PR ON THE GO • June 2, 2026

What Can Founders Expect From Their First PR Campaign?

Output and outcome

Public relations (PR) is still a mystery to many first-time founders. We asked our PR and growth experts to shed some light on expectations, outputs, and outcomes.

Our experts explain to new business founders what to expect from their first PR campaign. They also summarize the processes and timeframe of a typical campaign for a small business or startup launch.

Read on to learn what realistic results and successes you can expect, as well as which pitfalls to avoid.

Increased awareness and credibility

Emily Reynolds, Owner at R Public Relations

"First, if you’re expecting to go viral overnight, you’ll likely be disappointed. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing! We often tell clients that PR is much more turtle than hare—big splashes may get attention quickly, but consistency builds credibility and lasting momentum.

That’s not to say PR is all grind and no glamour, creativity and buzz absolutely matter. The difference is the strongest campaigns have a longer-term strategy behind the excitement.

For startups and creative founders, the process begins with refining messaging, identifying story angles, building media materials, and developing strategic outreach. Traction typically builds over several months as trust and media relationships strengthen.

Early wins often include increased awareness and credibility, media coverage, social proof, and relationship-building opportunities. One of the biggest mistakes I see founders make is expecting PR to immediately drive sales without first establishing trust and clarity around the brand. That foundation is key."

Defining your story and creating angles for the media

Deepak Shukla, Founder & CEO at Pearl Lemon PR

"Typically, new entrepreneurs tend to assume that the purpose of a PR effort is going to be to generate sales, while most of the time, PR efforts take time to establish credibility, positioning, and visibility.

A good startup PR strategy should begin by defining your story and creating angles for the media, as well as creating a list of potential journalists and creating assets needed such as founder biographies, case studies and press materials. Then it's usually weeks or months of outreach, interviews, and relationships.

The results can include media coverage, podcast features, backlink generation, and visibility among investors or better brand reputation, but not necessarily virality. One of the mistakes that many entrepreneurs make in their early stages of a PR strategy is to treat it just like advertising and to expect control of their message."

Relevant and precise pitching is where the power is.

Jodi Lynn Karpes, Owner at GreenQueen PR

"The campaign is guided by the business objectives, PR plan, editorial calendar, and seasons of the business. Month one is the groundwork – gathering and organizing all the assets, the PR plan, content and messaging alignment, media list(s) development, writing – and communicating continually with the client. Then the outreach begins – and where critical feedback is used to refine the campaign. Placements start appearing in 2 – 4 months and anticipate 2-6 placements a month over a 12-month period (depending on the pitching cadence, and budget). The media list is the foundation of a successful campaign, so consider the verticals wisely – trust your agency.

Expectations:

• Listen for ‘smoke and mirrors’ and overpromising.
• Chemistry with the agency helps deliver better results – like the people you are partnering with – check if your cultures and values are aligned.
• Publicity delivers credibility, authority and brand awareness – it is not a direct route to sales and investment.
• PR reaches a wider audience, more frequently, than advertising.
• Relevant and precise pitching is where the power is.
• PR is a long game when done properly."

Finding the right angles to spotlight

Melanie Marten, Owner at The Coup Public Relations

"Public relations opens the doors to the public eye for new businesses by finding the right angles to spotlight, such as a founder's story, a specific product feature, or the brand's social impact activities. A PR expert can evaluate the potential news value of everything your business has to offer. Then, we tailor the information to different media outlets, reaching out to everyone from newspaper journalists and TV and radio stations to special interest and hyper-niche media, as well as associations and community platforms. We provide them with information that is valuable to them versus sending generic information to everyone.

The targeted outreach should not be followed up with reminders about our previous message. Instead, we will produce new content with you for the angles we're pitching, such as an event you're planning, a success story, or your expert insight. We continuously plan fresh content around different news angles to give your business ongoing relevance."

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