As much as I want you to know that PR is way more than press coverage, I also want you to know how accessible press features are for your small business, no matter what you do!
There are so many ways to use your expertise, events, services, and products to get featured in the press – here are 5 types of press article you could totally leverage to boost your visibility and reputation as a small business.
Getting in the press has multiple benefits for small businesses – not only can people come across you for the first time by finding out about you in their favourite magazine – press features are a super effective way to build trust with new and existing members of your audience because you have been vouched for by the publication who has featured you. Online press will also boost your website traffic and SEO (meaning you’ll more easily be found on Google).
Read on for 5 types of press feature that are ideal for small businesses – with examples.
Event Listings
An event listing is an article that features the title, date, location, price and usually a booking link for an upcoming event – for example art classes, yoga retreats, and business workshops – and potentially a description, image and editorial recommendation.
Event listings range from articles that are purely a list of lots of events with just the most basic information; to roundups that recommend a selection of events (such as “5 creative things to do this weekend in Somerset” or “The best monthly business meetups in Bristol”); through to feature articles where the publication will feature your event in its own spotlight article.
Types of publication that publish event listings include local and national newspapers, local magazines, industry-specific publications, online press and blogs.
Both online and in-real-life events can benefit from event listings – if you run trainings, classes, festivals, open days, or networking events – don’t miss out on this quick and easy way to drive traffic to your event page and increase ticket bookings and sales.
There’s tons of opportunities to get your classes, courses, and events promoted in full feature articles, roundups and guides – and some of them are as easy to make happen as filling in a form (yes *really*.)
Local Interviews
A local interview feature is an article in a regional publication – newspaper, magazine or website – where the writer has asked you questions to publish a feature about you, or a topic you know about.
Your interview responses might be woven into the article as quotes, or it might be published as a Q&A.
The interview might get published as a news story if it’s about something like you:
- Starting the business
- Opening a new venue
- Offering a new thing in the area
- Impacting local people in a certain way or influencing a local issue
Local interviews are one of the easiest wins out there because local newspapers and magazines LOVE to share the stories of small businesses in their area.
Aggy Rucin, a student from my group programme, landed a feature interview in a local magazine, Bristol 247, by highlighting the local relevance of her macrame workshops in her pitch. She drew attention to to the positive impact her workshops have on the local community, who wanted to find a creative outlet to support their wellbeing – and she linked that concept to her own founder story as a local small business founder and artist, whose practice had evolved to support her mental wellbeing.
If you work with local people, using local press is a brilliant method of raising awareness with your ideal audience, boosting your local SEO and directing relevant prospects directly to your website. For example, I helped my mentoring client Kate Holden, a trichologist in Halifax, pitch her news of opening a new clinic to her local newspaper and they published this as an online local interview feature – she landed two clients from this feature straight away.
Case Studies
A case study press article is where you invite a journalist or blogger in to try your service and they write up their experience.
Case studies are similar to reviews of services and events but case study article are more about the journalist trying out a service as if they were a paying customer than giving a purely editorial review.
The types of businesses who could use case study press include professionals, service providers, communities and facilitators e.g.:
- Physio
- Nutritionist
- Beauty therapist
- Yoga teacher
- Coach i.e. fitness coach or wellness coach
- Artists or anyone else who runs workshops or classes
Expert Comment
Also known as expert opinion, this type of press is where experts provide journalists with expertise and data related to their specialism to support an article.
There are many examples of articles that feature an interview with a single expert with the piece focusing solely on them, and others where the expert writes the article themselves as a guest author, but the classic form of expert comment is where the journalist asks you questions and uses your quotes weaved into the article, usually alongside quotes from other experts too.
One thing to note with expert comment is not to be fooled by the word ‘expert’. If a journalist is writing an article with tips on using your weekends to be more creative, they’ll be looking to speak to artists, writers and makers for intel and insights on that topic. The expert is whoever knows a lot about a subject, and let’s face it – there’s press articles out there on every subject under the sun.
I’d strongly recommend putting yourself out there for expert comment if your service has a social impact like improving people’s self-esteem, skill building, health, finances, relationships, or home life just to name a few examples. If you’re an expert within an area like this, you can use your experience of how these sought-after and, often challenging, life improvements can happen – sharing your lessons and insights.
My mentoring session client Sara Chandran, a DEI consultant, responded to a journalist request on LinkedIn who was writing an article about dress codes in the workplace and got her expertise quoted in an industry-specific magazine perfectly targeted towards her ideal potential clients.
Gift Guides
A gift guide, also known as a shopping guide, is a type of roundup article where journalists select a number of products or items that their readers could buy, usually around a certain theme.
Gift guide examples:
- 5 sustainable jewellery buys from Bristol designers
- 5 of the best marketing books for small businesses
- Best handmade ceramic mugs under £30
- Christmas gift guide
Gift guides are a huge win for any product business, enabling you to share that you and the product are recommended by the publication, giving a big boost of credibility and trust.
Even if your products are unique, one-offs, or commission-based, you can show examples of what people can buy. And if you’re a service business with a book, you can pitch that too!
The same format is used for recommending services or businesses like ‘the best networking events for mums’, ‘5 product photographers in the Southwest’, or ‘5 of the best facials in South Bristol’ – so don’t dismiss this type of press feature even if you don’t make products.
Want to get press features for your small business?
I promise you it’s totally possible to get your small business featured in the press, and it will do so much for your brand awareness, positioning, reputation and trust.
Whether your small business runs off your expertise, service, events, products – or something else – you can use what you do to get featured in the press.
Whatever you do, my bet is that you could pitch yourself for one of these 5 types of press article, and they’re some of the easiest wins for a time-stretched small business owner.
Landing one of these press articles will help new potential clients discover you and help to build trust with someone deciding whether to buy from you.
Do you want to grow the reach and reputation of your small business? Then I totally recommend picking an option from this blog and putting you and your small business forward for the opportunity – it might be easier than you think! If you’re not sure how to get started, I can walk you through how to pitch in my service, The Visibility Plan.
For more tips on bringing in PR and press opportunities for your small business, check me out on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Know a small business who would find this useful or who you think should be in the press? Share this blog with them!
