By Editorial TeamToo many growth companies get financial PR completely wrong. They’re still working from an old playbook, thinking financial news is only for an IPO or a massive funding round, and they’re missing huge chances to build their story and pull in investment. Let’s bust the common myths that keep companies from getting the kind of earned media that actually pays off.
Key Takeaways
- Talk to financial journalists even when you don’t have news. Building the relationship is what gets you future coverage when you need it.
- Your story should be about market impact and future potential, backed by data, not just another funding announcement.
- You can get more targeted, powerful earned media from local and niche financial press than by chasing big national outlets.
- Financial PR works best when it’s tied into everything else you’re doing, like content marketing and investor relations, making your message stronger and more believable.
- You have to know the metrics reporters care about, like EBITDA growth or customer acquisition costs, if you want to craft a pitch that doesn’t get instantly deleted.
“HubSpot’s marketing team recorded a 642% increase in citations for comparison articles and a 58% increase in overall mentions.”
Myth 1: Financial News PR is Only for Publicly Traded Companies
This idea is wrong and it’s a costly one. A lot of private growth companies, particularly if they’re at Series B or C, assume financial media won’t care about them until an IPO is on the horizon. That’s just not how it works anymore. In 2026, the line between public and private market reporting is basically gone. Journalists covering venture capital and private equity are constantly hunting for stories about high-growth private businesses. A recent eMarketer report even showed an 18% jump in investor interest in pre-IPO companies with solid fundamentals over the last two years. If you ignore this reality, you’re just letting your competitors, the ones who get that a story in TechCrunch or Bloomberg boosts valuation and helps hire top talent, eat your lunch.
We tell our clients to start building relationships with financial reporters now, even with no public offering in sight. This means doing more than just blasting out press releases for funding rounds. It’s about being useful, offering them your executive’s take on a market trend or sharing some internal data on industry shifts. For instance, a fintech startup in the blockchain supply chain space could offer expert commentary on new digital asset regulations, even with no new product to announce. This kind of proactive help builds your credibility, so when you *do* have big news, reporters already know who you are and trust your story. That makes getting coverage way more likely, and far more effective.
Myth 2: You Need Major Funding Rounds to Get Financial Press Coverage
Big funding announcements get headlines, sure, but they aren’t the only way to get into financial publications. This myth comes from having a really narrow view of what financial reporters consider “news.” What they’re really after are stories about growth, market disruption, and genuine economic impact. A growth company that has quietly captured a niche market, even without a huge pile of cash from VCs, has a great story. Maybe you’ve scaled efficiently with impressive unit economics or an entirely new business model. That’s news.
Think about a SaaS company out of Atlanta that hit 300% year-over-year revenue growth just through organic customer acquisition, all while staying profitable. That’s a powerful story that financial outlets love, especially if you can get it validated by a third-party analyst. Financial reporters want indicators of future success, not just a record of past investment. You have to tell the story behind the numbers: what critical problem you’re solving, the market you’re opening up, and the specific metrics that prove you have a real competitive edge. An IAB report from earlier in 2026 showed that stories about sustainable growth and profitability got 25% more reader engagement than simple funding announcements. It’s all about showing you’re creating actual value.
Myth 3: Financial PR is Just About Press Releases
If you think financial PR is just about sending out press releases, you’re running a 20-year-old playbook. It’s an outdated and pretty useless strategy on its own. Press releases have their place for formal announcements, but they’re a tiny piece of a real PR plan. Getting earned media in the financial world means building relationships, establishing your executives as experts, and telling stories with hard data.
Every reporter’s inbox is a graveyard of unread press releases. You have to give them something more. Get to know the key journalists covering your space (and I mean really know them). Show up at conferences where they’re speaking, have a real conversation about their work on platforms like LinkedIn News, and offer them exclusive insights or background on breaking industry stories. Can you be a source for them? This turns your company into a go-to resource. We’ve seen a single, well-placed interview with an executive talking about market shifts generate more real interest and follow-up stories than a dozen boilerplate press releases ever could.
Myth 4: All Financial Publications are the Same
Lumping all financial publications together is a rookie mistake. The media world is specialized. You’ve got huge national outlets, super-niche trade journals, and local business papers, and they all have different audiences and editorial focuses. If you’re a logistics tech startup, are you better off with a quick mention in a national paper or a deep-dive article in the Journal of Commerce or the Atlanta Business Chronicle that your actual customers and partners read? The answer should be obvious. You have to pick the publications that talk directly to the investors, customers, and talent you want to attract.
You absolutely must research individual reporters and what they cover. Some focus on early-stage VC, others on public markets, and others get deep into specific sectors like AI or biotech. Sending a generic pitch is a waste of everyone’s time. When you tailor your pitch to their specific beat, your chances of getting a response skyrocket. A company with a new sustainable packaging product should be talking to environmental finance reporters, while a B2B software firm needs to be on the phone with the enterprise tech desks. The game of PR targeting in 2026 is about precision, not just spraying your news everywhere.
Myth 5: Financial News PR is a One-Off Event
So many growth companies treat financial PR like a fire extinguisher: they only use it in an emergency or for a big event like a funding round or an acquisition. This transactional mindset misses the whole point. You’re trying to build a reputation for stability and trustworthiness in the financial community, and that’s a process, not a single event. A strong narrative, built up over time with consistent effort, is what creates investor confidence and market recognition.
A continuous PR strategy means you’re always on. You’re giving regular updates on milestones, your execs are publishing commentary on economic trends, and you’re highlighting customer wins that prove your market impact. It’s an “always on” approach. Companies that keep an open line of communication with the financial media are the ones who can survive a downturn, attract the best people, and line up their next round of funding more easily. They build up a bank of credibility they can draw from which makes their big announcements that much more powerful when they finally happen.
For growth companies, working through the world of financial news requires a smart, informed plan. Once you throw out these common myths, you can stop just reacting with press releases and start building a proactive, relationship-focused strategy. By understanding how the media actually works and telling a consistent story backed by hard data, a company can seriously boost its profile with investors and the market at large.
What types of financial news are most impactful for growth companies?
Stories that show strong organic growth, real market differentiation, major customer wins, and profitability milestones are the most powerful. While funding gets headlines, proof of a sustainable, performing business is what gets long-term investors and partners to pay attention.
How can growth companies build relationships with financial journalists?
You build relationships through steady, helpful contact that isn’t always a sales pitch. Follow their reporting, offer them your expert take on market trends without asking for anything, give them exclusive data, and meet them at industry events. The aim is to become a source they trust, not just another company pitching them.
Should growth companies prioritize national or niche financial publications?
A smart strategy uses both, but don’t underestimate niche and regional publications. They often provide more detailed, influential coverage because they have a deeper grasp of your specific industry or area, ensuring your story hits a very relevant audience.
What data points do financial reporters value most from growth companies?
Reporters want hard numbers: revenue growth rates, customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (CLTV), EBITDA, gross margins, and any data that proves you’re disrupting a market or have a solid competitive advantage. These metrics are the proof behind your story.
How often should a growth company engage in financial PR?
Financial PR isn’t a one-time thing. It should be a constant part of your business. That means a steady drumbeat of milestone updates, thought leadership from your execs, and proactive outreach to media. A continuous story builds credibility and keeps you on the radar of investors and important stakeholders.
