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PR for small business

PR for a small business is mostly local and mostly free.

The coverage that brings people through a shop door comes from the city news site or a trade newsletter, rarely from national media.

An owner with a few hours a week can run it on a 90 day plan.

From $390 a month, month to month.

By the Pocket PR editorial team.

Get a 15-minute PR diagnosisSee pricing
Bakery owner talking with a local reporter across the counter

Illustration

Why local news still pays off

  • 85%US adults who say local news outlets matter to their community's well-beingpewresearch.org
  • 69%US adults who say local journalists are mostly in touch with their communitypewresearch.org
  • 18%Ukrainian companies spending no more than 10,000 UAH a month on PRforbes.ua

How to get PR for a small business

Find a story only you can tell.

A local desk needs a human face and a reason to publish this week, and a generic announcement offers neither.

Pitch length and follow-up rules are in how to pitch journalists.

  1. List ten facts about the business a neighbor would find surprising

  2. Pick the one that has a named person and a date attached

  3. Find reporters who covered similar stories recently

  4. Write to each by name, with a photo offer

  5. Follow up once, then move on

How to get local press coverage

Local news keeps an audience that trusts it, though a thinner one, Pew Research found in 2024.

Match the outlet to the story and pitch seasonal pieces weeks ahead. A back-to-school offer sent in late August is too late.

  • 85%call local outlets important to their communityPew, 2024
  • 69%think local journalists are in touch with their communityPew, 2024
  • 22%follow local news very closely, down from 37% in 2016Pew, 2024
  • City news sites. Openings and new jobs.
  • Neighborhood papers. The people behind the counter.
  • Regional TV. Anything with pictures and a seasonal hook.

What community stories do local reporters want

The strongest small business stories are about the people around the business, and each one gives a reporter a reason to call you back.

  • A long-serving employee or a family succession.
  • Apprentices trained with a local school.
  • A fix for a problem the neighborhood talks about.
  • A number only you have, such as repairs done after a storm.
Owner and long-serving employee in a family hardware store

Illustration

Are local business awards worth it

Some are, and some are sales pitches. Ask who runs the award and who pays for it.

A credible award

  • Run by a chamber of commerce or a known publication. There is a jury, and winners pay nothing.

A paid listing

  • Calls itself an award and adds nothing a reporter respects.

What a win is worth

  • A second story for the local desk and the press page.

Where can a small business get free PR

Five channels cost nothing but time. On request platforms, answer fewer queries and write each answer yourself.

Reporters there pick human answers about three times as often, per Qwoted vs Featured.

  • Expert request platforms. HARO is free. Featured and Qwoted both have free tiers.
  • Trade associations. Member newsletters want member news.
  • Chambers of commerce. Spotlights and reporter introductions.
  • Local TV and radio. Morning shows need practical guests.
  • Event listings. Read by reporters planning weekend pieces.

Are online reviews part of PR

Reviews and PR overlap, and each feeds the other, but they are different work.

A PR person who offers to buy or remove reviews for you is selling trouble.

Reviews

  • Customers talking to customers. A steady record reassures a reporter.

PR

  • Earned attention from reporters. A local story sends customers who leave reviews.

Where PR stops

  • Reply to reviews in public and keep it short. Fix the complaint that keeps coming back before you pitch anyone.
A bakery owner replying to a review on his phone behind the counter
Where PR stopsReviews feed the local storyA reporter checking a small business before a story may well read its reviews. A calm public reply to a bad one says more about the owner than the star average.Track what people sayIllustration

How much should a small business spend on PR

Small companies spend little on PR and do much of it themselves. A sensible budget pays for one story a month done well.

A PR firm for small business that quotes a national-brand retainer is selling the wrong product.

The Pocket PR Starter plan, from $390 a month, covers one market and one story angle a month.

Every model by market is on how much PR costs.

What is a 90 day PR plan for a small business

Give the plan one owner inside the business. PR fails most often when nobody owns it.

If you hand it to a PR company for small business instead, the same twelve weeks should still be visible in their plan.

  1. Weeks 1 to 2, story audit

    Ten facts, three stories, a press section online.

  2. Weeks 3 to 4, local list

    Named reporters at the outlets your customers read, plus two award deadlines.

  3. Weeks 5 to 6, first pitch

    Story one to three reporters.

  4. Weeks 7 to 8, community

    An event with a local cause, listed in calendars.

  5. Weeks 9 to 10, second pitch

    Story two, timed to a local date.

  6. Weeks 11 to 12, review

    What ran, what brought calls, next quarter's plan.

What is a PR nightmare for a small business

For a small company it is local and it moves fast.

A rude reply to a review gets shared in a city group, or someone films staff on a bad day.

Most of the damage comes from the response. Decide now who answers, and keep one calm holding reply ready.

  • Deleting comments, which looks like hiding.
  • Arguing with the customer in public.
  • Owner and staff giving different explanations.
  • Waiting days while the story spreads.
Chef owner reading a viral complaint on his phone at the bar after closing
Holding replyThree sentences, ready nowSay you have seen the complaint and when you will answer in full. Name one person the customer can contact, and post it where the complaint is spreading.Plan for a bad dayIllustration

What PR examples work for small businesses

Illustrative ideas that fit different trades.

Repair workshop

  • Publishes yearly data on the city's most common household breakdowns.

Dental clinic

  • A free check day for teachers when school starts.

Small manufacturer

  • Hosts a school class and invites regional TV.

Café

  • A monthly talk with local makers, listed in the community calendar.

What a small business PR month looks like

  1. A local story list

    We look for the stories inside your business that a city desk would run, and rank them by how soon each one can go out.

  2. Named local reporters

    Each story gets a short list of reporters who covered your street or your trade in recent months, checked by hand.

  3. Free channels first

    Expert request platforms and your trade association's newsletter go into the plan before any paid option.

A family bakery and a city business section

Situation
A three shop bakery in Brno wanted more weekday customers and had no budget for ads beyond social media posts.
What we do
The owner noticed that the bakery had kept a sourdough starter alive for 30 years and offered the story, with photos of the original jar, to a city news site and a regional food writer, then entered a regional crafts award.
Outcome
The food writer's piece gave the bakery a link and photos it could reuse, and the award shortlist became a second, smaller story two months later.

Illustrative example, not a client result

Anastasiia Bratkova portrait

Anastasiia Bratkova

Chief Brand, Marketing & Communications Officer, RSE

Signs every pitch

About Anastasiia

Questions

What owners ask before paying for PR

How to get PR for small business?

Find one story only your business can tell and pitch it by name to the reporters who cover your area. Answer free expert requests every week in between.

How to get local press coverage?

Read the city and neighborhood outlets for a month to learn who covers local business. Then send one of them a short pitch tied to a local date.

What is a PR nightmare?

A story about your business that spreads faster than you can answer it, often made worse by silence or a defensive first reply.

What is a bad PR?

Public attention that damages trust. A rude reply to a customer that goes viral is the classic small business case.

Can a small business get free press?

Yes. A story in the local paper costs nothing but time, and so do answers on platforms such as Featured.

Sources

Read next

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