How to Get Media Coverage Without a PR Agency
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Most pre-seed founders should run their own PR for 12 months.
Not what agencies want to hear. True for founders at specific stages.
When DIY works
Pre-product-market-fit startup (narrative still changing)
Bootstrapped founder with 10 hours/week and no budget
Founder who wants to learn the craft
When it doesn't
Time-poor founder with funding
Regulated or highly technical category
Crisis situation
The five-component stack
Narrative. One page, three proof points.
Target list. 30 journalists/editors/hosts in your category.
Pitch library. Three angles, 120-150 words each.
Content foundation. Long-form, Schema.org, Wikidata.
Cadence. 10 tailored pitches/week, never mass.
The pitch rule
Generic agency templates = sub-3% response rate.
Tailored pitches that reference the journalist's recent work = 12-22% response rate.
The 90-day program
Weeks 1-2: Foundation
Weeks 3-4: Podcast tour (20 targets → 3-5 yeses)
Weeks 5-6: Contributor bylines (10 pitches → 2-4)
Weeks 7-8: Journalist pitching (10/week)
Weeks 9-10: Follow-up and close
Weeks 11-12: Measurement
Outcome: 3-5 podcasts + 2-3 bylines + 1-2 features.
$9K-$21K equivalent agency value.
The DIY tool stack
Google Sheets
Hunter.io or Apollo ($49-$99/mo)
Grammarly
ChatGPT or Claude
Calendly
Under $100/month total.
The mistakes
Mass pitching (burns response rates)
Pitching before narrative is tight (burns relationships)
Giving up at 30 days (placements come weeks 6-12)
Ignoring follow-up (doubles response rate)
Vanity metrics only
The pull-quote
Founders who run their own PR for a year before hiring an agency are the best agency clients.
They know what good looks like. They know what to demand.
Want the full playbook? Read the full DIY PR guide.
Instant Press Co., Agencies earn it. Founders can too.