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How to Do Effective PR for Ecommerce Brands: A Practical Guide

BUSINESS E-COMMERCE
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Ayo is the founder of Why Matters, a Shopify agency based in Brighton. With over 20 years of experience in ecommerce, digital marketing, and ROI-driven growth, he has helped hundreds of Shopify brands build, launch, and scale their online stores. Why Matters is a certified Shopify, Klaviyo, and Recharge partner.

March 19, 2025

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Key Takeaways

  • PR earns trust that advertising cannot buy, because a recommendation from a journalist or a customer carries credibility a paid ad never will.
  • The foundation of every successful campaign is clear positioning. If you cannot explain what makes your brand different in one sentence, no journalist will do it for you.
  • A well-built press page and media kit removes friction for journalists and is the single highest-leverage asset you can create.
  • Personalised pitches to a small, relevant media list outperform mass emails to hundreds of contacts, every time.
  • Digital PR is the most commercially valuable form of PR for an ecommerce brand, because coverage earns backlinks that lift your organic rankings permanently.
  • Reactive PR, where you respond to journalist requests rather than pitching cold, is the fastest route to first coverage for brands with no media relationships.
  • Expect to wait. Across the last 8 client PR campaigns we ran in 2025, the average time to first coverage was 6 weeks.
  • Measure coverage against referral traffic, backlinks and assisted revenue rather than counting mentions, because volume of press is not the same as commercial impact.

Quick Answer

Effective PR for an ecommerce brand starts with clear positioning and a press page that gives journalists everything they need in one place. Build a small, targeted list of journalists who genuinely cover your category, then pitch them individually with a specific, newsworthy angle rather than a product announcement. Combine that proactive outreach with reactive PR, responding to journalist requests through services such as ResponseSource and the #JournoRequest hashtag, which is the fastest way to earn first coverage. Prioritise publications that link back to your store, because the backlinks earned from digital PR improve your organic search rankings long after the article stops sending traffic. Measure results through referral traffic, referring domains and assisted conversions in Google Analytics rather than counting the number of mentions.

Table of Contents

Why PR Matters for Ecommerce Brands

In a crowded digital marketplace, ecommerce brands face a particular problem: customers have to trust you before they will hand over their card details, and trust is the one thing you cannot buy with advertising spend. Public relations solves this differently from paid media. When a journalist writes about your product, or a customer recommends you to a friend, the endorsement carries a credibility that no advertisement can replicate.

The data supports this. A Reputation survey of 2,000 US consumers found that 54% place their trust in online reviews first, ahead of friends and family at 24%, company claims at 18% and social media influencers at 2%. BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey puts it more starkly still: 97% of consumers use reviews to guide purchase decisions, and 85% say positive reviews make them more likely to use a business. Read those together and the pattern is clear. What other people say about you outweighs anything you say about yourself, and that is precisely the territory PR operates in.

There is a second benefit that most guides overlook, and it is the one that matters most commercially. Press coverage that includes a link to your store improves your organic search rankings. That means a single feature can send referral traffic in week one and continue lifting your position in Google for years afterwards. We cover this in detail in the digital PR section below, because for an ecommerce brand it is usually the strongest argument for investing in PR at all.

Define Your Brand Identity and Values

Your PR efforts will only resonate if they align with a clear and compelling brand identity. Before you pitch anyone, you need to be able to answer three questions without hesitating: what does your brand stand for, who exactly is your target customer, and what problem do your products solve that competitors do not.

The specificity matters enormously. A brand selling "skincare" has nothing for a journalist to write about. A brand selling vegan skincare formulated for sensitive skin and manufactured in Sussex has an angle, a location hook, a category hook and an audience. Journalists do not write about products. They write about stories, trends and people, and your positioning is what determines whether you have one.

If your brand focuses on eco-friendly products, your PR strategy should lead with sustainability and environmental impact, and you should be able to substantiate every claim you make. Vague environmental language is treated as greenwashing by journalists and consumers alike, and it will actively damage your credibility. Our guide on how to build a sustainable Shopify store covers how to make those claims specific and verifiable.

Build a Strong Digital Presence First

There is little point earning coverage if the traffic it sends arrives at a store that does not convert. Journalists also check your website before deciding whether to feature you, and a dated or unconvincing store is a reason to pass.

Before you begin outreach, make sure your store is genuinely ready. Your site should be optimised for search so that branded searches triggered by coverage actually find you, which our Shopify SEO guide covers in full. Your product photography and storytelling should be strong enough that a journalist can use your images directly. Your social channels should be active and consistent, because journalists check them. And your product pages should convert, since a burst of referral traffic is wasted on a store with friction at checkout. Our guide on why your Shopify conversion rate matters explains how to diagnose that before you spend money attracting attention.

Build Your Press Page and Media Kit

A press page is the single highest-leverage asset in ecommerce PR, and most brands do not have one. Its purpose is simple: remove every reason a journalist might have to not cover you.

When a journalist decides to include your product in a gift guide or a trend piece, they are usually working to a deadline measured in hours. If they have to email you to request a high-resolution image, wait for a reply, then chase you for your founder's name, you will be dropped in favour of a brand that made it easy. A good press page is a live page on your Shopify store containing:

  • High-resolution product images on transparent or white backgrounds, downloadable without a form
  • Lifestyle imagery showing products in use
  • Your logo in multiple formats
  • A short brand story of roughly 100 words and a longer version of roughly 300 words
  • Founder biography and a professional headshot
  • Key facts: founding date, location, product range, any certifications or awards
  • Current pricing and stockist information
  • A named press contact with a direct email address, not a generic contact form

Keep it updated. A press page listing products you discontinued eighteen months ago does more harm than having no page at all.

How to Do Media Outreach That Gets Replies

Securing media coverage boosts your brand's credibility and visibility, but the approach most brands take, sending the same press release to a purchased list of hundreds of contacts, has an almost zero success rate. The alternative takes longer per pitch and works far better.

Build a targeted media list

Identify twenty to thirty journalists who genuinely cover your category. Not publications, journalists. Read what they have actually written in the last three months. If a writer has covered independent British skincare brands twice this year, they are a real prospect. If they write about mortgage rates, no amount of personalisation will help.

For UK ecommerce brands, the relevant tiers are usually national lifestyle desks, consumer titles in your category, regional press for local-interest angles, trade publications, and independent newsletters or blogs with engaged niche audiences. Do not dismiss the smaller end. A newsletter with 5,000 subscribers who all care about your category will often convert better than a national mention.

Write a pitch a journalist can use

Keep it short. Three short paragraphs is enough. Lead with the angle rather than the product, make the subject line specific rather than clever, explain in one line why this fits their particular beat, and include a link to your press page so they can self-serve images.

The critical shift is from "we have launched a new product" to "here is a story your readers would find interesting, and our product is part of it." Seasonal relevance, original data, a genuine founder story, a contrarian view on something in your category, or a response to a current news event all qualify as angles. A product launch on its own does not.

Time your pitch correctly

Editorial lead times are longer than most founders expect. Monthly magazines typically work three to four months ahead, so Christmas gift guides are compiled in August and September. Weekend supplements work four to six weeks ahead. Online publications can turn around in days. If you pitch a Christmas product in November, you have missed every print opportunity that mattered.

Follow up without becoming a nuisance

Set your expectations before you start. Across the last 8 client PR campaigns we ran at Why Matters in 2025, the average time to first coverage was 6 weeks. Founders who abandon outreach after a fortnight of silence are quitting well before the point at which most campaigns produce anything.

One follow-up, roughly one week after the original pitch, is appropriate. Two is the absolute maximum. If there is no response after that, move on and try again with a genuinely different angle in a few months. Journalists remember brands that pester them, and not favourably.

Reactive PR: Responding to Journalist Requests

For a brand with no existing media relationships, reactive PR is almost always the fastest route to first coverage. Instead of pitching journalists on your timetable, you respond to journalists who have publicly stated exactly what they need.

Journalists post requests through dedicated services and on social media. In the UK, ResponseSource is long established and widely used. The #JournoRequest and #PRrequest hashtags on social platforms carry a constant stream of requests from writers looking for products, case studies, founder quotes and expert commentary.

The discipline that makes this work is speed and relevance. Journalists posting these requests are usually on deadline and receive dozens of replies, most of them irrelevant. Respond within a couple of hours, answer exactly what was asked rather than pivoting to what you wanted to say, keep it brief, and include your press page link. Brands that treat these requests as an opportunity to send a generic product pitch are ignored.

Reactive PR also tends to produce higher-quality links than cold outreach, because the journalist actively wanted the contribution rather than tolerating an approach.

Digital PR and Why It Matters for Your SEO

This is the section that separates PR as a brand-awareness exercise from PR as a growth channel, and it is the reason we treat PR and SEO as a single discipline rather than two departments.

When a publication covers your brand and includes a link to your store, that link is a signal to Google that an independent, credible source considers your site worth referencing. Backlinks from authoritative publications remain one of the strongest ranking factors in search, and they are among the hardest for competitors to replicate. Unlike paid advertising, which stops the moment the budget stops, a backlink earned in March continues supporting your rankings indefinitely.

The practical implications for how you approach PR:

  • Prioritise publications that link. A print mention builds awareness but does nothing for search. An online feature with a followed link to your store does both.
  • Ask for the link. Many journalists will include one if you make it easy and specify which page is most relevant.
  • Link to the page you actually want to rank. A link to a relevant collection page is usually more commercially valuable than another link to your homepage.
  • Create linkable assets. Original research, industry surveys, benchmark data and genuinely useful free tools earn links at a rate that product announcements never will, because other writers cite them.

The compounding effect matters here. A store with thirty quality referring domains earned through PR over two years will outrank a competitor with none, on the same content, indefinitely. If you want that work planned alongside your on-site optimisation, our Shopify SEO agency service covers both sides together.

Influencer Partnerships

Find influencers relevant to the space your brand operates in, since they can introduce you to audiences that already trust them. When selecting partners, prioritise authenticity and alignment with your brand values over raw follower count.

Micro-influencers with audiences between 10,000 and 100,000 followers typically deliver better returns than larger accounts, because their engagement rates are higher and their rates are more affordable. Use discovery tools to find relevant creators in your niche, offer either product gifting or paid collaboration depending on the scale of the partnership, and encourage creative freedom so the content feels genuine rather than scripted.

Track results properly through unique discount codes or UTM links rather than assuming that a large follower count translates into sales. Negotiate performance-based compensation where you can, since commission per sale aligns the creator's incentives with yours far better than a flat fee does.

Capitalise on User-Generated Content

Encourage your customers to share their experiences with your products. User-generated content is cost-effective, builds trust in a way brand-produced content cannot, and gives you a continuous supply of authentic material for social channels and product pages.

Practical ways to generate it include creating a branded hashtag and promoting it in post-purchase emails and packaging inserts, running contests that require customers to post photos with your products, and featuring customer reviews and testimonials prominently on your product pages rather than hiding them behind a tab.

Post-purchase email flows are the most reliable engine for this, since a well-timed request roughly two weeks after delivery converts far better than a generic ask. Our Shopify email marketing guide covers how to build that sequence.

Focus on Thought Leadership

Position your brand as a genuine voice in your industry by sharing expert insight rather than promotional material. This builds credibility with customers and makes you a more attractive source for journalists, who are constantly looking for people who can comment knowledgeably on their sector.

Effective approaches include writing guest articles or opinion pieces for industry publications, participating in panels, podcasts and industry events, and publishing data and insight drawn from your own customer base. That last one is the most underused. If you have sold 40,000 units, you have data about your category that nobody else has, and original data is the most reliably cited content format there is.

Your own blog is part of this, and a well-structured one compounds the value of every PR mention you earn. Our guide on how to write Shopify blogs that rank on Google and get cited by AI covers how to structure that content so it earns citations rather than sitting unread.

Planning PR Around Key Dates and Seasonal Moments

Hooking campaigns to relevant dates gives journalists a reason to run your story now rather than filing it away. The key is choosing dates that genuinely relate to your brand rather than forcing a connection to whatever is trending.

A sustainability-focused brand has natural hooks around Veganuary, Earth Day and Plastic Free July. A gifting brand has Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Valentine's Day. A wellness brand has January resolutions and Mental Health Awareness Week. Beyond calendar dates, campaign formats that work include holiday gift guides featuring your products, charity partnerships tied to awareness days, and events or pop-ups for major launches.

Remember the lead times. Build a simple editorial calendar that works backwards from each date, so that a Christmas gift guide pitch goes out in August rather than being remembered in November.

How to Measure PR Success

To refine your strategy, you need to track what is actually working. The mistake most brands make is measuring volume of coverage rather than commercial impact. Ten mentions in publications your customers do not read is worth less than one feature in a title they trust.

Metric What It Tells You Where to Track It
Referral traffic How many visitors each piece of coverage actually sent Google Analytics 4, Acquisition report
New referring domains Whether coverage is building the backlink profile that lifts rankings Ahrefs, or the Links report in Google Search Console
Branded search volume Whether awareness is growing, since people search your name after seeing you Google Search Console, Performance report
Assisted conversions Revenue where PR contributed to the journey without being the final click Google Analytics 4, attribution reports
Social engagement and shares Whether coverage resonated beyond the original readership Native platform analytics
Pitch response rate Whether your angles and targeting are working, or need rethinking Your own outreach tracker

Set up a simple spreadsheet recording every pitch sent, who it went to, the angle used, and the outcome. After thirty pitches you will have a clear picture of which angles land and which publications are realistic targets, which is worth more than any generic advice.

Comparing PR Tactics by Cost and Impact

Not every tactic suits every stage of business. The table below sets out where to start depending on your resources.

Tactic Cost Time to First Result Best For
Reactive PR via journalist requests Time only Days to weeks Brands with no existing media relationships
Press page and media kit Low, one-off Immediate enabler Every brand, before any outreach begins
Targeted journalist outreach Time, plus optional tools Weeks to months Brands with a genuine story or seasonal hook
Micro-influencer gifting Product cost Weeks Visual product categories with social appeal
Original data or survey campaign Medium to high Two to three months Established brands seeking high-authority backlinks
Retained PR agency High, ongoing Three months or more Brands with budget and a sustained campaign calendar

Common PR Mistakes Ecommerce Brands Make

Pitching a product rather than a story is the most frequent error. Journalists are not looking for things to advertise. They are looking for things to write about, and the distinction determines whether your email is read or deleted.

Sending identical emails to large purchased lists is the second. It is the fastest way to be marked as spam and to burn contacts you might have won over with a personal approach.

Pitching without a press page forces the journalist to do extra work at the exact moment they are deciding whether you are worth the effort. Ignoring lead times means missing every seasonal opportunity that requires planning. Giving up after one campaign is common and misguided, because PR compounds and relationships built this year produce coverage next year. And measuring only the volume of mentions tells you nothing about whether any of it made money.

Why Matters Perspective

We treat PR and SEO as one discipline rather than two, because for an ecommerce brand the commercial value of coverage sits largely in the links it earns. A feature that sends 400 visitors in a week is nice. The same feature with a followed link to your best collection page is still working two years later, which is a fundamentally different return on the same effort.

The brands we see get the most from PR are not the ones with the biggest budgets. They are the ones with the clearest positioning and the most patience. Our own numbers make the case for patience: across the last 8 client campaigns we ran in 2025, first coverage took 6 weeks on average. Nothing about that is unusual, but it is longer than most founders expect, and the ones who stop at week three never find out. A founder who can explain in one sentence why their product exists, who has a press page ready, and who responds to journalist requests consistently for six months will outperform a brand that spends heavily on a three-month agency retainer with no clear story to tell.

The other pattern worth naming is that PR rarely works in isolation. It drives awareness and authority, but the revenue depends on what happens after the click. If your store does not convert, PR simply makes the leak bigger. Get the store right first, then attract attention to it. Our ecommerce agency services cover that groundwork, and our guide on how to get more traffic to your Shopify store sets out where PR fits alongside your other channels.

If you would like help connecting your PR activity to your wider search strategy, email us and we will talk it through.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get press coverage for my ecommerce brand with no budget?

Start with reactive PR. Monitor journalist request services such as ResponseSource and the #JournoRequest hashtag on social platforms, and respond quickly with exactly what the journalist asked for. This costs nothing but time and is the fastest route to first coverage for a brand with no media relationships. Build a press page before you start so you can link to it in every reply.

What should be in an ecommerce press kit?

High-resolution product images on clean backgrounds, lifestyle imagery, your logo in multiple formats, a short and a long brand description, a founder biography with headshot, key facts including founding date and location, current pricing, and a named press contact with a direct email address. Make everything downloadable without requiring a form.

How far in advance should I pitch Christmas gift guides?

Monthly print magazines typically compile Christmas gift guides in August and September, three to four months ahead of publication. Weekend supplements work four to six weeks ahead. Online publications can turn around in days but the best placements are still planned early. If you are pitching in November you have missed most print opportunities.

Does PR actually help SEO?

Yes, when the coverage includes a link. Backlinks from credible publications are among the strongest ranking signals in search and are difficult for competitors to replicate. This is why digital PR is usually the most commercially valuable form of PR for an ecommerce brand. Prioritise online publications that link over print mentions that do not.

How do I measure whether PR is working?

Track referral traffic in Google Analytics 4, new referring domains in Ahrefs or Google Search Console, branded search volume in Search Console, and assisted conversions in your attribution reports. Counting the number of mentions tells you very little. One feature in a publication your customers read is worth more than ten in titles they do not.

Should I hire a PR agency or do it myself?

For most early-stage ecommerce brands, doing it yourself is realistic and often more effective, because founders tell their own story more convincingly than an account executive can. A retained agency becomes worthwhile when you have a sustained campaign calendar, genuine budget, and enough product news to justify ongoing activity. Expect three months before a retainer produces meaningful results.

How many journalists should I pitch?

Twenty to thirty carefully chosen journalists who genuinely cover your category will outperform a list of several hundred generic contacts. Read what each one has actually written in the last three months before adding them. Quality of targeting matters far more than volume.

What makes a good PR angle for an ecommerce product?

Seasonal relevance, original data from your own customer base, a genuine founder story, a contrarian view on something happening in your category, or a timely response to current news. A product launch on its own is not an angle. The test is whether a journalist could write an interesting article in which your product appears, rather than an article about your product.

How long does it take to see results from PR?

Across the last 8 client PR campaigns we ran in 2025, the average time to first coverage was 6 weeks. Reactive PR can produce coverage within days. Proactive outreach typically takes weeks to months, and seasonal campaigns depend entirely on lead times. The compounding benefits, meaning backlink authority and media relationships, build over twelve to twenty-four months. PR is a channel that rewards consistency rather than intensity.

Final Thoughts

PR for ecommerce brands is about more than visibility. It is about creating authentic connections and building the trust that turns a first-time visitor into a customer. By defining your brand identity clearly, making it easy for journalists to cover you, prioritising the coverage that earns links, and measuring against commercial outcomes rather than mention counts, you can build a PR strategy that drives real growth.

Start small, stay consistent, and keep your audience at the heart of everything you pitch. The brands that win at PR are rarely the loudest. They are the ones with a clear story, a press page that works, and the patience to keep going after the first few pitches go unanswered.

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