How to get featured in Forbes: a PR consultant's 8-step guide
"How can I get featured in Forbes?" has to be one of the questions I get asked most.
I don't blame anyone for asking. A Forbes feature does a lot for your credibility, and it keeps working on your website long after the article's gone. I've been featured in Forbes myself, and I've helped founders get there too, so I'm not going to gatekeep. Here's the whole route.
(And no, you don't need a million-pound business, celebrity friends or a PR team of ten.)
The quick answer: to get featured in Forbes as an expert, first decide which kind of feature you want (editorial coverage, a contributor column or a paid Council post). Make your LinkedIn and website show what you're an authority on, and build a trail of smaller press first. Then find the two or three Forbes journalists who cover your topic and send them a short pitch, or answer their requests quickly with something specific and quotable. Original data and fast reactions to breaking news give you the best chance.
1. Which type of Forbes feature are you aiming for?
There are three ways your name can end up on Forbes.com, and they're very different.
Editorial coverage is the one everyone wants. A Forbes journalist writes about your business or quotes you as an expert. It's free, it carries the most credibility, and it's the hardest to land. It's what the rest of this guide is about.
Becoming a Forbes contributor means writing your own articles for the site. It's free too, but you have to apply, and it's competitive.
Joining a Forbes Council is the paid route. You pay for membership and can publish "Council Posts", which are labelled as Council content so readers can tell them apart from editorial.
Worth knowing: a Council membership isn't a shortcut to being quoted by Forbes journalists. Some journalists choose not to use Council members as sources, so pick the route that matches what you want.
2. What should your online profiles say before you pitch Forbes?
Exactly what you're an expert in, within a few seconds of someone landing on them.
Journalists almost always have a little nosey and Google you before they feature you. If they're on deadline, they're looking for experts fast, and a LinkedIn profile that reads like a ten-page CV won't do you any favours.
Make three things obvious on your LinkedIn and your website: what you're known for, what you're an authority on, and the topics you've got strong opinions about.
It helps to post short, opinionated takes on news in your industry too. In my experience, LinkedIn is one of the first places journalists look when they're after an expert comment, so please don't let your profile gather dust.
3. Do you need other press coverage before you get in Forbes?
It helps a lot. Think of it as collecting PR brownie points.
A cold pitch from someone with no press history is a hard sell to a big title like Forbes. A trail of earlier coverage shows a journalist you're the expert you say you are, and that you're used to being interviewed.
So start smaller and closer to home: local business press, niche online outlets in your industry and podcasts. Local press is often where bigger stories start anyway.
Those smaller features do more than impress a Forbes journalist. Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands and found that mentions of a brand across the web lined up with visibility in Google's AI Overviews about three times more strongly than backlinks did (Ahrefs, AI Overview Brand Visibility Factors). Every mention counts, wherever it is.
4. How do you find the right Forbes journalist to pitch?
Do some digging before you write a word.
There isn't one Forbes inbox, or one editor deciding everything you see on the site. There are hundreds of journalists and contributors, each with their own topics and readers.
Head to Google and search site:forbes.com plus your topic. For example:
site:forbes.com nutrition
site:forbes.com founders
site:forbes.com marketing
Then find the two or three journalists who cover your area again and again. Read their last ten articles. Notice the angles they take, the kind of stories they go for and the experts they quote.
By the end, you should know what they'd want from you before you've even pitched. That's what makes a journalist reply.
5. How do you write a pitch a Forbes journalist will read?
Lead with their readers, not your business.
The most common mistake is pitching your own story and forgetting who'll read it. Journalists aren't after a list of businesses to shout about. They want stories their readers care about.
So skip "I'm the founder of..." as an opening. It's heading straight for the bin. Open with a surprising number or a strong take on something their readers care about.
Have a go at your opening hook now. Try to fit it into one sentence: what's happening, why their readers need to know, and why you're the right person to explain it.
Once it's sent, resist the urge to chase. 48% of journalists say following up repeatedly is a reason to block a PR contact (Cision, State of the Media). Give it about three days, send one polite follow-up, and then move on.
6. Where do Forbes journalists post requests for experts?
On request platforms, and the quickest wins come from answering them.
One of the fastest ways into Forbes isn't a cold pitch at all. It's replying when a journalist is already looking for an expert, because they're writing the story and need someone like you (wahey).
A few places to keep an eye on:
Qwoted, a free platform that connects journalists with experts
Featured, where journalists post requests for expert opinions
Source of Sources, a newer platform that's growing fast with journalists
The trick is speed. If a request fits your expertise, run, don't walk. Spend three days polishing your reply and the article's probably already written.
And don't send your life story. They don't want 600 words on your business journey. They want a quote that's (say it with me) short, specific and quotable.
7. Why does original data help you get in Forbes?
Because it's something a journalist can't get anywhere else.
Being an expert is great. But what makes a journalist's eyes light up is a new number, a surprising finding or something that makes them think, "Ooh, I haven't seen that before."
Journalists value original research more than almost anything a PR person can send them (Cision, State of the Media 2026).
You don't need a big budget. Survey your customers, or look at a trend in your own sales or bookings. For GoDaddy, the story was hiding in a spreadsheet: domain sales kept peaking on Friday nights, and a survey showed people come up with business ideas in the pub. It ran in The Telegraph, The Sun and the Daily Mirror.
Your own data helps you get found by AI search tools too, because it gives them something new to cite.
8. How do you become the expert Forbes calls when news breaks?
Be first, and be ready.
When a big story breaks in your industry, journalists race to get their articles out. They need someone with a smart take before the story turns into yesterday's news, and the internet moves on fast.
So when something happens in your world, pitch your take straight away. A few lines on what it means and why, sent the same day, beats a perfect email sent next week.
A little tip: set up Google Alerts for your key industry topics, so you know the moment something breaks. Keep a short bio and a couple of good photos ready to send too.
Do this a few times and journalists start to remember you. That's when they come to you first.
Why does a Forbes feature matter more now?
Because of AI, as well as the badge.
A Forbes feature used to be about the credibility, the "As featured in" logo on your website and feeling proud as punch. Those still count.
But more people now ask ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for recommendations, and those tools lean on sources they trust. Forbes is one of them. In Peec AI's study of 30 million sources, Forbes was the third most-cited site in ChatGPT's answers, after Wikipedia and Reddit (Peec AI, March 2026).
More broadly, 84% of what ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini cite is earned media, like press coverage (Muck Rack, May 2026).
So one Forbes feature can keep working for you for years: on your website, in Google and in the answers AI gives when someone asks who's good at what you do.
Questions people ask
Can you pay to be featured in Forbes?
You can pay to join a Forbes Council and publish Council Posts, which are labelled as paid membership content. Editorial coverage, where a Forbes journalist chooses to write about you or quote you, is free and can't be bought.
How do I contact a Forbes journalist?
Search site:forbes.com plus your topic to find the journalists who cover it, then check their Forbes profile or LinkedIn for contact details. Send a short email pitch tailored to what they write about, or reply to their requests on platforms like Qwoted.
How long does it take to get featured in Forbes?
It varies. Answering a journalist request can lead to a feature within days, while building the press history and relationships for a cold pitch can take months. Starting with local and trade press makes Forbes easier later.
Do I need a PR agency to get in Forbes?
No. Plenty of founders get into Forbes by finding the right journalist and pitching or answering requests themselves. PR support helps most with finding the story worth pitching and the journalists most likely to run it.
Is a Forbes Council post the same as being featured?
No. A Council post is paid membership content you write yourself, labelled as such. A feature is editorial coverage chosen by a Forbes journalist. Some journalists choose not to quote Council members, so the two aren't interchangeable.
Want help getting your slice of the Forbes pie?
If you'd like me in your corner, Get Featured is built for this. You get your stories, a PR profile tidy-up so you look good when a journalist Googles you, and a media list of 10 journalists who cover what you do, plus me cheering you on while you pitch.
Or book a free 20-minute call and tell me where you'd love to see your name.
PS. If you'd rather do your own PR, my PR guides and templates are a good place to start. 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.
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