Learn expert strategies for securing media coverage. Discover tips on crafting press releases, pitching the media, and standing out in a crowded market.
IE 445: How to Get Media Coverage with Mickie Kennedy
Mickie Kennedy started eReleases Press Distribution 26 years ago. He helps entrepreneurs, authors, and different types of businesses get media attention by using press releases sent out to the media.
The more media coverage a business can get, the more backlinks and great opportunites they have access to
Why is media coverage important for small businesses and entrepreneurs?
The biggest thing is the credibility you get from earned media, when a journalist writes about you. There is a lot of syndication that happens. When a press release goes out, it gets replicated on a few websites.
There are businesses with the goal of getting you to a certain number of websites and you can then use the logos.
The goal of eReleases is to get earned media and have a journalist take that press release and write an article about you. This could include major press like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, but also local papers, trade publications, industry blogs, and people who write about your industry.
What foundational elements (branding, messaging, website, etc.) should be in place before reaching out to the media?
Having a website is very useful, especially if that is where you take orders. The media is looking for a good story.
They can forgive a lot if you don’t have a website and you are just a presence on Etsy. Mickie has had a lot of people on Etsy do really well.
He believes it is because businesses there can include two photos or images with their press release. When you are creating something, you have to have very evocative images. The media know that if they write an article about you, the image they include will engage their audience even more.
There are a lot of variables, but having a good story is the biggest element. When you send out a press release, make sure you have the elements to turn it into a good story.
Mickie gets a lot of product launch press releases, and there is not a lot of information to build a story from them. They tell about the product, include mini bullets and features, and include a page to buy it or learn more. From a journalist’s standpoint, there is not a lot to work with.
The first thing you can do to help them build a story is to have a “use case” study. Describe someone who had a pain point, tell that they used the product or service, and about their beneficial outcome.
You can even include a quote from them talking about their favorable experience of using your product or service. The story doesn’t necessarily need to be the founding story of why they created it or how they put the product together.
It doesn’t have to be a finished story. It just has to be the building block that a journalist can work with. If a journalist is only working with a new product and a list of features, there are not a lot of elements they can turn into a story.
What are the things you can add to allow a journalist to create the story arc? Sometimes putting elements of your story is good.
There is a reason that everyone appearing on Shark Tank doesn’t lead with their numbers. They lead with the reason they started the business or created the solution they are offering.
They are sharing a vulnerability. “I was laid off. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I remembered that my Dad and I used to make something. I wondered if I could take it to the next level and turn that into an actual product. I took my entire savings and retirement, liquidated them, and then started talking to factories in China. We have launched.”
The reason they do that is that it cuts through everything, and it gives you an emotional response to them as humans. That is the most important thing because people like to respond to emotions and humanity more than products and numbers.
Share and celebrate your anniversary. Tell the story that your biggest cheerleader was your mother, and she always settled for being a housewife because there was nothing more for her. She always wanted more for her daughters.
Sharing things like that, if said beautifully, will get the reader to root for the female entrepreneur and keep them in mind when they need a product or solution this person has. Do not discount some of those elements for your founding story.
Even if you are talking about milestones in your business, what are the additional elements you can add that would make it more likely for a journalist to want to craft it into a story? Sometimes, having publicly available data points and incorporating them into your press release can give you an edge.
Maybe you have a logistics software solution that helps people write better invoices and avoid costly mistakes. Why is that important? Sixty-three percent of new transportation companies failed in their first five years because they never achieved profitability.
All of a sudden, the stakes are there. We know why your software solution is really important.
People often pitch greedily. The pitch is all about them and selling a lot of products, so they only pitch “me, me, me.” The journalist is a gatekeeper and has to decide on a story that is going to educate, entertain, or both for their audience.
When the press release is written from a selfish standpoint, you have forgotten how a journalist needs to craft that into something that is appealing to their audience. Consider adding elements like your story or data points that are useful.
Quotes are meaningful. Often, quotes that are received look like they are written by a committee. They are safe and have nothing of substance. You can take the quote out, and there is no loss to the press release.
If a journalist includes the quote by just paraphrasing it, it is just an okay quote. To be meaningful, the quote has to be powerful enough that the article would lose something if the quote were not included. It has to have strength, conviction, or say something beautifully, so that there would be something missing if the quote weren’t added.
If a journalist is looking at two press releases that are similar but one has an amazing quote, they know that article is going to stand up stronger and be more appealing. When they finish the article, the quote is powerful. The journalist can write the best article there is, but if they include a mediocre quote, the article will still seem a bit flat or deflated.
In 2025, we are hearing that to stand out, the difference between AI and you has to be the story piece that you are telling. People need to see the vulnerability in you and your business and create a connection with you.
Knowing how to include a piece of ourselves in what we pitch is important. This is why personal branding is important. It allows us to create a quicker connection with our audience than if we weren’t telling the story and showing the vulnerability.
What makes a great media pitch stand out?
Sometimes, being creative and thinking outside the box is good. Years ago, a concept called “newsjacking” came out. If something is popular in the news, you ride the coattails of that story. It doesn’t work as much anymore.
Target once had a credit card breach. Within 30 days, there were over 1,400 press releases by security consultants and agencies talking about what they should do to avoid credit card breaches.
Mickie asks what you can say that distinguishes you from everyone else who is just joining the fray. The easiest way is to take a contrarian viewpoint.
“Are you worried about the credit card breach? Don’t worry about it. You are not a giant business like Target. You just have a small business with nothing to worry about. Instead, worry about the passwords to your bank account or where you store your checks.”
That could be more refreshing than the same topic everyone else is talking about.
You could also slice and dice it to talk about a particular segment. “If you are a Shopify seller, do you have to worry about this?’ Just explain that even though you take credit cards and are using a merchant account, you are using their software.
You can break it down and speak to particular niches and audiences. You will probably have a better outcome.
Speaking to the contrarian viewpoint is good because journalists like to be fair and balanced with all issues. A lot of times, they go to press only covering one side. If you are comfortable enough to speak to it, you stand to be the one plugged into every article that takes about that issue.
Everyone seems to talk favorably about the movement of electric cars. If you have a contrarian viewpoint that tells the issue that we haven’t solved how we get the minerals out of the earth in a responsible way, what to do with the batteries at the end of their life, or share that putting out an electric car fire can take 8-12 fire trucks to put it out. Maybe rather than embracing it as quickly as we have, we should sit back and scale this more until we address these issues.
You have addressed it responsibly, but you have a contrarian viewpoint that says we need to not adapt this so quickly. Every time someone talks about electric cars, you could be added to those articles because the journalist is doing their duty to be fair and balanced.
Think outside the box and be different from others. Tilt that conversation a bit to the other side.
What are some mistakes people make when pitching the media?
People look at what their competitors are doing and then do the same thing. Ninety-seven percent of press releases that are out there do not generate earned media.
If you look at what your competitors are sending out, likely, they are not getting earned media either. Don’t bother replicating that. They did a product press release so you do a product press release.
What you should do is to do a product press release but add a use case that would really strengthen your stance. What are the data points to showcase the importance or need for your product or solution?
What great images can you include? The good news is that people engage more with candid shots. Don’t feel you have to photograph your product on blue velvet. A candid shot of your product in the field will engage people much better on the website. A photo from your iPhone or Android is fine in most cases.
Be aware of what you do that is different from everyone else. One reason that some start-ups do really well is that they know, in one sentence, what distinguishes them in their industry.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs in particular have a very difficult time finding the one thing they are doing that is significant or different from everyone else, and being able to say it succinctly in their press release to get it across in the marketplace.
Practice your elevator pitch of one sentence or at most two sentences.
Should entrepreneurs focus on local media first, or aim for bigger outlets right away?
It depends on where their market is. Mickie works with a lot of companies that are online and e-commerce businesses that sell nationally. There is no need to differentiate between local and national media.
Get your press release out there and take the media that comes.
If you only do business locally, then you should focus on local media. You don’t need a service to help you. You can do this yourself. You don’t even need to write press releases.
You just need to write a pitch of a few sentences and communicate it to local media. That seems daunting and you may want to hire someone but you are best equipped to do this yourself.
There are probably fewer than ten people in your market who would write about you, including radio and television. Your job is to look at your paper and figure out who covers your industry.
Get their email address and send them a pitch. You can look online or call to ask for their email address. These are not celebrities but members of the community and media. They are supposed to be accessible.
When you call, they might ask why you need the email address. You can tell them about the business and you can pitch over the phone immediately. Tell them you want to send it in an email if you are not comfortable and then follow up with them if they have questions. It is not difficult.
Do you have business magazines or newspapers in your area that your products are suited for? What are the additional programs on radio or TV that spotlight local businesses or interview local entrepreneurs? Contact them and ask for the producer or booker of that segment.
Many times, they do wellness weeks on local news. They might bring a chiropractor in. Look at niches and opportunities that are out there. Ask them to reach out and consider you the next time they do it. Tell them why it would be good for them.
When you pitch them, include a quote to help the journalist find it interesting. They may not always be receptive so pitch at least quarterly. If you have more ideas, you can pitch more often.
After a while, even a year later, they might reach out to you because they think of you for something they are working on. Help them figure out how your business applies to what they are working on.
Be very responsive. Once they know you are a good source, they will come back to you more often. Local media sounds daunting but anyone can do it. It doesn’t take a great deal of time. Build your Rolodex of contacts and continue to reach out to them regularly.
If you have a local event, workshop, or retreat, what is the time before the event that you should begin pitching media?
Six to eight weeks before the event is a good time to begin sharing. Then, send reminders as you get closer to the event.
Sometimes, people find it interesting but don’t do anything with it until there is urgency. Don’t be afraid to follow up a few weeks before the event either by email or voice mail.
Mention a key word that would be useful for them to search. A journalist inbox can get cluttered so mention the key word to help them find the email when you leave a voicemail.
Anything you can say to make it visually appealing so they might bring a photographer to capture the event is helpful. There is a big visual component now. People engage with images. It isn’t just a story. Add things like photos and multimedia that can accompany the story.
This could also be for a book launch or in-person event. Reach out to the person in charge of the community calendar of events also. The journalist may not connect with them.
Media Cover Master Class
This is a video masterclass that is less than an hour long. It explains the 3% of press releases that get picked up by the media and how you can implement them. These are types of press releases that many people don’t think of but get earned media.
Any business can do these things and get media coverage. It only takes one success to catapult you as a thought leader in your industry.
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