How to Get Press in the UK
British media has its own hierarchy and its own tone. Here is how the national and trade press works, and what coverage involves.
American companies consistently underestimate how different the British press is. The language is the same, which hides the fact that almost nothing else is.
The hierarchy is real
British media has a clearer pecking order than most markets, and readers understand it instinctively. A handful of national titles carry recognition that nothing else does, and below that sits an unusually strong trade press covering specific professions in depth.
This matters because the gap between the two is wide. A national name is recognised by anyone. A trade title is recognised only by the profession it serves, and read closely by almost all of it.
Tone is the thing that trips people up
British journalism is drier, more sceptical and considerably less tolerant of superlatives than American business media.
A pitch that reads as enthusiastic in the US reads as a press release in London. Claims need evidence attached, and a company describing itself as revolutionary will be read as a company with nothing to report. The register is understatement, and matching it is most of the work.
National or trade
Ask who has to believe you.
If the answer is the general public, a customer who has never heard of you, or an international audience who needs a name they recognise, a national title is the right spend.
If the answer is a specific profession who already know the category and want to know whether you are any good, trade press reaches more of them and is taken more seriously inside that world.
What the money buys
UK nationals employ working newsrooms, and a journalist deciding to write about you is earned coverage. It cannot be bought and nobody can promise it.
A written feature produced to your brief and approved by you before publication is a secured placement. It is a real article carrying a masthead people know, and it stays indexed. It is also paid.
Both exist in the UK market as they do everywhere. The distinction worth protecting is being told plainly which one you are buying, and how the piece will appear once it runs.
Getting started
Publisive places clients across the UK national and specialist press. We will tell you honestly whether a national or a trade title fits what you are trying to do, write the piece to your brief, and be clear about what the placement is.
We write and place features in the publications our clients choose. About us
Frequently asked questions
01Why do American pitches struggle in the UK?
Tone. British journalism is drier and considerably less tolerant of superlatives. Claims need evidence attached, and a company describing itself as revolutionary reads as a company with nothing to report. The register is understatement.
02Should I target a national or a trade title?
Ask who has to believe you. If it is the general public or an international audience needing a recognisable name, a national is the right spend. If it is a specific profession who already know the category, trade press reaches more of them and is taken more seriously inside that world.
03Can UK national coverage be guaranteed?
Earned coverage cannot be guaranteed by anyone, because it depends on a journalist deciding to write about you. A secured placement, written to your brief and approved by you, can be arranged and is a paid service.
