I have close to 20 years in this department and have placed clients in the NY Times, Sunday Times (UK), AP, Buzzfeed and outlets around the world. Getting press is about thoughtful, personalized, targeted pitches. Press releases are useless. We still write them for clients and use them as reference tools but they are not what gets the job done. What gets the job done is being a useful source for journalists and media, talking to them in a language they understand and like and offering value. There are thousands of ways to skin a cat. Here is one of many many many tactics that you can use. As CEO ask yourself what you're a SME (subject matter expert) in. Make a list of topics you can speak about intelligently and with complete authority. Then look up articles and press from journalists who write about those topics, track down the writers through Twitter, FB, LinkedIn and other ways (many freelancers have their own websites) and introduce yourself and your company. Don't make it a sell about the company, simply make it an introduction and let them know that should they ever need a source to speak about X,Y,Z etc. that you are available anytime. Ask them what stories they're working on. Get a conversation and relationship going in a human and interesting way. Have a sense of humour. Be authentic. Keep it short -always. Be of value and of interest to them. Offer your product free for them to try simply so that you can get their feedback and with no promise of coverage. Over time they will come to trust you, like you, be interested in what you offer and give you coverage in return. Start with a great targeted list of journalists you'd like to approach and then build that list out as time goes. Things media pay attention to: the first, the last, the smallest, the largest, the most expensive, the only, the fastest, the slowest. What makes your offering special, newsworthy, different? Find not just one or two hooks but as many hooks as you can and go after them. This advice is the tip of the ice berg. If you have questions don't hesitate to reach out. Happy to answer any questions you have or provide further insights once I know the complete nature of your business. Good luck!

blue skies,
Daniela