“You’re too small for PR”. I’ve heard this many times during my career in public relations agencies. And it’s the biggest BS.
It’s something some agencies tell businesses, often startups, that don’t meet their client profile. But these businesses may be too small for that particular agency – or any agency – they probably won’t have enough news to justify the minimum retainer.
That doesn’t mean they’re too small to think about PR and media relations at all.
Thankfully, the ability to afford a PR retainer is not a prerequisite to kickstarting media relations.

Newsary founder Marie Dowling
If that was the case, all we would ever see in the media would be the same old, carefully curated stories from businesses that are already successful – in startups, that usually means those who have raised millions in capital.
There’s nothing wrong with those stories, but if that’s all we get, we’re limiting diversity and representation in the media, and limiting the circulation of diverse ideas and voices.
Media relations isn’t a rollercoaster you get to go on when you’re a certain age or size. You don’t have to be X-revenue tall to ride.
Media relations is an engine. An engine you can kickstart yourself today, and build on incrementally as you grow.
There’s no secret formula here. Many founders will be familiar with James Clear’s Atomic Habits, which lays out a framework for building good habits and breaking bad ones.
Building your media relations engine is no different. Make time for it; build in behaviours to familiarise yourself with the media landscape in your industry; and make sure those working in the industry start to become familiar with you.
Here are five habits to adopt that can kickstart your media relations engine, without breaking the bank or wasting your time.
1. Read the media
As founder, you should be ultra-aware of what’s happening in the industry you’re trying to disrupt.
Set up a Google Alert and start your day by reading the publications and the stories relevant to you and your business.
This is a 15-minute-a-day habit for familiarising yourself with the journalists breaking the news in your area, their work, and the type of stories they write.
2. Attend industry events
Industry events also offer opportunities for staying on top of industry news, and building networks. But they also offer potential opportunities to meet in person with journalists in your industry.
If there are no events relevant to you coming up, you can even create your own. (Did I ever tell you how I came to write a monthly PR column for Startup Daily? It all started here.)
3. Post on LinkedIn
I won’t pretend posting on LinkedIn takes 15 minutes — I still spend an average of 45 minutes on my posts — but it is a habit worth building, and one that will support your media relations in many ways.
By sharing the ‘behind-the-scenes’ content of building your business, you will appear more human and relatable, standing out from your competitors.
LinkedIn is also a great place to test the messaging that resonates most with your audience.
Through your owned LinkedIn content, you can share your values, your stance on trending issues, and thought leadership; you can carve out a niche for yourself, separate to your brand.
And finally, if you’re on their radar, journalists will find you on LinkedIn to check your credentials and your history, and to get a sense of who you are. Many will also source stories via LinkedIn, so it’s worth following any that are relevant to you, too.
4. Introduce yourself
Have you read an article that you particularly loved? Email the journalist to thank them for their work and include a very brief intro of yourself.
Be aware that many journalists won’t have time to respond to emails like this. But that doesn’t mean they don’t make an impression. Introducing yourself can be the first step to building a personal relationship.
5. Go micro-targeted
Every competitor of yours and their PR wants to score a feature in the AFR. There’s nothing wrong with that, but at the earlier stages you might have more success by pitching your story exclusively to smaller, targeted publications – publications your end users are reading.
There’s a trade magazine for practically every industry out there.
Is your tech changing the way we access snacks on the go? Drop an email to Vending Times.
Disrupting the yachting ecosystem? There are many specialist mags for that.
Find the publications that serve your customers. Subscribe, and consider pitching there first.
You’re running a startup. I know you’re busy. And no, your whole strategy shouldn’t hinge on media relations. But if you ignore the media until you want to announce your seed round, then it’s going to be much harder to get traction on that story.
Build knowledge and relationships first, and the quality coverage will come.
Happy relations building!
- Marie Dowling is the founder of freemium PR platform, Newsary.
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