actual customers or strategic goals, rather than just general business titles, to ensure your efforts have payoff.

4. Analyze Publication Mission

Read and analyze a publication’s content to discern its specific mission and how it tells stories for its audience, which acts as an instruction manual for pitching.

5. Pitch Problem-Solving Stories

Focus pitches on interesting, counterintuitive decisions that solved a problem in your business, as editors are more interested in useful insights for their audience than simple success stories.

6. Embrace Vulnerability & Transparency

Be open about challenges and avoid trying to control the narrative or reporter, as being cagey can lead to annoyance and potentially negative coverage.

7. Hire Relationship-Driven PR

Choose PR agencies based on their active relationships with relevant media contacts, as this is the most important quality for getting attention, rather than agencies that guarantee press or rely on mass press releases.

8. Leverage Press Beyond Reads

Utilize press coverage for social cachet, website validation (‘As Seen In’), or targeted promotion via paid ads, as the direct readership of your specific story might be small.

9. Identify Specific Writers

Research and target individual writers or freelancers who consistently cover your specific subject area within a publication, rather than pitching the editor-in-chief.

10. Prioritize Freelancers for Pitches

Pitch freelancers over staff writers because they are often ‘hungrier’ for stories and more likely to read and seriously consider your pitch due to their incentive structure.

11. Customize Pitches Genuinely

Tailor your email pitches to show genuine familiarity with the writer’s past work and the publication’s content, which helps separate your pitch from mass blasts and signals relevance.

12. Position as Part of Trend

Instead of being the sole story, present yourself or your company as an example within a broader, interesting industry trend or context to make your pitch more appealing.

13. Create Original News/Data

Generate your own newsworthy content, such as surveys or data reports related to your industry, to provide context that media outlets will want to cover and include you in.

14. Maintain a Human Approach

Write human, authentic emails and be a normal, nice person during interviews, avoiding marketing speak or talking points, as you are dealing with subjective human decisions.

15. Actively Pursue ‘Opportunity Set B’

Dedicate time to ‘Opportunity Set B’ – things available to you that no one is asking you to do – as this is where significant personal and career growth occurs beyond your daily responsibilities.

16. Prioritize Business Sustainability

Regularly ask, ‘What’s the point of building something if you can’t maintain it?’ to ensure your efforts lead to sustainable outcomes for your business and personal well-being.

17. Segment Your Story

Break down your company’s story into different angles or pieces to tailor them for various media outlets and their specific interests, as different publications will care about different aspects.

18. Build Social Media Rapport

Engage casually with writers and editors on social media over time to get them to recognize your name before sending a pitch, increasing the likelihood they will open your email.

19. Keep Pitches Concise

Limit email pitches to a maximum of three paragraphs, getting straight to the point about why your story is relevant to their audience, as editors glance at many emails.

20. Offer Timed Exclusives

For significant news, offer a timed exclusive interview or early access to one media outlet, then broaden distribution after a short window, ensuring everyone feels you are being upfront.

21. Avoid Traditional Press Releases

Do not spend money on traditional press releases or PR agencies that prioritize their distribution, as they are largely ineffective and rarely seen by actual readers.

22. Value Honest PR Feedback

Hire PR agencies that are willing to push back and tell you if your story isn’t a good fit for a particular publication, as this indicates they respect you and their contacts.

23. Leverage In-Person Events

If a target writer or editor is speaking at a conference, approach them in person to make a connection and potentially discuss your story, as this is a good way to engage.

24. Reply to Jason Pfeiffer’s Newsletter

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