Digital PR for Startups: How to Get Press Coverage and Backlinks (2026)

Most startup founders know they need press coverage. Few know how to get it without spending $5,000 a month on a PR agency. Digital PR bridges that gap -- it gives you the tactics to earn media mentions and backlinks yourself, on a startup budget.

If you want to understand how backlinks affect your domain rating, see our domain rating guide. To check where your DR stands right now, use our free DR checker.

What is digital PR#

Traditional PR focuses on brand awareness: getting your company mentioned in newspapers, on TV, or in trade magazines. The goal is visibility. Whether the audience clicks through to your website or not is secondary.

Digital PR flips the priority. The goal is earned media that links back to your site. Every piece of coverage should ideally result in a dofollow backlink from a high-authority domain, driving both referral traffic and long-term SEO value.

Think of digital PR as the place where SEO meets public relations.

What digital PR includes#

• Earning editorial backlinks from news sites, industry publications, and authoritative blogs
• Getting quoted as an expert in articles written by journalists and content creators
• Publishing original research that journalists cite as a source
• Launching products on platforms that generate coverage and links
• Building relationships with journalists and editors in your niche

What digital PR is NOT#

• Paying for sponsored posts or advertorials (that is advertising)
• Sending press releases through wire services and hoping someone picks them up (that rarely works for startups)
• Buying backlinks from link farms (that gets you penalized)
• Posting on social media (that is marketing, not PR)

The distinction matters because digital PR generates assets that compound. A backlink from TechCrunch or a DA 70 industry blog does not expire. It passes link equity to your site for as long as the article exists.

Why startups need digital PR#

1. Backlinks from news sites are among the most powerful for DR#

Domain rating grows logarithmically. A single backlink from a DR 80 news site can move your DR more than 50 links from DR 10 directories. For startups with low domain authority, even one piece of real press coverage can produce a measurable jump.

For the complete picture on how to move your DR score, see our guide to increasing domain rating.

2. Brand awareness with your target audience#

When your startup is mentioned in a publication your target customers read, it does more than build a link. It builds familiarity. Buyers trust brands they have seen before. Press coverage creates that "I've heard of them" effect that makes every other marketing channel -- ads, cold outreach, content marketing -- work better.

3. Trust signals that close deals#

"As featured in TechCrunch" or "mentioned by Forbes" on your landing page is not vanity. It is a trust signal that reduces friction in the sales process. Enterprise buyers Google your company before signing a contract. Press coverage shows up in those searches.

4. Compounding returns over time#

A blog post you publish might get traffic for a few months. A backlink from a major publication earns link equity for years. Journalists who covered you once are more likely to cover you again. Each piece of coverage makes the next one easier to get because you have a track record.

5. It levels the playing field#

Startups cannot outspend incumbents on ads. But a scrappy founder with a great story and original data can earn the same press coverage as a company with a $50,000 monthly PR retainer. Journalists do not care about your budget. They care about whether you have a story their readers want to hear.

7 digital PR strategies for startups#

These strategies are ordered by impact and accessibility. Start with the ones that match your current resources, then expand as you build momentum.

Strategy 1: Data-driven PR#

This is the single most effective digital PR tactic for startups. Publish original data, and journalists will come to you.

Why it works: Journalists need data to cite. Every article that claims "X% of startups do Y" needs a source. If your startup produces that source, you get the backlink, the brand mention, and the credibility.

What to publish:

• "State of X in 2026" reports: Aggregate anonymized data from your platform into industry benchmarks. If you run a project management tool, publish data on average project completion times. If you run an email tool, publish open rate benchmarks by industry.
• User behavior insights: What patterns do you see in your product data that reveal something about the industry? Anonymize and publish.
• Trend analysis: Compare this year's data to last year's. Percentage changes and trend lines are catnip for journalists.
• Survey results: Survey your users or audience. Even 200-300 responses can produce publishable findings if the questions are good.

How to execute:

1. Identify one dataset your startup has access to that outsiders do not
2. Find the interesting story in the data -- the surprising finding, the counterintuitive trend, the clear shift
3. Package it as a blog post with charts, key statistics, and quotable takeaways
4. Email 10-15 journalists who cover your industry with the headline finding and a link to the full report

Real impact: Data-driven content earns backlinks passively for months or years after publication. Journalists writing about your industry will find your data through search and cite it without you reaching out. This is the closest thing to a backlink flywheel.

Strategy 2: Newsjacking#

Newsjacking means inserting your expertise into a breaking news story. When something happens in your industry, journalists scramble for expert commentary. If you can provide it quickly, you earn a quote and a backlink.

Why it works: Journalists on deadline need sources NOW. If you email a relevant, quotable take within hours of a news event, you skip the usual pitch process entirely.

How to execute:

1. Monitor news in your space: Set up Google Alerts for your industry keywords, competitor names, and key topics. Follow journalists who cover your niche on Twitter/X and LinkedIn.
2. Identify the angle: When news breaks, ask yourself: "What does this mean for my audience?" or "What is everyone getting wrong about this story?"
3. Move fast: The window is 24-48 hours. After that, the news cycle moves on and no one needs your take anymore.
4. Pitch with a ready-to-use quote: Do not ask journalists if they want a comment. Send them the comment. Make it easy to copy-paste into their article.

Tools for monitoring:

• Google Alerts (free, set to "as-it-happens" frequency)
• Google Trends for sudden spikes in search interest
• Twitter/X lists of journalists in your niche
• Industry-specific Slack communities where news breaks first

The tradeoff: Newsjacking requires fast execution and cannot be planned in advance. You need to be willing to drop what you are doing and write a pitch within a few hours. Not every founder can or should do this, but when it works, a single newsjacking pitch can land coverage in major publications that would otherwise take months of relationship-building.

Strategy 3: Expert commentary (HARO, Qwoted, and alternatives)#

Journalist query platforms connect reporters looking for expert sources with people who have relevant expertise. You respond to a query, and if the journalist picks your response, you get quoted in their article with a backlink to your site.

Why it works: Instead of pitching journalists cold, you respond to requests they have already posted. They are actively looking for someone like you. The conversion rate is much higher than cold outreach.

Key platforms:

• HARO (Help A Reporter Out): Relaunched by Featured.com in 2025. Free, three email digests per day. Highest volume.
• Source of Sources (SOS): Created by HARO's original founder. Free, manually vetted queries.
• Qwoted: Premium option with AI matching. Free tier is limited; paid plans start at $99/month.
• Help a B2B Writer: Free, focused on B2B content specifically.

For a complete breakdown of every platform with pricing and pros/cons, see our HARO alternatives guide.

Tips for getting your pitch selected:

• Be specific: Vague answers get ignored. Include a concrete example, a real number, or a specific tactic.
• Respond fast: Within the first 1-2 hours. Journalists often pick from the first batch of quality responses.
• Include credentials: One line explaining why you are qualified to answer. "CEO of [company], which serves 500+ SaaS companies" is better than a three-paragraph bio.
• Write a usable quote: Make it easy for the journalist. Write something they can drop directly into their article.
• Keep it under 200 words: Journalists do not read long pitches.

Time investment: Expect to spend 30-60 minutes per day scanning queries and writing 2-3 pitches. A 5-10% placement rate is good. Most founders see their first placement within 2-4 weeks of consistent pitching.

Strategy 4: Product launch PR#

Every product launch -- whether it is your initial launch, a major feature release, or a redesign -- is a PR event. The key is treating it like one.

Launch platforms that generate coverage and backlinks:

• Product Hunt: The most well-known launch platform. A strong launch day can earn press coverage from tech publications that monitor Product Hunt for stories. The Product Hunt listing itself is a dofollow backlink.
• Hacker News: A "Show HN" post that gets traction can drive thousands of visitors and earn coverage from journalists who monitor HN for trends.
• Indie Hackers: Share your launch story with revenue numbers and lessons learned. The community values transparency.
• RankInPublic tournaments: Our weekly launch tournaments give your product visibility, a dofollow backlink, and exposure to an audience of founders and early adopters.

How to maximize launch PR:

1. Coordinate timing: Launch on Product Hunt, post on Hacker News, and email journalists on the same day. Concentrated activity creates a sense of momentum.
2. Prepare a press kit: Have a one-page summary, product screenshots, founder headshots, and 2-3 ready-to-use quotes prepared before launch day.
3. Email journalists before the launch: Give them a heads up 3-5 days early. Offer an exclusive angle or early access. Journalists are more likely to cover a launch they have had time to prepare for.
4. Follow up with results: After launch day, email journalists with the results: "We hit #3 on Product Hunt with 500+ upvotes and had 2,000 signups in 24 hours." The results themselves become the story.

Strategy 5: Community-driven PR#

Building in public -- sharing your startup journey, revenue numbers, growth metrics, and honest lessons -- generates organic PR that money cannot buy.

Why it works: People share authentic stories. When you post that you hit $10K MRR with a two-person team, other founders share it. Bloggers write about it. Journalists covering the startup ecosystem notice it. Each share is a potential backlink.

Where to build in public:

• Twitter/X: The primary platform for build-in-public content. Regular updates on revenue, product development, and lessons learned.
• LinkedIn: Increasingly effective for B2B startups. Longer-form posts about growth challenges and strategy.
• Indie Hackers: Monthly revenue updates, milestone posts, and "lessons learned" threads.
• Reddit: Niche subreddits for your industry. Genuine participation (not promotion) leads to organic mentions.
• Niche Slack and Discord communities: Many industries have active communities where founders share resources and recommendations.

How this becomes PR:

1. You share a compelling growth milestone or lesson on Twitter
2. Other founders and industry observers amplify it
3. A blogger or journalist sees it and writes about it (with a link to your site)
4. That article earns more backlinks as others reference it

The key: Be genuinely useful and honest. Share real numbers, real failures, and real tactics. The community can tell the difference between transparent sharing and thinly disguised marketing. The former earns backlinks. The latter earns unfollows.

Strategy 6: Content-led PR#

Create resources so useful that journalists and bloggers cannot help but link to them. These "linkable assets" earn backlinks passively, long after you publish them.

Types of linkable assets:

• Free tools and calculators: A tool that solves a real problem gets linked to repeatedly. Our website authority checker is an example -- people link to it as a resource whenever they write about domain rating.
• Definitive guides: The most comprehensive resource on a specific topic. If someone is writing an article and needs to link to a reference, they link to the best guide they can find. Make that yours.
• Original research: Overlaps with Strategy 1. The difference is that content-led PR focuses on the long tail -- creating research pages that rank in search and attract links over months, rather than pitching journalists immediately.
• Templates and frameworks: Downloadable templates, checklists, and frameworks that people reference and share.

How this differs from regular content marketing:

Regular content marketing focuses on ranking for keywords and driving organic traffic. Content-led PR focuses on creating resources that other content creators link to. The best content does both, but the intent when creating a linkable asset is specifically: "Would a journalist or blogger link to this as a source?"

For more on how content builds backlinks, see our high authority backlinks guide.

Strategy 7: Directory and listing PR#

Getting listed on curated directories and "best of" lists is the most predictable form of digital PR. Every listing is a backlink. Many listings also put you on the radar of journalists who research your category by browsing directories and comparison sites.

Why directories matter for PR (not just SEO):

• Journalists researching "best tools for X" often start with directory sites and comparison pages
• Being listed in multiple directories creates a consistent presence across the web that signals legitimacy
• Some directories have their own newsletters and social channels that amplify your listing
• Directory backlinks build the DR foundation that makes all your other PR efforts more impactful

Types of directories worth targeting:

• Curated startup directories: Sites with editorial review processes and real traffic
• "Best of" and comparison lists: Blog posts listing the top tools in a category. These rank well and send both traffic and link equity.
• Industry-specific directories: Niche directories for your vertical (e.g., SaaS directories, marketing tool lists, dev tool catalogs)
• Review platforms: G2, Capterra, TrustRadius -- these carry high domain authority and show up when buyers research your category

Our directory submission service handles 140+ curated directory submissions. You fill out one form, and we submit to every relevant directory -- resulting in 100+ backlinks and a measurable DR increase. For a comparison of directory services, see our directory submission services guide.

How to pitch journalists#

Most startup founders have never emailed a journalist. Here is how to do it without embarrassing yourself or burning bridges.

The rules#

Keep it short. 3-4 sentences maximum for the initial pitch. Journalists receive hundreds of emails per day. Anything longer than a few sentences gets skimmed or deleted.

Lead with the story, not your product. Journalists do not care that you launched a new feature. They care about what that feature means for their readers. "We analyzed 10,000 SaaS companies and found that 70% are overpaying for infrastructure" is a story. "We launched a new cost-optimization dashboard" is not.

Personalize. Reference something the journalist recently wrote. Show that you read their work and understand their beat. "I saw your piece on startup fundraising trends last week -- we have data that adds another dimension to that story" is 10x more effective than a generic pitch.

Provide data or evidence. Claims without numbers get ignored. "Our users saw a 40% reduction in churn" is pitchable. "Our users love our product" is not.

Include a ready-to-use quote. Make the journalist's job easy. Include a 2-3 sentence quote from a founder or executive that they can drop directly into their article. This dramatically increases your chances of coverage.

Do not follow up more than once. One follow-up after 3-5 business days is acceptable. Two follow-ups is pushy. Three is spam. If they are not interested, move on.

What NOT to do#

• Do not send a press release as your first email (journalists ignore press releases from unknown startups)
• Do not pitch multiple journalists at the same outlet simultaneously
• Do not ask for coverage as a "favor"
• Do not attach large files -- link to your press kit instead
• Do not use templates -- journalists can spot a mail merge from a mile away

Finding the right journalists#

• Read the publications you want coverage in and note who writes about your topic
• Follow them on Twitter/X and LinkedIn -- engage with their content before pitching
• Use the publication's search function to find recent articles on your topic and identify the authors
• Check journalist bios for email addresses or preferred contact methods

Tools and platforms for startup digital PR#

Journalist query platforms#

These connect you directly with reporters looking for expert sources:

• HARO: Free, high volume, three digests per day
• Source of Sources (SOS): Free, manually vetted queries
• Qwoted: AI matching, paid plans from $99/month
• Help a B2B Writer: Free, B2B-focused
• Featured.com: Expert roundup placements with backlinks

For detailed reviews of each platform, see our complete HARO alternatives guide.

Monitoring and alerts#

• Google Alerts: Free. Set alerts for your brand name, competitor names, and industry keywords. Use "as-it-happens" frequency for newsjacking.
• Google Trends: Free. Monitor trending searches in your industry to spot newsjacking opportunities.
• Mention: Paid tool that monitors brand mentions across the web, social media, and news. More comprehensive than Google Alerts.
• Twitter/X Lists: Create a private list of journalists in your niche. Monitor it daily for story ideas and opportunities to engage.

Outreach and relationship management#

• LinkedIn: Direct outreach to journalists. Build relationships before you need something. Comment on their posts, share their articles.
• Email: Still the primary channel for journalist pitches. Find email addresses through publication websites, Twitter bios, or tools like Hunter.io.

What to skip#

• Wire services (PR Newswire, Business Wire): Expensive and ineffective for startups. These work for Fortune 500 companies announcing quarterly earnings, not for startups trying to get their first press hit. Save your money.
• Spray-and-pray PR tools: Any tool that promises to blast your press release to 10,000 journalists is wasting your money. Targeted outreach to 10 relevant journalists beats mass distribution to 10,000 irrelevant ones every time.

Common mistakes that kill startup PR efforts#

1. Pitching before you have a story#

"We exist" is not a story. "We raised a seed round" is barely a story (unless the amount or investors are notable). Before pitching anyone, ask: "Why would a reader care about this?" If you cannot answer that clearly, you are not ready to pitch.

2. Being too product-focused#

Journalists write stories, not product reviews. The pitch should be about a trend, a data point, or a problem -- with your product as the solution or source, not the centerpiece. "70% of startups underinvest in security" is a story that happens to mention your security tool. "Our security tool has great features" is not a story at all.

3. Spray-and-pray outreach#

Sending the same generic pitch to 200 journalists is a waste of everyone's time. It burns relationships, gets you flagged as spam, and produces a near-zero response rate. Ten personalized pitches to the right journalists will outperform 200 generic ones every time.

4. Not having a website worth linking to#

Before you invest time in digital PR, make sure your site is ready. A journalist who considers covering you will visit your website. If it looks unfinished, has no content, or does not clearly explain what you do, they will pass. Fix your site first. Publish a few quality blog posts. Make sure your about page and product pages are solid.

5. Expecting overnight results#

Digital PR is a long game. Most founders need 2-3 months of consistent effort before landing their first significant piece of coverage. After that, it accelerates because you have relationships, a track record, and content that journalists can reference.

6. Hiring an expensive agency too early#

Most PR agencies charge $3,000-$10,000 per month and are optimized for later-stage companies with established brands. For early-stage startups, that money is better spent on product development and founder-led PR. Learn the basics yourself first. You can always hire an agency later when you have a bigger budget and a clearer sense of what works for your company.

FAQs#

Do startups need a PR agency?#

No, not at the early stage. Most seed and Series A startups get better results from founder-led digital PR than from agencies. You know your product, your market, and your story better than anyone. Spend 3-5 hours per week on PR yourself. Consider an agency after you have product-market fit, a budget of $5,000+/month for PR, and a clear sense of which publications matter for your business.

How much does digital PR cost?#

You can do effective digital PR for free using HARO, Source of Sources, community platforms, and direct journalist outreach. The cost is your time -- roughly 3-5 hours per week. If you want to accelerate results, investing in a directory submission service for backlink foundations costs a one-time fee and frees up your PR time for higher-impact editorial outreach.

How long before I see results from digital PR?#

Expect 2-4 weeks for your first small wins (a quote in a blog post, a directory listing going live). Significant press coverage -- a feature in a major publication -- typically takes 2-3 months of consistent effort. The compounding effect becomes noticeable at the 6-month mark, when accumulated backlinks and relationships start generating inbound media requests.

What is the best PR strategy for a SaaS startup?#

Start with data-driven PR (publish insights from your product data) and expert commentary platforms (HARO, Qwoted). These two strategies have the highest ROI for SaaS startups because they leverage your domain expertise. Layer in product launch PR for each major release, and build a backlink foundation with directory submissions. For a complete link building strategy specific to SaaS, see our SaaS link building guide.

Can I do digital PR myself?#

Yes. Every strategy in this guide can be executed by a solo founder or a small team. The skills required -- writing concise pitches, identifying newsworthy angles, building relationships -- are learnable. The biggest requirement is consistency. Sporadic effort produces sporadic results. Commit to a weekly routine: monitor journalist queries, engage with reporters on social media, and pitch one story per week.

How do I find journalists in my niche?#

Start with the publications you want coverage in. Read recent articles on your topic and note the authors. Follow them on Twitter/X and LinkedIn. Use the publication's search function to find writers who cover your beat. Engage with their content genuinely before you ever pitch them. Build a spreadsheet of 20-30 journalists with their contact info, recent articles, and topics they cover. This becomes your outreach list.

Is press coverage worth it for SEO?#

A single editorial backlink from a DR 70+ publication can be more impactful for your domain rating than dozens of lower-quality links. Press coverage also generates secondary backlinks -- other sites reference the original article and link to you in the process. For a deeper look at how high-authority backlinks affect rankings, see our high authority backlinks guide.

What should I do before starting digital PR?#

Make sure your website clearly communicates what you do. Publish 3-5 quality blog posts so there is content worth linking to. Set up your domain rating checker baseline so you can measure progress. Prepare a one-page press kit with your company summary, founder bio, product screenshots, and 2-3 ready-to-use quotes. Then pick one strategy from this guide and commit to it for 30 days before adding another.