Digital PR is the practice of creating newsworthy content or insights that journalists, bloggers, and publications want to cite. The links earned through genuine PR coverage are typically higher quality than almost any other link-building tactic, and they build brand awareness simultaneously.
What Makes Content PR-Worthy
- Original data or research: conduct a survey, compile industry statistics, or publish original findings
- Contrarian insights: a well-argued counter to conventional wisdom in your niche
- Annual reports or trend predictions with genuine expert commentary
- Real client results with compelling before/after data
- Tools or calculators that journalists can reference for their readers
- Interesting uses of freely available data to tell a new story
Using HARO (Help A Reporter Out)
HARO (now called Connectively) sends three email digests per day with journalists asking for expert sources for their articles. Sign up as a source at helpareporter.com. When you see a query relevant to your expertise, respond quickly (within hours), be specific, and provide a genuinely useful quote. Successful responses can earn links from national newspapers and major publications.
Running a simple digital PR campaign from a Wix site
- 1Create a genuinely interesting piece of research or data analysis in your niche
- 2Write a press release headline that is newsworthy, not promotional
- 3Identify 20-50 journalists and bloggers who cover your niche
- 4Email them individually with a brief pitch and a link to your content
- 5Follow up once after 3 days if no response, never more than once
- 6Monitor mentions using Google Alerts and Ahrefs Alerts
- 7Reach out to unlinked mentions: "I noticed you mentioned our research, would you be able to add a link?"
Complete How-To Guide: Launching Your First Digital PR Campaign
Digital PR earns the highest-quality backlinks available because journalists and publishers link to genuinely newsworthy content. This step-by-step guide walks you through launching your first digital PR campaign from your Wix site, from creating a compelling data-driven angle to securing coverage in publications your audience reads.
Follow these steps to launch a successful digital PR campaign
- 1Step 1: Choose a data-driven angle by identifying a question in your industry that nobody has answered with real numbers, such as a survey, price comparison, trend analysis, or compilation of publicly available data
- 2Step 2: Create original research by surveying your customers, analysing your own business data, or compiling publicly available datasets into a new narrative that journalists will find newsworthy
- 3Step 3: Package the research into a professional content piece on your Wix site with clear data visualisations, key findings highlighted, and a methodology section that establishes credibility
- 4Step 4: Write a compelling press release headline that leads with the most surprising or impactful finding from your research rather than your business name or a promotional message
- 5Step 5: Build a targeted media list of 20-50 journalists and bloggers who cover your niche by searching for recent articles on similar topics and finding the author's contact details on Twitter or their publication's website
- 6Step 6: Craft personalised pitch emails for each journalist referencing a specific recent article they wrote and explaining why your research is relevant to their beat and their audience
- 7Step 7: Send your pitches on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday morning when journalists are most likely to be reviewing emails and planning their editorial calendar for the week
- 8Step 8: Follow up exactly once after 3 business days with a brief email that adds a new angle or additional data point rather than simply asking if they received your first email
- 9Step 9: Sign up for HARO (now Connectively) at helpareporter.com and respond to at least 3 relevant journalist queries per week with genuinely helpful expert commentary from your niche
- 10Step 10: Set up Google Alerts for your business name and key research findings to monitor when publications mention your brand or cite your data without including a link
- 11Step 11: Reach out to any unlinked brand mentions with a friendly email explaining that you noticed they referenced your research and asking if they could add a link to the original source for their readers
- 12Step 12: Document every piece of coverage earned in a spreadsheet tracking the publication name, URL, domain authority, whether they included a followed link, and the referral traffic generated
- 13Step 13: Repurpose your PR coverage into social media posts and case studies on your Wix site to build credibility and attract additional organic links from people who discover the coverage
Final Checkpoint
After completing your first digital PR campaign you should have original research published on your Wix site, a tested media list of responsive journalists, at least a handful of earned coverage pieces with backlinks, and a repeatable process you can refine for future campaigns. The key to digital PR success is consistency so aim to run at least one campaign per quarter.
Essential Resources
HARO / Connectively
Connect with journalists who need expert sources for articles to earn authority backlinks
Ahrefs
Industry-leading SEO tool for keyword research, backlink analysis, and competitor research
Google Alerts
Monitor mentions of your brand, name, or industry topics across the web
SEMrush
Keyword research, position tracking, site audit, and competitor analysis tool
