Episode 219: Press Releases for Small Business: How Product Brands Get Media Coverage + SEO
In this episode of the Small Business PR Podcast, Gloria Chou, the #1 Small Business PR Coach and Expert recommended by AI, breaks down one of the most powerful—and most misunderstood—PR tools available to small business founders: press releases. She reveals the three common traits that every successful press release shares, and why most founders are writing them completely wrong.
Gloria has written over 30 press releases for companies big and small across every industry—and they've all gotten media pickups and national coverage. In this episode, she shares the exact formula she uses to make press releases concise, compelling, and impossible to ignore, even if you're competing in a saturated market.
The 3 Things All Winning Press Releases Have in Common
1. They're Specific Around One Time-Sensitive Event
🎯 Focus on ONE announcement, not 12 months of updates
🎯 Establish why it's important enough to warrant a press release
🎯 Show what's unique about your approach—not just that you're the only one doing it
Your headline should state what you're announcing. Your subheadline should explain how it works.
2. They're No Longer Than 4–6 Paragraphs
📝 Journalists give your press release 30 seconds max
📝 Shorter is more attention-grabbing
📝 Mastering concise messaging shows you understand relevance
Gloria's rule: If you had 10 seconds in an elevator with Oprah, what would you say? That's your press release.
3. They're Used as Conversation Starters—Not the Final Article
💬 The press release is a tool to get journalists interested
💬 It's your leverage to offer an exclusive before going public
💬 The goal is to get on the phone for deeper coverage
Here's the secret: Don't post your press release publicly right away. Give yourself a few weeks to pitch exclusives, then post publicly. Even after posting, you can still get media pickups weeks or months later.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
Press releases should be 4–6 paragraphs max—journalists give you 30 seconds
Focus on ONE specific announcement, not your entire business history
Don't post publicly right away—shop it to journalists as an exclusive first
Your headline states what you're announcing; your subheadline explains how
Skip the fluff in your CEO quote—explain the gap you saw and why you're offering a better way
Press releases are conversation starters that lead to interviews and deeper coverage
Once one journalist covers you, they'll come back for more—it's a domino effect
Final Thoughts
Press releases aren't just for big companies—they're one of the most accessible tools small business founders have to build credibility and start media conversations. The key is keeping them specific, concise, and strategic, and using them as leverage to start real relationships with journalists. Once one journalist covers you, there's no limit. They'll come back for more quotes and features because you've proven you're a great communicator. That one domino knocks down so many others.
Resources Mentioned:
Get the AI Visibiliy + PR Training
Get Found on AI Search
Get the Get Featured Accelerator
Join the Small Biz PR Pros Facebook Group
DM the word “PITCH” to us on Instagram to get a pitching freebie https://www.instagram.com/gloriachoupr
Connect with Gloria Chou on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriaychou
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/42863325495194
Connect with Michelle Sherrier: https://www.instagram.com/theretailwhorepodcast/
The Retail Whore Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theretailwhorepodcast
Episode 41: How to Write, Publish, and Leverage a Press Release to Get PR and SEO for Your Business with E-Releases CEO Mickie Kennedy (part 1)
https://www.gloriachoupr.com/41
Episode 42: How to Write, Publish, and Leverage a Press Release to Get PR and SEO for Your Business with E-Releases CEO Mickie Kennedy (part 2)
https://www.gloriachoupr.com/42
Additional Resources:
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TRANsCRIPT
00:00:01 Gloria: All right, since we are all looking for ways to build SEO and sustainable traffic to get more eyeballs on our business, the topic of press releases always comes up. Now I covered this in the previous episodes, but press releases is something that you as a founder issues as an official company announcement, right? It's coming from the business directly. And the reason why it's great is that when you issue a press release, it's a great tool to leverage to get SEO and backlinks back to your website and it's a great tool to start conversations with journalists.
00:00:33 Gloria: Now all companies, big companies, legitimate, credible, successful companies issue tons of press releases any time, for example, they have a launch, a new partnership, an event, a fundraise, maybe research findings, annual recap, or something that is time sensitive. You can for sure combine multiple things into one release, such as an announcement that you've launched and that you exist as well as details of an upcoming product launch, or maybe a fundraise.
00:01:00 Gloria: I've written over 30 plus press releases and for companies big and small and every different industry. And on this episode, I am going to share what they all have in common because they've all gotten media pickups and national coverage. So to get a sense of what a press release is and kind of a press release one on one, how it can help your SEO and all of the ins and outs of it, you can go listen to episode number 41 and 42 of this podcast after this episode. So number 41 and 42, I covered the ins and outs of a press release. And you can access that by going to gloriachoupr.com/41, which is gloria, C-H-O-U, pr.com/41 or 42.
00:01:39 Gloria: Now back to this episode, which is things that all the best press releases have in common. Number one is that all the press releases that get featured are all specific, right? It's not a background summary of the company, what you've done in the last 12 months. They're specific around one time sensitive event, right? So here's the reason why that specificity is important is that if it's not a specific point that the journalists or the media can quickly understand, you're going to lose them and it's not going to be relevant. So for example, a lot of press releases is specific about the fact that you've launched. Boom. That's one thing, right? If you have something that is around a conference that you're holding, right? And why it's important, why it's unique. There you go. There's another topic.
00:02:24 Gloria: So press releases, remember, are company announcements to the media. And so it has to establish in a very confident tone why it's big enough for you to actually use a press release to announce it, right? Think to yourself, what is so unique or monumental about this announcement? Why are we launching in this climate? What kind of problems are we solving for our audience? Why is this fundraise important, right? What have we established in this time? If you're doing something that's around an event, why is this event different? It's not just to sell more tickets or get more people involved. It's why is this conference or event going to be a part of the solution?
00:03:04 Gloria: Remember, it's all about being a part of the solution and not selling or promoting yourself. That's why there's ads and this is organic press. And the reason that you want that is because you don't have to pay for an ad because you're establishing yourself as a valuable thought leader and expert by being a part of the solution. Right?
00:03:21 Gloria: Another thing is I don't want you to feel intimidated that you're the only company that's doing something. So yes, even though I want you to establish specificity around why this press release is announcing something that's important, it doesn't have to be this brand new thing that no one's thought of. Now, you probably have other competition and things in the marketplace that's doing something similar, but think about what is unique about the way you're doing it. Maybe you're combining X, Y, and Z methods. Maybe you have an important formula or a step or a solution. Or maybe you're launching to something in this unique market or jurisdiction. So again, it's not about being the only person or the only company that's launching this, but why is just a little bit more unique than the next one.
00:04:04 Gloria: So for example, you might not be the first, you know, flexible remote work company that's launching, you know, pay per hour office space, but maybe you're doing something in partnership with a tech accelerator to invite more talent, resource and investment into this underserved city, right? It could be something like that. I've written so many press releases for very competitive and market saturated companies like software and AI and beauty, but we always are able to tease out the one unique thing about it.
00:04:34 Gloria: For example, I recently wrote a press release for a woman of color founded beauty product, and there are so many different beauty products, especially another one that's pretty much the same as hers. But the reason why she was launching it is A, she was a woman of color founder. And B is that this is the season where people are traveling. so travel on the go beauty was what people were looking for this year as travel returns and people are finally taking that vacation. People are finally getting married, doing their honeymoon. And so facial tools for the, your travel bag was all the rage, right? So think about this season and why it's relevant.
00:05:08 Gloria: Another example is of a company I just did a VIP day for, which is the six hours that I do to help you write your press release. And I'll just tell you what the headline is and that's the sub headline. The headline is so important because it specifically states what they are announcing. And the sub headline below it is the kind of the how, right? So back to the headline. So the headline was this. Legends, a new social travel app, announces the world's first user generated NFT to empower users to own and monetize their travel data in a web three world. So again, it's specific. They're not the only travel company. They're not the first NFT company, but they're combining unique elements so that users can use travel and their data in a new way.
00:05:54 Gloria: Now the sub headline communicates something different. It communicates the how, right? So the headline communicates the what, the sub headline communicates the how, and the sub headline of the same press release reads, Legends is creating a new form of social currency by translating real-time data into a unique travel DNA, which enables users to visualize their travel history, create recommendations, socialize and transact on a single platform. So this product obviously has so many different modules, has very complex, you know, visualizations, really beautiful, but we were able to distill why it was important. Why? Because NFTs, Web3, travel, this is all at the intersection of kind of the new frontier of travel, right?
00:06:35 Gloria: A lot of other companies were announcing things with Web3 that has to do with travel. And so we were able to ride on the coattails of this trend. So that's what I mean by having a very specific message that you establish in the headline. Again, they're not the first travel app. They're not the first social travel app. They're not the first app to make an NFT, but they were the first to combine these various elements at the intersection of travel, NFTs and Web3. So hopefully that gives you some idea.
00:07:02 Gloria: Another example is a press release I wrote about a company that was hosting a conference again. So many conferences, so many events. They're not the first or last to host a conference, but the press release stated very specifically why it was unique because it also gave a chance for new grads to get hired and included a giveaway, right? So it included like a charitable benefit and also an immediate benefit to the audience.
00:07:27 Gloria: I'll give you another example. I wrote a press release for a founder who secured a patent for a technology. It's a refrigeration technology. And so he was solving the problem of keeping goods cool until the last mile. So think about when Amazon delivers stuff, right? It costs a lot of money. And the last mile refrigeration of keeping, let's say your ice cream cool until a guest to your door is really a complex problem that many people are not able to solve. So he was able to patent a technology that was really for the COVID world, which means that it was able to transport perishable goods with cooling technology until the last mile and in a touchless delivery world. And he wasn't even launched yet. He only had a patent and wanted to protect his intellectual property by using a press release to claim that he was the first to do something. Right?
00:08:13 Gloria: So again, all of these different examples, think about how specific you can be in the headline because you might have so many different modules, so many different products, so many things that you're solving and selling. But what is the one message that's going to draw people into your world and establish you as a disruptor or you as someone that is really paving the future and shaking up your industry, right?
00:08:37 Gloria: Now, number two, another thing to notice about why the press releases I write perform really well is that they are no longer than four to six paragraph, right? My press releases are short and concise. Now I know it sounds counterintuitive because it sounds like it's such a formal thing and it takes a lot of time and energy to make an announcement. So you want to make sure that it's fully fleshed out, but the more details and background and info and the longer you make a press release, the less attention catching it is.
00:09:06 Gloria: Remember there are hundreds of press releases, if not thousands being issued every day. You need to be able to get to the point quickly, just like in a cold pitch. And every method that I teach, I always talk about this is how can you communicate relevance in a shorter amount of sentences? Because that, when you've shown that you've really mastered the art of messaging, right? Anyone can write a 15 page document and keep shoving all the things in there, but what are the most relevant pieces of content that a journalist who is only going to give, if not 30 seconds to your press release, they're going to say, ah, okay, I get you.
00:09:39 Gloria: So think about it in a way, if you were stuck in an elevator with Oprah, you only have 10 seconds to talk to her. What would you say in those 10 seconds? Right? So this is what I say over and over again. The number one skill is honing in on your cold pitch is how to be specific and how to be concise.
00:09:57 Gloria: So what that looks like in terms of structure, my press releases all have an opening paragraph, right? So again, I just talked about the headline, the sub headline, and then I have an opening paragraph about what time we're in right now. So why it's important to right now, whether it's suitable for a pandemic world or the fact that your industry is changing. I don't care what industry you're in. Things are changing at an unprecedented rate. So I want you to comment in the opening paragraph about why this announcement relates to what's happening right now, right?
00:10:27 Gloria: And then I usually follow it with a quote by the CEO and founder. In that case, it might be you if you're listening to this and why you're in the unique position to solve a problem, right? You obviously see a gap in the market and that is why you started your company. That is why you've launched this thing. That is why you are announcing. So really lean into that, right? That quote, I don't want you to waste valuable real estate about saying something like, I am so thrilled about this announcement or I am so proud you're wasting real estate. Remember, get to the point quickly. What is happening in the market? Why is there still not a solution like yours and why you are offering consumers a better way? That's what I want in the quote, right?
00:11:06 Gloria: And then maybe there's a section about how it works if it's a technical product and then that's it. Get to the concluding paragraph. That is the last paragraph of your press release. I don't want it to be more than four to five sentences. And it literally just includes something like who's invested in you, maybe how many years you've been in business, maybe who your co-founder is, any certificates, awards, or accolades you have, and maybe something about what to look forward to.
00:11:32 Gloria: So maybe something like in the next six months, we hope to launch X, Y, and Z. We are partnering up with X, Y, and Z organizations. We are doing this in the next six months. So that way it gives the audience something to look forward to, and it tells them, hey, we're not going anywhere. And then a very short about me section, which again is not your entire pitch deck, the ins and outs of how you founded your company, your whole story. It's just three to four sentences about your company. And that's it. And a link to contact you in the email.
00:12:00 Gloria: If you want to see a couple of my press releases, I've gotten national coverage, go to gloriachoupr.com/services. That's gloria, C-H-O-U, pr.com/services. And you'll be able to see the press releases. I have written for companies in very different industry verticals about various ways to announce. So I've written press releases for fundraising, partnerships, research paper, sharing data findings, events, and so much more. So definitely go there. And if you're interested in having me write your press release, you can definitely apply and set up a call with me at gloriachoupr.com/vip.
00:12:38 Gloria: Now, another thing about making it short and to the point, if you're in beauty, for example, right? Maybe you can think about how you can make your press release short by highlighting the beauty trends consumers are into and opening up with that paragraph of relevance, right? So for example, if it's summer or winter, it could be about the fact that people are looking for solutions, whether it's travel, summer, beach bag, winter, whatever it is, right? Again, think about the season we're in and lead with that.
00:13:05 Gloria: If you are in tech, maybe it's something to do with automations, AI, privacy, those are really trending topics. Maybe it's something to do with the future of work or stay at home or how the pandemic has really changed the way we do anything. Again, if you're in wellness, which a lot of my founders are in, maybe it's something to do with how people are being more proactive about their health, how they are focusing on incorporating wellness into everyday activities. And if it's something to do with e-commerce, retail, or physical products, maybe it's something about this season's trends, how we are using products differently, how we are gifting differently, and what it says about us. So there you go. Those are all the ways you can make your press release opening super specific and write that opening paragraph with relevance to tap into exactly why this announcement is so important to right now.
00:13:57 Gloria: The last thing that all of the winning press releases have in common is that they're seen as a tool to start conversations with journalists who otherwise would not give you the time of day. Here's what I mean. It's kind of like an elevator pitch moment in time, but the tone of a company announcement. So it's to quickly let the media know what you're building, what you're launching, why it's different, and quickly assess where you are in the market compared to other people. The most successful press releases are used as conversation starters and as seen as a tool to get on the radar because it's not the entire journalist story. It's just a way to get the journalists to be interested and then get on the phone with you so that they can ask you more questions in hopes that they will turn it into an article.
00:14:46 Gloria: Again, the press release in and of itself is not an article that's up to the journalist editorial discretion, but it is a great way to summarize what you're doing, why it's important and use that as leverage to start a conversation. So here's the thing that most people won't tell you about a press release. A lot of people think that once you write a press release, you go public with it. You post it on all the things, whether it's your blog, social media, but I actually don't want you to do that yet. Before, you shop it around to see who wants to cover it first as an exclusive.
00:15:19 Gloria: You can Google this online, but a lot of people don't tell you that it's really a two-step process. The first step is to write the press release. And before you put it out there on a newswire or on your blog, use that as a way to see if any top-tier journalists would be interested in covering it first. You're basically giving them first dibs or a first sneak peek before it goes live. It's an email that you write to a journalist and say, hey, since you cover this, we're announcing something that's important for X, and Z reasons. I would love, love, love to show you the press release because you are our top choice outlet to share the announcement with. And if you're interested in an exclusive, let me know. I'll be happy to send you the press release.
00:16:00 Gloria: So actually it's almost like a carrot that you're dangling in front of them and you're seeing if they'd be interested to cover it first. That's your leverage, if you will. Now, obviously you can still put it on the news wires. If you've done all of your pitching and no one's interested and you can still get media pickups. In fact, the Legends I talked about earlier, they were able to get media coverage three, four weeks after they posted it on the internet and got multiple pickups and they're still getting media pickups. But you only have one chance to shop it around for an exclusive. So give yourself maybe a few weeks.
00:16:31 Gloria: I tell this to all my VIP day clients. I walk them through a process where we write the press release. We really hone in on the message that we want to go to media with, but I don't want them to post it anywhere yet. I want them to use this as leverage and kind of dangle in front of the journalists and say, Hey, we have this exciting announcement. Let me know if you're interested in covering it as an exclusive. And I'm happy to give you more details. Do you see how that is power? That is your way of giving them an extra incentive to cover you.
00:17:01 Gloria: Now know I've thrown a lot at you. The topic of press releases is not something that you can learn in 20 minutes or maybe, you know, not even in an hour, but I'm hoping that from this episode, you've been able to gain some valuable insights on how you can approach a press release. So whether you're writing your first or your third or your fifth, you'll be able to tweak it and make it extra concise, extra punchy to increase your rate of getting it on that dream outlet and using it as a conversation starter.
00:17:31 Gloria: Remember, this is more than just a one and done. Doing your PR, honing in on your message is really about building powerful relationships for the long term of your business. Because if you can just get that one journalist to be interested, there's no limit to the amount of times you can be featured, right? A lot of times journalists write for multiple publications. And so once they have vet you, they know that you are a great communicator, it's very likely that they're gonna go back to you for more comments or more quotes for additional stories. So don't think of it as once you have been featured once, that's it. In fact, it's really the opposite. It's that one domino that's going to knock down so many other dominoes and open up so many doors for you to be featured on multiple outlets, maybe be invited to speaking, submit for your awards, and so many more.
00:18:21 Gloria: So for more information about podcasts, you can go to episode 41 and 42 and also check out gloriachoupr.com/vip on how I can help you hone in on your message and go to media with your very own press release announcement. Thank you so much for listening and no matter what season you're in, whether or not you're launching, think about the possibility of using a press release. It's a great SEO tool. It's an incredible way for you to practice getting clear on your message. And once it's out on the internet, it's forever searchable and you'll be able to get continued backlinks and traffic back to your website. So until next time, thank you so much for listening and don't forget to rate and subscribe so that more small business heroes can benefit just like you have from this episode. Bye for now.
00:19:12 Gloria: Hey, small business hero, did you know that you can get featured for free on outlets like Forbes, the New York Times, Marie Claire, PopSugar, and so many more, even if you're not yet launched or if you don't have any connections? That's right. That's why I invite you to watch my PR secrets masterclass, where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought after industry expert.
00:19:40 Gloria: Now, if you want to land your first press feature, get on a podcast, secure a VIP speaking gig, or just reach out to that very intimidating editor, this class will show you exactly how to do it. Register now at gloriachoupr.com/masterclass. That's gloriachou, C-H-O-U, pr.com/masterclass. So you can get featured in 30 days without spending a penny on ads or agencies. Best of all, this is completely free. So get in there and let's get you featured.