Media coverage refers to how your business or message is featured by news outlets, blogs, or other media platforms.
Media exposure helps you build credibility, trust, and momentum. When people see respected outlets mention your brand, you automatically gain social proof. Every mention is a vote of confidence, something that traditional ads can’t compete with.
But gaining coverage comes with challenges. Media moves fast: Reporters work against tight deadlines, and PR opportunities can vanish overnight. To increase your chances of landing quality coverage, media monitoring tools like Meltwater are indispensable.
These tools give you direct connections to journalists, help you find relevant outlets, and track trends and coverage so you can move with the media and not get left behind.
Here’s how to get media coverage for your business using proven PR strategies.
Contents
Why Media Coverage is Important
How to Get Media Coverage: Step-by-Step
Tips to Maximize Media Coverage Success
Common Mistakes to Avoid
FAQs: Media Coverage Questions Answered
How Meltwater Can Help You Get Media Coverage
Why Media Coverage is Important
Media coverage plays several vital roles in growing your business. A single article or mention in a respected outlet can spark conversations, attract new customers, and give your brand the kind of credibility money can’t buy.
Here’s why knowing how to get media coverage is an essential skill in 2025.
Build brand credibility
When reputable outlets talk about your product, service, or story, your audience takes notice. According to Nielsen, earned media coverage is more trusted than any other form of promotion or advertising.
Mentions in respected press signal legitimacy, not just to customers but also to investors, employees, and stakeholders.
Boost visibility and awareness
Media exposure dramatically boosts visibility and awareness. A single mention has the potential to be picked up by other outlets, re-shared on social media, linked to from other blogs, or even referenced by others in your industry.
A 2024 survey by Determ of 300 PR professionals found that 79% of PR pros prioritize media coverage and reach as a way to prove value. More people see you, hear you, or read about you, which expands the top of your funnel.
Position yourself as an industry authority
When you’re quoted, interviewed, or cited by journalists, you become a go-to expert in your field. That can open up more press, speaking opportunities, and even partnerships.
You might hear these types of mentions referred to as “thought leadership.” Over half of PR pros agree that thought leadership is the second top priority after media relations. Once people see you as knowledgeable and not just a salesperson, they’ll trust your opinions.
Drive traffic and leads
Media mentions often include backlinks, referrals, or social shares that send interested readers to your website. These have strong potential to translate into leads, sign-ups, or sales.
PR teams can track website analytics and referral traffic from earned media hits to measure and analyze media coverage. When your name comes up in more places, people who weren’t even looking for you might discover you, creating new opportunities.
How to Get Media Coverage: Step-by-Step
Everyone wants media coverage, but attracting journalists and news outlets takes strategy and care.
Here’s how to get earned media coverage that won’t feel like a sales pitch.
1. Define your newsworthy story
Before you pitch a single journalist, you need to know exactly what makes your story worth telling. Reporters get hundreds of emails every day. Not all will get opened. The ones that stand out offer something fresh, relevant, or emotionally compelling.
Ask yourself:
- What’s new, surprising, or timely about what you’re sharing?
- Why is this a timely story to pitch?
- Why is this the right journalist/outlet to pitch?
- Why would readers of this publication or news outlet care about this topic?
- What will the reader gain from this media coverage?
For example, you might pitch a product launch, a major milestone, a unique customer success story, or a bold opinion on a trending topic. The goal is to find an angle that aligns with what the media and their audiences care about right now.
Next, refine your idea into a clear, concise message. Journalists appreciate pitches that get to the point quickly and explain why their readers should care.
To help your pitch stand out, consider including:
- Key data
- Human interest elements
- Real-world impact
- Unique facts
Specifics make the narrative stronger.
2. Identify the right media outlets and journalists
Not every outlet (or every reporter at a given outlet) is a fit. Start by researching publications, blogs, podcasts, and TV segments that cover your industry or niche.
Then, look for the following elements:
- The types of stories they run
- The tone of their content
- The audiences they reach
- Monthly traffic volume
- Specific journalists who cover your chosen topic
- How the journalists frame their stories
- The style and format of the stories (e.g., first-person essays, interviews)
A hyper-local newspaper might be perfect for a neighborhood event, while a trade publication could boost credibility among decision makers. Match your story to the outlet so you’re adding value to their readers, not just blasting a press release.
To find relevant media outlets and journalists, use media databases like Meltwater. These databases are frequently updated, and you can filter by industry, niche, and other criteria to find the best fit.
3. Craft a strong press release or media pitch
Once you know what you’re pitching and to whom, you can start creating the message. Keep it concise and tailored, with only essential details:
- A brief introduction
- The Who, What, Why, and When of your story
- A call to action
Try this template to get earned media coverage:
Hi [JOURNALIST NAME],
My name is [YOUR NAME], and I represent [COMPANY/PRODUCT]. I loved your recent article on [MENTION THE JOURNALIST’S PREVIOUS WORK] and thought this story might be a good fit for you.
[BRIEF EXPLANATION OF YOUR IDEA]
[BULLET LIST OF WHAT THE STORY SHOULD COVER]
Let me know if you can cover this idea. I can provide [HIGH-QUALITY IMAGES, PRODUCT SAMPLES, FOUNDER INTERVIEW, ETC.] to bring this story to life.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
[YOUR NAME]
4. Personalize your outreach
Generic pitches don’t get seen often. And if they do get read, most journalists forget about them.
To get yours to stand out, personalize it to the journalist and the outlet they cover. You could reference the journalist’s previous work or suggest why your idea is a good fit for them, for example.
Reporters notice and appreciate when you take the time to show you know their audience and work.
5. Follow up professionally
You might not hear anything about your pitch for a few days. That’s normal.
It’s completely acceptable to follow up with an email, but you should do so with tact. Give the journalist about a week or so before sending another email, and keep your follow-up in the same thread (instead of a new email).
After the second follow-up, it’s probably best to move on. Persistence can pay off, but you must also balance your drive to get earned media coverage with respect for the journalist’s time and interest.
6. Build long-term media relationships
The best-kept secret of how to get earned media coverage is to avoid stopping at the campaign level. Building long-term media relationships allows you to maintain a list of media contacts whose value can grow beyond a one-off article or mention.
To create these long-term media relationships, you can:
- Follow the journalist on social media
- Comment on or reshare their posts
- Provide value beyond the pitch, such as product samples or exclusive access
Show an interest in the journalist or media outlet beyond earned coverage. Genuine connections can lead to strong relationships and reciprocation.
TIP: For more information about how to create a pitch that journalists are sure to jump on, check out our free guide Craft Winning Pitches for Media Relations!
Tips to Maximize Media Coverage Success
If you want to increase your chances of getting earned media coverage, you need to play a smarter game than your competitors. These tips can help you get more exposure and make it work harder for you:
- Monitor your industry news cycles to create timely pitches.
- Send pitches early in the week and avoid Friday afternoons and weekends
- Repurpose your coverage across your owned channels (e.g., Press website page, social media, blogs).
- Track your impact with media monitoring tools.
- Stay consistent to build long-term momentum.
Meltwater’s insights help you track your media coverage, including volume, quality of the coverage, earned media value, and other key metrics. Use these findings to refine your PR strategy and increase your pitch acceptance rate.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even the best story or well-written pitch has the potential to get rejected. These small but common mistakes can sabotage your efforts:
- Sending irrelevant pitches. Blasting generic emails to every outlet wastes time and can get you blacklisted.
- Overlooking journalist preferences. Ignoring a reporter’s beat, style, or submission guidelines signals you haven’t done your homework.
- Neglecting to measure results. Skipping analytics means you won’t know which pitches worked or how to improve future campaigns.
- Failing to prepare for media interviews. Showing up without key messages or data points can lead to missed opportunities and awkward soundbites.
- Following up too aggressively. Multiple emails or calls in a short time can irritate journalists and hurt relationships.
Avoiding these mistakes keeps your media outreach professional and improves your chances of landing quality coverage.
FAQs: Media Coverage Questions Answered
Still have questions about how to get earned media coverage? Dig deeper with these FAQs.
What is media coverage?
Media coverage is the exposure your brand gets in news outlets, blogs, or other media.
How do I get my business featured in the media?
To get your business featured in the media, create a newsworthy story, target the right journalists, and execute strategic outreach.
Do small businesses need media coverage?
Yes, even small businesses can build credibility and awareness through media exposure.
Do I need a PR agency to get media coverage?
Not necessarily. Many businesses secure coverage through in-house efforts with the right tools.
How Meltwater Can Help You Get Media Coverage
Meltwater’s AI-powered media relations platform serves as a global media database for targeting journalists. You can find relevant print magazines, blogs, news sites, podcasts, and influencers in your niche, along with contact information and other details to help you create a winning pitch.
The Meltwater platform lets you create, send, and track pitches from one place. And when you do get published, you can track your media mentions in real time. Meltwater uses AI to analyze sentiment about your coverage, calculate earned media value, measure share of voice, and show the total impact of your press coverage.
See how Meltwater can help you easily land and track media coverage when you request a demo by filling out the form below!
