How to Get Your Brand Featured in Top Publications

The influence of top-tier publications like Forbes, The New York Times, CNN, or The Wall Street Journal extends beyond the reach of their audience. 

These outlets are thought leaders trusted across industries. Getting them to mention your brand will enhance your reputation, providing a welcomed authority boost.    

However, securing coverage on these platforms is an uphill battle. There are countless brands wanting attention, so Digital PR specialists, brands, and SEOs need to refine their approach. 

Benefits of Getting Featured in Top-Tier Outlets

Getting your brand featured by prestigious outlets is a cornerstone of effective Digital PR.

It offers more than just bragging rights, delivering unmatched benefits like enhanced credibility, increased visibility, and stronger audience trust advantages that are tough to achieve through other strategies.

Enhanced Credibility and Reputation

Being featured in renowned publications gives your brand instant legitimacy. 

When your company appears in outlets like CNN, Reuters, or The Atlantic, a large audience labels you as trustworthy. 

Paid ads, testimonials, and self-published content also build credibility, but the process takes longer. Established outlets, meanwhile, have already done the hard work of getting their audience to trust them. 

Including you in their coverage acts like an endorsement. It’s a vote of confidence in your favour.

This credibility isn’t limited to their readers, either. Media features become a part of your brand’s narrative you can leverage to strengthen your overall reputation. 

While coverage can bring in clients, it also influences potential partners or investors. You get the outlet’s stamp of approval, so you’re more likely to be perceived as a leader in your field.   

Increased Visibility and Reach

Top publications have massive audiences, which can include millions of active readers.

The New York Times has over 10 million paid subscribers across print and digital. USA Today, meanwhile, averages 1.75 million digital-only subscribers. 

These numbers don’t even take into account readers who only access the pages occasionally or browse without hitting the ‘Subscribe’ button. 

While not every one of those subscribers reads every article, securing coverage in an outlet with such a wide-reaching audience comes with a significant visibility boost. 

It’s safe to say that your brand’s message will reach way past your existing customer base. It will likely introduce your products or services to new markets.    

Not only that, but brand features in prestigious publications often have a ripple effect. The coverage may be shared on social platforms or referenced by other media, amplifying your message further. 

Such exposure typically brings in extensive organic traffic and increased interest in what you have to offer. In other words, brand recognition will go off the charts.

Access to Influential Networks

Besides added credibility and reach, being featured in top outlets opens doors, extending your professional network. 

The coverage can catch the attention of industry peers, hard-to-reach influencers, or decision-makers who rely on these publications for insight. All of a sudden, these authoritative figures will want to connect.

Whether through collaborations, invites to exclusive events, or business partnerships, power players have the potential to bring your business to the next level. 

Strategies for Getting Featured in Reputable Publications

Unfortunately, there’s no exact blueprint you can follow to break into prestigious media outlets. 

Still, relying on a mix of creativity and persistence is essential if you want to make a powerful impression. 

Craft a Compelling Story

Whether or not a journalist runs your story comes down to your pitch.

The problem? A study by Muck Rack found that 46% of journalists receive at least 1-5 pitches daily. Few of them reply to all, frequently because they don’t find them relevant.  

This information overload can cause your pitch to get buried in a sea of emails, especially if you don’t tweak it to spark curiosity.  

Journalists want to bring value to their audience, so they’ll pay attention to newsworthy or distinctive stories. 

On your end, this means taking the time to package your pitch in a way that brings something new to the table. 

You can do this by adding a human-interest element, sharing an interesting statistic, providing an expert opinion, or coming up with a strong hook. 

For instance, let’s say you’re announcing the launch of a new product. Rather than sending a press release highlighting the product’s features, craft a story about how the product improved someone’s life. 

The idea is to construct a narrative that resonates with the journalist and their audience alike. 

Create High-Quality, Shareable Content

Reputable publications are more inclined to feature brands that produce engaging content. 

Since they also want their content to perform, it helps if that content has shareable elements. Consumers sharing the articles on social media amplifies the publication’s reach, and, by extension, yours.

That means you should consider producing high-quality photos, catchy videos, interactive tools, or intriguing infographics to accompany your stories. 

Research shows that 66% of consumers find short-form videos engaging, while 61% react well to images. 

Similarly, infographics can increase website traffic by up to 10%, while interactive content generates up to five times more views than static text.

All in all, you should invest in content that doesn’t just inform but entertains or starts a conversation. 

Leverage PR and Media Tools

PR tools make it easier to connect with the right journalists. 

Platforms like Muck Rack and Prowly offer large media databases you can search through for contacts that work at your target publications and cover topics that align with your story.

These tools can help you craft pitches, track responses, and monitor results. 

You can also use them to check each journalist’s work history and social media profiles in one place. The more you can learn about them, the better you can tailor your pitch to appeal to their interests.

Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need a huge media list for effective outreach. You need to zoom in on the most relevant contacts.

Build Relationships with Journalists and Editors

Cold pitching isn’t the only way to reach influential media figures. 

You can connect with them in person, at conferences or industry events. Network opportunities allow you to make a strong first impression.

Then, when a journalist who has already interacted with you sees your name in their inbox, they’re more likely to check out your pitch. If they don’t reply, wait about a week and send a polite follow-up. 

On the same note, make it a point to foster your relationships. Follow the journalist’s work, comment on their articles, share interesting insights, or interact with them on social platforms. 

This back-and-forth shouldn’t end once you land that coveted feature, either. Rather than resting on your laurels, continue to cultivate your connections. 

Leverage Reactive PR and Data-Led Stories

Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, gaining recognition from top-tier publications takes time and persistence.

While working on your media outreach and connections, focus on crafting compelling, data-driven stories and engaging in reactive PR. Use timely news events or trending topics to position your brand as relevant and authoritative.

Data-led stories showcase your expertise by providing valuable insights, while reactive PR allows you to respond quickly to news cycles, earning you credibility and attention.

Over time, these efforts help establish your brand as a trusted voice. With your expertise and timely contributions, reputable outlets won’t be able to ignore you.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Pitching Top Publications

As you probably figured out by now, a solid media outreach plan has many moving parts. This cheat sheet of do’s and don’ts will help you remember the basics. 

Final Word

Getting your brand featured in top publications takes determination, an effective media strategy, and a bit of luck.

While there’s not much you can do about the latter, perfecting your pitches and being strategic about how you approach journalists significantly improves your odds of success.

Digital PR is all about building authentic connections and showcasing stories that resonate. Focus on adding value to their audience and nurture those relationships at every opportunity. Persistence is key to breaking through the noise and elevating your brand.