How to Get Media Coverage for Your Food Business on a $0 Budget

For small food businesses, media coverage can have a huge impact on gaining brand recognition, selling more products, and becoming a major player in the food industry. But getting media coverage is not as easy as it sounds.

News sites and media outlets can get thousands of new products press releases a day, making it difficult to stand out from the crowd.

Here are a few tips to help your brand get noticed by industry decision makers (and in turn, grow your business!)

Niche down

Instead of fighting thousands of other companies for attention on a handful of major websites, look instead for blogs that cater to a specific niche.

Not only is it easier to get a feature on these blogs, their audience is likely to be made up of your target market, meaning you’ll be getting your product in front of thousands of potential customers.

And best of all? Most of these blogs will feature new products for free or in exchange for a sample of the product.

To find blogs to contact, try searching for blogs and websites related to your niche.

Do you manufacture healthy snacks for kids? Look for blogs that cater to moms and families, with an emphasis on health.

Do you own a sports nutrition brand? Try finding blogs that cater to athletes and fitness enthusiasts (and don’t forget to niche down even further if your products also cater to specific lifestyle types such as vegan or paleo!)

Form connections

Once you’ve selected several blogs to contact, it’s time to get the ball rolling. Instead of sending out generic pitches, focus on building relationships with journalists and editors.

A strong bond can make it easier to get new products featured in the future, without having to go through the whole process again.

To stand out from other pitches focus on these key things.

Write an enticing email subject line that will get the recipient clicking (and not pressing delete!)

Make sure your email is personalized and talks directly to the person you’re emailing

Include enough information that makes it clear that you are actually familiar with their website, and aren’t just emailing the same message to hundreds of blogs (no copying and pasting emails!)

Include an offer for free samples of the new product

Focus on new products only. While you may have other great items that would be a perfect fit, bloggers and journalists don’t want to have to deal with sorting through and understanding your entire catalog. Instead, make sure to include a link to your website so they can look more if they want to.

Remember, successfully getting your products featured is all about building long-lasting relationships, which will pay off in the future.

Focus on your story

By now you know that targeting websites and blogs in your niche can help you get free coverage for your brand, but how do you stand out when you’re competing against similar products in the same niche?

This is where one of the most important aspects of your brand’s identity comes into play — your story.

For example, let’s say you manufacture cookies.

Thousands of brands sell cookies, from small artisanal businesses to massive household names. But odds are good that none of these brands share the same story as you.

Maybe you use unique and original flavors and ingredients in your products? Or perhaps you’ve developed unique and innovative recipes that set your cookies apart.

Maybe your cookies cater to a specific lifestyle, like vegan or keto diets. Or it’s even possible that you make traditional cookies but use a recipe that’s been handed down through the generations.

Whatever your angle, your story can help attract customers to your brand and sell products. For most consumers, stories are a huge part of how they make decisions.

So remember, when you’re pitching your products, doing interviews, or being featured on a blog, focus on setting your brand apart with what makes you unique.