How to get your business press-ready for 2027 (and get featured)
Updated: 2 days ago
Magazines plan months ahead. By the time you're putting the tree up, some of them are already working on spring.
So if you'd like 2027 to be the year you see your name in print, the work starts now. Not the pitching. The bit before it, which most people skip.
It doesn't matter if your "HQ" is the kitchen table or your following is tiny. Journalists aren't looking for the biggest business in the room. They're looking for a good story and someone who's ready when they need them.
The quick answer: to get your business press-ready, decide what you want press coverage to do for you, write a wishlist of the publications you'd love to be in, make sure your website, bio and photos show who you are within seconds, map the dates and seasons that fit your business, and keep a running list of story ideas. Then when a journalist needs someone like you, you can say yes the same day.
How do I know if my business is press-worthy?
Short answer: you've got more to say than you think.
The founders I work with often tell me they're too small, too new or too ordinary for the press. Then they mention something in passing, a habit their customers have or a job they did before this one, and that's the story.
Beth Fuller is a former teacher, now a yoga teacher and therapist. She didn't think of her career change as news. Once we untangled her story, it ran in Stylist, Cosmopolitan and iNews, and journalists now ask for her by name.
Your lived experience counts as expertise. So do the numbers you track, the questions customers keep asking and the opinions you only share with friends over coffee.
If you're telling yourself you'll never get coverage, the first job is to stop. Writing yourself off is the one thing that guarantees it won't happen.
What should my PR goals be for the year?
Start with why you want press at all, because "to be in the paper" won't tell you where to pitch.
Maybe you want people to trust you faster before they buy. Maybe you've got a launch coming, or you want to be the name people think of for one topic in your industry or your area. Press can also open doors to speaking or collaborations.
There's a newer reason too. When someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI who's good at what you do, press coverage is a big part of what gets you named. 84% of what ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini cite is earned media, like press coverage, while adverts make up 0.3% (Muck Rack, What Is AI Reading?, May 2026).
Before you pitch anything, ask yourself what the bigger business goal is, and who you want to reach. The answers decide which coverage is worth chasing, so you go after the right press instead of any press.
How do you build a press wish list?
Write down where you'd love to be seen, then get to know those places.
Open a spreadsheet, or grab a notebook if you're a pen-and-paper person like me. Write down at least ten publications you'd love to see your name in: magazines, newspapers, websites, podcasts and radio shows. If you get stuck, ask yourself: if I had a magic wand, where would I love to be featured tomorrow? Include at least three that are specific to your industry.
Then pick six and become a familiar face. Follow them on social media, sign up to their newsletters or listen to a few episodes, and spot two regular columns or themes they run. Follow two or three of their journalists and engage with what they post.
For each one, jot down three headlines you'd love to see written about you, and one story or example that backs each one up. That's your pitch list for the year, ready and waiting.
What does a journalist look at before featuring you?
You. Online. Usually within a minute of reading your email.
Journalists Google you before they reply. They'll look at your website, your social media and your bio, and they want to work out quickly who you are and why you're worth featuring.
Think of it like your morning coffee. You can't make a good latte if the milk's gone off, and a journalist can't write a good story if what they find about you is out of date.
So give everything a once-over. Is your bio current? Can someone tell what you do within ten seconds of landing on your website? Have you got a few good photos of you and your business, ready to send?
A journalist should never have to play detective to work out who you are.
My free PR-ready checklist lists every asset a journalist might ask for, so you can get it sorted before they do.
How do I find timely angles for my business?
By connecting what you do to what's already happening.
Journalists love a timely story. If you can tie your business to something in the news, a trend or a season, you give them a reason to run it now instead of someday.
When a TikTok trend sold out Josie's velvet ribbon at Follie, that was the story. One short piece on BBC local radio set it travelling, and it ended up on BBC News and in The Guardian.
Some timely angles you can plan for. Make yourself a PR calendar for the year: a notebook or spreadsheet with the awareness days, seasons and events that fit your business. Small Business Saturday in December is how Sharon, an independent travel expert, got onto BBC radio. She's now their go-to whenever travel news breaks.
Plan your pitches around the dates in advance. Magazines work months ahead, so Christmas ideas often go out in summer.
How do I find the stories in my business?
Start a list today, and keep adding to it all year.
Every business has stories. They're usually hiding somewhere you see every day: your sales data, your customers' habits, your own history, or an opinion you hold that others in your industry don't.
For GoDaddy, the story was in a spreadsheet. Domain sales kept peaking on Friday nights, and a survey showed why: people come up with business ideas in the pub. That one set of data ran in The Telegraph, The Sun, the Daily Mirror and Startups.
Journalists value original research and expert access more than most things you could send them (Cision, State of the Media 2026). That's your data and your expertise.
So keep a running list of story nuggets. Write down every idea, big or small, the moment it comes to you. Later, you can shape the best ones into pitches. When a journalist request lands, you'll have something ready.
Questions people ask
How far ahead do magazines plan?
Most magazines plan several months ahead, so seasonal stories need pitching early. Christmas ideas often go out in summer, and spring features are planned over the winter. Newspapers, radio and online news work much closer to the day.
Can a new business get press coverage?
Yes. Journalists choose stories, not company sizes. A new business with an interesting founder story, useful data or a clear opinion on something in the news has as good a chance as an established one, as long as it pitches the right journalist.
What do I need before I pitch a journalist?
You need an up-to-date website and bio that say clearly what you do, a few good photos of you and your business, and a story idea that fits the journalist you're pitching. Have them ready before you send anything, so you can reply quickly if they say yes.
What is a PR calendar?
A PR calendar is a plan of the dates, seasons and events that connect to your business across the year, such as awareness days and holidays. It helps you spot timely angles early and pitch in time for each publication's deadlines.
Do I need a PR agency to get featured?
No. Plenty of founders get featured by pitching their own stories, especially to local and trade press. Support helps most with finding the story worth telling and the right journalist to send it to, whether that comes from a consultant, an agency or a workshop.
Want to get press-ready with me?
Grab my free guide, 10 pitching angles to help you land your dream press feature. It's ten ways into a story, for the days you're sure you've got nothing to say.
Or if you'd rather someone found the stories with you, that's the Debrief. You talk, I ask the questions, and within 7 working days you've got every story I found, sorted and ready to pitch. That's your 2027 story list, done.
PS. For behind-the-scenes PR tips, follow me on Instagram.
Becky here, running on flat whites and a non-negotiable 3pm Diet Coke. I'm Becky Newmarch, a PR consultant for founders and brands in the UK. I find the stories hiding in your business and get them to the journalists who'll run them.
Comments