How do I leverage public affairs to build media relations?
Focus on providing valuable content and establishing trust with media outlets.
Go-to-MarketFocus on providing valuable content and establishing trust with media outlets.
Go-to-MarketBuild media relationships by being a useful, reliable source before you ever need coverage. Journalists want credible experts who make their job easier. If you offer genuine insight on the problem you solve, respond quickly, and never waste their time, you become someone they call, and that ongoing relationship is worth far more than any single press release.
Most founders treat media as a one-time ask: send a press release, hope for coverage. The businesses that get consistent coverage do the opposite. They build real relationships with a few relevant journalists over time, becoming a trusted source the reporter returns to. The relationship is the asset; the coverage is the result.
Journalists are busy and skeptical. You earn their attention by being helpful: offering a clear expert perspective, sharing a useful data point, or connecting them to a good story even when it is not about you. When you make their job easier, you become a go-to source, and go-to sources get quoted.
Focus on the publications your ideal customers actually read, including local, trade, and niche outlets, not just the biggest names. A feature in a publication your buyers trust is worth more than a mention somewhere they will never see. Build a short list of relevant journalists and get to know their work before you reach out.
Have a clear, simple description of who you help and what you do, ready to share. When a journalist understands your story in one sentence, you are far easier to include. A muddled message gets passed over no matter how strong the relationship.
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