Updated 12/29/25
To get press coverage for your business, give reporters a story their readers actually want, then get creative to cut through the noise so they notice you.
I once bribed the Los Angeles Times Calendar editor with a bundt cake.
Not just any bundt cake. A lemon poppy seed bundt cake with our concert information written in chocolate frosting on top. The design matched our promotional poster. I added three helium balloons that matched the color scheme. The whole package was crafted specifically for her, the Calendar editor. If I'd walked that into the sports department or business section, it would have meant nothing.
This was personal. Targeted. And delicious.
I was conducting a chorus premiering a new work in an 1,100-seat hall. No ad budget. Zero. And a review after the concert? Worthless. I needed advance coverage or we'd be singing to empty seats.
I'd already sent a press release two weeks earlier. Made follow-up calls. No response. We'd landed in that pile with 200 others. After all, this was the Los Angeles Times.
So I went to a bakery and commissioned that lemon poppy seed beauty with balloons. Then I drove to the LA Times office on Friday and tried to hand-deliver it.
Security stopped me. "You can't go up there."
Fine. I left the cake with a press kit and a note addressed to her.
Monday morning, I called. "Did you get my gift?"
"Bob, gifts are strictly forbidden."
"But you didn't throw it out, did you?"
"No. We all enjoyed it. You'll get your story."
The story ran the day before the concert. We packed the house.
Here's What Actually Happened
I got creative with the cake and balloons. That got her attention.
But that's not why she ran the story.
She ran the story because we were premiering a new work by a composer her readers would care about. We gave her something interesting to write about that would get clicks and views. I made her job easier by giving her a real story, not just "Hey, we exist."
The cake was the hook. The story was the value.
If I'd shown up with that same cake and balloons but our event was boring? No coverage. The creativity gets you noticed. But you still need to give them something their audience actually wants.
That's the part most retailers miss.
Your Store Is Invisible
That's your problem. Not your location. Not your pricing. Not the economy.
You're invisible because you market like everyone else.
Another email blast nobody opens. Another Facebook post the algorithm buries. Another "We're Having Our 25th Anniversary Sale" that nobody cares about.
Because here's the truth: Your anniversary means nothing to your customers. Your birthday party isn't their birthday party. They don't care that you've been open 10 years or 50 years unless you give them a reason to care.
And the press definitely doesn't care unless you give their readers something worth reading.
Nobody Cares About Your Anniversary
Retailers love anniversaries. "We're celebrating 20 years in business! Come get 20% off!"
So what?
Why should I drive to your store because you managed to stay open for two decades? And why should the local newspaper write about that? "Local Store Manages To Pay Rent For 20 Years" isn't a headline.
But if you said "We're celebrating 20 years by giving back. For every purchase this week, we're donating $20 to the youth sports league" now you've got something. Now a reporter has an angle their readers might click on.
The problem is most retailers do good things and never tell anyone.
Do Good Work, Then Tell The Story
A hardware store in a small town noticed the city couldn't afford to mow the parks every week anymore. The grass was getting long. Kids had nowhere decent to play.
So the store owner got several customers together, they brought their mowers, and they mowed the parks themselves.
That's a great story. Community coming together. Local business leading. Kids benefit.
But unless that hardware store told the story, most people wouldn't notice. They'd just see mowed grass and assume the city did it.
You have to make a point of telling it. Call the newspaper. Post photos. Make sure people know you're not just selling hammers, you're taking care of the community.
One exception: When disaster hits, do your good work quietly. Help people. Don't publicize it yourself. If others lift up your name later, great. But don't be the business posting "Look how much we're helping after the flood." That's gross. Let other people sing your praises, not you.
But for the regular good work you do? The youth sports clinics, the fundraisers, the community partnerships? Tell that story. Loudly.
Think Like A Reporter
When you pitch a story to the press, you're not doing them a favor. They're not doing you a favor either.
It's mutual.
You need publicity. They need stories their readers will click on. If you give them "We're having a sale" they ignore you because that doesn't get clicks. If you give them "Local businesses raise $10,000 for foster kids and then hire four of them" that gets clicks.
Downtown Michigan City figured this out. All the merchants created holiday trees in their stores and asked people to pay $5 to vote for the best one. Every dollar collected went to support foster kids 18 and older who were out on their own.
That got press. But more importantly, it did real good.
And then came the follow-up story in January: Four of the kids who received money were actually employed by downtown businesses. That's two stories, not one. That's what editors want because their readers want it.
Here's What You Do
Stop planning your next "We're So Great" promotion.
Instead, ask: What would make someone want to read a story about this? What would make a customer feel good about shopping here beyond just getting a product?
Connect what you're doing to something bigger. Strengthening the community. Supporting a cause people believe in. Solving a problem people actually have.
Then make a point of telling the story. Don't assume people will notice. They won't.
Send the press release. Make the follow-up calls. And if those don't work, get creative. Show up with something they can't ignore. Make it easy for reporters to cover by giving them the angle, the photos, the quotes.
Your 15th anniversary? Nobody cares. Your 15th anniversary fundraiser where you support youth programs and match customer donations? Now you've got something reporters can pitch and customers want to participate in.
But you have to tell them about it.
The creativity gets you noticed. The value gets you covered. The follow-through makes sure people actually know.
All three matter.
