BusinessBeginnerPreview
PR & Media Relations
A practical, beginner-friendly path to earning media coverage through strong press releases, journalist relationships, reactive-source pitching, newsjacking, and credible measurement.
Founders, marketers, and small-business owners who want press coverage without hiring a PR agency.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook turns the course into a working earned-media system you can run. Each section maps to one course module and moves you from understanding news value through building releases and lists, pitching and newsjacking, and finally measuring impact with a 90-day plan. Complete the exercises and templates in order, and by the end you will have a tiered media list, a tested pitch, a finished release, and a tracked, repeatable PR routine.
How Earned Media Works and What Counts as News
Find the angle that makes your story newsworthy and match it to the right tier of outlet.
Exercise: Find Your Newsworthy Angle
Take one thing you want covered and reshape it until it passes a news-value test. Write a one-sentence reader-cares statement for your strongest angle.
- What do you currently want to announce, and why does it matter to you (not readers)?
- Which news values could it hit: timeliness, impact, novelty, proximity, conflict, prominence, or human interest?
- Rewrite it as a story a reporter could use, leading with the reader's interest.
- In one sentence: why should this outlet's audience care about this today?
Worksheet: Media Landscape Map
Map the outlets that fit your story by tier so you start where you can realistically win. Fill in real outlet names you have researched.
- Your story's realistic reach (local / niche / regional / national)
- Trade or niche outlet 1 and the beat or section
- Local or regional outlet 1 and the section
- Vertical online outlet that fits your topic
- Relevant podcast or creator
- Stretch national target (climb to later)
- Which tier you will pitch first and why
Checklist: Newsworthiness Gut-Check
- The story hits at least two recognized news values
- I can state in one sentence why readers care today
- The angle leads with the audience, not my company milestone
- I have a concrete fact, number, or human story to support it
- The outlet I am targeting actually covers this kind of story
Press Releases and Media Lists That Get Opened
Draft an inverted-pyramid release and build a tiered, personalized media list that fuels outreach.
Worksheet: Press Release Builder
Draft each part of a release in the inverted-pyramid order. Keep the whole thing to 300 to 500 words and write the headline last.
- Lede (one sentence covering who, what, when, where, why)
- Headline (write after the lede, under 12 words)
- Supporting fact or data point
- Human quote 1 (named spokesperson and title)
- Human quote 2 (optional, adds insight)
- Boilerplate / About paragraph
- Media contact (name, email, phone)
Exercise: Fix the Robotic Quote
Rewrite weak corporate quotes into something a real person would say and a reporter would actually print.
- Write the cliche version of your quote (We are thrilled to announce...).
- What real story, emotion, or insight sits behind the announcement?
- Rewrite the quote so only your spokesperson could have said it, with a specific detail.
- Read it aloud: does it sound like a human or a press robot?
Worksheet: Tiered Media List Starter
Begin your media list by capturing real reporters and their personalization hooks. Aim for 30 contacts over time; start with five here.
- Journalist name and outlet
- Beat or section they cover
- Verified email and social handle
- Recent relevant article and date (your hook)
- Tier (A / B / C)
- Last contacted and status
Checklist: Press Kit Readiness Checklist
- Boilerplate description written and saved
- High-resolution logo available
- Two or three approved photos ready
- Headshots and bios of spokespeople prepared
- List of past coverage and recent releases compiled
- A single named media contact with email and phone is published on a Press page
- Release can be sent as plain text in the email body, not only as an attachment
Pitching, HARO, and Newsjacking
Write a reply-worthy pitch, work reactive-source platforms daily, and prepare to newsjack responsibly.
Worksheet: Pitch Email Builder
Draft a 100 to 150 word pitch one reporter at a time. The personalized opener and the subject line do the heavy lifting.
- Subject line (6 to 10 words, specific and intriguing)
- Personalized opener (reference their recent article or beat)
- The hook (why this matters to their readers now)
- Substance (one or two facts, data, or what you offer)
- Clear low-friction ask
- Exclusive offer? (yes/no and to whom)
- Signature (name, title, direct contact)
Exercise: Subject-Line A/B Drill
Write three subject lines for the same story, then judge them like a busy reporter scanning an inbox.
- Write a generic announcement-style subject line (the bad one).
- Write a specific, curiosity-driven version that promises a story.
- Write a timely or data-led version tied to something current.
- Which would you open in under a second, and why?
Checklist: Reactive Pitching Daily Routine
- Created profiles on Qwoted and Featured
- Following journorequest and prrequest hashtags on X and LinkedIn
- Blocked a daily 15-minute slot to scan and answer requests
- Reply leads with a direct, quotable answer in two to four sentences
- Every response includes a one-line credential and title
- Responses sent quickly while the query is still fresh
- No sales pitch slipped into the answer
Exercise: Newsjacking Readiness Plan
Set up monitoring and a responsible-response rule so you can act within the short newsjacking window.
- Which alerts will you set (Google Alerts, Talkwalker, Feedly, X trends) and for what keywords?
- What kinds of breaking stories genuinely connect to your expertise?
- What sharp angle could you offer fast: data, contrarian take, or expert context?
- Write your go / no-go rule: when is a story off-limits (tragedy, disaster, sensitive event)?
Relationships, Measurement, and Your PR Plan
Build journalist relationships, choose credible metrics, and lock in a 90-day earned-media routine.
Worksheet: PR Measurement Dashboard Setup
Decide which credible metrics you will track and set targets before you start. Avoid AVE; tie at least one metric to a business outcome.
- Quarterly placement target (number of quality placements)
- Share-of-voice competitors to track
- Referral-traffic goal (tracked in Google Analytics 4)
- Backlinks target from coverage
- Monitoring tool chosen (Google Alerts / Brand24 / Meltwater / Muck Rack)
- One business outcome PR will be tied to (e.g. demo requests)
- How you will tag links (UTM convention)
Exercise: Become a Go-To Source
Plan the relationship-building moves that turn one-off pitches into reporters who come to you.
- Name three reporters whose work you will follow and engage with before pitching.
- What useful, no-ask value could you offer one of them this month?
- How will you keep notes on each reporter to stay personal next time?
- What is your plan if coverage runs with a genuine factual error versus a merely unflattering angle?
Worksheet: 90-Day Story Calendar
Map upcoming moments to angles and target outlets so you never run out of things to pitch over the next quarter.
- Month 1 moment (event / trend / data / launch) and angle
- Month 1 target outlet and reporter
- Month 2 moment and angle
- Month 2 target outlet and reporter
- Month 3 moment and angle
- Month 3 target outlet and reporter
- Always-on reactive plan (Qwoted/Featured + newsjacking)
Checklist: PR Cadence Habits
- Daily: 15 minutes scanning source requests and news alerts
- Weekly: send a small batch of personalized pitches
- Weekly: send one polite, value-adding follow-up on prior pitches
- Monthly: refresh the media list and log new coverage
- Monthly: review placements, share of voice, and referral traffic
- Quarterly: assess metrics against targets and reset goals
- Limit follow-ups to one or two, then move on gracefully
Your Action Plan
- Reshape one announcement into a newsworthy angle and write the one-sentence reader-cares statement.
- Map outlets by tier and decide which tier you will realistically pitch first.
- Write your boilerplate and assemble a simple press kit on a Press page of your site.
- Draft one inverted-pyramid press release of 300 to 500 words with one human quote.
- Build a tiered media list of about 30 reporters, each with a personalization hook.
- Write a 100 to 150 word pitch with a specific subject line for your top target.
- Create Qwoted and Featured profiles and block a daily 15-minute reactive-pitching slot.
- Set up Google Alerts and a go / no-go rule so you can newsjack responsibly within hours.
- Choose your PR metrics, set quarterly targets, and tag any links you share with UTMs.
- Build a 90-day story calendar and lock in the daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly cadence.
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