How To Get Free Trusted Media Coverage For Your Green Business
If you want to know how to convince a journalist, then ask a journalist...
Introduction
My name is Mark Campbell, and I am an experienced journalist. I am based in the UK, but have written for publications - and helped green businesses achieve free publicity - across the world.
Follow the guide below and I’ll show you the step-by-step playbook of how to craft the perfect media stories about your business, which will then unlock a chain of opportunities - so your business also gets cited by AI, discovered in search, and invited onto the shows that matter.
Everything you need to know is right here, for yourself or your marketing person or team to follow.
If you require expert journalistic assistance, you are welcome to email me at action@ethicaldisruption.earth.
How The Media Can Help Green Businesses
Getting free promotion in the media is still one of the most cost-effective ways for a business to increase brand awareness, build credibility, and attract new customers.
Unlike paid advertising, media coverage carries a level of trust and authority because it comes from independent journalists, rather than the company itself.
A positive news story, interview, or expert commentary can position a business as a thought leader in its industry, helping to establish trust with potential clients and partners.
Free media coverage also provides a level of reach that many businesses couldn’t afford through traditional advertising - up to thousands, even millions, of potential customers.
Media stories have a lasting impact, as they can be shared on social media, referenced in future marketing efforts, they can improve search engine rankings.
More importantly, now, getting published in trusted media publications also helps to get businesses mentioned in AI search answers.
From Rankings to Recognition
Today, people don’t just search online, they ask questions. And the answers they get are increasingly written by AI-powered models.
The answers generated to each of the billions of questions being asked online daily, are shaped by who and what the AI trusts - and AI will often pull quotes and facts directly from media stories, expert interviews, and reputable publications.
As a journalist, I have watched over the rise of disinformation with dismay, and grown frustrated at the way companies can greenwash their way to the top of Google rankings for ‘best eco...’ questions.
Just look at this dubious gathering of businesses at the top of a Google search for ‘sustainable companies’…
AI does create an unnerving scenario of the bots taking over the world, but when it comes to educating people and giving them straight answers, it is encouraging to see that AI tries to source hardened facts, backed up by credibility, expert analysis and proven evidence.
After seeing social media platforms turn toxic and becoming awash with dangerously false information, the move to AI search is, for me, a potentially welcome development.
If you’re genuine, if you know what you are talking about, then this is your time to shine.
Which Media Can Help Your Green Business?
The media can help your green business to reach thousands, even millions of people, through many platforms:
Websites - With extremely high domain authorities so your content can rank highly on search engines
Social media channels - Literally reaching millions, through posts, videos, competitions and more
Print Publications - Many of them still with healthy numbers of readers
Email Newsletters - Again, reaching huge volumes of people
Podcasts / YouTube channels - On which you might even be a guest
Radio shows - News or feature programmes
TV programmes - For the bigger, and more visual stories
Before thinking “nothing I can say is newsworthy,” think again! I can guarantee, you’ll have plenty to share that journalists will regard as important enough to feature - giving you and your business lots of opportunities for free, valuable publicity.
There has never been a better time to exploit this rich source.
Sadly, from a journalist’s point of view, recent years have seen shrinking newsroom budgets and fewer journalists available to write the stories needed to fill the publications and website pages.
Fortunately, from your point of view, media outlets now rely heavily on ‘press releases’ - more commonly now called ‘media releases’ - to fill their content.
A media release is simply the story you are telling, written and formatted in the correct way.
This presents a unique opportunity for sustainable businesses. By crafting compelling and newsworthy media releases, you can achieve widespread publicity for your business without paying for advertising.
How To Write A Successful Media Release
Keep It Simple, Unless Complexity Is Valued
To effectively communicate your message, you must usually write in plain language and simple terms. No jargon - unless you are writing for a specialist media outlet which understands the complexities of technical terms you might want to use. This is then crucial, not only to achieve media coverage, but to get quoted by AI.
What you are trying to do is this:
Make the journalist understand what your story is about and why it is newsworthy. A journalist-first approach will bring you more success.
Make it easy for the journalist to pass on that story to the audience.
Make it easy for the audience to understand what the story is about, why it is important, and to make a meaningful connection with them so that your company / brand stays in their mind.
For AI search, simplifying the message is vital. Remember, AI will be trawling the media sites, so choose your words carefully, don't confuse people and don’t leave them asking more questions than you've answered.
What Is Your Story?
You may have a good idea already of the kind of news you want to share. Nevertheless, to help you further, here is a list of 50 possible stories that would give an eco business valuable media coverage:
Business launch or grand opening
Anniversary celebrations
Winning an award or industry recognition
New product or service launch
Offering expert insights on a current news event
Reaching a business milestone
Expansion or move to a new location
Securing a major partnership or collaboration
Sponsoring a local event, charity, or sports team
Hosting or participating in an environmental conference
Becoming a thought leader with speaking engagements
Contributing to a government policy discussion, eg. on renewable energy
Fundraising for a local or environmental cause
Volunteering efforts by the business and employees
Offering free services or discounts to vulnerable groups
Supporting sustainability or eco-friendly business practices
Partnering with schools or educational institutions
Hosting a community event
Donating products, services, or a percentage of sales to charity
Implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives
Hiring new employees, especially senior management
Promoting an employee to a leadership role
Employee achievements or recognitions
Employee spotlight stories (human interest, celebrating their journey)
Conducting or publishing research
Offering insights on green trends and predictions
Receiving a patent or trademark
Collaborating with a university or environmental organisation
Creating a new industry standard or guideline
Securing investment or venture capital funding
Crowdfunding campaign launch or success
Company valuation milestone
Reporting record-breaking sales or revenue growth
Expanding internationally or entering a new market
Partnering with another local business
Forming an industry alliance or coalition
Signing a major corporate or government contract
Becoming an official supplier for a well-known brand
Working with influencers or brand ambassadors
Partnering with a nonprofit organisation
Sponsoring an industry-related podcast or media outlet
Receiving accreditation from a major industry body
Speaking at a conference or trade show
Attending a major industry event
Offering free advice sessions
Celebrating awareness days
Responding to environmental crises or major green economy shifts
Overcoming business challenges and setbacks
Recovering from a business emergency or disaster
Announcing business restructuring or reorganisation
What Makes a ‘Green’ Story Newsworthy?
There are many different types of media outlets. National newspapers, local newspapers, trade publications, online news sites, radio stations, television networks and podcasts all have different priorities - and all have multiple methods of communicating your messages.
While national newspapers focus on major events and trends, local publications are always on the lookout for community-focused stories. Anything that chimes with the audience in their catchment area will be considered.
Although journalists now rely on a healthy flow of media releases, there are hundreds each day flooding into their inboxes. So yours has to grab their attention, and most importantly, it has to be newsworthy.
What you may consider newsworthy, may not be the same in the eyes of a journalist.
Remember these main points:
Your story must be interesting to the media outlet’s audience
It cannot be a blatant free advert that carries no news value
There are key factors in determining newsworthiness:
Timing
You’ve got to put the ‘new’ into ‘newsworthy.’ Old information is not going to open doors for you. So if you’ve already shared your news on social media, or given it to a rival media network, don’t be surprised if your story is turned down.
Journalists prioritise fresh stories, so your announcement, whatever it is, must be current and relevant.
Is the subject topical? It’s not absolutely necessary, but if you can tie in with something currently in the news, or something recently the subject of debate, or if you can relate your story to a forthcoming event or date, you will have a greater chance of getting your article in print, online and shared across social media.
It can be a National Awareness Day (there are so many of these now), it can be an event like a vegan food festival or a nature conference, it even be regular dates like Christmas or Mothers’ Day.
Remember that timing is also crucial when it comes to submitting the story, though - don’t miss the deadline to tie in with the appropriate event. We’ll go into more detail about that in a later chapter.
Relevance
When your media release lands in front of the journalist’s eyes, they will also be thinking ‘how many of our readers / viewers / listeners will be interested in this?’
A story must appeal to the audience of the publication or media outlet you’re targeting. What’s newsworthy for a local newspaper may not be relevant for a national business magazine. Research your target media and tailor your story accordingly.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that the issue of relevance can change, according to who you send your media release to.
If you run a restaurant and you’re launching a new menu for vegans, that’s not likely to be enough to persuade a news editor to run a story. It just sounds like an advert.
But if you’re targeting a food magazine, or even the food and drink reporter of your local paper, you’ve got more of a chance.
We’ll go through pitching to the right person later on.
Human Interest
This can be the most important aspect of an article, because most stories relate to people. Even if it’s a new building, the interest in that will surround the people who are going to be living or working in it, or in the shadow of it, or the number of people employed in constructing it, or the person who designed it.
Journalists love stories that evoke emotions - whether they inspire, educate, or provoke thought. If your business has a compelling personal story, use it to your advantage.
Maybe your article is all about a person - a new appointment, an award-winner, someone who has gone the extra mile to help the community, or help save animals or habitats.
In this case you have got the human interest angle already. Just make sure you give as much detail about them as you can - don’t leave any questions unanswered.
Perhaps, though, you’re launching a new product or a new service. If this is the case, emphasise how readers / listeners / viewers of the media outlet will benefit from this. Why should it matter to them?
If your company is helping a community project, either practically or financially, make sure you lead on how the community will benefit, rather than bigging up your own name.
Proximity
Where a publication has a clear, dedicated circulation area, as a local newspaper does, the word ‘local’ is first and foremost in the journalist’s mind.
If you are giving them information which relates to a place outside their circulation area, your email will almost certainly be deleted.
With this type of publication, always try to relate your information to their own audience and location.
Uniqueness
If you or your business is doing something groundbreaking, or has perhaps achieved an impressive milestone, or is solving a unique problem, this increases its media appeal.
Controversy
Don’t shy away from the fact that your piece of news might lead to a debate. Controversy or conflict can sometimes make a story newsworthy.
If your business is challenging the norm or addressing a divisive issue, this can attract media attention. That’s often the case where green businesses are concerned!
Prominence
If your story contains information about a celebrity, well known person or well-known place, that will certainly grab the attention of the journalist.
To determine if your story is truly newsworthy, ask yourself: Would I read this in a magazine or newspaper? Would it interest someone outside of my company? If the answer is no, consider adjusting your angle.
Let's Write The Media Release
Answer the 6 W questions
This is at the heart of every media release you will ever write. All it requires is to give the basic details of the story, making sure every elementary question a journalist would ask is already answered for them.
So this is the 6 Ws. This is pretty much the first thing a journalist learns. Many coaches will tell you it is the 5 Ws, but that would involve leaving out some crucial information.
I’m actually cheating by calling it the 6 Ws because it's strictly 5 Ws and a H that ends in a W, but never mind that!
Just remember you have to do exactly the same as every journalist does in writing every article - answer these questions:
WHO?
WHAT?
WHERE?
WHEN?
WHY?
HOW?
Bear these in mind when you are writing your media release, and go through the list again when you have finished.
Make sure all six questions are answered, otherwise that means the journalist will be left without the whole story - and they may simply decide to ignore it, rather than check with you for further information.
Remember - make the journalist's job easy for them!
Essential Information
Write in the Third Person - It might be tempting to write "we are doing...." but save that for the quotes you'll be inserting, or when publishing on your own website.
For the media, take a step back and write in the third person. So it’s "Wendy's Electric Wagons has signed a lucrative new distribution deal..." instead of "We have signed..."
Don't Jazz It Up - This isn't a design exercise. Keep the type black, no fancy colours and definitely no fancy fonts to grab the attention of journalists.
Short and Sweet - Keep your paragraphs as short and snappy as you can, and leave a line space in between each paragraph for easy reading.
Check your spelling, punctuation and grammar - If a media release comes in that is littered with spelling and grammatical errors, it won't have much chance of being considered. Why? Because journalists are using media releases for easy content - they don't want to spend time correcting all your mistakes. If they can copy and paste your words, and simply tweak things, many journalists will be happy with that.
Always use a spell checker - but this won’t recognise any mistakes you’ve made with names or addresses, of course. Read through your media release several times, checking every fact, name and spelling. Most word processing software will highlight spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors as you go along.
Check the style - This is far less important than it once was, but all media, especially print media, has its own ‘style book’. This is a set of rules for such things as when to include capital letters, which abbreviations to use and which words to avoid.
There’s no way you can know what’s in this style book, and these days they are a loose set of rules, but I would always advise to research the publications you are targeting to get a feel of the language and tone they use.
There are some rules I have always followed, such as numbers being spelled out from zero to nine, and written in figures from 10 upwards. And try not to use old fashioned language like ‘whilst’ and ‘amongst’, when you can use ‘while’ and ‘among’.
Scan the publications you are targeting - it will be quicker online - to see if you can get a feel for their treatment of the kind of topics you are writing about.
How To Structure Your Media Story
The first thing to write on your media release is the headline, right?
Wrong! No journalist writes the headline first.
Maybe you’ve got an awesome headline in mind and you know exactly what you want to write, to try to grab a journalist’s attention.
If so, write it down and you might want to change it later.
Your headline sums up the article and sells it. But until you’ve written the article, you won’t be able to sum it up, and you won’t know the best selling points.
Your headline also has to make an immediate impact. If it doesn’t grab the journalist’s attention, your email might be deleted without even being read.
One very important thing here - don’t try to be clever. Leave the actual published headline to the journalists, don’t try to use puns or be ambiguous. No clever play on words or smug alliteration.
You have to sell your story in the media release headline, simple as that. Just tell it as it is.
‘Newtown vegan cafe funds 100 bat boxes for local woods’ has a far better chance of success than ‘Cafe goes batty for nature’.
The headline shouldn’t be too short or too long, but must sum up what the media release is about, taking into account those factors mentioned in our other articles, like human interest and the 6 Ws.
Also, in 90 per cent of cases, don’t put your company name in there.
This may sound a strange one, and if you’re writing a press release for a firm’s CEO or someone else suited and booted, you’ll certainly be under pressure to brand, brand, brand wherever and whenever you can.
But that isn’t going to work.
Remember: You don’t want your media release to appear like an advert. If that’s the impression given, it won’t be given the time of day.
So instead of a headline saying...
‘J Clark & Sons helps community project’ try ‘Community project boosted by local firm’.
The exceptions to this rule are where the company is well known, so it has become newsworthy whatever that company does.
Write the Introduction
On the media release, you are going to write up to three summarising bullet points between the headline and the story - but you probably can’t write those yet.
As with the headline, you have to work your way through the story first, then determine which are the most important points to highlight.
When you do include them, make sure they are brief, and no more than one line each.
The intention is to get all the most important points across to the journalist in the space of the first few seconds of them looking at it.
So let’s move on to the intro - the introduction - the opening paragraph.
This is an exercise in summing things up neatly and succinctly, while making it so good, people will want to read on - first the journalist, then the article reader.
You must give a summary of the main thrust of your media release, preferably in 15-20 words, while answering as many of the 6 Ws as you can.
Here’s a reminder of those:
Who is making the announcement or who is featured in the story?
What is happening?
When is it taking place?
Where is it happening?
Why is it important? Why should people care?
How does it make an impact?
It is quite a skill to sell the story in such a short wordspan, but that’s the guideline journalists get for their own stories, and they’ll expect the same from you.
If you’re really struggling, you can stretch to 30 words, but no more!
Now The News In Detail...
After you’ve written the intro, explain your story in short, easy-to-follow paragraphs.
When you do your research into the titles you are targeting, if you notice that they are open to longer sentences, by all means add extra words if it helps you to get your point across or add more detail.
Media releases should follow what many call the ‘inverted pyramid’ structure, meaning the most important information comes first, followed by supporting details.
Don’t bury the best part of the story at the bottom, don’t work up to it like a ‘reveal’ at the end. Media releases work in the opposite way.
Be careful not to make it boring or confusing. Retain an easy flow - read it back time and time again, and if you stumble anywhere, change the wording.
Make it easy to read and easy to follow. Use bullet points or sub headings if it helps to explain or break down the details.
Answer your 6 Ws and remember that local newspapers in particular can be very strict about requiring full names of all people in the story (correctly spelt of course), and where relevant, the ages and addresses (street name, town) of the people you mention. Readers like to know this kind of information.
Provide more background and details that add depth to your announcement. Expand on the benefits and features, provide statistics, data, or facts that support the news. Offer context if relevant.
Imagine your media release is on A4 / US letter size paper - try not to write on more than one side. So that’s roughly 300-400 words, including a paragraph or two of quotes.
The Value of Trusted, Strong, Meaningful Quotes
Include in the main body of your media release a paragraph or two of quotes from somebody most relevant to the story. Maybe it’s yourself, maybe it’s the company CEO or a speaker at an event. Somebody trusted, someone with genuine authority.
Quotes offer an extra human element and give your story extra weight because an expert is supporting, with authority, the words you have written.
Not only that, if you submit a photo of the person quoted, there’s a good chance it will be used, helping you to achieve more free coverage due to it being more prominent on the page.
Even more importantly, for AI search, quotes are very often used if they support the story and show authority and expertise - so consider these quotes, and who they are attributed to, very carefully.
What should the quotes say?
This is really important. I’ve seen so many media releases that have included absolutely pointless quotes.
The quotes have to say something meaningful, and don’t waste the space - they should add something to the story that hasn’t already been said.
If the quote amounts to repetition, it is not going to be used.
Avoid bland quotes; instead use them to highlight vision, impact, or expertise.
And keep it authentic - don’t make it sound like the quote has been scripted. Ask yourself, does anyone actually talk like that?
Remember this - for AI Search, detail = trust.
So a vegan meal service founder saying: “We work with dieticians to balance nutrients in every plant-based meal plan” will be more quotable by AI than: “We make healthy food that tastes nice.”
Be Helpful To The Journalist… Then Send Your Media Release
When writing and presenting and sending your media release, always have this in mind - are you making it easy for the journalist? If you do, you’ll have a far greater chance of achieving success.
From the little details to the bigger picture, give the journalists exactly what they need.
For the last paragraph of your media release, it is worth inserting a Call To Action (CTA) - an instruction to readers which may or may not be retained by journalists.
Something like ‘Book your place at the Electric Vehicle Show’, followed by your website address.
The website URL could be a goldmine for your business or event. Simply by pasting the web address into your media release, means that the journalist may well paste it into the article, and if that article then runs on the newspaper’s website as well - and is shared on their social media channels - that’s going to provide traffic to your own site and a backlink from a very reputable source to help your website’s domain authority.
Then, at the conclusion, underneath the final paragraph, type ENDS.
That’s what has always confirmed the end of an article to journalists, letting them know there is no more hidden on another page.
Beneath this, write ‘For more information’ and add your contact details, and if you need to, the contact details of anyone mentioned in the story, in case the publication needs to check anything.
Make sure you give phone numbers, email addresses, even social media accounts.
You want to put the message across that you, and/or the person or people quoted in your story, are ready, willing and able to help the journalist and give them more information immediately, if required.
Next comes a section often labelled ‘Notes To Editors’.
If you wish, you can call this Extra Information, Background Information, Helpful Notes, Further Details etc.These are short notes which give the story some background, context or explanation.
It looks better when you present them as bullet points.
This information is sometimes used by the journalist in the published story, but is more often used to help the journalist fully understand things.
After all, they might not be very familiar with the subject matter you have written about.
Within these notes, you can give information about your business.
The nuts and bolts, what it does, why it does it etc.
Feel free to mention if you’ve won any awards, repeat any recent news that may have been published, for example, a huge expansion or the opening of a new headquarters.
All these things give the journalist some background and context, and you may be lucky enough to get some of the information mentioned.
Especially if they need to pad out the article to fill a hole of another 200 words or so!
Mentioning too many business details in the media release would have turned the journalist off, but you can get away with them in the notes, as long as you keep your bullet points brief.
Final Touches
Make sure you have put the date at the top.
If your location is important - for example, if it is a local story - you can write that as well.
Let the journalist know when this story can run.
If straight away, type FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
If you want the publication to wait for some reason, type EMBARGO with the DATE AND TIME that the media is allowed to publish.
It’s often one minute after midnight on the day you want it to go out.
When and Why Should You Set an Embargo?
It’s not something a journalist generally likes to see, but if it’s a really good story, they tend to play ball.
But they may just give you a call asking if they can release the story early to ‘break’ it first, before their competitors.
There is usually a very good reason for having an embargo, such as the date coinciding with the release of further, complementary or contradictory information; a particularly important date in the diary; or the date allows you to contact people first and let them know the media is going to run the story, especially if it is a sensitive matter.
If it’s just your wish that journalists work on the story on a certain date, but there is no good reason why, don’t think about putting an embargo on there.
Presenting the Media Release
You may want to present your words on a branded document, attached to the email you send to the journalist.
This is fine, but I would urge you also, or exclusively, to paste the media release into the body of the email, below your initial message.
I would do this because the busy journalist has to take one more step to open an attached document, and what if the file does not open on their computer?
Paste it in the email and they can see the story immediately, and cut and paste the words to their own document.
Attaching Photos
It is very important to attach between one and three good quality photos.
Why? Because, quite simply, without a photo, the story is going to be shorter when it is published on a website, or printed in a newspaper of magazine.
One decent photo could elevate it into a lead story.
One decent photo would help it to be shared across social media.
Now, there are important things to get right here.
When I say a ‘decent photo’, it doesn’t have to be professional photographer quality, but it must follow some rules:
Make sure the photo is sharp and clear.
Make sure it is framed well - save the journalist time, and give yourself a better chance of the photo being used, if it is cropped around the subject matter, eg a group of employees.
Do not include any advertising in the photo unless the story absolutely demands it. Often, if a submitted photo has a company’s logo in there anywhere, it may not be used - that’s seen as watering down the news value of the story, with free advertising.
Make sure the images are eye-catching, interesting and relevant.
Don’t attach anything that is too large - the email might not even be received. Don’t send anything too small - it won’t reproduce well. Use software, if required, to compress the size of your images without losing too much quality. You can, of course, explain to the journalist that higher resolution photos are available if they need them.
Can You Include A Video?
Do you have a video to complement your story? If you do, it could be dynamite. As long as it is short, to the point and attention-grabbing within the first five seconds.
If you do have a video, don’t include the whole file on the email, just include a link at the end of your story, in your call to action section. You’ll probably have it on YouTube.
It’s unlikely to be copied in print, but on the newspaper’s website and social media channels it could be included as a link, or even embedded into the story.
If you’re putting on an event and have a well known guest singer appearing, for example, media websites will almost certainly run a video from YouTube and the like, so that readers can click on and hear a song - and you will have provided the direct link, of course.
Crafting The Perfect Pitch To Journalists
Once your media release is written, the next step is getting it in front of the right journalists. Those who can really help you. Those who might empathise with your mission. Trusted journalists on trusted publications.
A well-crafted pitch (that’s effectively just an email message) can mean the difference between your story getting published or being ignored.
Journalists receive dozens - sometimes hundreds - of pitches daily, so you need to ensure yours stands out.
You may have seen public relations (PR) services advertised on the internet, offering to send your media release to hundreds of journalists and publications. This approach seldom works.
Please avoid sending generic, mass emails. Instead, research the journalist and their publication. This is easily done on the internet - find the publication, find a journalist who has written about your subject, and see if you can get their email address from that story - it is usually shared at the end, or by clicking on the journalist’s name.
This will allow you to write an email, introduce yourself briefly and reference a recent article they wrote, explaining why your own story is also relevant to their audience.
As well as the individual journalist(s), address the email to the newsdesk or news editor as well - you will find this information on the publication’s website.
Writing the Email - and Making Sure It Will Be Opened
Reporters and section editors will try their best to go through everything in their inboxes, but sometimes they really are so busy that they are just going to scan the email subject lines to see what interests them - that’s their filter and you’ve got to get through it.
I see an ever-increasing use of emojis in subject headlines these days.
While these undoubtedly make your email stand out, there is something about them that journalists won’t trust. Perhaps because so much spam comes littered with emojis, too.
Your email subject line is perhaps the most important part of your whole media release.
Personally, I’m not in favour of wasting a valuable email subject line word count by starting with ‘Media Release.’
Because it stands to reason, you’re contacting the media, it’s likely to be some form of story pitch or announcement.
Instead, focus on selling your story. And making it sound like an email they really, really need to open.
I find it’s often the best tactic to use phrases that journalists themselves would use.
So perhaps start your email subject line with ‘Urgent’ or ‘Breaking News’ (as long as it really is).
Or relate it to the subject matter:
‘Newtown Windfarm Expansion’
or a section of the publication:
‘Business News: 50 New Jobs Created’
Maybe use the headline you’ve written on your media release, if it’s a really good one. Shorten it further, if it needs to be.
Or if you’re offering the story as an exclusive, by all means start the email subject line with:
(PUBLICATION NAME) EXCLUSIVE: (Main angle of the story)
Whatever in your story is the most interesting angle, the biggest selling point, use it in your email subject line.
Don’t try to be clever or witty, don’t make puns or plays on words.
Just tell it as it is.
A journalist needs to assess quickly if any of the emails in their inbox might help them fill a few holes in the next publication.
So tell them straight. And impress them.
Be Courteous and To The Point
Start your email by introducing yourself to the journalist and explaining what your media release - and make it as brief as possible.
Write a friendly, courteous introduction, explaining from the top that you have a story you believe their readers will be very interested in.
Give a line or two explaining what it is and offer to assist with any further details they may need. As simple as that.
So it may be:
Hello Catherine (you found her name online), hope you are well.
I am sending you some information about a new preloved fashion store due to open in Newtown next spring.
We are looking to employ four local people so I’m sure this is something your readers will find interesting.
If you need any information or photos other than those attached, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your time…
And then it’s into the media release. Leave a few lines of space and paste it in.
When To Send The Email
Timing is crucial. If you are sharing news that coincides with a particular date, be sure to give the journalist as much time as you can ahead of the event, to write up the story.
Also, think about what else is going on locally or in the wider world. Avoid pitching late on a Friday or during major news events, unless your story ties in somehow with the news - in which case this will be perfect timing.
The deadline of a printed publication is a crucial piece of information you need to know, and if you can’t glean the details you need from the publication or its website, just give them a call or email someone to find out.
Every printed publication and section of that publication has a deadline, after which there is no more time to add or change anything before it is printed.
Some deadlines are way far in advance of when you might think they are.
A magazine will usually have a three-month run-in period, with contents being agreed and then worked on or set up for the publication that far ahead.
So if you’re targeting the Christmas market, the rest of the world might think it’s too early to discuss this in August, but not if you want to pitch a feature in the festive edition.
Some magazines will have far tighter deadlines, others far looser.
Newspapers are usually daily or weekly publications, but in the world of cutbacks, many printing presses have been closed down and operations centralised, so ‘local’ newspapers might in fact be printed a long way from home.
When this happens, deadlines will be far earlier than you might think, because there needs to be time to print the papers, then load them into the vans, to drive back to your area and distribute the publications.
So don’t be caught out. And remember this, only the most important news pages are finished on deadline - you might be targeting the business page, for example, and this could be designed a whole day earlier.
Or if it is a specialist supplement being printed, it’s not unusual for that deadline to be a couple of weeks before publication.
It’s imperative you find out these things ahead of sending your media release.
All it takes is a phone call, but even better, a polite, short email asking when the deadline for publication will be in the title you desire, and on the date you’d prefer.
And if they have any relevant specialist pages or planned supplements.
Find out the email address of the section editor (news editor, business editor, gardening editor, sports editor, etc.).
Addressing it to ‘The Editor’ will not usually bring you results.
The actual editor won’t be dealing with enquiries of this nature.
When it comes to reporting your news on websites and social media, the deadlines are of course far more fluid - information can be added, updated or changed online at any time.
But if you want to appear in the printed product as well, take care to research the deadlines.
Do You Want To Offer An Exclusive?
If you’re sitting on a particularly newsworthy article, there will be clamour from many media outlets to run it.
Weigh up whether you want to send your email to them all, or if you want to offer exclusive coverage to one of them first.
Chances are, you’d get much better, more prominent coverage and positioning from that chosen publication.
But it may put off the others from doing anything major on it, if anything at all.
It would be old news by the time they got hold of it... unless you could work a new angle for them.
The decision you take will, of course, affect your email subject line and your introductory message.
Following Up Your Email
If you don’t receive a response, or see your article published, within a few days, a polite follow-up email can increase your chances of a reply. However, avoid being pushy - journalists don’t like aggressive PR tactics.
Building Relationships with Journalists
If you become a reliable source of high-quality information, journalists will begin to reach out to you for stories, rather than the other way around.
So try to establish long-term relationships with key journalists. Always stay courteous, don’t bombard them with emails or calls, engage with them on social media, share their articles...
Build and maintain a media contact list with details of relevant journalists, and check in periodically with updates, insights, or offers for expert commentary.
If a journalist expresses interest in your story, respond quickly and provide all necessary information without delay.
This building of trust is crucial to being found and quoted in AI search. Your perceived expertise, through regular appearances in trusted media outlets, will undoubtedly bring results and put you ahead of your competitors.
Where Else Can I Send My Media Release?
Your media release can be repurposed to achieve mountains more free promotion.
Radio
You can send your media release for information, but if they want to feature it in the news, or as an item to chat about on any of their shows, you will have a far better chance of success if you offer someone who can talk to a presenter, even for a short, recorded interview.
If the story is particularly newsworthy, radio stations will want to jump on that opportunity immediately, as will…
Television
With TV - obviously - visuals are crucial. Is there a person or people that can be interviewed, a location that can be filmed, a demo that can be shown? Help the TV stations out as much as you can in that respect.
Podcasts / YouTube channels
Hopefully your media release will contain a compelling story, clear expertise, perhaps fresh data, and a few interesting discussion angles. That’s your starting point for featuring on a podcast.
You’ll also need a short, personalised email that summarises all those elements and frames them for the specific podcast or YouTube channel you’d like to be featured on.
On Your Website
Do you have a news feed on your site, where you keep visitors informed of your latest positive developments? Use your photos and embed or link to any video.
But remember, if your strategy is to get as much free publicity out of the media as you can, don’t publish the news on your website until AFTER you’ve offered your story to the media.
If they find out the story is already in the public domain, they likely won’t touch it.
On Social Media
Again, hold fire on sharing your news on social media if you’re hoping the media will give you a big mention first. But you can then use it to direct traffic to the story on your website, and also to share your successful mentions in the media.
In an Email Newsletter
Email newsletters are a great way to keep in touch with people and send them regular news updates, plus offers, event or ticket details - whatever you want to share.
Now Keep Doing It!
Every time a new AI model trains or updates, it scans content again. This happens constantly. So the more you’re quoted in trusted media, the more likely you are to show up in AI-generated responses.
You’ve now made human relationships with journalists at trusted publications. These human relationships will also help you achieve recognition by Artificial Intelligence.
You can do this… take a look at the real world example following and be inspired further…
This, below, is a real life example of a media release, duplicated from the company’s own website. It was published almost word for word on many news sites - and then quoted immediately in AI Search answers. This one is longer than yours may be, but serves well to illustrates the points we have covered...
MEDIA RELEASE
Multi-million pound investment strengthens Northern Ireland’s electric vehicle charging network
Fastned, the UK and Europe’s best rated ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging company, opens Northern Ireland’s fastest EV charging hub in Banbridge.
It marks an important moment in NI’s essential need speed up charging capacity.
Belfast, 26 February 2025
Today Fastned, voted the UK’s best rated ultra-rapid charging network by What Car? and Zap Map, opens a brand new 400kW charging hub in Banbridge.
This multimillion-pound investment adds to the already low number of ultra-rapid chargers in Northern Ireland.
Fastned’s brand new ultra-rapid (400kW) charging hub in Banbridge is now Northern Ireland’s fastest charging hub and the company’s first in the region. Twelve charging bays will offer electric drivers up to 100 miles of charge in five minutes, using 100% renewable energy.
Fastned will open its second charging hub in Antrim later in March with a similar offering. Fastned has invested over three million pounds in the purchase and development of the Banbridge and Antrim charging hubs, identifying Northern Ireland as a key growth area due to increasing demand from EV drivers.
Currently ultra-rapid charging accounts for just 4.5% of the country’s network, which totals only 687 chargers. Fastned is on a mission to accelerate the electric transition in the UK and Europe and to provide more choice for NI’s almost 23,000 electric drivers.
Fastned can expand even further in the region if it becomes faster to connect to the power grid. But delays to rollout limit the charging options for existing EV drivers and reduce the confidence of other drivers in the EV transition.
Tom Hurst, UK and Ireland Country Director at Fastned, said: “Northern Ireland is in desperate need of reliable ultra-rapid charging infrastructure, that’s why we’re proud and excited to be opening our biggest and best charging hub in the UK, in Banbridge.
“This hub is not only a game-changer for Northern Ireland’s EV drivers, but it marks our first step into the region. We’re excited to see what’s next and to work with others to improve availability of charging infrastructure in the region.”
Mark McCall, Chair at Electric Vehicle Association Northern Ireland, added: “The Electric Vehicle Association NI is delighted to welcome Fastned to the province with the opening of their new state-of-the-art facilities at Banbridge.
“With a prime position on our strategic road network, and ultra-rapid charging speeds, this hub will provide a super-fast boost for travellers on the route between Belfast and Dublin.
“Expanding access to fast, reliable charging infrastructure makes it even more convenient for electric vehicle drivers to travel far and wide, and is a key step toward a cleaner, more sustainable future.”
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors
About Banbridge charging hub
Fastned’s Banbridge charging hub is located just off the A1, south of Banbridge, at the entrance to The Boulevard. It is Fastned’s biggest charging hub in the UK and its first since 2019 in a drive-thru format, which makes it quicker and easier for drivers to get to a charger.
About Fastned
Fastned is on a mission to accelerate the transition to electric mobility. Since 2012, we’ve been at the forefront of European charging infrastructure development, building and operating a rapidly growing network of iconic fast charging stations. Our yellow, nature-inspired stations create a welcoming environment for drivers during the 20 minutes it takes to charge up to 300 miles of range. By offering Europe’s most reliable, convenient and joyful charging experience, we aim to inspire millions to drive on solar and wind energy so that together we can curb climate change. Fastned is listed at Euronext Amsterdam (AMS: FAST) and is a certified B Corp.
In 2019, Fastned opened the UK’s first ultra-rapid charging hub in Sunderland. Its UK network spans from Cornwall to Fife and currently comprises 27 charging hubs, totalling 151 ultra-rapid chargers. Zapmap drivers voted Fastned the UK’s best ultra-rapid charging network for 2023 and 2024, and the best medium-sized ultra-rapid network for 2025.
How AI quoted this story
A simple question to ChatGPT illustrates how the media release worked its way into a number of trusted media outlets, and then to the top of AI search...
And here are some of the trusted media stories that AI based its results on…
Final Thought
You can do this! Your business can earn FREE media coverage in trusted publications, which then gets you mentioned in AI Search answers.
But if you ever need any guidance, or would like myself, Mark Campbell, to assist with a campaign or story, do feel free to email me at action@ethicaldisruption.earth.